Shadowrun: Hong Kong

 The third and (to date) final entry in Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun series.  It's definitely lighter in tone than the previous entry; not quite an uplifting game per se, but there's certainly more moments of levity on the usual dark fantasy-cyberpunk backdrop, and it overall has a more optimistic tone than Dragonfall - a game where every choice you made felt like the wrong one.  A few improvements were added, like the Cyber Affinity skill allowing for the player to have 'built in' and quite powerful melee weapons, and being able to lend out equipment to your allies for missions so they'll have more of a fighting chance.  Magic has also been tweaked a bit, with "dragon lines" to boost spells and new totems that grant passive bonuses.  Aside from that, the game plays very much like its predecessors, with turn-based tactical combat and multiple solutions to each problem a la Fallout, albeit with considerably more linear progression.  Basically if you like a good tactical RPG with Shadowrun's unique blend of weirdness, Hong Kong won't let you down.

 

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Publisher: Harebrained Schemes
Released: 2015
Platforms: PC, OS X, Linux, Switch, PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, XBox One, XBox Series

Shadowrun: Dragonfall

The second in the revive Shadowrun series by Harebrained Schemes certainly upped the ante in terms of design, writing quality and characterizations, as well as rebalancing its gameplay.  But does Dragonfall end up bringing the franchise to new heights in the realm of gaming, or is it simply the beginning of a long fall?

Shadowrun Returns proved to be a successful return for the Shadowrun franchise to the realm of gaming, especially after an underwhelming foray into team-based first person shooter action on the XBox 360.  It drew criticism for a few elements, though - notably that you could only make hard saves during transitions to new parts of the game, as well as a few bugs (both of which were patched in later versions of the game).  Still, it sold quite well, and its built-in modding tools ensured that a number of fan-made modules and expansions built on the base the original game built up.

Dragonfall itself began as an officially-developed module for Returns, but was later made into a standalone game with the release of a Director's Cut that also added some extra side missions.  The setting is entirely separate from Returns, now taking place in an anarchic Germany as your character reunites with Monika, an old friend of theirs, and takes on a job to break into an old mansion and steal some data.  They quickly encounter much more than they bargained for, though - Monika is killed attempting to hack into their security system, and they're forced to retreat as a heavily armed militia team arrives to fight them off.  Wondering what went wrong (with the only clue they're given being Monika's final words about a 'firewing'), they seek the aid of a high profile data broker who charges quite hefty prices, necessitating they take on a number of new jobs to pay.

Like the previous game (and Shadowrun in general), you're given a classless job system to work with, using "Karma" earned from completed objectives to purchase upgrades to your core stats and skills.  You have quite a bit of flexibility in how you build your character for this reason, though it is of course best to build one that plays to your race's strengths - Orks work better as more physical fighters while ones geared more toward intelligence (like Elves) make better casters, for example.  One changeup from the original games is that you get a new race in Trolls - obviously based on the Nordic type, as they're extremely large and have rather low intelligence but can be devastatingly strong and durable when built right.  Deckers (hacker types) are also given some more combat actions not limited to cyberspace - namely that they can now control armed drones to attack their foes, which can also slip through some small spaces that they may not be able to.

The core gameplay remains much the same as the original, with a turn based tactical combat system that's largely based around cover and flanking, though it's been rebalanced a fair bit since the last game.  Some spells are made more effective, while many weapons have been added and balanced to make more builds viable.  One annoyance, though, is that many firearms split their damage, doing the brunt of their harm with the first hit and one or two points with a second hit; this renders your healing spells effectively useless since they only heal the most recent bit of damage you took, so I had to rely a lot more on medkits and purchase more health upgrades than I did in Returns to stand a chance, especially later on.

The writing in Dragonfall has also seen a significant step up from the previous game, letting you converse with your fellow runners between missions to learn more about them and what ultimately led them to join Monika's team.  It's nice to see a western RPG with characters who have genuine motives and personalities beyond "eighth level Elf" or "caster type", and it helps that they're all brilliantly written, having genine motivations and regrets and friends and family whom they often talk about (and occasionally factor into side missions).  Just more proof that worldbuilding isn't just about banging out 30 pages of dry articles for an online codex you have to bring the whole game to a dead stop to read, but actually pulling you in to the setting and letting you interact with the locals and experience their lives and the world they live in for yourself.  Something I honestly wish much more RPGs, western ones in particular, would take note of.  That goes miles further than just having more reskinned variants of monsters to whack with a stick to gather gold, for sure.

So, while its core gameplay remains mostly unchanged from Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall introduces enough new improvements to keep itself fresh.  The open-ended, choice based gameplay, a strong narrative that makes it feel like every choice you make is the wrong one, a wonderfully realized supporting cast and the grim dystopian setting fully immerse you in the experience, making it an excellent RPG whether you're a big Shadowrun fan or not.  Can't recommend it enough.

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Publisher: Harebrained Schemes
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Switch, PS4, PS5, XBox One, XBox Series
Released: 2014, 2022
Recommended Version: All versions seem to be more or less the same from what I can tell, but as ever, the PC version is my favorite for its mouse/keyboard interface and for having several mods and additional fan-made modules to play.  You can get all three games in a single bundle called "Shadowrun Trilogy" at a discounted price as well.

