Kickstarter success story Shadowrun Returns came out a few months ago to mixed, but mostly positive, reviews, and we immediately looked ahead to the delayed expansion, codenamed “Berlin.” Berlin has a new name and a confirmed release date: Shadowrun: Dragonfall will arrive in January.
Microsoft’s investment in PC gaming has felt half-hearted over the past several years. It locked Halo 2 and Gears of Wars into the now waning Games for Windows Live ecosystem, and it’s become abundantly clear that Microsoft is leaving video games up to the Xbox division. However, a recent interview between Microsoft and AusGamers reveals that Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Studios Phil Spencer is open to the idea of cross platform play between the Xbox One and PCs.
Shadowrun Returns was all set to re-return this October for the Berlin DLC pack, but plans have changed. As revealed on the game's Kickstarter page, the add-on has been delayed until next year so that Berlin can be fleshed out, embiggened and otherwise expanded to "create an experience closer to the size of Dead Man's Switch" (the original campaign). The team are also "investigating" the possibility of making changes to Shadowrun's maligned save system, which denies manual saving in favour of infrequent autosaves.
The world of Shadowrun is one where freelance trolls with dreadlocks punch transdimensional giant insects to death with their bare hands. You can't really dress it up as anything other than what it is, and the same goes for Harebrained Schemes' Kickstarted RPG, Shadowrun Returns. It's an affectionate adaptation of the tabletop game built on a low-tech engine with a surprisingly interesting story... and not much else.
Things that are out today: Thursday, some joggers, Shadowrun Returns. Given that this is a games website and not a calendar or a fitness mag, we're particularly excited about the third one, which returns Shadowrun to its rightful place as a story-based RPG. You lot Kickstarted it, and now it is released - we don't get to say that nearly as often as we should. You'll find the isometric cyberpunk fantasy adventure on Steam, though you won't find it for another seven hours. You could always watch the trailer a couple of hundred times in the meantime? It's after the break, just in case.
Crowdfunded sequels, remakes, and reboots are the new...whatever was popular before crowdfunded sequels, remakes, and reboots. Adding to the pile today is Shadowrun Returns, a PC and tablet game in the Shadowrun role-playing universe to be headed up by Jordan Weisman, founder of FASA Corporation, the creator of tabletop classics Shadowrun and BattleTech, and FASA Interactive, which brought us the MechWarrior series.
