Évaluations récentes de Mdk25

I'm playing this game, back-to-back after finishing the 1st and 2nd games in the series (Shadowrun Returns & Shadowrun Dragonfall).
So my review will be in comparison to the first 2 games
https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/234650/
https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/300550/

MISSIONS
Similary to Shadowrun Dragonfall you have a starting "neighborhood". This time around it's a ship dock. Where you can find all the vendors and characters/places that give you missions/assignments.
Once you go on a mission, you are transferred to a different location, and you can't leave until you finish it (or fail it).
And continuing the Shadowrun Dragonfall tradition, each mission has several ways to finish it.

However, one change for the worse in this game, is that side-missions are not optional anymore.
Unlike Shadowrun Dragonfall, where you could not do any side missions, and just go for the main game plot.
Here the game plot simply does not progress until you finish any pending side missions you have. (You're allowed to not finish 1 or 2 IIRC)

COMBAT
Yet again, the combat has improved slightly since the previous game.
The User Interface/User Experience has been improved somewhat. It's still not up-to-speed with modern games (of that time). But better than the previous game.
You have more info about the enemies you attack (especially if you invest in appropriate skills).
And you have a much better variety of weapons, and weapon abilities - which makes using them more fun.
In general combat is more fun with each subsequent game. Including this one.

END GAME
End game was significantly improved from Shadowrun Dragonfall's tedious, hours-long, end-game combat sequence.
And you have "normal" very difficult fights, until you win at the end, and need to make a significant moral choice.

STORY/PLOT
As in the previous games, the story/plot is "supposedly" the crown jewel of this game.
The problem is, while every other element in the game, has been improving gradually since the first game. The story/plot/dialogs unfortunately suffered the opposite fate.
That's true both the the game, and for the post-game DLC.
Which is a huge problem, as this IS the strong point of every game in the series.

SHADOWRUN SERIES
I've now finished the series, and feel confident enough to comment on it as a whole.
The 3 games were released between 2013 - 2015, which is a very difficult timeline for computer games, releasing a new game every year.
Obviously there could not have been major graphical changes between the game, only gradual improvements.

The series started from a successful Kickstarter campaign, and was able to grow and continue, which is a commendable feat on it's own.
And every game improved gradually on UI/UX of the game, on the RPG gameplay and world size.
The only thing that did not improve (especially in the 3rd game) was the story.
It started from a very high point, and dropped down in the 3d installment.

I can completely understand why no 4th installment was ever made.
In 2015, when it was release, is the year when games like Witcher 3 or Fallout 4 were released, and Shadowrun can't come close to competing with them.
Even other indie/kickstarter games, like Wasteland 2, have incomparably better graphics, combat and UX/UI.
So the only string point, having people to play this game, over other much more fun and good looking games, was the story/plot of the game.
Which unfortunately wasn't true anymore by the 3rd game :(

The game has a great original concept:
You have the crew of a bomber: The pilot, navigator, engineer, radio operator, gunners and a bombardier.
And you go out on missions with your bomber plane.
Each operation starts quietly - you take off, start heading in the direction of your target, and after a few moments... the ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan.
And it's when the ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan - that's when the game starts to become interesting.

Your crew all have their places in the plane, but as the plane starts to take damage, and the crew starts to get hurt - you start moving the crew around.
That engineer that was handling the fuel consumption - is now fixing the engine.
The navigator that was only checking the maps - is now taking out fires.
The bombardier that was supposed to be aiming the bombs - is now manning one of the guns, and keeping the enemy at bay.
So each crew member has their own place.
But each can also grab a medikit and start helping their injured crewmates.
Each can grab a fire extinguisher, and start taking out fires.
And each can man a machine gun if needed (while someone else is trying to patch up the gunner).

The mayhem in the plane, that takes place each and every mission - is the most fun part of the game.
In addition, over time, you can buy better gear and equipment for your crewmates.
The crewmates themselves, level up, and are both able to act more efficiently, and gain additional skills.
And the plane itself, can not only be customizes, but also upgraded.
From better armor, guns, engines, etc...
To more fire extinguishers, or emergency parachutes for the entire crew.

The graphics of the game are far from realistic, and have a very cute/cartoony look to them.
They give the game it's own kind of charm.

The one bad thing I can say about Bomber Crew is: That it's. Just. Too. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Long.
I can't tell you how many missions ago I finished all possible missions types, and upgraded all the things I cared to upgrade.
I simply lost count.
And the game just drags on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on... and on...
...

There's no end to it.
Even when enough is enough.
I would much rather the game ended and allowed me to continue playing after the "end game mission".
Instead of this endless grind I'm supposed to endure to get the "congratulations, you've ended the game" splash screen.

