Shadowrun Dragonfall: Gameplay and Review: Page 3 of 10

Shadowrun Dragonfall
Is the Second Return Better than the First?


Characters

Messy beauty

A bit of disorderly beauty.

It is the year 2054, 42 years after magic returned to the world, and stable power structures have yet to emerge, resulting in a more lawless, chaotic conditions than most of us are accustomed to today. People have had to learn to fend for themselves, and megacorps, governments, street gangs have had to fund, develop, or steal new innovations in biotech, cybertech, and magical research in order to compete for territory and control. The people of the Shadowrun universe are toughened survivors, used to watching their own backs, and slow to trust strangers; they also frequently pack heavy weapons and cybernetic enhancements.

As a shadowrunner, you will meet some of the most hardboiled, ruthless, and ingenious players in the struggle for survival and supremacy: Beginning with your crew.

One of the biggest improvements Dragonfall brings to the table is the addition of fully fleshed-out crewmembers instead of faceless, interchangeable hirelings. Each of your crewmembers has an intriguing backstory for you to either explore or ignore, and they will react to the decisions you make as their leader.

For me, the most immediately-fascinating character was Glory: A strikingly-beautiful woman whose extensive augmentation through cybernetics appears to have robbed her of emotion and humanity. Glory’s almost-clinical detachment (appropriate, given that she functions as the team’s medic) was something that I related to a great deal, and I was always eager to delve through her dialogues.

Another character I related to was the troll ex-soldier, Eiger. She is rather more hot-tempered than Glory, but her concern for professionalism and order above all made her an instant favourite. And like Glory, the more I learned about her complicated past, the more invested in her character I became.

Imposing bodyguard

An imposing-looking thug.

Rounding out the team are the human shaman, Dietrich, and the dwarven “Decker” (more on this later), Blitz. Neither of these characters grabbed me at first, my interest in Dietrich in particular grew as the game went on.  Dietrich and Blitz were both heavily involved in the anarchist uprisings in Berlin, so they contribute a great deal to the player’s understanding of the world they are exploring and interacting with.

Being invested in the individuals who fight by your side makes a huge difference to the player’s investment in the game as a whole, and I hope that Harebrained Schemes continue to expand this dimension of the series in the upcoming Shadowrun: Hong Kong.



Raconteur of the RPG scene.
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: The Witcher III
Top 3 Favorite Games:Fallout: New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic


More Top Stories