System Shock

First time playing this series and loved it.

This game is a product of a dead era that I and i'm sure others miss terribly. It is unapologetically a product of the 90s with some nice modern shine to it. 10/10 would press the button again!!

IS GREAT WILL PLAY ALOT MORE THAN USUAL

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!

Nightdive did a fantastic job keeping the core of SS while adding polish and accessibility for modern audiences, but unfortunately that holds SSR back in some ways due to preserving 30-year old design. The levels are mazes, and no, explaining that away in a one-off audio log doesn't help. Environments are extremely square, like something out of Minecraft, with terrible readability due to the flashing lights, shiny materials, and bright colors coating every single surface. Citadel feels much less like a real place than the Von Braun. The 2D-3D transition was unkind to enemies, leaving them more goofy than horrifying. Cyberspace is floaty and unsatisfying, and issues with input and momentum made it frustrating. There are no choices (even in upgrades) or other RP elements, inconsistent consequences for death, wonky physics and jittery ragdolls, multiple reused bosses, no real replayability, and the final boss uses completely different mechanics from the rest of the game. Like I said, warts and all. There's a lot of it I loved though: No objectives, markers, or NPC ordering you around, at least for the 1st 2 acts: explore, gather info, and decide for yourself what to do next. Thankfully the map and marker system is great, and there's not so much vertical overlap it becomes useless. I never had to use the wiki to progress. Most weapons are useful, and each has unique mechanics that give them different utility in combat, which is good because your weapon choice is the only RP you get. The animations are fantastic, and the opening sequence in your apartment was a great addition. SSR is colorful and weird, and that's great. The OG was great for its time and has its moments, the remaster is expertly done, but I don't think SSR holds up as well overall compared to SS2. 3/5 game with an extra star for the quality of the remaster. Still worth a play to experience history with a fresh coat of paint. Some stutter on transitions, runs great otherwise on Linux w/ Proton 6.3-8.