Technology merges with flesh and consciousness. Magic has returned to the world, awakening powerful creatures of myth and legend. Dragonfall has its share of twists, but I never found myself losing track of who the actual bad guy was, or who manipulated whom, and to what end.The year is 2054. The plot is also far less convoluted than the conspiracies-within-conspiracies-within-conspiracies techno thriller presented in Dead Man's Switch. The gray, moral choices I was forced to make stand side-by-side with the most gut-wrenching dilemmas in any Bioware game, and it's really the lack of finishing touches and production value that keeps Harebrained Schemes' best work from being in that same league. Thankfully, Dragonfall's story is superb enough to make up for it all and then some. I was glad the choice was available, but quickly grew apprehensive to use it for this very reason. They tended to crop up when I reloaded a save created right before or after triggering a major plot point.

The trigger for some of these issues actually seemed to be the ability to save anywhere in a level (a welcome feature that was absent in Dead Man's Switch). And then there was that one battle wherein one of my party members completely vanished for no discernible reason. A few other times, I only thought I couldn't progress because my quest log and map markers didn't update, even though the next step in the mission had been activated.

Two side quests were rendered incompletable thanks to broken triggers. Outside the line of fire, I smacked up against some prominent bugs and unpolished corners of the game world. You will still run into some pretty severe difficulty spikes in the mid and late game, but as mentioned previously, there are also a lot more viable options for avoiding combat (which grant the same amount of progression points as if you'd shot your way through). The possible party combinations are still extensive-I used a mix of Finn the gunslinger, a cyborg with claw hands and a ridiculous number of actions per round, and a support shaman that summoned spirit familiars while handing out buffs. Encounters are still exciting and imaginative, with a few new additions like ley lines that boost a spellcaster's power, at the expense of usually being located outside of good cover. The turn-based combat hasn't changed, which is a good thing. Their backstories are layered and believable, as are the ways their relationships with you can develop. I could tell you hardly anything about my allies from Dead Man's Switch, but I bonded with Dragonfall's cast on the same level I have my crews in Mass Effect and Planescape: Torment. My goal: to avenge a fallen comrade and unravel a plot involving a powerful dragon in the heart of Berlin, Germany's вЂњFlux State,вЂќ where anarchy reigns, and street smarts will get you further than business etiquette.ДЇilling out the roster are some of the most interesting and unforgettable party members I've ever had the pleasure of sharing my healing items with. Instead, I took on the role of a pistol-wielding, fast-talking elf named Finn. I was, sadly, unable to import my pugilistic troll, Punchgar the Blooded, from the original Dead Man's Switch campaign. The new campaign for last year's crowdfunded, turn-based tactical RPG puts you at the head of a fresh team of Shadowrunners: elite free agents who shoot, hack, swindle, and detonate their way to payday on the fringes of society. I wasn't expecting one of the most memorable and complex RPG stories of the decade. Dragonfall managed to get the drop on me, though. In a post-magipocalypse future where trenchcoated, wizardly elves cast shield spells on hacker allies while orcs with machine guns shower them with lead, it pays to be prepared. Jacking back into Shadowrun Returns for the new Dragonfall campaign, I thought I was ready for anything.

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