Shadowrun on the Genesis is this weird, grimy little cyberpunk RPG that somehow still holds up. You start off dumped in a back alley with nothing but a pistol and a vague idea of how to survive—which honestly feels about right for the setting. The first thing that hits you is the atmosphere: neon-lit streets, corporate goons lurking in the shadows, and this constant hum of danger. It’s not pretty by today’s standards, but the pixel art has this rough charm that nails the dystopian vibe.

Gameplay’s a mix of real-time combat and turn-based hacking, which sounds clunky but somehow works. Early on, you’re scraping together cash for better gear or cyberware while figuring out who to trust (spoiler: almost no one). The magic system feels out of place at first—elves and wizards in a cyberpunk world?—but it weirdly clicks once you realize how brutal a fireball is against some corpo’s security team.

It’s janky in places, and the learning curve’s steep, but there’s nothing else quite like it. You either bounce off hard or get sucked into its ugly, fascinating world for hours. Still one of the best cyberpunk RPGs out there, warts and all.