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Arriving on consoles long after the final game was released on PC in 2015, Harebrained Schemes\u2019 Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> remains the perfect RPG for gamers with no time for RPGs (ported by Codeglue and published by Paradox Interactive). They\u2019re compact and streamlined but still filled with enough mechanical depth to ensure your chosen character class and skillset are rewarded with unique interactions and combat strategies. The Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> offers up 2013\u2019s Shadowrun Returns<\/strong>, 2014\u2019s \u00a0Shadowrun: Dragonfall \u2013 Director\u2019s Cut<\/strong> (originally an expansion for the first game), and 2016\u2019s Shadowrun Hong Kong \u2013 Extended Edition <\/strong>(the original released in 2015 plus a mini-expansion). They\u2019re all standalone stories and the gameplay foundations remain consistent, but both the writing quality and encounter complexity improve over time, so it\u2019s best to tackle them in chronological order.<\/p>\n

3.5-games-in-1<\/u><\/h2>\n

Shadowrun Returns <\/strong>is the weakest game in the trilogy \u2013 and a reminder of the differences between Kickstarter ambitions and the final product \u2013 but it\u2019s still the best place to start. It\u2019s short and linear, but also mechanically dense and somewhat unbalanced if you don\u2019t ensure you always have a combat-capable team. It does, however, do a solid job of introducing the science-fantasy setting, the \u201cSixth World\u201d, in which metahumans \u2013 think elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, and more \u2013 coexist uneasily alongside humanity in a future controlled by megacorporations, corrupt governments, and crime syndicates. The campaign, \u201cDead Man\u2019s Switch\u201d, sees the player \u2013 a seasoned Shadowrunner \u2013 returning to Seattle to find the killer of an old teammate. Events quickly spiral out of control when the hunt for a serial killer reveals a more terrifying threat.<\/p>\n

Shadowrun: Dragonfall \u2013 Director\u2019s Cut <\/strong>is often regarded as the highlight of the trilogy and for good reason. You once again take up the role of a Shadowrunner operating in the \u201cFlux State\u201d of Berlin, with events kicking off on the night a supposedly simple retrieval mission goes south. The team loses their leader before beating a hasty retreat. Before she dies, she mutters the word \u201dFeuerschwinge\u201d (Fire Wing) \u2013 referencing an ancient dragon that went on a rampage after the \u201cawakening\u201d. You soon find yourself gathering a team to face off against a deadly cult and homicidal AI. Dragonfall<\/strong> is also the first time your choices \u2013 at least in the last few missions of the game \u2013 have a major effect on the ending and epilogue sequences.<\/p>\n

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Shadowrun Hong Kong \u2013 Extended Edition <\/strong>is the most narratively ambitious of the three, with stylish comic-style cutscenes and even limited voice-acting \u2013 rather than talking heads and verbose writing. In a change of pace, your protagonist \u2013 returning to Hong Kong to assist their old mentor and father figure \u2013 is no Shadowrunner. However, they soon find themselves drawn into that world after coming up against corrupt cops, greedy corporations, failed experiments, and an astral spirit. For the first time, the endings are more varied and dependent on your actions in multiple missions leading up to the finale. The mini-campaign, \u201cShadows of Hong Kong\u201d picks up several weeks later and focuses on different corporations all fighting to control the Hong Kong Police Force.<\/p>\n

Role-playing in top gear<\/u><\/h2>\n

Developed in brisk succession over 3-years, it\u2019s easy to discuss the gameplay without breaking it down, game by game. They share identical foundations, albeit with some minor gameplay tweaks and improved encounter balance in the sequels. They\u2019re all fast-paced experiences that offer the complexity of a traditional big-budget RPG but ditch the often lethargic pacing and reliance on grinding to improve characters. With five races, six classes, six attributes, and dozens of skills, your initial build and upgrade path has a big impact on how you tackle both combat and non-combat sequences. Street samurais are blade and firearm wielding muscle; mages can specialise in offence or support magics; shamans are charismatic manipulators that can also summon spirits to fight for them; while deckers are tech specialists able to enter the \u201cmatrix\u201d, hack devices, disable security, and steal valuable data.<\/p>\n

