System Shock Demo

This is a pre-alpha (did I understand that right, PRE alpha?) version and of course is not even close to perfect. (The fact I can replicate empty cans like crazy, or can't drink a soda in game are examples) and had a the game crash on me are evidence to that... unless it's more evidence that Unity 5.x is buggy itself. The requirements seem a little heavy, even for using Unity. BTW: Unity should make it fairly easy for them to port to Mac and Unix. BTW: replicating the cans was me trying to drop them into the power panel next to the maintenance lift, I didn't manage to lose a single can, yet dropped as many as I wished, which I could then pick most of them up. As the title says, potential exists. Even with bugs and a delay with swinging a pipe, the game gave opportunity to show the original off in what is fairly smooth game play. It still has a way to go as its pre-alpha,It will be interesting to see a more finished product (perhaps much closer to beta test than alpha.) Unfortunately for it, it is also going up against the stigma that the Unity Engine is garbage. I do wish to see a demo further along in the development process before I really critique it though.

Although quite short, the atmosphere was already well set up. User Interaction felt immediately good. Only the small task with the circuit board was not obvious from the start. Overall looking forward to that remake. Looks very promising.

One of the most engaging games I've ever played. I wish this demo had graphic settings because my PC can't handle the recommended system requirements. The demo crashed for me so I had to uninstall it. I REALLY want to own this game one day though. It's a great remake so far. Highly recommended to all System Shock fans.

If I had the opportunity to play this when the crowdfunding went live, I would have donated immediately. Never really having played the original, I can't attest to how close it sticks to its source material. I can say this, however: I am definitely looking forward to the final version now. While the original is somewhat notorious for its "maximalist" control scheme, I can personally attest that this is definitely streamlined in comparison. Some may complain that this rebinding has dumbed the game down, I feel it definitely makes it infinitely more playable. Without having the opportunity to experience the final product, you definitely have plenty of mutants and inventory management to contend with. That said, combat feels a little unbalanced right now. While the lead pipe feels solid and weighty, it is definitely too easy to get hit. Personally I felt as though I was out of attack range on many occasions only to end up taking damage. Enemy AI seems fairly rudimentary as well with many enemies in the demo simply bumping up against you in the night. That said, these are minor complaints out of an experience that definitely has me looking forward to the end product. What we currently have feels remarkably expansive for what it is and dense with atmosphere. It is not a flawless experience, but it is definitely a promising one.

My initial thoughts after I've only managed a 25+ minute run brutally ended by one of the various cyborgs encountered. As short as it was, this experience has made of an enough impression on me: +- the demo does state that the "levels contain placeholder content and graphics" so there's still a lot of work to be done. As a general rule, the graphics style are an interesting mix . I don't know how much of the pixelated textures are going to be kept, I suppose none, but they look fine enough to make me think that their final version will be eye candy. There are problems though. The frequent frame drops when opening doors (i5 2500k, RX590 here, 15 GB DDR3) are a nuisance. The station looks ... empty - I'd love to see a more objects on the station. More variety regarding human and cyborg models is to be expected in the future - the mutants seem to have some, so there's hope at least; +- the animations are in the right direction but feel a bit unnatural during fighting; the ones involving the usage of various objects are spot on; ++ the HUD is constantly being updated using various implants our hacker encounters and is a joy to behold; + the music is really to my liking; I admit that I can't compare it to the original since I did not get to playing. From what I've seen it is fitting for a game involving hackers and demented AI entities; +- I can't comment much on the in-game voices as i've only found about 5 journals during my first run; some seem flat, others are good; needless to say, Shodan is fabulous; -- no saving system - one cannot save any kind of progress which is quite a shame. Sure, other demos lack this function as well but I just wish it had one. It would've made my life a lot easier to check it out. As it currently stands, I'll have to ensure myself an hour of undisturbed gaming, quite a luxury after a certain age. I'll add further feedback once I have had more time with the demo. It looks promising.