Been playing Shadowrun: Dragonfall for the last 2 days. I'm 18 hours or so into it.
So far, so great.
This game has no voice-acting, but it's not like ever needed it. The writing, prose, character development, plot, and story is so great, so far - it's like reading a great book. I thought the original Shadowrun Returns (Dead Man's Switch campaign) was great at this stuff, but....Dragonfall's even better. Again, as I've said about Shadowrun Returns, the same could be said about Dragonfall: the prose could go up against the quality & descriptiveness of games great at this stuff, such as Planescape: Torment.
Dragonfall's combat is like Firaxis' XCOM Reboots. You take a team of up to 4 party members normally (depends on the mission) and this feels similar to games like XCOM and Fallout 1 & 2 for combat, as it's turn-based & team-based. You have action-points and a team that you use per turn - and you have to use them smartly & accordingly. When on a mission, you have a mission/map to go through - and perform a bunch of tasks. Some are optional, some aren't. There could be multiple pieces and parts to the map and mission, like XCOM: Chimera Squad. You can save at almost anytime now here (when not moving & not in combat) here, which can be helpful - and trust me, you will need to. Often, your best bet is to save when things are going very well and/or before what feels like a major piece, part, or whatever to the missions (i.e. when you change maps or finish a big shootout). Or else...well, expect to do a lot over and over again, as these missions & even parts of them just can consume some time.
But, man, sometimes...this game's missions are tough. Tactics & positioning matter, as you really need to get behind cover, flank, catch enemies in the open, and really sink points into skills properly. If there's things like explosive barrels or acid barrels nearby: use them to your advantage. Often, they are necessary to use; especially in bigger and tougher battles. Sometimes, you're best looking for choke points and/or waiting for enemies to come to you & out into the open. This is on Normal difficulty, BTW - not cranked-up, so this does feel like it's more difficult than say Shadowrun Returns; especially after the first few missions.
You also need to take the right team suited for the job, so....you will want to think on the mission type (before you go out there into the field) and plan accordingly. For example, if you got a mission w/ computers, take a Decker with you. If you got a lot of tough enemies, take a team where brute force could work and all. In others, you might need a Decker to jump into the Computer World/Matrix, which can really turn tides by taking controls of camera, turrets, etc. If a character is kicking you to go with you on a mission - chances are, you will need that person.
This game isn't just all XCOM entirely either. This is a CRPG, so you will need make decisions in-game; decide your background (at character creation - and this does matter!); level-up to pump points into stats & skills; and things of that sort. These things matter...as these can shape outcomes of missions, who winds up in your party (or not), who helps you on a mission (on turns on you), can determine if you can take a "Shortcut" in a mission, and other things of the decision-making sort often found in these late 1990's to early 2000's type of CRPG's (like Fallout 1 & 2; Arcanum; NWN: Hordes expansion; etc).
So, yeah; as long as - well, as it's planned to be Free tomorrow - Shadowrun Reboot Trilogy goes free on Epic Store and you don't have this, then...make sure you grab this! Don't hesitate! Shadowrun Returns was great (loved it); and Dragonfall is even better, so far.
And I'm already highly looking forward to Shadowrun: Hong Kong, once I wrap Dragonfall up.
y'all.