I'm playing this game, back-to-back after finishing the 1st game in the series (Shadowrun Returns).
So my review will be in comparison to the first game (https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/234650/)

MISSIONS
This time around, the game finally feels like a bit more like a modern RPG.
You have a starting "neighborhood" you roam around. With various stores to buy items and enhancements.
And various characters to give you side missions.

Once you go on a mission, you are transferred to a different location, and you can't leave until you finish it (or fail it).
However missions are not that linear anymore.
You have many optional tasks within missions (both main and side missions). Which you can finish for additional credits or Karma points (which allow you to improve skills).
And usually have several ways to finish each mission (go in guns blazing, negotiate, bribe, etc.)
This time around, there are also much more "loot" you find on bodies or in boxes.
Still, most of the time characters just disappear when killed. But in some rare occasions - there is loot. (in the previous game, there was almost none)

COMBAT
Combat is slightly better this time around.
Both the HUD/UI was improved, and additional info has been added.
This time you don't need to scroll through available weapons, instead all weapons are now visible - which makes it much more convenient.
And the magic/inventory interface is also much cleaner (although the inventory space is still very limited).
Also, additional enemy attack info (like critical chance, outflank shots, not behind cover, etc.) has been added. Which also improves the experience.
Overall, I would say the combat is somewhat better.
But still far behind games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which were released roughly at the same time - but had a whole other level of turn-based combat.

CODES/PASSWORDS
Another thing where the game feels really dated (even considering it's age), is that no codes or passwords are remembered by the characters in-game.
Every time you're given a code/password for later in the game, you need to write it down or look it up in a walkthrough, because the game just lets you fill it yourself.
And there are plenty of both (codes & passwords) in the game.

END GAME
There are quite a few different routes you can take to finish the game.
Each with different consequences and game endings.

However, the end-game fights feel needlessly long. (even on lower difficulties)
Like they're meant to artificially make the game longer.

STORY/PLOT
As in the previous game, the story/plot is the crown jewel of this game.
While other elements may feel dated or not well implemented, the story is superb, and holds perfectly in the test of time.
Many side missions have their own stories. But of course, the main story is the best of them.
I think they even made it better than the story of the first game (as good as that was).

The game was obviously done over time, with each subsequent episode new ideas were tried out, and fleshed out. So the quality of the episodes is inconsistent.
This is my review, episode by episode.

Ep 1:
A cute little adventure games.
Okay-ish humor.
Roughly 1.5-2 hours to finish.
An 6/10 adventure game.

On the plus side - I can mention the hinting system, which provides much-needed hints to explain what to do next.
This saves you the trouble of leaving the game to find an online walkthrough.
And has it's own unique charm (the walkthrough is not just presented. Instead you have a progressing series of hints you can follow)

The full game costs $15, but historical low is $1.5 (90% off)
And usually goes on sale for $3.75 (75% off)


Ep 2:
Much better planned/executed adventure game than Episode 1
Much less of the game is scripted, and more are are actions you perform with your character.
Overall feels much longer than part 1.
Has betted/smarter puzzles to solves.
And much better humor & pop culture references.

You also have 2 different characters you can swap between (part of the game).

Overall, much better than Episode 1.


Ep 3:
Similar to Ep 2. Longer. Better. And with more cutscenes.
Episode 3 contains all we've come to expect from previous episodes.
It also contains numerous location changes, which makes it feel that much longer.

On the minus side - In this chapter it's less clear where to go and what needs to be done next, than the previous chapters.

TL;DR A very dated 5/10 RPG game.
You can pick it up if you want to see how it all started, or have some additional backstory for Witcher 2.
Just don't expect too much from this one...


Even though the promotional videos/photos show otherwise. Unlike Witcher 2 & 3 - this is an isometric game.
You don't directly control the character. You click where to go, and the character goes there (like Diablo).
And the combat is no different. You click on who you want to strike, and the character goes and tries to strike it. And if someone else is striking your character while the strike animation is playing - tough. You just get stunned.
Overall the combat controls feel very dated - clunky and inconvenient. And the fights/battles - pretty mundane and boring.

Character improvement wasn't that great IMO.
There are a few paths to choose from, each with (somewhat) unique abilities.
However, they did not feel unique or significant enough to me.
I ended up choosing a couple of interesting improvements, and left most everything else untouched.

Alchemy did not draw me in either.
It's either too complicated, or not useful enough.
I've carried tons of various ingredients, but barely did anything with them.

