Shadowrun Returns contains a robust
content creation toolset, gorgeous prerendered artwork in the
background tilesets, deep and strategic turn-based combat, and a
phenomenally well written main storyline set in the classic 1980's
first edition era of the Shadowrun Universe.
At a cool $20, Shadowrun Returns is
also much cheaper than even the venerable first edition of the PnP
game itself. While SRR does take some artistic liberties with some
(okay, many) of the game's mechanics, it does a good enough job
translating the tabletop game onto the PC that diehard fans of
Shadowrun shouldn't find themselves too heartbroken over them. On
the whole, SRR is a great introduction to the Shadowrun universe and
how it works.
The combat in Shadowrun is turn-based,
with players and their party members having a limited number of
actions per turn, represented by AP or action points. Various areas
of the environment can be used to provide cover, with simple icons
appearing over them to represent how much protection they offer. If
you've played X-COM: Enemy Unknown, or remember the Shadowrun game for
the Sega Mega CD, then the basic combat of Shadowrun Returns should
be old hat.
Like the PnP game, Shadowrun Returns
allows the player to choose a class of character to play. You've got
the heavily armed Street Samurai, Decker hackers, fireball slinging
Mages, spirit conjuring Shamans, drone controlling Riggers, fast and
tough Adepts, ect. You can even create your own class from the
ground up.
On the downside, the game handles saves
through autosaves only, this has rubbed quite a few the wrong way.
Additionally, the saves themselves are often bloated with tons of
redundant tag data that can really slow down the load times to the
point of frustration. Adding to that is a caching issue which can
lead to the Unity engine leaving large 2 gigabyte plus sized files on
your hard drive.
A patch to alleviate the bloated saves
has just been released, with the caching problems still under
investigation.
The main plot, while well written, is a
largely linear affair, taking notes from the Shadowrun game released
on the Super Nintendo. Harebrained Schemes has announced that the
upcoming DLC, set in the environs of post-apocalyptic Sixth World
Berlin, will be much more open ended like Shadowrun for the Sega
Genesis was.
And while said toolset is robust and
open ended, most of the content generated by the community are still
unfinished alphas at the time of this writing. However, the
community is already hard at work finding ways of using the toolset
to include things into UGC that Harebrained Schemes hadn't included
in the main game. These include random encounters with thugs on the
street, random loot tables, and save points.
Finally, the lack of multiplayer is a
bit confusing. Shadowrun is a game played in groups, and it would be
nice to be able to participate in campaigns with others. Harebrained
Schemes is considering multiplayer at some point, but it's not a
planned feature in the short term. I'm hoping some intrepid modders
can add this functionality, as crazy, crafty group roleplaying is
part of what makes the source material so unique to begin with.
In conclusion: Shadowrun Returns is a
little rough around the edges. Despite a few flaws and omissions
however, SRR remains a fantastic old-school computer RPG whose
positives, combined with a bargain price point, make up for the
game's issues. If you're a fan of Shadowrun or of games like
Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, and you're jonesing for a good
RPG to play with tons of upcoming content and stories to play
through, Shadowrun Returns might be right up your alley.