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Thankfully, no matter how you build your character, you\u2019ll frequently team up with allies as the narrative dictates and you\u2019ll hire Shadowrunners, both of which expand your available skill pool available on missions. It\u2019s worthwhile picking a good balance of skills as while a combat-heavy approach is viable, you can simplify or completely bypass many encounters with the right dialogue or tech-based skills. Given the mostly linear structure of each game \u2013 with only a handful of truly optional missions per game \u2013 you\u2019re always earning Karma points for upgrading skills and money for upgrading gear (both during and between missions). The Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> games never waste your time and ensure you experience the impact of new skills and gear in each successive mission.<\/p>\n

When investigating or interacting with the environment, engaging in dialogue, or solving point-and-click-inspired puzzles \u2013 with no pixel-hunting required \u2013 you explore in real-time with menu-driven gameplay that clearly indicates attribute- or skill-checks likely to give you a better outcome. When combat starts, or when a decker enters the matrix, the game shifts into a traditional turn-based mode. You\u2019ve got action points and ability cooldowns to consider, but the most important element is often carefully positioning to make use of cover and flank enemies for bonus damage. As with other gameplay elements, the experience is also streamlined and easily understandable. Unfortunately, entering the matrix \u2013 think of a computer network given physical form \u2013 uses the same turn-based mechanics but feels considerably slower-paced as you rarely have more than one decker. Shadowrun Hong Kong \u2013 Extended Edition <\/strong>adds a real-time stealth element and basic memory puzzles to spice things up, but this just shifts these decker sequences from tedious to frustrating (though thumbstick control makes the stealth part easier).<\/p>\n

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How does it handle on consoles?<\/u><\/h2>\n

Thanks to the streamlined gameplay and turn-based combat, the Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> is a good fit for consoles. Traversing environments, navigating menus, and grid-based cursor movement during combat feels smooth and precise enough on a gamepad that you won\u2019t make mistakes. There aren\u2019t a lot of shortcuts per se, but all your important skills and inventory items are in a single shortcut bar that you can switch to and cycle through with ease. Now the Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> was never the most visually demanding game, with isometric environments built using an asset library, so it runs perfectly on the current-gen consoles \u2013 even at 4K\/60 \u2013 with brief loading screens over before you read the mission updates and flavour text. Although the overall selection of songs is limited, special mention must be given to the excellent soundtrack that complements the relatively simple visuals and goes a long way towards generating atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Of course, nothing is perfect and there are two recurrent issues. The first is how easy it is to get snagged on edges in some of the cluttered isometric environments \u2013 a common issue in any port that converts mouse-driven movement with pathfinding to direct thumbstick control. Another issue, and one that could be fixed in a patch, is unresponsive inputs when interacting with some environments. It\u2019s far from a game-breaking issue, but you\u2019ll sometimes have to wriggle your character around or repeatedly jam the interaction button to open a door, pick up an item, or investigate a clue.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the Sixth World<\/u><\/h2>\n

Despite a few gamepad-related quirks, the Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> is an impressive (and impressively priced) package of three compact but mechanically engaging RPGs for console players. They\u2019re streamlined and mostly linear experiences \u2013 you can complete Returns<\/strong> in about 10 hours, Dragonfall<\/strong> and Hong Kong<\/strong> in 20 hours a piece \u2013 but there\u2019s plenty of replay value in the myriad of classes, abilities, and quest solutions on offer. If you\u2019re part of the silent majority who looks at bullet points for 50, 100, or sometimes 150+ hours of content and thinks, \u201cwho the **** has that much time to spend on one game\u201d, the Shadowrun Trilogy<\/strong> is for you.<\/p>\n