One of the most popular tabletop RPGs of all time, Shadowrun, can trace its roots back to 1989 when fellow tabletop juggernaut Warhammer 40,000 released its first edition. Over three decades later, Shadowrun has six editions, over 40 novels, and has influenced a variety of cyberpunk-fantasy properties. As is the case with just about any multi-decade franchise, there are sure to be some video game adaptations. The upcoming Shadowrun Trilogy is a perfect place to start for newcomers.
Releasing June 21, 2022, Shadowrun Trilogy brings all of Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun titles together. Using an isometric perspective, these titles are firmly situated in the tactical-RPG genre, and should appeal to fans of the original Fallout titles. For those who love both Sci-Fi and fantasy, Shadowrun Trilogy should definitely be on their radar.
Shadowrun Returns
An early video game Kickstarter success story, Shadowrun Returns released on PC and Android in 2013. Being a spiritual successor to the original 1993 Shadowrun game on SNES, Shadowrun Returns retains much of what made that game a cult classic. An intricate Karma system, a variety of fantasy races to choose from, a vibrant cyberpunk visual style, and some tight turn-based combat mechanics all make a return, but thoroughly modernized.
Reviews for Shadowrun Returns were favorable across the board, with high 7s and 8s being common. However, while reviews praised the content that was there, some outlets felt the game was too short and lacked some modern quality-of-life improvements that had become essential to the tactical-RPG genre in the years since the SNES.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut
Originally released as a major expansion for Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall brought a whole new sci-fi/fantasy campaign to the game, along with some much-needed quality-of-life improvements. Dragonfall reviewed better than the base game, with many critics praising not only the new features, but also the quality of the expansion's story and gameplay.
Following the initial success of Dragonfall, Harebrained Schemes added even more content to the expansion, and relaunch it as a standalone title. Both fans and media outlets agreed this was the right decision, as the sheer number of improvements Dragonfall brought to the game made it feel like a full sequel rather than just a side story.
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition
Released just one year after Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Shadowrun: Hong Kong offers yet another stellar tactical-RPG campaign set in the sci-fi/fantasy universe. For this title, developer Harebrained Schemes wanted to make the experience run a little smoother and look better, so it decided to develop the game solely for PC, as opposed to also creating a mobile port. Doing this allowed the developer to use an improved version of the engine, which lead to Shadowrun: Hong Kong being the most technically impressive entry in the series.
Gameplay-wise, Shadowrun: Hong Kong uses the same mechanics as its predecessors, with turn-based combat and an isometric perspective. The plot also follows a similar beat to its predecessors, with the player character becoming entangled with a local conspiracy - standard cyberpunk fare.
Shadowrun Trilogy specifically includes the Extended Edition of Shadowrun: Hong Kong, which gives players a whole new campaign to play through set directly after the events of the main story, acting as something of an epilogue. Shadowrun: Hong Kong also includes a level editor, which allows players to create their own campaign set in the iconic Shadowrun universe.
Shadowrun Trilogy is available now on PC, and will release June 21, 2022 on PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.