Shadowrun Returns

Hello and welcome children, come in to my parlor and let me tell you about a wonderful Computer Role Playing Game that had taken hours and hours of my life, leaving me as a smelly husk of a former university student.

Shadowrun Returns was a game I found on Steam some time ago, but didn't buy until I a) saw Total-biscuit's review of the game on YouTube, and B) I only bought it after climbing out of my X-COM dungeon because I was enthralled by the damn game so much that I felt like I had given up cigarettes all over again.

Shadowrun Returns is a fantastic game....that is about the crux of the matter when I talk about this, in fact I struggle to find anything wrong with it or anything it lacks, especially considering there is no voice acting to have fuck up, no video to crack the immersion or wobbly camera going behind the character when they move which is fluid enough to cause sea sickness (No joke, it happened to a mate of mine, he can't watch Cloverfield for more than 30 minutes at a time.)

So let's go over the story, you are broke and living in a bedsit when you get a message from an old runner buddy who has been slotted or died from drinking himself in to an early grave, that is for you to find out, but that is only the start, seeing as though this is a CRPG in the old style like Fallout and Wasteland, you are going to be finding out a lot about this world that is trying to kill you and wear your skin as a Troll tea cosy.

The combat system is very reminiscent of X-Com, in that you are moving in turns rather than in a constant flowing clusterfuck like Dawn of War or Company of Heroes, so you get a bit more time to think about what to do before getting your people in to cover and returning fire, as opposed to freaking out clicking everyone and killing the first thing that looks at you funny.

Conversation's are quite open and you can talk to anyone who is in the area as far as I remember, so feel free to talk to the people that have been created. And damn well you should! It probably took a lot of time to make these characters and their conversations!

Now in closing, I would heartily recommend this game, in fact I can't recommend it enough, watch a Total Biscuit WTF video of it if you want to see the combat and conversation system in play because even I with my lovely words can only describe it so well.

In Summation 

Pro's:

-The story is well written.

-The combat system, whilst not perfect, feels fluid.

-the conversation system is engaging.

Con's:

-This might draw you in quickly so book a few days off work.

-The combat system can be a bit clunky, and people don't get in to cover as they should