Shadowrun Returns serves as a sequel… of sorts… to its prior console iterations way back in the SNES and Megadrive era, a successful and much loved tabletop RPG, this is the franchise’s return to the digital medium. It also carries one other little quirk, the game was entirely crowdfunded. This is important where in a few short years Kickstarter has gone from being the shining beacon of all indie projects to becoming a dirty word that’s akin to saying the word “Fart” at a dinner party.
Now for the sake of full disclosure I know very little about the universe of Shadowrun, not a single tabletop gaming session sits on my resume. I only knew of the older console games from passing glances at adverts and a walkthrough in Nintendo Power, and any other firsthand experience comes from eavesdropping on friends talking about their favorite classes and races. In short I look at the title with a virgin’s eyes.
A quick easy install on Steam, you are not plopped into a character creator right away but rather a campaign named “The Dead Man’s Switch.” You are then asked to choose your sex, and character creation proceeds as usual. At first glance the menus you are presented with are instantly confusing, you select a class and you’re told to spend karma on a tree that resembles a government worksheet. No need to fear however, as you quickly realize that though the game grants little explanation only a handful of selections are at all relevant to the class you just selected. Things only get simpler from there.
Race is more or less aesthetic in this game (as it so often is in RPG’s these days), while your stats do shift slightly for our min/maxers out there you’re probably better served with what you feel looks best, be it a dashing troll or a gigolo of an elf. Next is your class which also, isn’t nearly as significant as you’re initially lead to believe and really only impacts your first couple of battles and what kind of outfit you’ll see your character wearing for the next 20 minutes.
You see, that’s where one of the more interesting aspects of the game come in. You’re able to play with different class abilities almost instantly. I initially started as a shaman, but find myself with both not enough karma and no great interest in progressing down the Shaman line any more than I have and I am now playing around with Mage and Decker abilities to make myself some kind of super elemental summoning hacker… guy.
“But Uncle Jay” you might be asking “Won’t this screw your character up?” Honestly no, in fact it is shockingly hard to mess up in this game. Combat is boiled down to a point and click cover system. Spend AP to move, find cover if you like, select a spell, item or attack. It’s a system that should be familiar to anyone that has played XCom Enemy Unknown, though greatly sweetened to be much more forgiving and player friendly. You don’t have to worry about going it solo either as the game kindly gives you companions whenever you might need them. Additionally your talent points, or karma as it’s called in this instance, is quickly racked up via completing quests or just treating people in a favorable manner. To squeeze the most karma out of a situation you almost never want to be abrasive, so it does diminish the role play aspect a bit in favor of netting the best reward.
Shadowrun Returns doesn’t pretend to be open world, in fact it is extremely linear. There is a central hub world you will always return to in the initial campaign, and the next point in your mission is locked in for you via the use of taxis. Completing your main objectives as well as doing side quests and solving puzzles simply amounts to being thorough. The only way you can really mess up or get stuck is by not exploring and not talking to NPCs, with what you need always highlighted by convenient never-can-be-missed speech bubble and magnifying glass icons.
The game is beautiful in its simple isometric view. You’re not allowed to zoom in too close to characters or objects, and everything looks very “clean.” It’s easy to miss some of the smaller details if you’re just rushing to gun through an area, it may not be the most breathtaking game in existence but it is very easy on the eyes.
If there is one major gripe I had, it was the autosave system. While this is a game where you can’t really mess up, I also like to be in control of my own saves. Essentially you have to complete a level and get to a new area in order to save your game. While missions are linear and short, it can get a tad annoying if you feel you have to rush to the next area just to save the game as quickly as possible.
The story of the initial campaign is your typical noir story of murder and conspiracy, sprinkled with the occasional shootout against goons unrelated to the core plot and honestly just wedged in there to give you something to do between looking for clues that will lead you to the next part of the mystery. The story and dialogue are both very well written, almost to the point where the lack of combat makes me forget I’m playing an RPG and feels a bit more like a visual novel. I would say if story is your thing, this is the game to go with, however be warned…
Dead Man’s Switch is a short campaign. In fact the game seems to be waiting for user created content. There’s nothing to do after Dead Man’s Switch besides play it again or, perhaps, play with the Shadowrun Editor and start making your own stories. The editor unfortunately is not instantly intuitive, and while tutorials are offered free and obtainable right from an in-game link, it will take some time and dedication for the community to learn the ins and outs and eventually start churning out content. On the one hand it fits in perfectly with the fact Shadowrun began as, and remains a strong tabletop RPG, on the other hand as a gamer you are left wanting a little and waiting for when, and if, there is more generated content.
Then that’s the whole story of Shadowrun Returns isn’t it? The when and if. Starting as a Kickstarter campaign, there was the question of “if” they would complete it, now that it’s done there’s a question of if it can be kept going.
While I eagerly await to see what some of the users can come up with in terms of campaign and content, I can’t fully recommend this as a must buy. I say take your time and wait for the game to be built up a little. If you are a modder however and looking to get your hands into something new, this may be the outlet for you.
