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Games : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: August 20th, 2015 Movie Release Year: 2015

Shadowrun: Hong Kong

Overview -

Harebrained Schemes has been working with the 'Shadowrun' IP for a few years now. Their first Kickstarter was for 'Shadowrun Returns', an isometric strategy game that was well-received and inspired a standalone expansion. In January 2015, Harebrained funded another rather large Kickstarter for 'Shadowrun: Hong Kong'. This series does not include 'Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown', which is a primarily co-op title by Cliffhanger Productions.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
VIDEO
AUDIO
Tech Specs & Release Details
Release Date:
August 20th, 2015

Video Review

Ranking:

'Shadowrun: Hong Kong' has a pleasant visual palette. Being a cyberpunk setting, there are lots of neon lighting and rain. Because shadowrunners don't hang out in the nicest places, many of the environments have a dingy, lived-in quality. Textures are not bad when played with higher settings, although lighting and magical effects don't have much of an impact. At least it's lightweight, with serviceable loading times. Bugs aren't that common, but a particularly nasty one had me restarting a level and losing about an hour of progress.

Audio Review

Ranking:

There is little in the way of voice acting or sound effects outside of combat. The music is quite good, with Harebrained composer Jon Everist returning to provide a score that elegantly subverts traditional Asian music with a chill percussive undercurrent.

Final Thoughts

'Shadowrun: Hong Kong' is an old-school style strategy experience with one of the most interesting settings in contemporary tabletop gaming. Instead of expecting the license to do all of the heavy lifting, Harebrained has instead created a good game and then set it into the mythos of 'Shadowrun'. With the inclusion of the Unity editor, this platform will only get better as time goes on.