Shadowrun: Hong Kong PC

1. blackdaze

   Aug 24, 2015

   10

   The third iteration of the Shadowrun series of group-based cRPGs. These games are fairly light on gameplay and more narrative focused thanThe third iteration of the Shadowrun series of group-based cRPGs. These games are fairly light on gameplay and more narrative focused than most cRPGs. By that I mean there is an extensive amount of well-written dialogue (however, a few spelling issues/typos) and combat doesn't happen too frequently. However, the amount of combat somewhat depends on player choice of skills, how they approach a situation, and which team members they bring to the missions. There are cases where you can go through missions with minimal or no combat which is a big change from the previous games.
   
   You team selection is fairly well-rounded and good for both combat and non-combat situations. Bringing different team members usually provides you with different ways of approaching a problem. I found on my second playthrough that the missions played a bit differently based on my skills, who I brought and choices I made. I think that it adds to the replay value so it's worth playing through a second time just to see what you've missed. The missions are really well designed and have multiple ways to traverse them or find extras within the levels.
   
   As far as the story/writing, well the entire game is just absolutely loaded with dialogue, text-descriptions, menu based choices, and interaction with companions and various NPCs. If you're looking for more of an action-based game, this isn't it. If you spend your time reading through all of the dialogue and doing all of the missions available, it'll likely take you around 20 hours to beat. If you just try to beat the game as quick as possible and ignore the dialogue, it'll likely take you under 10 hours. One of the key selling points of the game is reading through the texts and finding more about the world, it's characters, and the story. One nagging downside is the story tends to halt for a bit if you're looking to do every mission. You'll have talked to everyone, have the final missions unlocked, and still have three or four optional missions left.
   
   The combat plays out well and a lot quicker paced than the previous two games with smaller bite sized battles and partially due to the fact that the AI responds faster and animations are quicker. In addition, you're able to enter battle mode if you see an encounter so you're tactically in a better place before the battle starts and you'll leave battle mode after encounters. This is a change from the previous games where it would just have entire maps full of battles.
   
   There is more of everything as far as combat options; Adepts/mages/shamans all have a few new spells and totems, there are more melee/cyberware/gun/drug/health options than before, etc. Dragonlines are one of the bigger new additions to magic. They allow mages to have their spells bounce off of nearby targets(or allies if they're in the area), allow damaging spells to heal you or simple reduce cooldown/increase effectively like the old leylines. The particular effect isnt posted so its try and see. Armor has been radically simplified in that it no longer provides bonuses but straight armor class and there are unique options from the vendors around town (mage/shaman, adept, street sam, and decker). It's purely cosmetic but helps your character look the part.
   
   The matrix has been completely overhauled from the previous games. Almost all of the matrix nodes will just have White IC (intrusion countermeasures) scour areas with set paths and vision cones. As long as you avoid them, you avoid matrix combat. However, if you blunder into them or just don't care to work around timing puzzles, you can just enter into combat with them and it's a bit more challenging but certainly doable. There is a mini-game associated with hacking firewalls to get access to datastores or matrix controls and it's fairly easy to accomplish. Those can also be destroyed brute force via combat if you're in an alert state.
   
   The aesthetics of the game have been improved from the previous two games. The colorful art style and backgrounds are still there but now there is more variety in PC/NPCs and most of the character models/animations have been redone. No more massive body trolls with stick legs. The spells have nice new effects, there is more blood and gore, and all of the weapons/spells/punches/abilities feel more impactful. The music is very atmospheric but non-descript. I found that I don't seem to remember any particular track from the game but found that it just subtly added to the mood/atmosphere.
   
