System Shock® 2 (1999)

Imagine that I played through this game in 2019 after games like "Prey" or the whole "Bioshock"-Series. First it was difficult for me to get into the game (as there is no handholding in old games), but after a while it "clicked" and I played it through completely. I have to say, even if the graphics are poor for today and the shooting feels clunky, it´s one of the best games I have ever played in my life. It really shows how good games were in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The atmosphere is just great, the story is captivating and the degree of freedom that you have here (in terms of gameplay) is just incomparable. Yes, Bioshock is a great game, too (one of my favourites, to be honest), but it feels "dumbed down" in terms of gameplay in comparison to this one. Yet, the freedom might be problematic for new players since one can easily invest in the wrong character traits, which makes the game almost unbeatable in the end. Don´t choose a high difficulty setting if you play it for the first time. Moreover, don´t hesitate to read for tips and hints (if you need to). Pros: - fantastic atmosphere - captivating storyline - part of gaming history - freedom of gameplay - long game, good content Cons: - difficulty level is rather high - many enemies reappear all the time (gets tedious) - shooting is clunky, no feedback (okay, it´s not a shooter)

Bad graphics, since its very old, but even when it came out graphics were bad compared to other games. Why 5 stars then? Well, the atmosphere and overall vibe and flavor, and how the game is set up is all unbelievably good. Some games just have it, some don't.

So I am just playing this title in 2021, and I can say it must have really been ahead of its time! There are so many unique abilities, and ways to go about getting though each section, and the player can really dictate the playstyle they want to go for. It was very enjoyable, and the GOG version comes already with 1080p, so I easily changed the resolution as was ready to go! Loved it!

I had always thought I beat System Shock 2 back when it came out, apparently I had only played through the demo. My goodness what an insane rabbit hole this thing goes down! It's impressive as it isn't wildly atmospheric, but things get so damn sideways that it really started putting chills down my spine and leaving me completely spent by the end! If your gonna play on hard difficulty, do a little research into your character build, as this thing gets absolutely brutal at the end if you don't have your character built right. Highly recommend this to anyone who doesn't need cutting edge graphics and atmosphere, as this game puts most modern games to shame.

I played this back in the 90's as a teenager and it was incrediable. One of my favorate games. It's from another time in humanities history, back when the world wasn't broken and destroyed by those who seak to ruin our species. Worth playing in 2023 and I hope they do a remake like they did the first game.