Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut

This game I both love & hate...it is so good but so hard it makes me want to hit my head against a wall...love this.

Nice game.

Pretty fun, I enjoyed the setting quite a bit.
I'd love to see more games in it.

Very boring.

Use magic, become cyborg and do crimes 10/10

there are a few weird new reviews complaining about things that really aren't like the way it's stated, so I want to correct the record:

the fights are not a slog. they are difficult. this is one of the very few games of this kind where I always felt challenged. I wouldn't want to re-play it, because it has little such value, but it is an amazing game for the first time.

people act like this is a brand new game, when it was one of the first of its kind and originally released in February 2014! 11 years ago.

the first shadowrun (returns) was ok, the second one, this one here, Dragonfall is fantastic. the third is not good -- way too much text... it's kinda like the Mass Effect situation.... 1st made people hope for an improved version, second was masterclass (for the time!!) third killed the franchise.

I never bothered writing a review because I got really upset about how they handled the franchise: they could have all gotten rich if they had just listened to the criticism, but they didn't. instead they doubled down on the worst parts of 1 & 2 when they made 3.

but this game is good. I have never had such good and tactical fights in any other game. usually it's way too easy for me. the GAME part of the game is great.

the biggest issues the game has is the stong wahmen syndrome, but you could argue, that's just the dystopia of the original pen and paper game.
...and the hot chick dies in the beginning (if I do not mix this up with another game)

Long story short: this game is the last one on my backlog, so I am rushing through it to be done with the whole shebang after 2 and a half years of working on it. But the character specific missions have extended my playthrough.

DON'T DO WHAT I DID. Take your time with this. Learn your squad's stories, abilities and preferred type of combat. I am seriously doing the game a disservice by being hasty so don't do it ! It's a very very good game !

solid

Played two times, first time as a elven mage second as dwarf adept

gotta say compared to hong kong,dragonfall does indeed have a better story, but hong kong have better mechanic

the decking cyberspace is definitely an improvement from shadowrun return. generally all the mechanic is positive improvement from return, and having an actual squad and free teammate is just a huge improvement, i havent seen anyone actually rented non squad shadowrunner

Shadowrun: Returns was a fun but flawed CRPG that was only around 11 hours. It was straightforward, but kept you guessing with constant set dressing changes and a very fast-paced plot. This standalone expansion is 30 hours with none of those strengths, resulting in an experience which feels padded.

While the writing is generally improved, the setting is used less effectively in the shift to anarchist Berlin and the focus on the core "team" of characters was unwelcome. You are especially punished if not playing a Decker by having to put up with Blitz, an inferior Decker who also happens to be insufferable. The long duration with relatively few plot developments also serves to make this title feel more like a marathon. The final "mission" is 5 levels long (3+ hours) without a resupply. Ultimately, despite many improvements in the encounter design and writing branch density I found myself enjoying this a lot less than the original game.

There's also a game-breaking bug that can occur in a specific mission; good luck with that.

I've tried starting this game multiple times but every time is has managed to lose my interest.
There's really nothing special about the two main parts of the game being combat and the story.

Only time where I really enjoyed playing is one section with multiple extended combat encounters where I had to plan out a strategy and ration my consumable items. Not sure if it was scripted or a random chance on doing a mission but I ended up getting a surprise combat after I believed everything was finished.

The hacking "decking" mechanic is a complete waste of time and consists of even worse combat just to use cameras for vision where it doesn't matter or turrets in areas where no enemies go. It also uses turns in combat so you're missing a fourth party member just to do it.
The Shaman class is one that I want to like but can't because of your summons have a chance to escape and turn on you every turn with increasing chances. I love the idea of support classes in general, but even its haste buff feels underwhelming. The range on the starting Shaman NPC's damage reduction aoe is also so short that there's no point in using it.

The story isn't great either. A good majority of your supporting characters either do not like you or do not trust you which leads you to pry scraps and pieces of information from them over time. You're also mostly doing a bunch of disjointed side missions ranging from mildly interesting to a waste of time that makes you dislike your party members even more because they disapproved of you doing the morally right thing or doing anything risky. All of this is sometimes broken up by story exposition that goes on for too long and does not result in anything except your team's information broker saying that he'll look into it.

Loved this. I slept on the SR series for years, picked this up mostly for research, and found a lot of unexpectedly interesting design and narrative decisions. It's hard to pick one thing that SR:DF does unusually well, but the ambience, systems, narrative, writing, art never fall below 'very good' and they work together harmoniously. And of course it's really faithful to the original IP if you were there for that in the early TRPG days, so if you're here for nostalgia, fill yer boots.

Really sad when it finished - glad I have SRHK to go on to.

