System Shock (2023)
System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games. Its relationship to the first System Shock is similar to that of Half Life 2 to its first with the respective sequels taking all the systems that were great about the originals and expanding upon them, allowing them breathe with more detail, variety, and possibility. But System Shock came out four years before Half Life and was nowhere as technically innovative. Boy did it need a remake. I was excited to fund its Kickstarter and despite years of delay I am very satisfied with the result.
What makes the series so great is its masterful balancing acts: between claustrophobia and exciting exploration, between moments of tense silence and bursts of intense combat, and between thrilling open-endedness and OMG how I am I going to get through this narrow corridor of danger (and what will I find on the other end). Resources are scarce, hints even more so, and thus much of the game is spent in anxiously anticipating every tidbit of progress.
The save system is precise and practically infinite, allowing you to be as experimental or as much of a perfectionist as you desire to be. Thus the resulting feelings of relief and gratification when you find a valuable item or survive a challenging ambush are famously palpable and immersive.
The story and atmosphere are so very well calibrated to these gameplay elements. These are the quintessential "surviving in a huge space station with monsters" games, surely inspired by the Alien movies, and if you love them you would also love Prey (2017), a stunning spiritual successor. And Bioshock, too.
This first System Shock is brutally primitive about all these successful elements. They are not given room to breathe as in System Shock 2, and are not supposed to. The levels are cramped and confusing. Monsters regenerate relentlessly until you find a way to turn that mechanism off, per level. You're often lacking in ammo and you're never quite sure where to go. Did you miss a hint? Probably. Backtrack and look through everything again, and quickly before the monsters come back. It's not an easy game, even with its great save system. If you complete it without consulting a walkthrough even once I will throw a parade in your honor. The bottom line is that if you're serious about engaging with its terse content you will discover that it's all quite intricately designed, deep, and rewarding.
A lot has been said about how this remake is deliberately and, for some, uncomfortably loyal to the original, most obviously regarding its design language, which employs pixelated textures and a color palette reminiscent of EGA graphics cards. In 2023. Taken as a complete package, though, it delivers a curiously powerful visual experience that is so very in-your-face retro. The cyberspace sequences especially take this up to 11, hurling you inside a fluid fantasy version of a 1990s computer. Make no mistake, though, despite looking like something out of the Tron movies this remake is much more playable than the original, with modern controls, UI, and true 3D models and lighting.
So, yes, this remake of System Shock makes some bold choices in sticking with the source material, which may not suit the tastes of all contemporary action-adventure FPS fans. I've read several reviews that found it boring, ugly, and/or frustrating. That's a fair take on this title and really also on the original game, which it steadfastly mimics. But I think that what Nightdive Studios achieved here is a mastery of balance befitting of the series, and it will go down in history as a classic among remakes. It's not how you should remake every old game, but in this case it fits hand in glove. Go bold or go home. SHODAN won't suffer the timid.