Shadowrun Returns Reviews

It looks like the first batch of reviews have started to come out for Harebrained Schemes’ Shadowrun Returns, a turn-based RPG based on the PnP cyberpunk-meets-fantasy setting, and also the first high-profile project to come out of the recent wave of Kickstarter titles.

Eurogamer, 8/10.

For those who just want to relive the isometric action of the SNES and Megadrive days, Shadowrun Returns easily delivers. It’s not the deepest or most flexible game of its type, but there’s a lot to be said for simple ideas realised intuitively. Add in some excellent writing and, judged purely as a standalone game, it’s an unambiguous success.

There’s more to Shadowrun Returns though. Much more. And it won’t be until the community gets its hands on the editor, starts remixing the current material and generating its own, that the game will really begin to blossom. When it does, the patience of the hardcore will be well rewarded.

Polygon, 7/10.

Despite the strange omissions and Shadowrun Returns’ habitual blinking in the face of bigger gameplay ambitions, it’s still an engaging return to a world and fiction that’s sat dormant for far too long. Shadowrun is still a singular take on a pair of genres that have been drowned by cliche elsewhere, and it’s exciting to consider where the game can go from here. Here’s hoping that Harebrained is willing to go a little further down the rabbit hole if they do.

Softpedia, 8/10.

Shadowrun Returns is a great comeback for the old franchise and proves that there’s a lot of life left in it. While it only features a single story at launch, the promise of more from developer Harebrained Schemes and the possibility of getting new campaigns from players themselves via the editor makes the game an investment over time.

The title is a tough experience for newcomers but, provided they keep at it and continue to explore the many complex mechanics, it’s quite rewarding, especially for those who enjoyed the comebacks of other franchises like Fallout or XCOM in recent years.

Attack of the Fanboy “loved” it.

Shadowrun Returns is the type of game that has long been abandoned by the mega-publishers of the gaming landscape. It eerily feels like the Shadowrun games of old (shooter excluded), though it’s noticeably more polished and has a coat of visual and audio gloss on it that lets it stand shoulder to shoulder with anything being released in proximity. For the uninitiated, Shadowrun Returns will be a brilliant introduction to one of the most imaginative works of fiction that has ever graced the gaming world. Newcomers will surely need to put some time in to get up to speed, but this game makes this pretty easy to get sucked in to the universe right away. Sure, because of the type of game that this is, it won’t be for everyone, but this is Shadowrun at it’s finest, and it never has been.

Gizorama, 4/5.

Shadowrun Returns is a fine little turn based RPG and a standard that all Kickstarter games should look to aim for or beat. With the probable challenges that they faced, it’s amazing the game is this solid through and through. Sit yourself down, you drek and null sweat chummer as you jack in, because this game is wiz.

Finally, YouTube personality TotalBiscuit has one of his WTF Is…? videos for the title, which ends with a recommendation. Keep in mind, though, that it’s just a first look, and not a full review of the title.