Shadowrun: Hong Kong
THE GAME OF DOWNLOADS AND DRAGONS TELLS ITS DARKEST TALE YET, IN THE HARSH NEON GLARE OF HONG KONG.
SPLICING MAGIC WITH a not-so-far future Earth ruled by megacorps is inherently ridiculous, but Shadowrun Returns was nonetheless a tad dry. Hong Kong, its sequel, is blessed by the camp excess of Eastern cinema, not just in the lurid neon that adorns every shopfront, but in the clichéd retorts, triad wars and B-movie heists that it seems to delight in. It’s like the series has relaxed, convinced by a third successful Kickstarter that it’s good at what it does.
Shadowrun is about intrigue above all, and the central narrative here raises questions aplenty. ere’s the staple murder mystery, Hollywood backstabbing, impromptu feng shui and some casual tomb raiding to keep things fresh. Of course, this being Shadowrun, these all take place through clicks on static interactive icons, the scene-setting handled by text and décor alone and the reliable turn-based combat all but unchanged. No doubt more-of-the-same seemed safer than experimentation, but in the face of competitors like Pillars of Eternity, Shadowrun needs to adapt or end up looking dated.
It’s a shame the crowdfunded $1.2m wasn’t enough to resolve the longstanding interface woes. e UI is cleaner, but a certain amount of patience is required to see past input lag and, on one occasion, complete failure that caused my runner to stroll about in sleeping gas instead of taking the li . I le her behind with vindictive pleasure. And for all the quality of Hong Kong’s dialogue, it’s more an illusion of player choice than meaningful roleplay. Polite, smartass and slow-witted options typically mask the same response.
Regardless, this is a spectacular story of deceit and poisonous evil that will lure you through the most indulgent settings yet seen in the RPG renaissance. For the price, it’s of giddying scale, but Shadowrun is starting to cry out for innovation. If it continues to tread water, it could end up slipping back into the shadows.