I bought this game on the artstyle. Still think that's the most beautiful aspect. The atmosphere and world-building are very nice, however the game design is far from tight. While there's a lot of good ideas in there, a lot of it doesn't work well. Enemy balance is off, cards vary wildly in their usefulness, the difficulty curve is spiky, your starting loadout is basically always the same, the player character races' abilities are not on par with each other, some concepts (like movement) barely seem to work for me, other builds (bleeding...) are very powerful, you don't have much influence over the actual deck-building part, and... there's probably more. While this is built as a roguelike, runs are quite similar at the moment and there's not really that much randomization. The parts are there, but they're not working great, which is a shame as this game is mainly a card battler and thus needs polished and tight mechanics. I think a year from now, with adequate post-release developer support, this might turn out to be a nice game. At the moment, I'd wait my time unless you're seriously into card battlers or the animals-meets-George-R-R-Martin art style.
I'm really happy I finally got around to playing this game. I got the original Shadowrun Returns years ago, and only now found the time to try it. While it is a good introduction to the whole Shadowrun thing, Dragonfall is where it's at! It is so much better than its predecessor in basically every way. The game is deep in mechanics and content, has very well-done companions, great dialogue and quests that are actually memorable and moving, with choice and consequence. Missions like "Trial Run", "MKIV" or "Lockdown" will be a gaming experience I'll remember for years. It is less linear than the first part, and really evokes the feeling of actually working the shadows. If you like fresh, memorable (and sorta dark) adventures, this might be a game for you. I'm a big Infinity Engine fan, and Dragonfall is the first game in a long time that feels like Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 felt back then. The content is different, of course, and it isn't as long and sprawling (cyberpunk pun somewhat intended), but it truly evokes the memory of playing those games 20 years ago.
Honestly, I just got and started this game but it already feels like the "soundtrack" to the Corona quarantines and lockdowns. If you live someplace that isn't affected (yet), get the game and immerse yourself in a year full of waiting.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this game. The buzz about it being a strategy/tactics revelation is correct. It's not expensive, so please just go ahead, buy it and see for yourself. I don't wanna spoil. I do however find that the game is a little too small, in a way. Of course there's lots of achievements and replayability and stuff to unlock, but I've already won the game on the second attempt. Granted, I haven't seen everything (didn't do the fourth island yet), but I believe I've seen the core. FTL was different in that regard. It was more sprawling, and it was - in my opinion - much harder, probably because it featured more randomization. I only played Into the Breach on "Normal", but winning FTL for the first time on that difficulty took me about 30 hours, and I still remember that moment fondly even now. Here, it was sort of anticlimactic, because I expected it to be near-impossible judging from the reviews. I find that when you stop and think before your turn, it's actually quite manageable - and I really am far from a grognard or chess grandmaster. So, don't worry everyone, try this year's masterpiece!
I don't always play tower defense games (in fact, I very rarely do), but when I do, it's Defender's Quest!