Shadowrun Returns

Shadowrun Returns, as its name implies, is a followup to the cult classic SNES game based on the tabletop RPG released two decades earlier, retaining many of its hallmarks but going for a turn-based tactical style of combat rather than real time action.  But does the long-awaited return of Shadowrun pay off, or is this one franchise that should have stayed dead and preserved its dignity?

Shadowrun is a tabletop RPG set in a cyberpunk science-fantasy setting, and to be honest, I don't know much more about it than that, as I've never been a huge tabletop gaming guy.  However, I did hear about Shadowrun as a cult-classic SNES title, and upon playing it, I found quite a bit to like.  While it's far from perfect and has some prominent bugs and instances of poor balance, the storyline was creative and it melded elements of RPGs, action games and a good point-and-click adventure, creating a fun, engaging experience.  Also like any good adaptation, it didn't require familiarity with the source material to be engaging; even though I had no prior knowledge of Shadowrun, it was strong enough on its own merits to keep me interested.  All of this is doubly surprising considering it was made by Beam Software, a name mostly associated with average-to-bad licensed games on older platforms.

In the intervening years Shadowrun also saw a few other releases; a more action-oriented title on the Genesis with randomly generated missions, a Sega CD adventure game that only came out in Japan, and a team-based death first-person shooter on the Xbox.  The Genesis is probably the best-received of those, though I only played it briefly so I can't say much about it personally. 

Shadowrun Returns, on the other hand, is very much a callback to the SNES game in terms of format and design.  The isometric viewpoint returns, as does the focus on storytelling and solving the odd puzzle to progress.  However, one is now afforded much more opportunity to customize their character - Jake Armitage in the original game was basically roped into being a jack-of-all trades, jacking into computer systems, casting spells and wielding firearms in roughly equal measure throughout the game.  Here, you can specialize or divvy up your skills as much as you like, and any skills you may lack can almost always be made up for by hiring other Shadowrunners for your team on missions.  Even out of combat, there is always a way to progress no matter how you've built your character, though it is admittedly rewarding to be able to bypass an obstacle just because you have a high enough skill (like having enough Charisma to smooth-talk your way past a guard) instead of going in swinging or forking out cash.  It reminds me quite a bit of Fallout in this regard, though the extremely linear format (broken up into stages) and an overall lack of optional objectives limit the number of times this comes into play more than I would like.

Combat is quite a bit deeper than the SNES game as well; no longer real-time, but instead it takes on a turn-based tactical format with a heavy emphasis on taking cover; not unlike the modern XCOM games.  Standing out in the open is almost always a pretty dumb move, as you're extremely vulnerable in that state; even ducking behind a wooden bench or something will significantly reduce your chance of being hit and taking critical damage (though obviously, sturdier cover is preferable whenever possible).  You're also afforded a lot more options depending upon your build - Shaman builds can cast defensive magic, set up barriers and summon spirits (whether using Fetishes or summoning them from elements in the environment); Deckers can bring drones into combat that they can attack with while remaining relatively safe themselves, or even hack things like turrets or cameras mid-battle to give your side an advantage; or, of course, you can just fall back on good old guns and melee weapons.  In fact, it's perfectly viable to just give a character a ton of strength and HP, deck them out with cybernetic upgrades, and have them run around pummeling enemies to death while tanking hit after hit if you really want to.

The strong writing is a definite plus that carries over into the game's sequels too.  It's a pretty simple murder mystery at its core, but along the way you encounter a lot of interesting characters, all of whom have their own distinct motivations and personalities, and they all get some pretty great lines of dialog too.  It works in plenty of Shadowrun's unique dark atmosphere too - channeling spirits, rampant corporate/police corruption and some genuinely disturbing scenes of people being exploited by lowlifes are all prominent elements in the narrative.  Of course, it also rapidly gives way to something significantly deeper and more threatening, and slowly peeling away the layers of mystery is where much of the fun of the experience lies.

Shadowrun Returns definitely isn't the highest-budget game of its time period - animation is relatively basic, characters are mostly shown as still portraits and there's no voice over - but what is there looks and sounds good at least.  The environments throughout show a stunning amount of detail - even something normally as drab as a warehouse looks amazing here and really gives you the itch to explore and find everything you can.  Sound effects and music are on the same level, with some surprisingly catchy tracks during battle.  Basically, they did a lot with a little here.  And as I've said too many times to count: I'd rather have no voice acting than bad/apathetic acting.

So, does Shadowrun Returns bring the series back to form?  I think it does.  While it's certainly not the most impressive game in terms of presentation or sheer amount of content, what it does have is highly polished and fun to experience, and the sheer amount of customization you're afforded gives it quite a bit of replay value despite its linearity and relatively short length.  The addition of Steam Workshop support also allows players to craft their own campaigns and add whatever gameplay tweaks they wish.  A solid game that paved the way for two amazing titles to come.

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Publisher: Harebrained Schemes
Platform: PC, OS X, iOS, Android, Linux
Released: 2013
Recommended Version:  All versions of the game seem to play more or less identically.