System Shock Demo

The game shows A LOT of promise. I actually really liked it. It's atmospheric. It's tense. It can also be scary in certain situations. The enemy design in this game is creepy (I like that!), and if you don't pay attention to your surroundings they can easily jump you. I had 2 instances of returning to previously cleared areas only to get jumped by 4 enemies that seem to spawn right behind the door. Normally this could be bad, but the demo level is actually quite easy and the enemy placement is mostly predictable. Besides they can't pursue you through closed doors, so if you're quick enough, there is always breathing space in a jam. Because of that, those sudden bursts of enemies in areas that you considered safe was quite refreshing (and it happens rarely). As someone mentioned - the invenory screen is similar to Deus Ex. Nothing to add. I love it. I miss this type of inventory in modern games... Now the few flaws... there seems to be a general problem with the lighting. 1. In certain areas (mostly one's with windows out into space) there were bright flashes of light from the walls/ceiling. I can asume it's a glitch with light from the star clipping through solid walls. Not really game breaking but it kills the atmosphere. 2. At times the game is a bit too dark. I get that it creates the effect, and important things mostly stand out, but sometimes you can't see nearly enough. Maybe up the gamma just slightly or introduce a rechargeable/limited use light source (like Aliens vs Predator 2)? Also subtitles don't show when enabled. I never played the original so I have no idea what Cyberspace does. I found and cleared one out, and have no idea what it did. The game never communicated to me what it was supposed to do. All in all this game looks great and plays very smooth. Frankly - I can't wait to try out the full experience! I just hope that the few hiccups will still get cleared. Night Dive shows a lot of hope, but we're not out of the woods yet!

The reboot of System Shock definitely has a lot of potential. I'll go over some of the aspects of the game and my personal thoughts on the demo. Graphics: I love the fact they were able to retain some of the original mood of the previous games. The neon colors and textures really fit into the style of the game, aside from the shine/reflections everything had. Environment: Loved the objects and cryo-chambers. Really retained the originality of the game. Some of the areas were a bit cramped in inappropriate places for me. The rooms, in accordance with the hallways didn't feel properly placed, or placed as they would be on a space station. I felt that one room went into the next with out a purpose of why it was there. Sound: While I understand where Night Dive is coming from in trying to introduce a proper intense/scary atmosphere with the use of traditional instruments, I find it completely unfitting for a couple reasons. The first being that it doesn't follow the mood of either of the originals. Which is a problem for the charming aesthetic that used to be present. Even if we remove the nostalgia factor from the game, I didn't feel that a high-tech space station from the future warranted the kind of atmosphere the orchestral sound was giving us. Because to me, System Shock is not just horror, it's created a totally unique universe of it's own. Electronic sound, technical breaks, and rugged synthesis would solidify the cyberpunk experience more thoroughly. Perhaps something more akin to zircon & Jonathan Peros' Ethical Constraints Removed remix that was used in the trailer. This one's a really important one to me. Gameplay: The control felt very smooth to me. I haven't really run into any mouse or input issues as some others have. I trust that Night Dive intends on incorporating the original RPG elements as well. The melee combat felt clunky and slow to me, but the firing of the laser pistol looked awesome and felt satisfying! Thank you Night Dive for caring

Even if its just a demo it seems to capture everything that was great from the original and made it better!

System Shock was a terrific game for its era, in all senses, specially for those that were building 3D engines those years without 3d cards and apis. I wouldn't like to hurt feelings but I have tried the demo in a dual xeon 2670 with a GTX 950 and its near unplayable. Laggy responses, unprecise attacks, etc. Sound atmosphere is lost vs original, forced stereo here and there but well, hope its just only a demo in alpha stage, made in Unity just for funding. Anyway I was going to contribute and i see... 1 million dollars for 6 months Unity development ?? Doug Church must be crying, or laughing, or who knows. Just please, tell me its not going to be a Unity development, ... I want to pay a lot for a shocking remake! lol

First, why are all the reviews here for the ancient Unity engine demo? The game now uses the Unreal Engine and this updated demo shows that. The game does look like the original SS just ported to a contemporary engine. It's a bit shiny for my taste though. You can't even read the writing such as "Medical" on the walls easily because there is so much shine to it. Most things still need a lot of tweaking from the balance to the hacking minigame which is hard to see. The UI still feels pretty clunky compared to the original but it's not terrible. I look forward to the full game but I really wonder if it will ever get finished. Between this and the old demo It's been in a pre-Alpha or Apha state for 4 years now.