DragonFall Nails it.

From the tone of the world, to the depth and nuance of the characters you encounter the writing in this game walks the line of "in world" conversations while not verging into the valley of cringe that is easy to slip into.

This entry has just enough beats to satisfy, challenging fun combat and options to make it your own.

this is an instant key entry to the genre. I will be stealing characters and setting elements for my live game

Every combat is an absolute slog. Not worth the time.

Good story and game play. I wish there was more combat and opportunities for conflicts.

peak fiction

Back to basics, straightforward contained crpg. In a world of AAA titles with seasons, in game purchases, and outrageous system requirements, Shadowrun Dragonfall is a breath of fresh air. Excellent writing, easy to learn point system, and a universe full of lore. Really enjoying this simple ride. Would reccomened to anybody who is a fan of turn based rpgs / cyberpunk genre.

Exactly the same shitty UI as in Returns.
Still no proper tutorial.
Game froze during the 1st mission.
Bye

Dragonfall is the worst of all Shadowrun series. Way too many game breaking bugs that you would have to revert to previous saves wasting many hours. There's also a noticeable issue with percentages not being accurate at all. I really wanted to enjoy this one since I liked Hong Kong and Returns, but the bugs are too much for me and kills the whole mood.

I wish pen and paper Shadowrun was this fun.

It is ok only.

Dungeon crawler in a future setting. I've enjoyed playing so much that as soon as it ended i am ready to start again on hard because i am confident with a different character i will get a much different game

.

Recommended

A great followup to the first game, better in everyway though the mission with the matrix close to the end can drag a bit.

best of the shadowrun games, fantastic story with satisfying choices, combat is good, though the 'hacking' combat got a bit weary

for the price its a steal

In my opinion, this is the best entry to the entire series.

Pros:
1. Companions are all very interesting & distinct. Special mention to Glory, whose background literally gives me chills.
2. Combat is overall fun! The karma & money is about enough to specialise.
3. The plot. Oh gosh the plot. It is right up my alley. The game begins with a compelling suspense that leads to an interesting twist, without boring fillers. It reminds me of the Neuromancer book (my favourite!) and I can't get enough of it.
4. There are lots of potential replay value. I won't spoil, but at the end when the first twist occurs, you can even work with a certain NPC first and the betray them later. And if you don't, someone will get really pissy xD
Cons:
1.Some companions' story ends a bit abrupt. Although I said I love Glory's tale, I cannot help but feel there should be some more to it. Same for Blitz's.

Overall, 9/10 from me, and I really hope they can expand upon this story- like adding more companion content. Then this will be THE cyberpunk game of the decade xD

The truth is out there.

the subtle power spike/gradient is addicting. your crew bonds as they acquire a broader sweep of skills and masteries. it is wonderfully narrated, if a little old school. pixel art for the win, buoys!
!

thumbs up

The best story in the Shadowrun Trilogy of HBS games

good game

Holds true to the lore. Worth the $$.

Simply frustrating that a game doesn't support multiple monitors. You can either run it fullscreen and risk the game not responding if you do anything else on your PC, or run it in a window and not see half the UI under your taskbar.

This game is way better than its price asking for
The game is a bit buggy and the UI is kinda crude but the gameplay , story and setting are really cool
If you like CRPG and Xcom style combat and wanna read something real good. This is for you

If cyberpunk was isometric, it would need better world building and story to be comparable.

Shadowrun Dragonfall DC is a standalone expansion of Shadowrun Returns, which tells a non-related story. So you can play them in any order. It was a 2014 release originally.
This is a RPG with turn-based combat and its own system. It's based on a tabletop system with the same name "Shadowrun". Shadowrun Returns, Dragonfall and Hong-Kong is the release order. After I liked the first one, I continued.

You control a team of four which you can pick from different combinations of classes. Game has a semi-linear progression; you can do some "runs" in any order and there are multiple ways to solve the issues you encounter. This leads to many different conversations, rewards and ultimately different endings. With some reloading at key points, I was able to get all achievements with 2 playthrough. (hard difficulty). Your teams’ skills determine what you can or cannot. There are combat skills and non-combat skills tied to Karma system. Especially, hacking - Matrix- is quite original.

+++ Setting: Shadowrun's depiction of Berin and future cyberpunk setting is quite good, it's unique (at least for me) and well written dialogues are also good. You can easily immerse in that kind of world. In shadowrun, magic and technology mixed in a cyberpunk setting. Elf hackers and troll street samurais possible.

