System Shock

Let me preface by saying I'm a 3D/Digital artist and I've only completed the first map of the game at the time of this review. I also played the original back in 1994 and a few other times throughout my life. So this is assuming the quality for the rest of the game is consistent with what I've seen so far. Lets start with the good - It's System Shock. I've seen reviews saying it's faithful to a fault. Well, that's what people who played the original want. We want the exact same experience, but without issues from running an old game and limited graphics. So with this alone, this game should be 10/10, specially when compared with some "remasters" we have been getting. - The control scheme is much better than the original, so that's an welcomed change. - Graphical design is exactly the same as the original with minimal concessions here and there - Very few bugs so far, which is a blessing compared to the releases we get these days. - FOV slider, thank you for not giving me a headache. Not only that but it has sliders for the cyberspace as well, which is even more motion sickness inducing. And the bad - Motion blur on by default and no way to turn it off unless you drop shaders quality. This is unacceptable. Motion blur is trash and only belongs in certain games and in certain conditions. This is not one of them. FPS games should -never- have motion blur.You gave us FOV sliders but dropped the ball on this one. Go figure. - Graphical design is exactly the same as the original. Which lets be honest here, the textures in the original system shock were terrible. They are all high frequency and when translated to 3D surfaces, it makes the game look even more busy visually. The only solution I can think of would be having better aesthetics as a separate graphical pack, but that would be even more work for a remaster that is already really good. So I can't fault them for that.

Disclaimer: I'm still playing the medical level but I have to get this out in the open: I have played the old SS1 several times over the years (the first time at it's release). But when I started up the remake, I instatly felt "at home". The levels, the textures, the sounds, the enemies: Everything resonates in a good way. I just stopped playing because I got killed and had forgotten to save for quite a long time. But even that has some good retro waves! If you were a fan of the original, go play it! But remember: "Save early, save often!"

This is how a remake should be made. It should both be faithful to the original while discarding the vestigial traits that are no longer relevant. If you liked the original SysShock, this is awesome and you should get it. If you're new, it's awesome, but it WILL NOT HOLD YOUR HAND. This is an immersive sim. You need to read mails, listen to journals, and figure out where you need to go on your own. It's a proper dungeon crawl in space and I love it.

Tl;dr: I recommend the remake if you want to experience System Shock as a game. However, I recommend the original if you want to understand how and why was System Shock such an influence. What I liked: - Weapon changes - Most of the levels are faithful to the original. - Enemies look distinct and creative. - Vending machines, recyclers for junk items, ATMs, etc. - Simplified UI, but it kept the original's funky vibe. Grid inventory is a huge upgrade compared to the original, However you can't customize the views like in the original and can't type after placing markers on the map like in SS2. - New VO for logs and messages. What I didn't like: - The hacker wasn't supposed to handle weapons this good. In the original, certain guns kicked you on the ground. I missed this feature as it takes away from the "immsim" experience. - Grid UI could have been more flexible - While the movement and leaning was simplified in a good way, I would have liked a system similar to the new Wolfenstein, where you have a dedicated button for leaning in any direction. This way you would have the ability to crawl, hide behind boxes and shoot above them, etc. - I missed the dynamic music system the original had. There were blog posts by the devs how they want to implement this, but ultimately we have the "usual" exploration and combat music. I also felt that the music just can't keep up with the game. The original helped the player a great deal to understand what is happening in the environment. - Lack of dark corridors, horror atmosphere. Maintenance for example is just super bright and the music is not as distinct as in the original, so it feels like just another level. I couldn't even breath when playing the original. - The cyberspace didn't get the grand reimagination as I hoped. - The puzzles are fine, but the variety is lacking. - The last bits were just too unrefined. The bridge level and the main boss fight were underwhelming after Security. No biomechanical stuff, either.

As is, the game is OK, but still lacks some promised quality of life improvements and features an ending section, which is exceptionally lackluster. We've a changelog for the up-coming 1.2 update, but unfortunately its release will be tied to the console release which is yet to be announced, but likely happening during the 1Q/2024. There isn't much in terms of replayability, so I would highly encourage waiting for the update before playing the game. There are also several mods available to adjust the atmosphere to be a bit darker and moodier - as is, the game is so light you'll NEVER have to use a flashlight.