System Shock: Enhanced Edition

An excellent update of one of the best PC games ever. More than an FPS, System Shock induces you to think constantly, manage your resources cautiously and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The atmosphere, tension and storyline that unfolds through logs, emails and other scraps of information help build a terrifically immersive world. You tend to 'visit' Citadel Station rather than play the game. Once you get over the unique controls, (switching between mouselook for aiming and the mouse for managing your equipment etc) and that this is NOT a run-n-gun Doom-clone, you really begin to inhabit the station and the storyline. Exploring and progressing while mutants continually spawn behind keeps the tension high but the balance of challenge and reward is just right throughout. I actually played this as a kid but was too terrified to progress very far and it was only after finishing the (actually much scarier) sequel I decided to revisit the original and -oh my -it still retains its terror and charm. Thoroughly and unreservedly recommended.

I just finished this game for the first time this year, so no real nostalgia goggles here. Sure I'd tried it before, but like for so many other people the UI put me off 15 minutes in. I did play System Shock 2 when it was new though, and I'm reasonably comfortable with early 90s games. Others may have a harder time getting adjusted. System Shock is intense and atmospheric still in 2020, and I came to it after finishing Prey (2017). The game that started the "immersive sim" genre can still stand on its own merits, if anything newer titles are still drawing from it. There were some annoyances sure, but I found the hype mostly justified. Instead of a longer review I'll just share some setup tips and other things I'd wish I'd known before playing. I also suggest you read the mini FAQ on the GOG forums. - To really enjoy the soundtrack, replace the lousy default Windows MIDI soundfont. Google "system shock virtualmidisynth" and you should find a Steam guide with instructions to replace the soundfont. - This game really takes some time to get used to thanks to the infamous UI and control scheme, so don't get discouraged too quickly. Enhanced Edition really helps and runs natively on modern systems (DOSBox is there for the original edition), but mouselook still has to be toggled all the time as you can't do many UI interactions with it on. The default controls for EE are pretty good but can always be customized. - You've probably heard this before, but remember to save often. No auto save here! There is a very forgiving resurrection mechanic though, but that has to be found and activated on each level. Also, saves are not dated or sorted so get in a habit of saving in slot 1 before quitting, or naming saves descriptively.

System Shock has, without a doubt, revolutionized the FPS genre and how it will be designed and felt throughout the decade. Although the second entry is more famous ( as the other pretenders such as the Bio or Deus ex saga), the first one sets the stone that will lay foundation to a completely new way of thinking about FPS and how cyberpunk games HAVE to be conceptualized, This is one the few cases that I'll not write anything about the game ( about its mind-blowing core mechanics, masterful level design nor its magnificent way to narrate the plot) but I'll say just this : if you are aficionado of the FPS genre, a retrò gamer or just one that enjoys gaming in general, System Shock is THE masterpiece to play, period. It time to explore, hack, survive, destroy and escape the clutches of a crazy IA and to extrapolate from its difficult and complicated exterior the literal art that this game was, is and probably will be.

I only ever played the enhanced edition of System Shock, so I don't know what the original was like. Judging from other reviews it had pretty wonky controls and I don't feel masochistic enough to try wrestling with that. In any case, the enhanced version of the game is plain fun, incredibly immersive and addictive. Even the linear story doesn't take away from that, because there are a number of ways of finding crucial piece of information or solving certain tasks. In many ways the game reminds me of Deus Ex, which is one of my favourite games ever. I'm pretty sure I haven't even explored everything on the first try, so I have a few mysteries left for the next run. The game is really well designed and I love the fact that for most of the game you don't have to care much if you die because you don't lose any progress--once you disable cyborg conversion you just get revived automatically upon death. Frequently used elevators between the levels are strategically placed to avoid too much pointless wandering back and forth, and sometimes there's even a teleport available. Charging stations are also usually conveniently placed so you don't have to trek too far when you just quickly need to recharge and move on. The only issue I had was some kind of bug with the maps, when sometimes my notes in the maps disappeared, or I wasn't able to add notes at all, making it a bit harder to navigate. It was supposedly fixed with a patch, but I ran the game for the first time AFTER the patch was introduced, and even after a few re-installations the bug persisted to some extent.

The original System Shock featured a clunky control scheme that may have turned a lot of people off. This Enhanced Edition remedies that problem by making the game far more accessible so its greatness can be properly appreciated. The Classic Edition is also included in this package however, so it can still be played in its original form. The game is a survival horror experience like no other. Most of the environments are brightly colored and the music on its own is more upbeat rather than scary. This did not stop System Shock from keeping me on edge throughout my entire playthrough as I explored the narrow corridors of a space station where everything is trying to kill you. Characters will occasionally send you communications, though most of the story is being told through audiologs of the station's deceased crew. These recordings steadily paint the picture of how a rogue A.I. called S.H.O.D.A.N. (let loose by the player) has taken control of all systems aboard the space station and is reshaping everything in its twisted vision, and how it plans to do the same thing to the people back on Earth. The creepy way in which it addresses the player backed by excellent voice acting make S.H.O.D.A.N. one of the most memorable villains of any videogame. It is important to pay close attention to the contents of the emails and audiologs as they sometimes contain vital clues on how to proceed. This unclear progression can be frustrating at times, but it's also part of the game's intended challenge and is the reason why finally beating it feels so satisfying.