I can see why a lot of people have enjoyed this game, but to me it feels like only half of two better games. It's only half shooter because the shooting is extremely basic/simplistic, and you don't really need any aiming skill or to use different weapons (you can't even carry multiple weapons). It's also only half of a "Hotline Miami" clone. The variety of weapons is extremely lacking, and the storyline is goofy, which is pretty fun, but just not engaging or dramatic, like Hotline's was.
I was something like 10 years old when I played the first System Shock, and I think the game was already a few years old at that time. I was able to mod it to obtain mouselook, but even then I never finished it. I remember being blown away by the game's atmosphere, story, and even gameplay, but the controls and user interface were just too clunky for my age. I have booted up System Shock many times since then, and was able to successfully beat the entire game more than once, installing various improvement mods over the years. This modern remake does everything right, and captures the original game almost perfectly; just minus the horrible controls and clunkiness. For those who are expecting a modern game experience, this may actually be bad news: this remake still plays very much like a game that was released in 1994! Just the very BEST version of that older game. However, if you like immersive sims, horror, or scifi games, you owe it to yourself to experience this masterpiece and historical moment in gaming history!
The visuals and sound design in this game are fantastic. It perfectly nails the Lovecraftian aesthetic, and everything is suitable creepy, dark, and violent. There is a large variety of enemies and they are all impressive in their design. That being said, the actual gameplay is just "meh." This is a very basic "Doom-like" shooter. It's as much fun as your average Doom mod/WAD, and it actually less interesting than the BEST Doom mods that are out there! A lot of the weapon upgrades are not very impressive, and while they change the look of the gun (which again, is very cool) they don't really change how the gun is used in any serious way, so they are just straight damage upgrades. These kinds of upgrades just seem like a waste of time. I would much rather just find an upgraded gun, instead of dealing with a "skill tree" or whatever it's called. The characters have special abilities, and again, they just aren't interesting. I made the mistake of playing as the Priest, which is obviously not the character the developer wants you to play as. While there is enemy variety, their AI is very basic. There are just two basic types: enemies that shoot at your from far away, and enemies that rush you in a straight line. It's not a bad game by any means, but it just didn't hold my attention like other retro boomer shooters have. I will likely buy and try the sequel as well, to see if I like it better.
This game has the exact feel of old school "Zmobies Ate My Neighbors" from the SNES. It plays just like that game, looks even better, and is loads of fun! However, there are serious issues with it. First are the bugs. There aren't many, but a persistent, often game-breaking bug, can happen where you get stuck on a wall, or between two indestructible objects. It actually happened to me during my first (and only) playthrough. Luckily I had an explosive weapon, which didn't actually kill me, but moved me enough to squeeze me out of the corner between a piece of the environment and a wall. I had tried EVERYTHING else before using this weapon, and nothing worked, so I was terrified that my entire game was over and I would have to restart (or more likely just drop the game). Speaking of weapons, there are some odd game mechanics, and the weapons are one of them. You don't have access to all of the weapons as the game progresses. So if you find a weapon you really like, and upgrade it, you NEED to keep it! Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to regain a handful of weapons later in the game. Especially in the last 20% or so, when you've almost beaten it, you aren't able to buy/acquire all of the prior weapons! I have no idea why they thought this would be a good idea. Finally, the biggest issue of all is how short the game is. The entire game is about 8 hours long. I spent a few hours grinding the slot machines and certain weapons, and my total playtime is 10 hours, so 8 is probably an accurate estimate. I predict that if you played the entire thing co-op (which is a great feature) it might be even less. When I finished the game (the ending is horrible, by the way), my first reaction was "that's it?" It genuinely felt unfinished, and I think that is the case. It seems like the development team ran into a deadline, or ran out of money and just finished it up with what they had. It's a fun game, but I would recommend you get it at 50% off.
