Disclaimer: I'm a huge shadowrun fan. For me, it represents the most original RPG lore ever seen in gaming. The mash-up of magic and tech in a near-future cyberpunk dystopia is about as perfect a setting as I could imagine. It's a nice break from the standard wizards and warriors found in most RPGs. So if this review gets a little gushy, I apologize, but Dragonfall is not only the best shadowrun game i've played in a long time it's one of the best RPG experiences I've had ever.
Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall honors the long-standing franchise by delivering one of the absolute best storylines I've ever experienced as a longtime RPG fan. Be warned, Harebrained Schemes made this game on a shoestring budget, so fans expecting grandiose cutscenes and cutting-edge CGI won't be impressed. This is a text-heavy adventure, so if reading isn't your bag then look elsewhere for your RPG jollies.
Classic RPG fans, however, will find an awful lot to like about Shadowrun Returns: dragonfall. in fact, Shadowrun Returns fans will find an awful lot to like, as Dragonfall improves on the shadowrun formula in every conceivable way. the story is light years ahead of the main game's campaign, released last July. there is a greater sense of freedom between missions and the supporting cast are as dynamic as they come. I'm talking like BioWare levels of character design. The backstories are brilliant and nobody feels two-dimensional.
I try to avoid giving story spoilers in my reviews, so I won't divulge any backstory on the supporting cast. I will say this. You will WANT to get to know Eiger, Dietrich and Glory. You won't just be fishing through their stories looking for sidequests or easter eggs. I was engaged in their tales and thought carefully about my responses. Dragonfall offers a very rich choice/consequence system and you get the sense that how you say things matters. Act like a dick and a teammate might shut you out. Pretend to be nice and another will call you out for being disingenuous. Dragonfall does not simply provide a good/bad/middle road dialogue system. You will lose yourself in your character and your choices because you will feel like they genuinely matter. And they usually do.
This is where Dragonfall succeeds as an RPG. It emphasizes role-playing above all else. Throughout the campaign different solutions become available to different classes. Choose a shaman and you might be able to resist an interrogation or analyze a mystical artifact. Deckers get to bypass security checkpoints, strongmen can bash open doors and, no matter what path you choose, you'll never experience everything the first time through.
Dragonfall employs traditional turn-based combat and there's plenty of room in your party for variety. You can work with the runners who are part of the story or you can go with outside hires. Unfortunately, Dragonfall doesn't give you control over your party members' inventories. This can be a bit of a pain late in the game when the stakes are high and you can't swap out useless flash grenades for medikits, or when your inventory is full and you have to send discovered items back to your stash instead of just passing it to a party member. Dragonfall isn't a game about loot, though, so you won't come across a whole lot you can't manage. But when it happens it takes you out of the moment.
I found the difficulty of Dragonfall to be in that perfect Goldilocks zone of "just right." The early stages felt easy, but by the time I made it to the final chapter I was making frequent use of the quick save feature. The game gets hard, in a good way. You feel like you get your money's worth. There are plenty of buffs and area-effect moves that allow for actual strategy, too, so it's not a mindless turn-based experience.
All told, Dragonfall took me about 20 hours to get through. I played it at slower apce than most but, as I said, I'm a huge shadowrun nerd. I devoured every line of dialogue and every ancillary character. I looked for as many side quests as possible and, admittedly, did lose a few chunks of time to infrequent saving. There's no checkpoint system, so you'll want to hit that F5 key early and often.
If you already own Shadowrun Returns, the Dragonfall DLC will cost you $15. If you haven't purchased it yet the whole package will cost $30. Savvy, patient shoppers might want to wait a couple weeks as a bundle deal seems inevitable. But if you're a fan of the franchise I urge you to buy Dragonfall sooner than later. It's amazing.
The best part of Dragonfall? once it's over, and you're bummed out that there's no more runs, you can dive into the Community Content section and find dozens of new missions and stories for your runner. Harebrained includes a level editor with every Shadowrun Returns purchase, so be sure to check out my picks for the best community content out there.
