Shadowrun Returns

A nice, simple, short CRPG. The plot is straightforward and has a twist. Combat is pretty simple. Would be a great intro into the genre for someone new.

Top tier cyberpunk crime rpg

Fun enough for an older CRPG.
Fairly limited though.
7.2💻️/10🧙‍♂️

Amazing game.

Complete nostalgia.

Missons are frustrating but the turn-based action is interesting.

Extremely linear. Exploration about as engaging as Golden Axe or Streets of Rage. More about the choices/story perhaps, but I was hoping that story would be couched in a much deeper, more engaging environment, a la Fallout 2, or Chronotrigger (tall orders, I know). It doesn't have to be an endless open world, but as far as I've gotten, Shadowrun Returns feels like a long hallway, with an occasional inn or military installation passing by as one runs along... I am a fan of the genre but I don't expect I'll finish this one.

A great intro for Shadowrun... An interesting combinaton of cyberpunk and fantasy world. You should try this.

It's great

The combat is pretty basic but I had a lot of fun with it.

For an adaptation of the TTRPG, this is actually pretty faithful. Even though it has Jake Argent from the less-than-faithful SNES title. The story has that grim, cyberpunk feel, it uses the slang that was abandoned in the Fourth Edition, and the mechanics are pretty close to the game itself even if I take issue with some of them.

What should be just an investigation into a friend's mysterious death leads you into much more expansive events involving the Universal Brotherhood and their insect shaman masters, key events in Second Edition and the Bug City book in particular. Even Harlequin makes an appearance and he's just as maddeningly obtuse and hard to pin down here as he is in the game and novels.

I just wish the magic system had been better fleshed out. Foci, an actual Magic attribute, and more somatic powers and them selected from a list based on Power Point costs instead of "bought" like spell formulae. There's also no way to access the Matrix without a datajack, which isn't the case in the RPG thanks to electrode nets letting even those without one into VR.

I got this game for cheap in a bundle. It's worth what I paid for it. If you want a tactic's RPG it's good enough I guess. There's some interesting set pieces and ideas in the story, and Shadowrun deserves some praise for combining fantasy elements with a more modern sci-fi setting regardless of this game.

Honestly, I only bought it because everyone hated the first person shooter of Shadowrun on 360 and that was one of my favorite games, so I figured this would be way better. It's not. But I don't play competitive shooters anymore so that's fine. It's good enough for what it is.

Some of the writing is pure trash. Whoever wrote the script thought repeating statements was a good way to end conversations. And they end every conversation that way.

Every fraggin one.

The spiritual successor to Shadowrun for SNES from the 90s. It's a fun little nostalgia trip.

My first time playing Shadowrun in any form. I really like the game and the setting. Looking forward to playing the other games now, and maybe dipping my toes into the TTRPG.

Definitely worth the price for an excellent party based RPG.

I loved Returns, Dragonfall and Hong Kong. Feel like replaying right now so I'm downloading. Hoping it holds up.

Basic story, workable tactics, interesting choices. Everything that you could want out of a computer version of Shadowrun.

Really satisfies the need for a good dystopian setting. good variety of quests, very compelling main story, and things can and do go off the rails in great ways. plus, if you know your Shadowrun lore, there's a great nod to the SNES game from 1995

I've played the ShadowRun trilogy and I think this one is definitely the most forgettable, there isn't much here and the ending just felt okay.

A barebones, but enjoyable conversion of the Shadowrun tabletop system into PC gaming. The story is interesting although quite short, but the game serves as a good springboard as it dovetails nicely into Shadowrun: Hong Kong, and my personal favorite, Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

I'd get this game again, mainly for the sake of the main story, but there's potentially endless content included with the Steam workshop available for this game.

Not bad, but can be much better...

I need (hint: BIG NEED!!) a new Shadowrun game pls god I am on my knees :'((((

Good game.

It can be a little dense jumping in without much knowledge of Shadowrun or tabletop systems of the era it's based on, but there's fun to be had here. It can feel a little slow paced but the writing is decent. If Cyberpunk high fantasy with Orcs, Elves, magic and Netrunning type content sounds up your alley: there's not really many other games that will have the same flavor. Once you understand the systems, mechanically it's fine. Nothing really remarkable. The setting is definitely what kept my attention as someone who's play basically every other cRPG along the lines of Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape Torment... Etc.

a very good adaption of the table top RPG.

Returns is a barebones experience compared to its successors Dragonfall and Hong Kong: linear, straightforward, very light on role-playing. That said, it's a decent Shadowrun story, and it's succinct enough to not overstay its welcome. I spent a few evening on it in 2025 and was entertained.

Playing through it three times in a span of 10 years, I'd say the game is worth a playthrough. Noir-cyberpunk story, with enough mystery to keep you interested and solid combat. Further installments are better, but this one worth the look still.

I purchased this expecting Baldur's Gate with guns. I was very wrong.

It is turn based and linear; you go out on missions, then return to your home to level up, re-supply, pick up side missions, and progress the story.

At first I was disappointed, but the story and atmosphere sucked me in.

