It isn’t often that we see tabletop games make their way to our screens in the form of video games.
Shadowrun Returns keeps the turn-based strategy play style even in video game form, making for a much more authentic tabletop experience.
Though the story isn’t nearly as long as most RPG’s nowadays, the level editor makes it possible to play through loads of different user content, infinitely expanding your playtime.
Here are some of the best mods you can get for Shadowrun Returns.
When it comes to graphics, Shadowrun Returns isn’t exactly anything to rave about.
The visuals aren’t lackluster either, especially since the completely hand drawn environments really bring the dystopian world to life at times.
Graphics were never really an important consideration with this type of game anyway… but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to miss out on whatever upgrades we can get.
ULO Shadowrun Edition introduces a host of lighting and post-processing effects to liven up the visuals a bit, making for some more impressive mood and atmosphere overall.
Personalized Player Portraits is another way to expand on your character creation options, adding a long list of portraits to the game.
This mod packs quite a punch, adding 400 completely new portraits for you to choose from.
What’s even better is that the mod doesn’t remove any of the game’s original portraits. So you’ll still have those as options as well.
The portraits in the pack appear to fit pretty well with the overall theme, and throws in a couple of fun ones as well like Beavis from the MTV animated series.
As I mentioned earlier, the game’s built-in level editor makes it possible to play through completely custom user-created content.
This basically means that even after completing the vanilla story, you’ll have loads more to do once you start diving into some of the custom campaigns the community has to offer.
If you’re not quite ready to stray too far from the original, then you’re probably going to want to give this custom Dead Man’s Switch campaign a try.
The mod is essentially a modded version of Act 1 from the vanilla story, introducing a number of gameplay tweaks as well as other mods to make things a bit more interesting and challenging at the same time.
The Assault on Cesh Coran Labs is the first among the completely new campaigns we’re going to cover, as it’s a great place to start if you’re just about to get into playing mod campaigns.
The modder doesn’t give much away in terms of story.
But he recommends that you play with the same character you finished Dead Man’s Switch with.
What’s great here is that the entire story is already packed into one mod, so you won’t have to go back and forth just to get the complete package.
This modded campaign follows a father who lost his daughter, and the mysterious return of a serial killer who has supposedly been dead for two years.
While the mod doesn’t introduce many original elements and remains to be linear for the most part, it’s another good option for first timers to get a better idea of what custom campaigns might look like.
A Stitch In Time is one of the more popular custom campaigns for Shadowrun, as many in the community consider it to be one of the best out there.
This mod separates itself from some of the more story-driven campaigns by making gameplay more exciting.
This is achieved by throwing in a lot more fight sequences than you’d typically get in a Shadowrun playthrough. So if that’s something you enjoy then for sure check this out.
The campaign contains over 30 missions, side quests, and even new equipment, spells, and abilities, all adding up to over 12 hours of play time.
The Deep One is another custom campaign that has received raving reviews from the community, and has been said to be one of the most polished Shadowrun mods available.
The story begins one year after the events of Dead Man’s Switch. You’ve somehow found your way back to rock bottom and must devise a plan to get back on your feet.
The campaign comes with 34 scenes and even introduces diverging storylines, making for a much more dynamic playthrough than you’d expect from Shadowrun.
Plus the sandbox gameplay allows for much more freedom and exploration.
Like The Deep One, The Price of Conviction stays within Shadowrun lore. Except this time it switches the focuses to Sam’s sidekick Coyote to tell a completely different side of the story.
Depending on certain decisions you made in Dead Man’s Switch, The Price of Conviction continues Coyote’s quest to destroy BTL Industries.
The mod is much smaller compared to other custom campaigns.
But what makes this different is that it encourages replayability by allowing you to accomplish your objectives through different play styles.
Many of the longer mod campaigns were released episodically, and Little Town is the first one we’re going over on the list.
Little Town completely changes the game’s setting – trading in the gritty Seattle streets for a story based in New York City instead.
The campaign isn’t related to the original Shadowrun lore, so you’ll be introduced to completely new characters as you play through it.
Little Town follows a non-linear play style as well. And with that, the decisions you make throughout the story will have different effects on the outcome.
KILL-CITY Detroit takes the opposite approach, on the other hand, providing you with a much more action-packed Shadowrun experience.
The events of the campaign are centered around Old Detroit, where we don’t know much else other than that shit is going down tonight – and you are the one causing it.
The mod places a heavy focus on making combat more interesting – including the ability to control up to 8 runners at any given time.
From The Shadows is one of the most popular custom campaigns for Shadowrun, and the story has since been expanded into three separate acts.
The campaign follows another completely original storyline with new characters, so everything in the mod will feel fresh.
We’re not given much to go by here either, as all we know is that we’ll be uncovering the mystery of something called “Project Omen” throughout our playthrough.
But if you’re looking for an option that will allow you to dump loads of additional hours into Shadowrun, go ahead and try From The Shadows.