   All in all, I loved the game and have played through it twice and assume I will play it again! I think it's a good sign when the game ends that you roll up a new character and start another game. The drawbacks I have for the game are mostly subjective, there are a few minor bugs/typos which will hopefully get fixed soon. However, people may not enjoy the new non-combat themed matrix, lack of combat in the missions, the story, etc etc. However, I give it a 10 because I certainly did! It's a winner in my book… Expand

   • 8 of 10 users found this helpful
2. UGE_plex

   Aug 27, 2015

   10

   Solid improvement over Dragonfall? YES!! I loved Dragonfall, and Shadowrun Hong Kong is on par with Dragonfall Directors Cut right out of theSolid improvement over Dragonfall? YES!! I loved Dragonfall, and Shadowrun Hong Kong is on par with Dragonfall Directors Cut right out of the gate. As always, Harebrained Schemes writing is top-notch, delivering a wonderfully winding story with multiple engaging paths, side-plots, and endings. The graphic quality is improved, the music is enchantingly appropriate for the setting and situations, along with the new environmental sound tweaks in the background, the audio is is a pleasurable element throughout the shadows of Hong Kong. Combat is solid and fun, much as it was in 'Returns and Dragonfall, with new weapons, spells and cyberware. And as always with HBS's Shadowrun games, there are engaging characters and NPC's I love, or just love to hate. As the game just released, and the their studio isn't large, there are some bugs, which is to be expected, but for me, nothing came up that impacted my gameplay, and the devs have already issues 2 or 3 Updates. Based on their track record, Shadowrun Hong Kong will only get better from here, Chummers! Metacritic's gonna need to bump up the scoring to 11 ^_^… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
4. Photec

   Aug 27, 2015

   9

   SRHK is a solid story driven game with mechanics that are far more polished compared to SRR and SRDF. The mood is excellent, and the pacing isSRHK is a solid story driven game with mechanics that are far more polished compared to SRR and SRDF. The mood is excellent, and the pacing is good. The new decker system was great, as were all the new cyber mods.
   
   There were some points I was less than impressed about(not being able to send paydata, immovable screen frames that makes it so I can't just scroll to the top/bottom of the screen to move my view, etc), but all in all I've enjoyed the 50+ hours I've spent ingame greatly.… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
5. ZeroWaitState

   Oct 24, 2015

   8

   This is the Shadowrun you want to play (or Dragonfall). They've got the genre and the scenario design figured out at this point. I enjoyedThis is the Shadowrun you want to play (or Dragonfall). They've got the genre and the scenario design figured out at this point. I enjoyed this more than other turn based games which got better press (Pillars of Eternity, Divinity). There's been some complaining that this game has a story that isn't quite as interesting as Dragonfall. The worst of the two has a better story than 90% of field right now. With a bigger staff and budget this would have been AAA; no doubt about it. Since Shadowrun is kind of niche you won't get that, but it's still the next best thing.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. aidan0

   Oct 9, 2015

   7

   The additions and add improvements are good and from a technical aspect this games is a step forward in the right direction. The core game isThe additions and add improvements are good and from a technical aspect this games is a step forward in the right direction. The core game is still great, but the story/dialogue could have been executed better.
   
   I'm only giving it a 7 because I find the story and dialogue kind of confusing at times. There is so much dialogue (good thing), that the dialogue system gets messy.(bad) So I've started skipping text, which is a shame.
   
   They should also clean up the shop system, it's gets too messy with all the items for sale.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
7. Parthians

   Jan 20, 2016

   7

   well,to be honest,before the game be released i expected less long boring dialogues to be seen and instead of that we would have clips(like inwell,to be honest,before the game be released i expected less long boring dialogues to be seen and instead of that we would have clips(like in deadlight) or real-time voiced characters but it seems not big changes were made but only just improving both strong and weak points.
   i hoped to see more physically flexible and charismatic characters in the game,to make us sure that we won't experience a true one-linear open world which puts you in a huge jail and claim to gave you freedom.
   I can't understand the characters.All these end to an action-thrilling game not a RPG one.
   but can be recommended to those who love this game and want a "shank"-like game not a "limbo" one.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. snowbringer

   Aug 25, 2015

   1

   The new time-based Matrix "minigames" in this iteration of the franchise rendered the game unplayable for me. It is a cruel bait and switchThe new time-based Matrix "minigames" in this iteration of the franchise rendered the game unplayable for me. It is a cruel bait and switch to have a turn-based strategy game suddenly go with a vastly different mechanic for a section of the game - one that does not build on any of the previous gameplay design choices. Up until this point, the game was a pleasant update to the previous chapters - but that made the changes to the matrix that much more painful.… Expand

   • 3 of 25 users found this helpful

See all 31 User Reviews