Their are 5 races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Orc, and Troll) and 6 classes (Samurai, Mage, Decker, Rigger, Shaman, Physical Adept) but racial limits on attributes and skills are disappointingly limited. There's no point in making a troll as anything other than a Samurai or Physical Adept, for example, as their racial limits would prevent any other class' skills rising above 6 points (out of 15)

The games also have fan-made campaigns available in the Steam community

If you're looking specifically for cyberpunk games then it's a must have; if you want anything else it's hit and miss.

cyberpunk before cyberpunk

Turn based tactical goodness in a Cyberpunk meets magic setting.

Great game that I would love to get more into and finish the really cool story. But If you, like me, die a little inside when you realise you have to do a bunch of reading in a video game, Then maybe give this one a miss.

The game has potential. I forgot how much I liked it and hate it at the same time. The %of hitting and missing is way off. It's incredibly common to miss with a 99% change to hit. One battle I missed 3x in a row. Anything below 70% is almost a guaranteed miss. The fact the the hired runners have no armor is absurd. They are almost useless in a fight. The game is unbalanced at best.

Was meh upon release, is totally outdated and dull in 2025.

Overall grade: C ++

Enjoyable? Yes
Recommended? If you don’t mind text heavy games (more lore sounds good to me!)
Replayability: Low

++mystery/detective-ish, 3/4 isometric turn based RPG in a cyberpunk-magic style
+story, lore, [most] characters and dialogue are written well enough to capture attention
+character customization, stats, leveling and progression
+immersive world
++quick save option

+/-dialogue heavy - someone who is looking for action packed gameplay may be turned off by this. I found most of it very enjoyable though, almost like picking up a good book
+/-linear, simple and short (when compared to other RPGs)—not a bad thing at all imo. It didn’t drag on and you don’t have to invest endless hours into it 👍🏽
+/-dialogue responses won’t change the outcome of the story (only affecting minor things like the tone of conversations, rarely grants access to additional areas and rarely affects outcomes of situations), so dialogue choices are more for the player’s perception—You create the role and play it (or not)—the story will unfold as it’s intended to

-the latter 1/4 of gameplay was not my cup of tea, particularly having to use a special weapon to eliminate certain enemies—plus, it moves more into a fantasy setting (caves, giant creatures, etc. ) and loses a lot of the electric/grunge vibe that was so alluring early/mid game (and it has a lot less mystery :/). If not for this, I would have easily rated it a grade or two higher
-supporting characters come just as fast as they go. It’s tough to care for any of these chummers when they’re only there for a minute
-only one bug encountered: combat mode sometimes continues even after all enemies are eliminated causing you and your team to take turns moving using action points vs moving around freely. It can be to your advantage though since you can reload, heal, reset cooldowns etc.

Steam Deck compatibility: ✅
Over 8 hours at full battery
Runs smooth, no crashes
Controls: Mainly using L and R trackpads/joysticks for camera and curser movements and any other button of choice (RT trigger) for LT click
Native resolution ✔️
Offline play ✔️

Good Game

.

great

great game

Almost all enemies target _you_ almost exclusively, even when it makes no sense. If you die, it's instant mission failure... See a problem here?

Great game. Dungeons and Dragons meets Cyberpunk.

Surprisingly, in 2025, a game from 2013 looks and plays quite well, good job!

Really enjoyed this cyberpunk CRPG in the Shadowrun setting. The next game in their trilogy (Dragonfall) is a major improvement in all respects, but this was a fun introduction. A real shame what happened to the people working at the development studio.

Very good game. I have to say though, sometimes the cycling of the turns confuse me since I am used to individual characters having a turn instead of a team base. But good overall. Sam you are a bastard, I love you. Dresden is probably my favorite and I got a Job! I feel like the game is too short or too long sometimes. Play it, it is definitely an experience

Very Recommended!

gamebreaking bug about 2 hours into the game, not worth it

Beautiful little RPG that kinda feels like a visual novel and is perfect for role playing. The RPG-mechanics aren't too deep and on normal difficulty I had to reload like three times so don't expect a challenge. It's all about the narrative and the athmosphere. The story has everything you would expect from a classical cyberpunk story and keeps you interested in what happens next. With around 15 hours it has the perfect lenght for a fun adventure in the world of shadowrun.

A pretty good introduction to the Shadowrun universe if a bit shallow for an RPG, by which I mean there are some things you can pick that have no use in the game. A great bonus is the campaign maker, its pretty easy to make your own campaign or download fan made ones, worth the play.

SR:R is showing its age. It's shorter than its sequels, more shallow than its sequels, and most importantly, more buggy than its sequels. And by buggy, I mean the blindsiding, gamebreaking kind.

The story is still pretty great, if you can deal with all of this. Not at all an essential game to have in your library, so all this considered, it's a soft thumbs-down.

I forgot to write a review at the I finished this game, but here's one now. This is rather short, but the campaign is succinct. The combat system is fun- i like the icebreaking especially. The companions need a bit development, however.

Overall, not bad, but also not great. A solid 7/10, maybe?

A 21st century classic tactical RPG.

Games easy, scratches that turn based itch with maybe a few gameplay annoyances. overall a 10-15 hour game worth if on sale and if you like shadowrun