In only two hours, Shadowrun: Hong Kong completed its $100,000 goal on Kickstarter yesterday and is already on its seventh stretch goal at $450,000. By the time this article goes live, hell, they might have moved on to its eighth goal. It's moving that blindingly fast!
By the development team that brought you Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director's Cut, this standalone sequel and self-described "cyberpunk tactical cRPG" will take place in 2056 within the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone. Your motley crew will need to navigate an underworld of triads, not unlike Sleeping Dogs… except far more technologically advanced and far more steeped in magic. Yes, Harebrained Schemes is pulling out all the stops.
Your team will feature characters that can control the battlefield in multiple ways. Gobbet the Rat Shaman can trap enemies with magic, consume spirits from enemy shamans, and buff barrier spells. Duncan Wu the Security Specialist serves as the tank and main crowd control character, whereas Is0bel the Decker can snipe foes from a distance and has many tools for espionage. With the pledgers already reaching two of the stretch goals, both Racter the Rigger and Gaichu the Former Red Samurai will be added as team members too.
The game promises to contain a 12+-hour non-linear story with branching narratives, and a combat system where every choice matters, particularly when moving from cover point to cover point. The built-in editor will also allow players to create their own stories and share their campaigns with others.
Rewards for pledging include soundtracks, an e-novel, a digital tools box, portraits, a sourcebook and a messenger bag. Beyond the $180 level are collectible figures, a custom portrait and character mention in the e-novel ($500), being an in-game NPC ($1,000), having a co-producer credit with a two-hour consultation with Shadowrun creator Jordan Weisman ($2,500). The final pledge reward of $10,000 will give you a co-executive producer credit plus participation in a celebration with the studio… oh, and Shadowrun luminary Mike Mulvihill will come to your town and run a game of Shadowrun for you and up to four of your friends.
