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(You should listen to the main theme above, it's pretty good)


What's this all about?

Shadowrun Returns is a 2013 RPG based on one of the more well-known tabletop RPG game settings originating from 1989, Shadowrun. It was developed and published by Harebrained Schemes, a company founded by Jordan Weisman who is one of the original designers of Shadowrun, following a successful Kickstarter.

It's not the first Shadowrun video game released - even many people not otherwise familiar with the setting remember the 1993 SNES game simply called Shadowrun or the 1994 Sega Genesis game simply called Shadowrun which were joined by the less famous 1996 Japan-only Mega-CD game simply called Shadowrun. And yes, these are all completely different games. There were also a couple of fairly unremarkable games carrying the Shadowrun title released in 2007 (called, you guessed it, Shadowrun) and 2015 (called Shadowrun Chronicles - Boston Lockdown), but their existence is usually ignored and we will do the same in part because the former is barely connected to the setting and the latter takes place long after this game.

The SNES and Genesis games have their own LP's in the archives, the former by Danaru and the latter by Turtlicious.

Shadowrun Returns itself was followed by two more titles from the same design team using the same gameplay systems, Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut (originally released as an expansion to Returns and simply titled Dragonfall) and Shadowrun: Hong Kong. These two are largely considered the pinnacle of Shadowrun video games, and Dragonfall in particular enjoys the reputation of a modern classic.


So what's the setting all about?

The real short version is that Shadowrun takes place in our world's alternate cyberpunk future where magic became real in 2012 and with it came all kinds of previously slumbering otherworldly creatures, such as dragons, with the classic fantasy races such as elves and dwarves mutating from previously ordinary humans. Most countries as we know them have ceased to exist, the world is ruled by immensely powerful dragons and gigantic megacorporations, corruption, drugs, violence and cyberimplants are commonplace and overall life tends to be real shitty unless you're rich. Basically the classic fantasy staples mixed with classic dystopian cyberpunk stuff that each and every day feels a little bit more real.

There's still much more to the setting of course, but it'll be easier to cover it as it comes up instead of having it all here in an enormous wall of text. Also I'm by no means a Shadowrun expert, so all corrections and additions are welcome as long as they don't contain spoilers. See the spoiler policy below.




So where does this particular game fit in?

As I mentioned earlier, this game's two follow-ups are both considered quite good, excellent even. Shadowrun Returns itself on the other hand tends to get a more mixed reception for various reasons that we'll get to when they become relevant. In many ways it feels like a prototype for its successors, and it had some particularly rough edges at the time of its release such as the complete lack of manual saves (!) which didn't help its case.

All that being said, I personally think the game's semi-negative reputation is maybe a little undeserved, though also understandable. It's a fun, if not particularly deep, romp in one of the coolest settings around and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

The game's main campaign itself, which goes by the name The Dead Man's Switch, takes place in the year 2054 and the location is the city of Seattle, the most common "default" setting in Shadowrun which is also where the SNES and Genesis games took place (the SNES game in 2050 and the Genesis one in 2058). Outside of some references and perhaps a familiar face or two, Returns' plot isn't connected to the two and prior knowledge of them isn't necessary. Also unlike the previous protagonists Jake and Joshua, the main character in Returns is a blank slate completely created by the player.


Spoiler policy

* No spoilers, preferably not even in tags unless it's something particularly inconsequential (e.g., related to game mechanics). If something hasn't happened yet, don't talk about it or even allude to it. And don't be the guy who has seen the movie and constantly keeps talking about how the good bits are coming up, nobody likes that guy.

* If you haven't played the game but are otherwise familiar with the setting, be especially careful. This LP assumes the viewer is not intimately familiar with Shadowrun, so even if Banana Jackson actually being a killer android is common knowledge to those who follow the setting, don't bring it up here unless it has already come up in the LP.

* Related to the above, remember that the game doesn't take place in the most up-to-date version of the tabletop game, so if you're not 100% sure if something has happened by the time this game takes place, assume it hasn't.

* Otherwise discussion is encouraged so don't be afraid to , and for example talking about the older Shadowrun games or what have you is totally fine.


With all that out of the way, let's get to it.