I remember playing this game around the time of its launch for a couple hours or so, being mesmerized by its brand of hard boiled sci-fi dystopia. It's not hard to see why I was so enthralled by it back then: the first 5-6 hours successfully introduces an interesting world where the advancement of man-made tech is equally matched, if not exceeded, by the occult and the supernatural. Gameplay wise, despite lacking in tutorials, the design starts simple enough to ease you in, but not too simple to bore you. Not to mention the cast of decently written, colorful characters that you are being subjected to.

But the depth in those aspects are quite lacking, especially as you reach a certain chapter where things start to get quite wild, story-wise. The progression of the story's scale and stakes in the 2nd act already feels a bit sudden and unnatural on its own. But combined by all the side characters not being fleshed out enough, the disappointingly same-y level and encounter design, and a unwelcomed difficulty spike in this act, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed with how they executed the game's second half. It almost feels rushed.

A big part of why I loved the first half of the game is how well the game introduces all sorts of interesting lore through its main missions, while maintaining this delightful detective vibe in its gameplay. From delving into Seattle's drug addict woes, to dealing with dead spirits in order to gain their testimony of an event nobody else saw, there's all sorts of stuff happening in the 1st act that I really enjoyed. You don't have to figure the story out yourself, but the CRPG gameplay of exploring thoroughly to fully scope out all your options fits perfectly with its premise of trying to figure out who killed your old friend. Even if the gameplay possibilities and options aren't that extensive (it's a relatively small scale game after all), the act of playing detective and getting yourselves some allies along the way is still a fun endeavor. The 2nd and 3rd act unfortunately doesn't have quite the same level of variety and memorability.

The RPG systems are pretty decent for the most part. Outside of combat, the various stats serve mostly to unlock certain dialogues options or pathways that usually will save you a minute or two of your time, and in the sense of their usefulness, there is a lot of room to improve on. Coupled with the somewhat cramped level design, it can feel more like a linear story rather than a CRPG. But executing these bonus options still feel satisfying.

In regards to combat, these systems feel more fleshed out, since the abilities and bonuses you'll get for advancing in the game's various combat stats feel much more helpful. For example, being able to mark a target to temporarily increase the chance of hitting them by advancing the Decking stats, and combining that with abilities such as full-auto assault rifle attacks. But do note that the combat follows the XCOM system of hit percentages, so be prepared for utter frustration as you miss attacks with 90% hit chance.

All in all, Shadowrun Returns feels more like a prelude of what's to come, rather than a completely realized idea. Still, I did have a fun time playing it, and I will be checking out the sequels someday to see if they ever get to fulfill this game's potential.