System Shock

This is an *extremely* faithful remaster of the original System Shock 1 from the 90s. So faithful in fact that in many regards it feels very old despite the new graphics and models. But, that old feeling is also its greatest strength, boasting an immersive sim gameplay that has often been copied, frequently really well, but never *quite* matched. And it shows. The atmosphere is perfect, and also presents an amazing stage for a new polish of the greatest video game villain ever created. SHODAN has, from what I understand, been re-recorded by the very Terri Brosius who voiced her in the original, and she is just **perfect**. She is scary, dangerous, unstable and psychotic in just the right combination. Highly recommended game, it is atmospheric like basically no other game in the past 30 years is.

Nightdive Studios have done an excellent job of remaking System Shock. I've only ever gotten halfway through the original game, but what changes Nightdive have done are better ones in my opinion. In cyberspace you can now move in 6 directions (yes, you can now move backwards!). The graphics are beautiful, using 'unfiltered' textures to give a retro feel, yet are still crisp. Terri Brosius returns as the voice actress for SHODAN and does a marvellous job. My only misgivings are the final battle which is quite a chore, and the real lack of inventory space (and storage space!). In similar games (e.g. Resident Evil), you are limited by inventory but you have a large storage space, and in the original System Shock I don't remember having an inventory limit (or perhaps I just never reached it). If you like the genre, or enjoyed the original, I _highly_ recommend picking this game up, it really is brilliant, and now that Atari have bought Nightdive Studios, I doubt they'll make another game nearly as good.

Game remakes are interesting things. A really good remake needs to recreate the way we remember a Good Old Game, not necessarily how it actually was. I think we've all experienced going back to play an old game with rose-tinted glasses, only to discover how frustrating and confusing things could be back in the good old days. The System Shock remake feels TOO authentic. Although I never played SS1 (my era was more Deus Ex/SS2) it's a good remake, no doubt. It looks fantastic, retro and cutting edge at the same time. It's exciting to play, darting to avoid laser fire, hoping a grenade hits its mark, the satisfaction of filling out another part of the map or finally unlocking that mystery door. The plot, obviously fresh and exciting in 1994, is rather beyond cliché now, but it's well-told and individual sections (like the emails and audio logs) are fun. That said ... I know purists will disagree, but I wish the developers had been a little more accommodating for the modern gamer. In theory all the information you need can be pieced together in-game, but in practice I found it nigh-on impossible to navigate and progress without a walkthrough open. Modern hand-holding like waypoints would absolutely ruin the game. But would a minimal quest log be too much? Would it be so bad if it logged important passcodes and information? (For example, at one point you unlock a vital code, but it isn't given to you directly: you have to find the place the code now appears, and write it down yourself. None of this was obvious to me.) There's quite a bit of backtracking, which would be fine except that enemies respawn while your ammunition doesn't. So you can get into a frustrating loop where you can't heal yourself because there are new enemies between you and the healing point; you can't destroy the enemies because you have no ammo; you can't go searching for ammo because you have no health. However ... once you re-tune your mind back 30 years, it really is a thrill to play.

I backed this project in 2016 as a fan of the BioShock series. I'm too young to have played the original, but what I wanted was some scroungy survival in confined spaces with a unique aesthetic... and that's exactly what System Shock (2023) delivers. It may feel "outdated" to some, like the UI and puzzle elements, but that's exactly what makes this game great. They're elements that don't get implimented anymore. They're hardly "out-of-date" or more "out of style" as they're perfectly functional and enjoyable, particularly the wiring puzzles (I'm one of the 2 people who loved the heck out of the hacking mini-game in BioShock 1) and cyberspace's arcade-style shooter. I'm only about 2 1/2 hours in so far and I'm hanging on every moment. So far, the narrative isn't especially original as I've seen it before likely for all the influence the original had on other games like Half-Life and, of course, BioShock. But the atmosphere, sound design, and music all make up for any short comings. Voice acting is much improved too compared to what little I played of the original. Also, no, there's nothing wrong with your game. The textures are stylistically pixelated and, yes, it looks great!

To start off, there ARE bugs but I have not encountered anything more than minor oddities here and there and a single fatal error throughout an entire playthrough - nothing that detracts from the experience and nigh permanent tension stalking the halls of Citadel Station. The soundtrack is phenomenal with some of the background ambience making me believe I was being followed the entire game. It quickly became a (necessary) habit to constantly look back and peak every corner out of paranoia. Overall, I believe the core loop of System Shock to be nearly perfected here. It never grew boring and there are always items and logs to draw you in a bit further as you creep through the ducts. Unlike more 'modern' games you are expected to hunt down a lot of information without much or any guidance to speak of - there is no real progress tracker either, so keeping in mind the main and side objectives might be frustrating for some. Codes are not filled in for you. They must be written down whether three or six digits long, some of which will end with quite a bit of backtracking for the unaware. A good rule of thumb is to write down anything that remotely seems like a code and save it for future reference.