The story is good. But has (almost) nothing to do with the books/Netflix series.
On the plus side:
There main quest with side quests is pretty long, and the characters and dialog are made well.

But I have to admit I stopped playing roughly 20% before the end - because the story just became too convoluted (too many different characters, plot twists, weird names and backstabbing to follow) - while the combat which wasn't that great to begin with, just became too punishing/boring towards the end game.

In conclusion: You can pick it up if you want to see how it all started, or have some additional backstory for Witcher 2. Just don't expect too much from this one...

TL;DR - A 6/10 game.
But still a game I 100% recommend you play!
(I'll explain why, later on)


It's worth mentioning that I never played the original Shadowrun, tabletop or computer game.
And prior to this had no knowledge of the world of Shadowrun or it's lore.
So I'm looking at the game from a completely completely objective/fresh angle.


GRAPHICS
The game was a Kickstarter project, so it did not have huge budget to begin with. And it's also 10 years old already.
So there's not much to expect graphics wise.
The graphics are not terrible though. It's on par with many indie games release in 2023.
The one difference I found is that despite the view being isometric (which is common in RPG games), in this game you can only zoom in/out, but don't have an ability to change the camera angle (which has become the standard in modern game engines).
Also, there is almost no cutscenes and no voiceover. Everything is told via text.


CONTROLS
There are 2 very important concepts in Application development (any application, be it a game or a social network)
UI - meaning User Interface. How the screen looks like, how the buttons and menus look like. The graphics.
And UX - meaning User Experience. How the application behaves. What happens when you click a button. How easy it is to find the things you want to perform. How intuitive the app is. How easy it is to perform common operations.
While the UI here is not the best, as I mentioned, it's comparable to modern Indie games.
The UX, on the other hand, feels very very dated. Even for a 2013 game IMO.
Buying, selling or swapping weapons is not very intuitive. And the game menus are not very well thought out.
For example, it takes roughly 6 clicks between different menus to switch a weapon or an item in your inventory.
And it can only be done in your stash, or while talking to a vendor (any vendor in the game). But not anywhere else.
Also, your item list is not very well organized.
Sometimes you have a huge list of all the items. Sometimes there are filters by item types. There is uniformity.


RPG
The RPG elements of this game, are a mixed lot.
On the one hand, any specific magical / weapon / armor path you choose to progress on, has very little progression.
You will only be able to get 3/4 progressively better item times for the entirety of the game.
On the other hand, there is a really decent variety of different tech/magical paths to choose from.
There are 4 ranged weapon paths, 1 melee weapons path, 1 thrown weapons path, 1 battle droids path
Around 4 different magical spell paths
Physical body augmentation path
And a "hacking" path
And most of the things can be combined together, so you can both have cool weapon, a battle droid and summon a magical being, all in a single battle. (The only exception being physical body augmentation, which affect your magical abilities).
The skill upgrade points (they're called Karma points) are plentiful, you get them quite often - and can easily progress on any path you'd like (Although maxing out any path would be difficult, as they obviously need more and more points for high levels)

The good thing about this, is even though I'm entering this whole new world of D&D-style game. It doesn't feel overbearing. There are not dozens of classes and magical paths to choose from. There is no need to restart the game 3 times to create a decent character.
Everything is pretty clear and straightforward once you start the character creation.
And it's pretty easy to change the character focus on pretty much anything you like.

The difficulty of the game is pretty decent.
Except for the end game, which I found to be super hard (even on easy difficulty).
And required me multiple game re-loads to finish.


BATTLES
The battles are done in turn-based RPG style.
Many weapons have multiple fire-mode types, which increase with higher level of weapon proficiency (i.e. spending skill points).
And hit percentages on every shot.
There are also items that give you partial or full cover (in the tradition of X-COM games).
Throwing grenades also have percentage chances, which define how close to it's target point the grenade will land.

An additional form of battles you have, and hacking/virtual battles.
Which are even more simplistic than regular battles.
And have less variety of weapons and attack types.


PLOT / STORY / WHY YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY PLAY THIS GAME
At this point you must be wondering what's wrong with me...
I've basically described a game which is mediocre at best. And it's 10 years old to boot.
So why would I play this game? For over 20 hours? And even claim you "100% need to play it" ???
Well the game plot/story is why.

