Shadowrun Returns Review: Digital Running As Good As The Tabletop | Leviathyn

Whether you're a fan of Shadowrun or not, you'll find a worthwhile tactical RPG with a very in-depth campaign editor. Shadowrun Returns is an awesome representation of the source material which will also please fans.

[H0RSE]

I purchased this game, and it is really fun. My previous experience with Shadowrun is the SNES version, and I never played the tabletop version. That being said, this game reminds of a XBLA game - 2D backgrounds with 3D models, lots of dialouge with no voice acting, etc. I'm not saying this to downplay it, but just as a reference point to those interested.

Both the aesthetic and gameplay are both nice, and the inclusion of the editor, although pretty intimidating to newcomers, is a nice touch. There is already a team working on a SNES reboot campaign.

The biggest gripe I have with the game is the lack of player portraits to choose from when creating a character, and the lack of manual or quicksaves. The save system is all autosave checkpoints, and the checkpoints are usually spaced 1 per area, so if you are in a long mission, it likely won't save until you transition to the next area, and there is also no save on exit feature.

[Xof]

I never played or experienced anything Shadowrun, but I'm enjoying Returns quite a bit. After watching some developer interviews, I really didn't really expect much from the game, but it ended up being very competently executed.

For the most part. Like you said, relying on auto-saves is ridiculous. Not allowing players to save anywhere is, well, it's unforgivable in this day and age.

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The portraits are nice, but I agree on that point, too, that there are too few of them. I also think there are too few customization parts for characters in general, and I'm not a big fan of the art style--bodies seem proportioned wrong--shoulders too big and wide, legs too stubby and short.

I ended up playing as a female elf precisely because it was the most normally proportioned character model in the game. I really wanted to play as a male human Street Samurai called "Takezo" (kudos if you get the reference), but oh well.

[H0RSE]

Overall, the character customization is a bit lacking, but I overlooked it seeing what the game is - a kickstarter backed independently developed title, not a AAA or even third-party retail release. I didn't see it necessary to be too critical since the overall impression of the game doesn't really suffer as a result.