++Gameplay: Information gathering between missions and NPC characters are nice, although interactions are very limited. You usually have 1 new dialog tree per completed run for each NPC. You finish a mission, talk to everyone, no one has anything more to say.
Combat has proper challenge on hard. If you don't run to cover you get blown to bits, if your spells are not good you will have a hard time, very hard is also doable, just more misses. AI does not change between difficulty.

-+Sound: Well, there is no voice-overed dialogue, since this was a kickstarter project I guess. Music is good. Effects are average.

-Technical: I had to run game in windowed, fullscreen was not alt-tab friendly. After a while saving loading takes time and sometimes turns do not end. (W11 pro , Rtx 4080, Ryzen 7700x) Graphics were not impressive then, 10 years later, well you get the point.

Overall if you want a good story, a small nicely packed RPG with cyberpunk flare, and ok with an old game it's good.

One of the best RPGs ive played, i love this series.

I've played through “Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut” a few times over the years. It’s a pretty good but fairly short game with a limited number of missions before the ending rolls by. Most of the time is spent fighting and, in my case, missing most of my shots, which only prolongs the fights further.

There's no voice work in the game at all, which I don't mind, but the heavy reading may not appeal to everyone. The story is great, and the world is suitably dystopian for the setting. The locations are detailed and bring the in-game world to life, though I do wish there were a few more missions to complete. Playing a specific race with a higher skill cap doesn't make much of a difference since you’ll have a hard time reaching those higher numbers before the ending, and that’s a shame. (6/10)

This game gives you Zero help during the tutorial. Do not buy this game unless you have played the previous ones or want to do a bunch of research to beat it.

This is a wonderful. The game has great easy to learn hard to master gameplay. The best part is the expert story telling. The choices you make have meaningful option thus causing to repeatedly replay it to see the different endings.

This game has been my introduction to the setting of shadowrun.

It is not the type of game I usually play, gameplay wise(so it has made me sweat so much lmao) but it has been a very interesting experience.

The best aspect for me has been the dialogue and the characterisation, the world building. I'm interested in exploring it further. i like the crossover between fantasy and cyberpunk, although I do find the concept of the cycles to be funky.

All of the companions have been quite interesting and I was surprised that I liked the one I expected not to like that much the most. I have my nitpicks about some choices in the game(especially regarding Glory, but at the end of the day, I actually think it was well written. What often isn't the case with stories of abuse and indoctrination in a lot of media).

I feel like this is one of very few rpgs where I feel like there really is no good ending. A few of the choices do have a big importance on the future of the setting, but essentially... I like the message about "personal impact" and that we are programmed to believe that it doesn't matter in the long game, while the game doesn't have a "standard" happy ending. It does not contradict the message, but... it is kind of realistic. You get it. Like gotta admit, I am still thorn between what choices would be considered right, so to speak. Which is kinda cool, because I took a big pause to complete the game and was still thinking back about those.

Besides my skill issue with the gameplay aspects... It's a great game. Definitely enjoyed it. No rating on a scale because that sucks.

I missed out on the new Shadowrun titles when they released, having been a fan of the SNES version I always wondered what became of the IP. I absolutely recommend Dragonfall and even the first new iteration Shadowrun returns. I found myself Playing these titles to completion, each day I was eager to start back where i left off excited to see the stories to their conclusion, and The sound track is great too.

This was a nice break from the open worlds I usually kill time in. This games reminded me what it felt like to play a semi-linear game with great pacing and well fleshed out characters. The turn base combat is very satisfying and the classes leave me willing to try them all. If you were a fan of the original you'll love this, heck if you love the cyberpunk genre in general you'll probably be a fan of these titles. 10\10 and I don't give that rating away lightly.

xcom like gameplay, good story.

don't really want to write anything, just leaving a good review

Although I felt it took a bit of time to get going I really enjoyed Dragonfall. The game does a good job of capturing the feel of Shadowrun with the story, and the decision making, being its strong point. There's something about the combat that feels a little clunky or slow - it could be more polished but that's something of a minor criticism. The Matrix sections are not the best, particularly because they are too similar to the real world bits and missing the opportunity to do something different. However, there are some moments where it almost clicks with simultaneous combat and hacking interleaving. Considering you can pick this up for only a few pounds when on sale it's well worth a look.

Best of the the Shadowrun trilogy, in my opinion. Best story, improved mechanics, best companions

If you like turn-based isometric games, fantasy, cyberpunk and all around good time- this is your sign to get this game. And if you are wondering which Shadowrun game, specifically, I would choose this one if I could only play one.

The best story out of the Shadowrun trilogy, love the choices the game gives you, with multiple approaches to each mission.

Me encanta la ambientacion Fantasia/Cyberpunk. Historia interesante, el sistema de combate se podria mejorar pero esta bien hecho