The story is simply superb.
From the beginning of the game, to the very end, you're gripped by the mystery, trying to understand who should you trust, who's out to get you, and who is the real killer ???
I'm coming to this game in the heels of playing The Outer Worlds (https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/578650/), which had everything this game doesn't.
Amazing graphics. Amazing interfaces. Amazing weapon customizability and progression. But lacked the one thing this game does amazingly well - the plot/story.
The story is mainly told by text.
Both via dialog, and small remarks about how the characters look, act and feel.
It basically feels like a very very good Sci-Fi/Fantasy book, told via the medium of computer games (with some Turn-based battle scenes sprinkled in).
Not just that the plot of the game is good. It's the writing.
The game is very very well written. From the plot, to the dialogs, to the small easter eggs or humor you see here and there.

There is not much in the sense of side-quests in the game.
There are a few, and they add some flavor, but very very little compared to modern RPG games (that have much more side-quests than the main quest).
However even the small side-quests and dialogs there are, make the world feel very much alive and vibrant.

This is my review of Outer World DLC Murder on Eridanos
You can find my full review of Outer Worlds game here: https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/1920490/

This DLC is a detective mystery, in the style of Film Noar.
Where you play the role of the dashing detective, that needs to solve an intricate mystery.
I, personally, did not like the main mystery very much. But maybe I just don't like mystery solving enough.
I did like the ending of the DLC very much, both story-wise and action-wise.

I would have liked more fast travel points on the map.
Some places have plenty of them, while in others there's barely any - and you need to travel there occasionally.

Other than that, the side quests there were fun. Plenty of shooting and speech choice checks.
The monsters were challenging.
Of the 2 Outer Worlds DLC, I think the other one (Peril On Gorgon) is the better one.
But this one is also not too bad...

This is my review of Outer World DLC Peril On Gorgon
You can find my full review of Outer Worlds game here: https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/1920490/

The story in this DLC is pretty good.
I would even say it's better than the main game story.
There are audio logs that tell you what's going on - and as you collect more of them, the story unfolds before your eyes.

There is a new, very large map, filled with enemies.
Plenty of side quests to pursue, and computer terminals filled with lore (if you're into this kind of stuff).
Although, I must admin - the new map is a bit confusing, and it's not always clear how to get from place to place.

This DLC also adds some additional weapons, additional perks and flaws, wholly new armor sets, and several variants for existing gear.
And as an added bonus - this DLC also raises the skill cap to 150, and adds additional cool skills to strive for.

After I already had around 20 hours in the regular edition, I upgraded to Spacer's choice edition - and can attest to the differences between the two.
The new edition has much better graphics. Not just better resolution, but many graphical changes.
The people look much more realistic (to the point that some have completely different faces), planets have additional huge structures in the background, which make them look much better. And other minor changes as well.
It does come with a cost though. It definitely takes up more GPU resources than the original, and some people have reported bugs & crashes (although I must admit, in my 40+ hours I have not encountered any)
In addition, the new edition has more/better Steam achievements.
And the game itself is slightly more difficult - when playing the same difficulty level as the original.
Overall I felt the new version was the better version, and having the choice - the one I prefer to be playing.
But that may not be the case if you have an older/weeker GPU...


You can see my review of the game itself here: https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198014150309/recommended/578650/

I planned to write this review a bit later, after I finish the game.
But as the game is currently being included in the Humble Bundle this month - I decided to write the review early, to help people decide if this game is for them.


This game was created by Obsidian entertainment, the creators of Fallout: New Vegas (and of course the original Fallout games).
Which creates pretty high expectations of them from the get go.
If we compare Fallout 3 (Bethesda) to New Vegas (Obsidian) - we see that Obsidian are much better in storytelling, side quests and humor.
But on the other hand, F:NV had loading screens every time you switched locations - while F3 and F4 contained a huge open world.
Looking at this game: it is also an open world RPG in a futuristic setting (which begs the comparison to F:NV), but this time it's also an original IP from Obsidian.
And I must say, it fares pretty well.
Not perfect - but still, pretty well...


RPG elements
First of all weapons - there are 4 categories of weapons (melee, light, heavy, long), of each you have sub-divisions (for example: 1-handed & 2-handed melee weapons, light handguns, rifles and machineguns, etc.).
In addition there are also 4 categories of damage (blast, plasma, corrosion, N-rays), which can be applies to any gun in the game.
Each weapon starts with a basic version, and as the game progresses (and you level up) you can find additional (stronger) versions of the same weapon.
In addition, there are "unique" versions of weapons, which you cannot mod, but have special mods already installed.
And on top of that, there are completely unique (science) weapons which you find usually after doing special quests - which have unique death mechanics unlike any other weapons in the game.
And on top of that - there are 3 mod categories for ranged weapons, 2 categories for melee weapons and 4 categories for armor.
And speaking of armor - there too you have variety, with different bonuses and debuffs, and progression over the game.
So weapon and armor-wise - you have an amazing variety of different and interesting weapons. And weapon-crafting in itself is a game-within-a-game.

