We’re approaching the tenth anniversary of the 2013 release Shadowrun returns, and it’s only today that I learned that the game (and its two sequels) were never released on the console. I just assumed they had been that at some point! It’s a shame, so it’s wonderful to see Paradox get around to fixing it with the announcement of Shadowrun Trilogy: Console Edition.
Originally announced last year for Switch only, today we learned that the games are coming all modern consoles, old and new, which means not only Switch but also PlayStation (PS4 & PS5) and Xbox (Xbox One & Xbox Series X / S) consoles. Shadowrun Trilogy: Console Edition will be released on June 21st.
As you may have already figured out from the title, the package includes the three modern ones Shadowrun PC games: Shadowrun returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Shadowrun: Hong Kong. They are not equal ports either; The trilogy’s press release mentions “upscale graphics”, “improved performance” and gameplay optimized for use with control pads instead of a keyboard + mouse:
Shadowrun Trilogy, a remastered release of the Shadowrun Returns RPGs originally released by Harebrained Schemes, has been updated to a console experience with upscale graphics, improved performance, and controller-optimized gameplay. All three titles in the series are launched simultaneously for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
If you’ve gotten this far without knowing what the hell I’m talking about Shadowrun games are based on the old Shadowrun tabletop RPG series, whose designer, Jordan Weisman, was part of the development team for these adaptations, transforming the vast role-playing adventure that takes place in a dystopian sci-fi future – where magic lives with cyberpunk technology – into a turn-based single-player video games.
Some fun trivia before we go: the first game in the new series, Shadowrun returnsreleased in 2013, was the first video game ever launched after raising over $ 1 million on Kickstarter.