Dragonfall had you frequently making choices based on morals, but Hong Kong is more reserved with that. Which is kind of odd, since there’s less moral ambiguity this time around. In a way, that makes it feel a bit closer to film noir. Hong Kong is more character –focused and zoomed in. In the previous game, it only takes a few missions before it establishes what a horrible situation you’re in. Hong Kong is a much slower boil than Dragonfall was. THIS IS SOME FRAGGING DREK WE’VE GOTTEN OUR HOOPS INTO It’s at least a nice deviation from the amnesiac everyman who discovers things as they go. It’s somewhat weird to be given a backstory in an RPG, and even weirder that you don’t start out as a Shadowrunner, but are instead forced into the role. You spend some time in prison, then eventually are called to help your foster father. Eventually, you’re picked up by your foster father and live under his care with your friend, Duncan, whose name I struggled to remember because he’s so damned generic. You were a kid growing up on their own in the Redmond Barrens of Seattle. Unlike the previous Hairbrained Schemes’ Shadowrun titles which had you playing as some no-named amateur shadowrunner with an ambiguous past, this time you’re given a full backstory. The plot centers around some sort of dark force that seems to be emanating from the reconstructed Kowloon Walled City a giant slum that was built on the site of where the real-world Kowloon Walled City was, because it worked so well the first time. You’re then left to discover why he was even in the city, what he was doing, and why someone wanted him dead. Here we go again with Shadowrun: Hong Kong, wherein you show up to the eponymous city and find out that your foster dad has been killed in a hit job. Every game in the series that I’ve played has essentially centered around revenge on some level, going all the way back to Shadowrun on the SNES. I’ve said it once before, but in the world of Shadowrun, you can set your watch to all the revenge going on. I’m finished with it, is what I’m saying.

Or maybe it should be some similar analogy, but with chopsticks. I finally went back and finished Shadowrun: Dragonfall, and now it’s time to stick a fork into Shadowrun: Hong Kong.

I own them all, I played them, but previous to this year, I’d only finished the first Shadowrun Returns. However, as fond as I am of the license, I must admit that I haven’t given due attention to the trio of Shadowrun games created by Harebrained Schemes. Give it a bit of time, I’m sure I’ll be GMing a group one of these days. With every passing year, I become more familiar with the subject matter and more involved with it. It seems like every summer I get into a Shadowrun kick where I read a few novels, browse through some sourcebooks, and dive back into the video games.

Which shadowrun game is best