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Shadowrun Returns
The unique cyberpunk-meets-fantasy world of Shadowrun has gained a huge cult following since its creation nearly 25 years ago. Now, creator Jordan Weisman returns to the world of Shadowrun, modernizing this classic game setting as a single player, turn-based tactical RPG.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “Engaging turn-based tactical combat” (37 of 84 reviews) and “Engaging narrative with great characters” (26); the most common complaint is “Too linear, limited combat variety” (17). What reviewers agree on ↓
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-26 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-12.
What reviewers agree on
37 of the 84 reviews raise this.
“Not sure if I bought this or it was free. Either way it's a pretty good game. Completed 5//2//2026 Level of Fail: Broken Crackers +Story +Music +Game play +Turn based +Beautiful use of lighting +Characters and…”
“Perfect mix of tactics, character development, story, freedom.”
“Been playing the pen and paper game since it came out in 1989 and this is by far the best representation of it. If you like XCom style combat and sci-fi/ fantasy genre this will not disappoint - orcs and trolls with big…”
26 of the 84 reviews raise this.
“I've tried so many times over the years to actually finish this game - many restarts from long hiatuses - and I'm officially giving up. Almost everything about the presentation is solid but the combat is just utter…”
“Not sure if I bought this or it was free. Either way it's a pretty good game. Completed 5//2//2026 Level of Fail: Broken Crackers +Story +Music +Game play +Turn based +Beautiful use of lighting +Characters and…”
15 of the 84 reviews raise this.
“I've tried so many times over the years to actually finish this game - many restarts from long hiatuses - and I'm officially giving up. Almost everything about the presentation is solid but the combat is just utter…”
“Not sure if I bought this or it was free. Either way it's a pretty good game. Completed 5//2//2026 Level of Fail: Broken Crackers +Story +Music +Game play +Turn based +Beautiful use of lighting +Characters and…”
“If you envision this as a novel that empowers you, the reader, with opportunity to tweak some elements of the protagonist's character, background, and motivations, you can really enjoy watching this satory unfold. If…”
6 of the 84 reviews raise this.
“Been playing the pen and paper game since it came out in 1989 and this is by far the best representation of it. If you like XCom style combat and sci-fi/ fantasy genre this will not disappoint - orcs and trolls with big…”
“This is a real blast from the past! Just been a lot of to revisit!!”
“after spending some more time in dragonfall, I'd still recommend this game for a few reasons. one is that despite having more bugs overall it has less game breaking ones. two is that it has a lot more user made…”
4 of the 84 reviews raise this.
“Not sure if I bought this or it was free. Either way it's a pretty good game. Completed 5//2//2026 Level of Fail: Broken Crackers +Story +Music +Game play +Turn based +Beautiful use of lighting +Characters and…”
“If you envision this as a novel that empowers you, the reader, with opportunity to tweak some elements of the protagonist's character, background, and motivations, you can really enjoy watching this satory unfold. If…”
17 of the 84 reviews raise this · 11 of them still recommend the game.
“Short, entirely on rails with a mediocre plot, almost no backstory and basic gameplay. Not at all worth the price, probably not even on sale. I got it because it was recommended to me as being like Underail, but it's…”
“I've tried so many times over the years to actually finish this game - many restarts from long hiatuses - and I'm officially giving up. Almost everything about the presentation is solid but the combat is just utter…”
“boring af!”
11 of the 84 reviews raise this · 9 of them still recommend the game.
“Short, entirely on rails with a mediocre plot, almost no backstory and basic gameplay. Not at all worth the price, probably not even on sale. I got it because it was recommended to me as being like Underail, but it's…”
“Not sure if I bought this or it was free. Either way it's a pretty good game. Completed 5//2//2026 Level of Fail: Broken Crackers +Story +Music +Game play +Turn based +Beautiful use of lighting +Characters and…”
“Been playing the pen and paper game since it came out in 1989 and this is by far the best representation of it. If you like XCom style combat and sci-fi/ fantasy genre this will not disappoint - orcs and trolls with big…”
8 of the 84 reviews raise this · 7 of them still recommend the game.
“Short, entirely on rails with a mediocre plot, almost no backstory and basic gameplay. Not at all worth the price, probably not even on sale. I got it because it was recommended to me as being like Underail, but it's…”
“really short game. but it was good. very interesting story. i got the collection on sale, and i still got 2 more to beat.”
“An early Kickstarter and Unity success story. It admittedly plays its hand very safe. It didn't have save states in the initial release, only saving on certain checkpoints. It doesn't have the most ambitious…”
3 of the 84 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“Not sure if I bought this or it was free. Either way it's a pretty good game. Completed 5//2//2026 Level of Fail: Broken Crackers +Story +Music +Game play +Turn based +Beautiful use of lighting +Characters and…”
“An early Kickstarter and Unity success story. It admittedly plays its hand very safe. It didn't have save states in the initial release, only saving on certain checkpoints. It doesn't have the most ambitious…”
Counted across 84 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 86.6% positive rating · as of 2026-05-12
“I grudgingly recommend this game, but with a caveat. This is more of an Xcom experience than a full fledged RPG. Basically a tactical shooter with a story.”
— a player, Steam review · 11 hrs played“I enjoyed this quite a lot. The genre & world is great. I love the sort of Elder Scrolls meets Cyberpunk type situation. It was surprisingly short, i finished the main story in 10 hours. But the story that is there is good. I have most likely not scratched the surface of what is…”
— a player, Steam review · 10 hrs played“Played it because I got it for free almost a decade ago, and I do not regret it - nice science fantasy RPG romp, good writing, nice intersection between gameplay and roleplay elements, worked nicely as my lunch break game. Vaguely xcom-like in combat. Gave it a shot because I…”
— a player, Steam review · 24 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-20). Relative comparison only.
Games like Shadowrun Returns
From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut
89.8% · 5,043 reviews
shares Kickstarter, Moddable, CRPG, Cyberpunk
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition
87.4% · 3,799 reviews
shares Kickstarter, CRPG, Cyberpunk, Turn Based
Divinity: Original Sin (Classic)
91.3% · 7,644 reviews
shares Crowdfunded, Kickstarter, CRPG, Turn Based
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut
86.6% · 1,780 reviews
shares Crowdfunded, Kickstarter, CRPG, Turn Based
Torment: Tides of Numenera
70.1% · 3,158 reviews
shares Kickstarter, CRPG, Turn Based, Isometric
The Banner Saga
88.6% · 9,246 reviews
shares Crowdfunded, Kickstarter, Turn Based, Turn Based Strategy
Pillars of Eternity
87.5% · 15,923 reviews
shares Crowdfunded, Kickstarter, CRPG, Isometric
Transistor
93.9% · 18,175 reviews
shares Cyberpunk, Turn Based, Isometric, Tactical
Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-12.
| Genres | Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy |
| Player tags | RPG · Cyberpunk · Turn-Based · Isometric · Sci-fi · Indie · Strategy · Singleplayer · Tactical · Adventure · Moddable · Kickstarter (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Trading Cards · Steam Workshop · Steam Cloud · Includes level editor · Remote Play on Tablet · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain, German, Russian |
| Official site | http://harebrained-schemes.com/shadowrun/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Windows 7 Processor: x86-compatible 1.4GHz or faster processor Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: DirectX compatible 3D graphics card with at least 256MB of addressable memory DirectX®: 9.0 Hard Drive: 2 GB HD space