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System Shock Remake review roundup: A faithful replica

Tanay SharmaBy Updated:8 Mins Read Reviews

1994 saw the birth of System Shock: a semi-dystopian setting where the player deals with a dangerous AI and finds themselves wrapped up in the workings of a huge technological mystery. In 2023, we have a remastered version of the same game, which balances a graphical and gameplay overhaul.

System Shock Remake takes place in a retro-future where 2072 looks like 1994 and is set mainly on the sinister megacorp TriOptimum’s space station, Citadel. Through not-so-delightful circumstances, Citadel’s AI, SHODAN, starts taking over. SHODAN sets up a range of malicious schemes to exterminate humanity. It would help if you disrupted each of her schemes as the hacker to eliminate her ultimately and contribute to the game’s overall setting.

System Shock Remake review roundup: A faithful replica - - Guides | system shock remake review | GamesHorizon

Let’s take a look at what the reviews have to say.

“The new System Shock feels neither affectedly retro nor entirely modern”: The Verge

The Verge admires the remake’s authenticity, even with the fresher look. Based on their review, for better or worse, the combat in the remake reminds them of the original System Shock. There is a wide variety of weapons, including traditional firearms and cutting-edge choices like the series’ signature laser rapier, which is ludicrously lethal in this edition. 

Hotkeys allow you to easily switch between weapons, making it simpler to make use of each one’s special advantages. Guns feel chronically underpowered by contemporary standards, though, since your hits hardly faze foes until they are dead.

The remake heavily relies on System Shock’s propensity for forcing players to go backward in environments, not just to access new areas of a level but also to navigate the most challenging inventory tetris they have ever seen. Midway through the game, your central inventory will undoubtedly start to run out of room, just like in the original.

“Citadel’s hallways are a joy to roam in the remake, just as they were in the original”: PC Gamer

PC Gamer takes delight in the game’s nostalgic turn of events. Based on their experience, remaking System Shock and SHODAN must have been a difficult undertaking for Nightdive, because they are both renowned games that serve as iconic representations of an era and game design philosophy.

The setup of System Shock Remake is standard cyberpunk fare, and it is still simple to understand 29 years later. The faithfulness of the new rendition to the original is immediately obvious. You awaken in a hospital bay aboard Citadel Station, which is practically an exact replica of the first game’s starting location six months after your surgery.

It’s not flawless, and occasionally fighting in cyberspace involves holding strafe while maintaining a crosshair on an adversary that uncomfortably resembles an anthropomorphic octopus. 

That sounds pretty easy, but often you’ll frequently find yourself sidetracked by riddles, conflict, or whatever else. The reviewer frequently found themselves entering a new floor, unsure of what they were supposed to do there but hopeful that with enough aimless bumbling, they would finally hit the lever or hack the control panel that would advance the plot.

“Nightdive’s version of the 1994 classic emphasizes the passage of time”: Polygon

Polygon takes pride in finally getting a chance to play this classic since they might have missed a lot the first time. Based on their playthrough, the System Shock Remake is beautifully done. It hasn’t been completely reinvented, like the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, nor has it completely abandoned the original’s aesthetics and art direction, like the Shadow of the Colossus remake. However, it resembles how they remember video games from 1994 to look. 

If you enjoy playing video games, SHODAN has probably already crossed your path. You’ve interacted with a very close relative of hers if you’ve played Portal. The stereotypical female AI with no morals and a caustic, glitchy voice that SHODAN would invent has become overused. With a sense of humor and a personal grudge against the player, GLaDOS is nothing more than SHODAN. When insects enter your home, you despise them because they are underneath you and shouldn’t be there. This is how SHODAN in System Shock feels about them. His hatred is icy and pure.

When the reviewers played System Shock, what thrilled them is how little it held their hand. The first time you try to pass through the medical bay, you may eat pure crap and most likely will. It’s a game that needs you to pay attention and only sometimes indicates the next thing to do, so you could find yourself in circumstances that are impossible to resolve. As much as it promotes caution, curiosity is also rewarded. Players frequently navigated levels mostly by chance by choosing to turn down hallways that they hadn’t previously used.

“Feels more like a remaster+ than a remake”: GamesRadar+

Despite the game’s overhauled charm, GamesRadar+ makes some strong points about what the game could have done better. According to them, they have to applaud Nightdive Studios for accurately recreating System Shock from 1994 in a more up-to-date FPS setting. But they also think that it may have let a little bit of 2023 in now, over 30 years later.

With the exception of the visual improvements, this new interpretation stays so true to the original that they were able to utilize a door code from the original game from memory (not the 451 one, the one after), and much of the language and dialogue is verbatim from what came before. 

The lack of tracking and the infrequent reassurance that you are on the right course can exacerbate the doubt brought on by constant backtracking. One email among tens may suggest “doing x,” but you’ll need to figure out how to execute it and overcome any number of unmentioned challenges that crop up along the road. If you overlook a note or detail in what may eventually number over 100 emails, you could spend hours attempting to figure out what you missed. In order to attempt and make sense of everything, they have ended up with pages of handwritten notes, codes, and scribbled checklists.

They feel confused by the fact that nearly every flaw in the game can be traced back to the original, which was copied verbatim and failed to hold up to the current examination. This no longer feels like a remake and more like a Remaster+. You should adjust your own expectations in light of the possibility that part of that is because they were hoping for a modern interpretation rather than a straightforward replication.

“Nightdive has placed faith in the game as it was first constructed, despite the three decades of change that has unfolded since”: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Rock, Paper, Shotgun adores the worldbuilding and characterization that went into making this remake. According to them, there is no denying that Citadel is a huge version of a Japanese capsule hotel, consisting of a labyrinth of uncomfortable-sized passageways, cubbyholes, and crawlspaces. But it’s precisely the struggle against these confining restrictions that makes System Shock such a satisfying flashback to the mid-1990s.

You are always an escape artist, methodically pulling yourself along the foul pipe that leads to freedom from a science fiction Shawshank State Penitentiary, whether it be by rerouting power to unlock doors, finding the next lift on a darkened floor, or stuffing a grenade launcher into an already stuffed inventory.

In feeling the weight of the odds against you and lifting it with your own hands, self-sufficiency can be exhilarating. It’s a traditional style of power fantasy that doesn’t require many flashy displays to impress.

However, this updated System Shock is also undeniably contemporary. One reason is that it exudes a modern beauty that highlights the palette of Looking Glass, which begins with turquoise and orange and gets bolder from there. This station would look garish and chaotic if it were in the wrong hands.

If you’re in the mood for some space dungeoneering with one of video game’s most recognizable and influential villains, you’ll find that the remake stays quite true to the original concept. This is the result of a team that, to its credit, stood by System Shock’s 1994 thesis and trusted that, despite a 30-year change in favor of easing players’ paths, it would still be valid today. The outcome has shown them to be correct. It turns out that our sinister, cunning AI is right.

The Good and the Bad: What does the game deliver?

System Shock Remake review roundup: A faithful replica - - Guides | system shock remake review | GamesHorizon

Positives:

  • Beautifully massive retro sci-fi look
  • Tenaciously faithful replica of the original game.

Negatives:

  • Uncertain goals and progression.
  • Mediocre combat.
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Tanay is a writer at GamesHorizon. He wears many hats - musician, gamer and interactive storyteller to name a few. He's pursuing a Master's in Behavioural Sciences and holds a Bachelor's in Human Centred Design. You'll often find him taking tough life decisions in unreal worlds. Some of his favourite game studios include Quantic Dream, Rockstar Games and Telltale Games.