Shadowrun Returns similar games & best alternatives

Shadowrun Returns - Trailer
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Shadowrun Returns

Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch • 2013

Should you play it?

The unique cyberpunk-meets-fantasy world of Shadowrun has gained a huge cult following since its creation nearly 25 years ago. Now, creator Jordan Weisman returns to the world of Shadowrun, modernizing this classic game setting as a single player, turn-based tactical RPG.

What works

  • Engaging story and well-written dialogue
  • Tactical turn-based combat
  • Rich cyberpunk-fantasy setting
  • Character customization and progression
  • Built-in editor and community content

Things to keep in mind

  • Linear gameplay with limited exploration
  • Short base campaign
  • Lack of voice acting
  • Limited companion interaction
  • Some combat imbalance and repetitiveness

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3

  • Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich

  • Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest

  • Chroma Squad

  • Tactical Breach Wizards

  • Trash of the Titans

More exploratory

Games that feels like Shadowrun Returns but with more exploration of areas and secrets

  • UnderRail

  • Hero's Adventure: Road to Passion

  • Kingdoms of the Dump

  • Exiled Kingdoms

  • Stellar Tactics

  • Guild Saga: Vanished Worlds

Less social

Games that feels like Shadowrun Returns but with less teamwork and cooperation

  • Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus

  • Sword of Convallaria

  • Hard West

  • The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos

  • Banner of the Maid

  • Punch Club 2: Fast Forward

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Shadowrun Returns. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Shadowrun Returns. These titles are not in What to play next.

Shadowrun Returns: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Violence, Survival, Fellowship, Intimacy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Cooperation, Leadership. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Exploration.

Last update: 21/08/2026