Addressing the point that almost every other reviewer is making - the story in this game is absolutely phenominal. Without giving too much away the ending works well and is delivered in a way that is impactful. On to the frustrations - very minor frustrations really. The majority of this game involves solving puzzles with little combat, you do a lot of walking around and while the visuals are stunning it can feel a bit tedious and repetitive at times. For me, that aspect was right at that point where you give the game a break and get ready to move on to something else but get drawn back because of how good the story is. I understand that this is part of the story, but this game almost takes it too far (at least for me). The combat itself is very basic, you're essentially limited to two defenseive, and two offensive actions. With that said, at times the combat can still be quite unforgiving. This style works when your focus is telling an interactive story and experience, which ultimately is what this game is doing (and does well). If that story telling genre is your thing you will definitely enjoy this game.
This game has absolutely fantastic artwork and a well written, engaging story to go along with it. If you don't like reading a fair amount of text and using your imagination definitely don't bother with this game, there's hardly any voice dialogue and the cut scenes are very basic but still powerful. The soudtrack and ambient noise for this game is also very well produced. The combat system is more or less the same as previous Shadowrun titles and very simple to get the hang of (even for new players).The skill system and money systems were balanced enough that you find yourself very carefully considering what to spend your money on, weather you should get that revive kit or a sweet new samurai sword. The skill points are few enough that you can only really come close to maxing out one category so you have to think carefully how you want to play the game. The actual gameplay (like previous Shadowrun titles) is addictive if you can get into the text based style of this game. At the end of the game you'll find yourself wanting more, like with a good book. Luckily Harebrained Schemes have us covered and have included the ability to use community runs as they have in the past. I look forward to see what crazy runs/fan fiction the community can come up with!
