The Shadowrun short story simulator, that is what this is - and it's glorious. Gameplay may be somewhat shallow and linear, but excellent writing in the official campaigns (Deadman's Switch and Dragonfall) make up for that. Particularly Dragonfall is a MUST PLAY for any Shadowrun fan. The neo-anarchist Berlin provides an excellent backdrop for a genuinely exciting story with lots of memorable characters (each with an interesting backstory that you slowly uncover over the course of the campaign) and some excellent twists and turns til you reach the epic conclusion. I should note however, that Dragonfall is a separate DLC that you need to buy on top of Shadowrun returns (Thanks to pruwyben for pointing this out in the comments - it is a bit unfortunate that I cannot write a single review just for the DLC.)

Make no mistake, this is basically a text adventure, lots of reading, most of the "roleplaying" is happening in big blocks of text and the general storyline can't be changed in major ways. The XCOM-ish battles are a nice intermission between the big chunks of text, but they are not particularly deep or varied for the most part. Every now and then the game mixes it up a bit with a few events that I do not want to spoil, but for the most part this is an interactive novel with excellent music running in the background while you read what is going on.

Personally, I love it - graphics may be super-awesome these days, but small details and nuances still can't be done with the same ease as plain old text does it. And the superb writing brings the world of Shadowrun to life like no multi-billion dollar production could have done in my honest opinion, the atmosphere and flair Harebrained Schemes achieved with these simple means is just amazing.

If you enjoy good writing in your videogames, don't mind somewhat limited gameplay and/or are a Shadowrun-nut you need to check out Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall - do it! Deadman's Switch + Dragonfall + the editor to make your own stories a reality, one hell of a deal!

As an avid Shadowrun fan, I was psyched when I heard about the kickstarter for Shadowrun Returns. I immediately backed it and kept careful track of the progress. Based on some of the design decisions and the concept art, I was initially concerned. My worry proved to be unfounded though. When I first opened Dead Man's Switch I was immediately pleased with the depth of detail in story and graphics.

It does a respectable job of emulating the pen and paper game feeling. There is room for improvement, and I certainly hope some of the issues are addressed in the future, but there is enough variety for you to at least customize a character to reflect you (combat) style. Lacking stealth is a particularly strong drawback. So is the way social skills like negotiation and con are replaced with etiquette, but a smart modder can work around that and present an experience which will tailor to your needs.

Which brings me to my next point, the editor. Say what you will about the main story, give it a couple months and it won't matter. The game comes with the same editor the developers used to make the game. Based on the community, you can expect some amazing modules to come and I look forward to them in the future! As for the main game, I enjoyed it even though it was fairly linear. It had the feeling of playing shadowrun at a gaming convention, you needed to follow a set script, but there was a decent story to back it up.

One of the biggest concerns myself, and the community had was the lack of a save anywhere feature. Fortunately HBS was quick to implement this after release. They are very attentive to their fans needs. Now if only they could do something to limit ammo!

Overall though, I am happy with Shadowrun Returns. If you are an avid fan, get it. If you are a casual gamer, do your research first. This game is not made by a major studio, you cannot hold it to the same standards as you would something from EA Games. If you want voice acting, amazing graphics, and more options than you can imagine, this is not for you. If you are willing to give the little guy a chance, and want the feeling of playing Shadowrun with your friends, then you will probably be pleased with what you get. At the very least its the best Shadowrun game out there currently.

UPDATE 6/29/14
I was asked about the game's replayability, so here is an update to address that. I will (most likely) better update the review later, but for now here it is.

Most of my hours were spent inside the editor, you can easily spend hundreds of hours making your own mods. If you want to tell your own stories, and share them with the community, this is the game for you. The editor is the same tool used by the devs to make the official modules.

A regular player will get less mileage out of the official campaign. The base campaign, Dead Man's Switch is under 20 hours for a playthrough. I played through it 3 times with different style of characters, but the experience is more or less the same regardless of character type.

The expansion, Dragonfall, was also under 20 hours of playtime. I have only played that campaign once. Its a much more satisfying experience than the base campaign, but still, limited replay-ability. There are a couple optional missions you can play, but they both are fairly linear overall.

The place where you can get strong replay-ability is the fan made modules. Some of them are really incredible. The downside is that being fan made you need to be patient for them to finish. It is entirely likely that you will start one and then finish everything that is there and be stuck waiting for the next installment.

I hesitated in picking up this game after reading a lot about how terrible the original campaign was and how the game was dull and boring. It also didn't help that I didn't really know anything about the Shadowrun universe. During the Summer Sale though, I was in the mood for something new, and picked it up. I just finished playing through the original campaign (Dead Man's Switch - DMS) and have to say, I'm glad I bought the game.

