So, Kickstarter. Despite a recent spectacular flameout on a fully funded boardgame (though check out this possible resuscitation) and a handful of other high-profile failures, it's still almost unspeakably reliable. Sure, funded projects are often delivered late, but almost all of them do deliver in the end. Shadowrun Returns, which hit Steam a couple of weeks ago, was bumped a few months thanks to stretch goal development, but it's here, it's weird, and it's worth the wait.

That's not to say that it's revolutionary, but it is good, goofy fun in a familiar (to nerds) milieu: Cyberpunk meets fantasy. The Blade-Runner-ized Seattle setting should be enough to draw in those locals who never messed around with the age-old tabletop or video games; those who did will be glad to hear that original game creator Jordan Weisman is running the show. The look and feel of the game are nearly perfect, reminiscent of Fallout with brighter, more finely detailed backdrops.

Gameplay blends RPG elements with tactical combat, and while it's fun to stat up your dwarf martial arts master or elf shaman, the other RPG elements feel a bit hollow. NPC interactions mostly shake out to choosing what variety of slang and attitude you use to respond to their exposition; occasionally you can squeeze more information out of them or accept a rare side quest, but for the most part, the game clings tightly to the rails.

The tactical side of the game is more interesting, but it's simultaneously both easy and unforgiving. If you buy the right party (unlike many other RPGs, you typically don't have folks willing to follow you for free), you can usually plow through the missions and play with stylish ways to frag your enemies. But one crit at the wrong time can kill your PC and send you back to the start point at the beginning of the mission. That's not the worst thing in the world—the missions aren't interminable—but it warrants an eye-roll every time it happens.

The real value of Shadowrun Returns is its modding potential. Like the classic Neverwinter Nights, it's got a wide-open mod development system that could yield tens of thousands of hours of extra content, some of which is sure to outshine the base campaign in terms of depth and branching storylines. As of right now, there are 124 mods available on Steam (not all of them stories, but still). Give it a few more months and you'll have endless content. Not bad for $20.

The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.