Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown Review (PC)

good
key review info
  • Game: Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
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Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown screenshot

The Shadowrun tabletop role-playing game setting has been getting a lot of attention lately, through the work of Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, and now through Cliffhanger Productions' Shadowrun Chronicles.

Previously known as Shadowrun Online, the project was crowdfunded through Kickstarter during the summer of 2012, and now it's ready to set sail under a new name but delivering the same promising tactical gameplay, with a neat cyberpunk styling.

Harebrained Schemes is now working on Shadowrun: Hong Kong, but it's going to be a while until we get our hands on that one, so in the meantime we have Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown to tide us over.

The developers aim to take the action online, and that's always an exciting prospect, but it also means a lot of additional obstacles to overcome, when compared to a strictly single-player experience.

The studio is certainly ambitious, and the Shadowrun setting ripe for online action, so let's see how Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown fares.

Everybody takes cover seriously during scuffles
Everybody takes cover seriously during scuffles

Setting and plot

The action in Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown takes place in 2076, when the world is exactly as any fan of William Gibson would imagine it. Corporations are slowly replacing governments, playing by their own rules, creating vast rifts between various social strata, showing no scruples in the pursuit of profit.

Technology is pretty evolved, and people are routinely replacing their limbs and organs with cybernetically enhanced ones, and as one might expect, the black market is flourishing, and every shadowy business opportunity is met with enthusiasm by those eager to make a quick buck.

The world isn't safe, not even from behind a gun, and brave adventures specialize in close quarters combat, gun use, hacking, and other such occupations that might give them an edge in the ongoing struggle.

To make things worse, 65 years before the events of the game, magic reappears in the world, surging through everything and causing an evolutionary leap in mankind, resulting in various "races" starting to manifest.

Dwarves, elves, trolls, orcs, and even dragons turn into an everyday reality, and mages are now a force to be reckoned with in the world. Some become more attuned to the spirit world, embracing the ways of shamanism, being able to summon powerful magical avatars to aid them in combat, while others rely on machinery and technical prowess.

The world is torn between powerful forces, and there's always a conspiracy right around the corner. Everyone wants a piece of everything, and many people lose it all trying to make a living, while others profit from their downfall.

Shadowrun Chronicles' Boston is a pretty grim place, blending the science fiction and fantasy setting with a classic noir styling and some appropriate cultural references, providing an interesting background for all the shooting.

While the writing isn't on par with the one found in Harebrained Schemes' creations, it's still not bad, not by a long shot, and you won't be skipping dialogue in order to get to the shooting.

You start out as an amnesiac on an operating table, you escape from the medical facility and then turn to the underground for answers and cash. You then embark on a series of missions that get a little bit more complicated when a dragon suddenly emerges in the city and people start going berserk.

So you tread on, your interest piqued, to see what else lies beyond the usual business of gang warfare and corporate espionage.

The maps look appropriately gloomy
The maps look appropriately gloomy

Gameplay

At first glance, the game looks similar to the ones from Harebrained Schemes, or to Firaxis' X-COM reboot, but what makes it unique is the fact that it breaks the shackles of loneliness, offering support for multiplayer action, enabling friends to team up and tackle the challenges of a magically infused future together.

While enthusiasts who enjoy the Shadowrun setting in the real world will find the game lacking, it has enough flavor to provide a satisfying experience. It's simplified and lacks a lot of the soul and mechanics of the role-playing ruleset, but it still has a pretty strong Shadowrun vibe, overall.

There are numerous character customization options, but the fact that they mostly consist of palette swaps between a handful of presets can put some people off. There is a bit of variety, but don't expect too much from it.

The focus is mainly on combat, with a wealth of different specializations to choose from. Every time you complete a mission, you get a certain number of karma points, which can be used to progress through the skill trees.

While enthusiasts who enjoy the Shadowrun setting in the real world will find the game lacking, it has enough flavor to provide a satisfying experience.

Things are pretty freeform, and choosing to level one skill does not prevent you from investing in the others, but as always, specialization is the key to achieving success. There are a lot of passives that give you better accuracy, increased critical chance or damage, and so on, and the various "schools" that Shadowrun enthusiasts can expect to find, ranging from blades to spellcasting, summoning, hacking and rigging.

Another aspect instrumental in achieving success is learning how to duck behind cover, as it can really make a difference, especially when there are multiple ranged opponents with a desire to get a piece of you.

This means that gameplay usually revolves around good positioning and drawing the enemy into your fortified position or flanking when you're on the offensive.

There are also melee characters, which usually deal significantly more damage but are also much more vulnerable, due to the fact that they have to get up close and personal with the opposition.

Playing as a lady with a great beard, because it's the future
Playing as a lady with a great beard, because it's the future

Missions

The basic flow of the game is you going on a mission, then returning to a hub location to sell whatever you looted and to get upgrades for your gear, rinse and repeat.

