Publisher: Harebrained Schemes
Genre: RPG
Summary: A late-night call from an old friend requests you solve his murder.
Gameplay: Character creation and growth is pretty fluid, with the ability to spend "karma" (experience) points wherever you choose, although higher ranks in sub-categories require equal in the category above (e.g., a five in Rifles requires a five in Ranged Combat, which requires a five in Quickness.) Higher ranks are also more expensive, so specialization is recommended. The different races have various limits and bonuses.
Combat is turn-based, with a variety of choices between shooting (with different guns and abilities), spells, spirit-summoning, throwing grenades, melee, and moving (take cover!) You can also control a drone for additional firepower. The timing of actions is neatly laid out, leading to some nice strategizing. The only annoyance is having to sometimes move around in combat mode when you're not fighting anybody.
You also sometimes hack into the Matrix to steal information or control turrets and similar fights take place there. As this usually happens when the rest of your team is fighting outside, it feels a bit awkwardly split, which rather matches the pen-and-paper game experience.
Beyond combat there are plenty of conversation options and choices where abilities offer further options.
Style: The isometric perspective has some good detail when zoomed in, although the game has a tendency to zoom out too much for my liking. The character portraits enrich the game as well. Inventory, save, quests, and character statistics can be pulled up via a side button.
Story: Dead Man's Switch starts small and builds to a satisfying conclusion through classic Shadowrun Seattle. However, there are somewhat annoying parts and I wish the game had more sidequests to flesh out the world; it's mostly pretty direct. The game has some memorable characters and evocative descriptive writing, but most of your fellow Shadowrunners are hired hands that don't add anything besides a helpful gun hand. Still, your character has choices in how to react to things.
Conclusion: Although overly straightforward and with some minor annoyances, Dead Man's Switch offers a fun story in the Shadowrun setting.