Getting the basics out of the way, I admit that DMS is very linear. There is a lot of reading involved. And besides combat, there's not a lot of interaction with the world. Still, as someone who knew next to nothing about Shadowrun before I started, I think DMS does a very good job of introducing the player to the world and the mythos surrounding it. The reading will probably be boring to someone who is deeply familiar with the setting, but I found it very useful. Gameplay is likewise straightforward which allows a new player to dive in without fear of messing up. I played a Street Samurai / Decker and had no trouble. I did find myself wishing I could build a party and level them up, outfitting them and whatnot ala Baldur's Gate, but perhaps that will happen in an expansion.

All in all, this game was well worth the $4 I paid. I also picked up the DLC, which I read is much better - I look forward to trying that next.

If you were to cross Bladerunner with The Dresden Files into a quality tactical strategy RPG hybrid, the result would no doubt be something very akin to Shadowrun Returns. Shadowrun Returns excels at story telling, the game is rich with lore, well written dialogues that feel more conversational than what most games accomplish, and a structured story full of plot twists and interesting characters. Perhaps my favorite point about the story is that it starts out small-scale, you are on a simple mission to look into the death of a friend, but it slowly ramps up into something larger as the story progresses. To top it off the game is set in a beautiful futuristic game world and has solid tactical gameplay to boot.

More than anything this game to me was about an awesome sci-fi detective story. The mystery and intrigue suck you in, the stellar writing especially in regards to dialogue keeps you hooked. I'm not saying the game mimics what street talk may actually be like in the future, but it was great enough to get me immersed in the street life of futuristic Seattle. The characters within the game range from annoying (intentionally so), charming, grumpy, and likeable; chatting with the regulars throughout the story and going through the different chat options was something I enjoyed doing (shout out to Mr. Kluwe, you're the man, man!). The game's audio and visuals do justice to this story, bringing it to life with stunning hand drawn environments and appropriately mood setting music.

The game's combat also leaves little to be desired. Although I felt the large scale management of the game to be a little inconsistent...for example the money you earn throughout the story can go into temporary lulls, and if you need to do a mission when you aren't expecting it you may find you don't have enough money to buy a full team of mercs. The game runs similar to most other tactical RPG games, especially similar to the XCOM series. You use the terrain to your advantage and in a turn based fashion you move your team about and order them to attack or use utility items/spells. On hard the game isn't terribly difficult and you shouldn't have to think deeply each turn on how to best arrange your team and how to best utilize there action points (how many actions they can take per turn). The combat is a bit sparse at the beginning of the game but as you progress further you start to battle the baddies more often and that's when the fun starts.

Shadowrun Returns is a solid tactical RPG game, and with the addition of the Steam workshop can keep you playing well beyond the twelve hour campaign. The game's story is strong and the characters within are fun ones. It's nice to play a detective style game that isn't a point and click for a change. The game is quite gripping and just like any good detective novel it kept me at the edge of my seat until I got through to the end.

I played the classic on the SNES back in the day and only lasted 10 minutes before dying. No matter what I did, I died. I thought Shadowrun Returns might be as deadly as the original, but (thankfully) it wasn't.

Shadowrun Returns looks amazing, and from the first moment it makes you wonder just what lies ahead in this strange cyberpunk world. The inviting world teasing you to explore and uncover the truths behind the deadman who wants you to find his killer, however... it never really got there.
Don't get me wrong - the various maps look amazing, but there's little to them other than being a very impressive backdrop. There's no real reward for exploring, and the various NPCs that litter the sidewalks aren't much more than fancy decoration on an already good looking cake. Perhaps I was asking too much for this to be a deeply engrossing world, yet in a way it is an engrossing world thanks to the storytelling.

What you are going to get in Shadowrun Returns is a great story, and for some it might even be too text heavy (especially if English isn't your native language). However, I enjoyed it, the story is basically a detective novel as you try to uncover the mystery of who killed your friend. The catch being the client is the deadman himself, which is great and is a nice nod to the old film noir movies of old.
It's due to how well the story is written I can forgive it for being very linear with almost no plot trees or divergence due to your actions or selections that I noticed.

In fact, that seems to be the theme of the game. It's a very well presented world, with a very well written story, but just seems to lack a little spice. There's very little loot, there's very little to explore, the skill tree looks rather impressive, but doesn't seem grab you at all. The same with character creation.
I don't want to come across as overly negative with the game, as I really did enjoy what was offered, yet I feel like it could have offered so much more. Again, perhaps I'm demanding too much from what is already a very well presented game.
On the plus side it has Steam Workshop intergration and there seems to be a host of community mods and projects underway, so a host of new content should just be around the corner. Likewise the developers have released DLC, which seemingly adds another layer to the game (perhaps that's what I'm looking for?).

In short, a very solid game and a welcome return for Shadowrun, but it's not as brutal as the original and perhaps lacks that little something extra to make it a true great. Enjoy the detective story.