Skills-wise, you have several levels of skills distribution you can choose from, when creating your character.
During the game, when you level up, you have both skill points and perks/bonuses you can choose from.
And every 20 skill points, you can an additional perk/bonus to that skill.
In addition, you are occasionally offered to take a debuff, in exchange for an extra perk/bonus point.
And on top of that, you also have the ability to redistribute your points (for a small fee) during the game, if you discover you did not distribute well enough, or you decide to try a different build mid-game.
So skills-wise, the game also offers a large and interesting variety.

In addition, you have up to 2 followers you can take with you.
And the followers have bonus points of their own for you to distribute, and weapons and armor they can use.
And if you choose to go solo - there are perks that give bonuses to builds without followers.

So overall, as you can see, the Role Playing element of this game is very well made, and is one of the strongest points of the game.


Open World
One the one hand, in open world games you want a big map. And the game is pretty huge here.
You have several planets you can visit - each with it's own biome. And each will building or even whole towns you can explore.
And some planets you can land on different parts of the planet, and get different maps in each.
Or sometimes land in different locations on the same (huge) planet map.
On the other hand, many buildings and cities you visit, are not actually part of the same map (in-game) and require loading times when moving from/to them.

Also on a less positive side: there is almost no diversity in creatures. Same creatures can be found on every planet.
Over all the planets there are only 2 distinct species of creatures (ape-types and arachnid-types). (and 1 more in one of the DLCs)
In addition to humans and robots, which can be found throughout the game, but besides being togher in late game (deadlier and harder to kill), they remain pretty much the same (same weapon types, same armor, same loot, etc.)


Story / Quests
On the positive side:
This game epitomizes the cornerstone of any Open World RPG - (almost) every quest can be solved in few different ways.
You can go in guns blazing.
Or talk your way out of a fight.
Or sneak in and do what is needed without being discovered.
And as an added bonus: More often that not, you can negotiate your reward after finishing a quest (if you pass the required skill checks).

And also, as was tradition in Fallout games - this game also has a sense of humor.
There are plenty of easter eggs scattered about in the world.
And in general - many of the quests have a funny side to them.

Now to the less positive side, I've seen mentioned in other reviews as well.
The plot/story here is simply weaker than Fallout.
I'm not sure what's the reason. If the world is just less interesting because it's too much apart from ours.
Or maybe the writing is not as engaging. Or the factions are not very thought out.
But the bottom line is - as much as I enjoy the RPG-style gameplay of the game, the main story itself does not feel engaging to me.
The factions all seem like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ - and don't make me want to help any of them.
And there is simply too much text terminals. Every large rooms contains at least 1-2 terminals, and some even 5-6 terminals. And each terminal has several messages (half a page long on average) - so in an average location that's dozens of pages of text to read.
And 95% of them are just superfluous text, that adds nothing to the plot.
At some point I just stopped reading them altogether. I'm pretty sure I missed some jokes, and probably some dialog options for talking with people - but that's just too much text to read.


Some additional nitpicking:
At least in the original release - the graphics seem very cartoony. Even too much so.
A serious Open world RPG, needs to have a serious look.
You can't look like a $10 indie game, and expect to be taken seriously.

Also stealing mechanic is not very well implemented.
Stealing / Lockpicking / Hacking has almost zero repercussions, and are very easy to perform even if you're playing a completely non-stealthy character.
It's so easy - it takes all the fun out of stealing :(


After I already had around 20 hours in the regular edition, I upgraded to Spacer's choice edition - and can attest to the differences between the two.
The new edition has much better graphics. Not just better resolution, but many graphical changes.
The people look much more realistic (to the point that some have completely different faces), planets have additional huge structures in the background, which make them look much better. And other minor changes as well.
It does come with a cost though. It definitely takes up more GPU resources than the original, and some people have reported bugs & crashes (although I must admit, in my 40+ hours I have not encountered any)
In addition, the new edition has more/better Steam achievements.
And the game itself is slightly more difficult - when playing the same difficulty level as the original.
Overall I felt the new version was the better version, and having the choise - the one I prefer to be playing.
But that may not be the case if you have an older/weeker GPU...


The game has 2 DLCs (for which I will post reviews separately):
Peril On Gorgon - Has a whole new map filled with enemies to kill. And an engaging story (better than the main plot of the game IMO). In addition, this DLC has more skill levels, and more bonuses (for the higher levels).
Murder on Eridanos - I have not finished it yet, but it's a kind of a detective mystery. With some new creatures and fun guns to try out.