01//Briefing
The Shadowrun setting mixes cyberpunk with fantasy: elves hack the Matrix, shamans summon spirits, and dragons run corporations. Dragonfall takes place in the Flux State, a stateless, anarchist Berlin. A job goes wrong, your old friend and crew leader Monika is killed, and your small crew takes runs around the city while chasing a conspiracy. The Director's Cut is a standalone version with extra missions and reworked combat.
02//In the field
Combat is turn-based with action points and cover, close to a lighter XCOM. You mix street samurai, mages, deckers (hackers, who enter a separate Matrix layer mid-mission), riggers with drones and shamans with spirits. Fights are usually manageable on normal difficulty; this is a story game with tactics, not a tactics game with story.
03//The city
Berlin is told mostly through text, but the writing is vivid and specific: a slum hub called Kreuzbasar acts as your home, with people you help along the way who come back. The art is static isometric illustration that holds up better than you would expect.
04//Systems & choice
Your crew is the heart of it. Glory, Eiger, Dietrich and Blitz each have personal missions and long conversations that change how they see you, and some major choices have real consequences in the finale. Character building is classless and free: put karma into whatever skills you want.
05//On your rig
It runs on any PC. Steam lists it as Unsupported on the Deck: it can launch, but the interface was not built for a controller or a small screen, so plan to play on desktop. Expect plenty of reading; the game assumes you enjoy text.
Upgrades
- Some of the best writing in any cyberpunk game
- Crew members with real personal arcs
- Flexible, classless character building
- Cheap for thirty-plus hours
Bugs
- Combat is rarely challenging
- Unsupported on Steam Deck
- Lots of text, little voice acting
BEST FOR
Players who love tabletop RPGs, reading and party banter.
SKIP IF
You want action, voice acting or deep tactical challenge.
SC//Scores
- Story & writing ×25%
- 4.7
- Play feel ×25%
- 3.6
- World & atmosphere ×20%
- 4.2
- Systems & choice ×15%
- 4.4
- PC tech ×15%
- 3.4
4.7×25% + 3.6×25% + 4.2×20% + 4.4×15% + 3.4×15% = 4.085 → 4.1
FINAL VERDICT
Dragonfall is the most literary game on our chart. The tactics are light, but the setting, the crew and the choices are excellent, and it is a bargain for how much story it contains.
Written by the Game Top Guide editorial desk · Updated 3 Oct 2026 · How we rate · Report an error
