Despite the title, Shadowrun Returns isn't actually a sequel, instead it is a video game adaptation of the Shadowrun board game. Further research suggests this may actually be a sequel after all, albeit, a sequel to a SNES/Megadrive game from the early 1990s. This game originally came out in 2013, but this year has seen the release of a remastered version of the game, alongside its two expansions (which were released as standalone titles). You may be wondering why a non-horror game is being reviewed here, that is for two reasons, firstly that dystopian futures are not too far removed from apocalypses (that are prime for being covered), secondly, I damn well love everything cyberpunk.
The game takes place in Seattle in the later half of the 21st century, a world where megacorporations run the world. So far so cyberpunk, the difference here is that the world of fantasy has been merged with it. Alongside hacking and cyberspace you also have magic and demons, as well as typical fantasy beings such as orcs, elves and dwarves. You play as a Shadowrunner (I think they are basically mercenaries) who has been sent a pre-recorded message from a former partner, Sam informing them of their own death. From beyond the grave they have requested that you bring their murderer to justice, with a large sum of money being the reward for doing so. It soon becomes clear that Sam was murdered by a serial killer, someone who has links to very powerful people who are set on irreversibly altering the landscape of the world.
So, Shadowrun Returns is an isometric tactical role playing game. Combat takes place on a grid system with your three action points allocated to moving your character around, shooting at enemies and using special abilities and items. The combat is basically the same as that of Gears: Tactics, but this part of the game has been merged with a more traditional RPG element. The game is split into chapters, each putting you and your team into a small area to either do some investigating or fighting enemies. This is dialogue heavy with conversations often being more detailed than you may expect, I kind of got Planescape Torment vibes. Rather than get experience points you instead are given karma points for doing actions such as completing mission objectives and surviving encounters. These points can be pumped into a series of skill trees that let you do everything from becoming better skilled at using weapons, to having better magic and better cyberspace skills. Talking of cyberspace, this is a whole different area of the game you can travel to optionally. Here you fight computer programs and can summon your own programs to fight alongside you.
The game world works due to the small scope of the levels. They are full of details and help create a feeling of a living breathing world despite the obvious limitations, they don't exactly look amazing. It felt odd the merging of fantasy and sci-fi but it created an interesting mix. Shadowrun Returns is relatively basic, combat didn't have too much to it, and the whole story only takes between eight and ten hours to see to the end. Sometimes it felt the mix was a bit off, the later half of the game has far more fighting and a lot less exploring to it, while the first half was perhaps a little light on combat. It provides a good cyberpunk feeling world, from augmented powers to crime ridden streets and sterile and cold offices. While it would have been nice to have voicework I did appreciate the unique character portraits that almost all characters have. Outside of your custom created protagonist there are a bunch of others who join up with you. You can have up to four people in your party, typically they will be people you have hired using the currency system.
Shadowrun Returns tells a small self contained story that fits with the lower budget look of the game. While I occasionally felt the percentage of your hits 'hitting' felt off I still got through this without finding it that taxing (at one point it took me over eight attempts to hit someone with an 85% chance of success hit rate!). I enjoyed this enough that I plan to try out the other two games in the series as well. No doubt a review of those will be to follow.
SCORE:
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