Missions are instanced and there is no world exploration, making the entire experience feel a little barren. There's a just a very small portion of a city where you can find a handful of vendors and a taxi that gets you to your next mission.

There aren't side missions, and there's a definite dearth of the elements that gamers expect from an online experience. If you're expecting to find the depth of the Shadowrun universe reflected in narrative, content and mechanics, you are going to be disappointed.

Playing the game with others is easy and even encouraged, but you're not really missing out on anything, and there is no PvP content. Being able to play against others was one of the main things that made me interested in Shadowrun Chronicles.

Instead, you get scripted missions where the difficulty feels artificially stacked against you. Enemies sometimes spawn indefinitely, you have to rush through certain segments, and worst of all, there are times when you unwittingly trigger events that lead to you being surrounded, getting into a really nasty situation without being able to do anything about it, and forcing you to start the mission again in an unfair manner.

That being said, the gameplay itself is not at all bad, especially since there is enough variety in the team composition to encourage different approaches.

Furthermore, there are times when you can get a distinct advantage by having someone who can break through doors or walls, or someone who is adept at hacking or lockpicking, and there are also instances where using the environment in a smart way can severely alter the outcome of certain encounters.

There are a lot of specializations to choose from
There are a lot of specializations to choose from

Balance

There is also some degree of complexity to putting together a team, but unfortunately, you have to first fail a mission in order to be able to make use of the information you gleamed during your first attempt.

Dogs, for instance, are immune to tech, and some robots are immune to magical attacks, so for the most part, you're inclined to assemble a team able to use bullets and swords, because nothing is immune to brute force.

That is one of Shadowrun Chronicles' low points, there's not much subtlety to it, you're supposed to go in all guns blazing against the odds, and take advantage of cover and questionable AI decisions to emerge victorious.

There are no choices to make, dialogue is scripted without giving you any options, without offering you extra options based on your intelligence, and stealth is non-existent, which is a pretty big letdown.

In addition to this, you are limited when it comes to how many companions you can have at any one time, so your riggers and shamans will overlap within that limitation.

Also, when your teammates die, they simply get added to the pool again, ready for use in the next mission, making you not really care about them all that much.

When you're playing in multiplayer, that problem sort of solves itself, but then you can find yourself left without an expendable scout. Furthermore, as turns are simultaneous and there aren't any tools to highlight proposed focus targets and movement, things tend to get a little chaotic.

Also, there's no way for you to choose missions based on their rewards, as you get money and karma points at the end. The better weapons and armor pieces simply materialize in the vendors' inventory as you progress, which is also disappointing and immersion-breaking.

Your progress seems gated by faulty design, rather than it being tied to your prowess as a Shadowrunner. It would be nice to see what weapons you can get later on, so you can save up for them and have a goal. At the same time, more exotic items could be added based on your reputation.

Instead, after each mission you just browse the vendors' wares hoping to get something better, which makes game flow feel a bit forced and confined.

Also, since you can't loot just any body or container, you can only get extra items during missions at predetermined locations, making it feel unnatural. Speaking of unnatural, you can use consumable medikits to heal your wounds during battle, but the vendors don't have any in stock.

You would think they would be a pretty popular item in a world where Shadowrunners are thought of as expendable and everybody is on their own, but instead it just feels like another contrived decision to channel gameplay toward a certain structure.


The Good

  • Solid atmosphere
  • Gloomy visuals
  • Challenging tactical battles
  • Works both multiplayer and solo

The Bad

  • Server issues
  • Gets pretty repetitive
  • Not that much depth
  • Some annoying scripted events during missions

Conclusion

If you're a dedicated fan of the Shadowrun setting and enjoy your games a little on the complex side, you will be disappointed in the lack of depth in Shadowrun Chronicles. If, however, you enjoy turn-based tactical action and cooperative multiplayer, you might have a blast with the game.

It's pretty repetitive overall, as it's designed to be more about balance and a streamlined experience, rather than experimentation, and you can feel its simplified design every step of the way, but the interface is clean, the visuals are decent, and it's actually pretty fun.

It used to be called Shadowrun Online, but it's definitely not a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, so don't expect that much endgame content. It's got a lot of problems, but it's also got a lot of things going for it.

The developers are still working on the game, trying to solve some of its early server issues, and they also intend to add a PvP component and endgame content later on. If you would rather have the whole experience, you can save yourself the launch woes and wait a while before jumping in.

In any case, for a game made through Kickstarter, it's definitely good, and if you like challenging turn-based tactics action and an atmospheric and intriguing science fiction setting, it's definitely something you should check out.

story 7
gameplay 7
concept 7
graphics 8
audio 7
multiplayer 7
final rating 7
Editor's review
good
 

Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown screenshots (39 Images)

Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown screenshotEverybody takes cover seriously during scufflesThe maps look appropriately gloomyPlaying as a lady with a great beard, because it's the futureThere are a lot of specializations to choose from
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