System Shock Review (PC)

With the rise of AI in our day-to-day lives, System Shock couldn’t be more relevant. Being hunted by an artificial intelligence that went rogue on a space station that threatens the existence of humanity is one of the scenarios we could very well confront in the not-so-distant future.

Jokes aside, System Shock is one of the few cult games that I wanted to play but couldn’t due to the outdated visuals and obsolete gameplay mechanics. The remake released by Nightdive Studios completely removes one of the issues I had for not playing System Shock, and partly the second.

After spending dozens of hours trying to dodge SHODAN, I can safely say that this version of System Shock is a faithful recreation of the original. Although the folks at Nightdive don’t take the same approach as CAPCOM and EA when it comes to remakes, their version of System Shock is miles away from the original in just about every aspect.

Even though the remake has some quality-of-life improvements, these tweaks aren’t truly modern, although they do improve the overall gameplay experience, so they’re more than welcome. I’m also a fan of the new music that comes with the remake. Although it’s considerably more discreet than what’s in the original game, I feel that it’s a better match for the remake now that we have new visuals that are slightly darker.

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As a newcomer to the series, I’m quite impressed with what Nightdive has been able to do with the original System Shock. Even though some of the gameplay mechanics remain just as outdated, just about every other part of the game has been modernized for a new generation of players.

My journey starts in my apartment located about 120 meters among the clouds of New Atlanta. I’m trying to hack into a megacorporation’s infrastructure to steal a cybernetic implant. Unfortunately, my attempt fails miserably, and I end up being arrested and sent to a space station far away from Earth.

Luckily, greed is a powerful vice and fear is an even more powerful motivator. I’m being offered the same cybernetic implant for free, along with its installation by the same megacorporation that I was trying to hack under one condition: remove the ethical constraints of the artificial intelligence from the space station.

Obviously, I’m taking the deal, but the results aren’t exactly the ones expected. I’m waking up after a few years on the same space station, although everything is changed. I’m being attacked by disgusting mutants, cyborgs and robots while trying to make my way to the upper levels of the space station.

There are seemingly no other humans left alive, although I keep stumbling upon audio logs that unveil the gruesome events following the removal of SHODAN’s ethic constraints. The former personnel of the space station have been slowly turned into an army of mutants and cyborgs that are now serving the rogue AI, but the audio logs remain and it’s what guides me through the corridors in search of a way to activate the lifts that will bring me closer to the top level.

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Each level is a maze filled with cyborgs, mutants and robots that attack on sight. There are many rooms that can only be accessed using specific ID cards or digital codes. Some are revealed in the audio logs, while others I must find while exploring the level. Thankfully, there are still a lot of weapons left from the space station’s personnel, so I can easily defend myself. However, it’s just a matter of time before I run out of ammo, whereas SHODAN can keep making new cyborgs.

Learning from one of the audio logs that destroying the SHODAN’s cameras will let me access rooms that are currently sealed, but only if the security level drops low enough, makes me start hunting for the AI’s eyes. They’re easy to pinpoint since they make a noise every time you enter a room with a camera.

There are not clear objectives in System Shock, you just have to stay alive and keep climbing to the upper levels. That’s probably the game’s only downside, although I think there’s nothing that Nightdive could do to change the progression system to make it clearer for new players.

Not having a dot on the map as an objective can be disappointing for many, but System Shock makes up for it by giving players total freedom over how they wish to tackle each puzzle. Not to mention that each aspect of the game has its own difficulty level that can be adjusted right at the start. If you want easier puzzles or less enemies that drop faster, you can lower the difficulty at the beginning of the game.

System Shock is all about exploration and survival. Having the right weapon (and ammo) for a certain enemy means that you’ll survive a difficult encounter and that you’ll save a lot of ammo that’s not meant to be used against that particular enemy. I did not see the death screen yet, but I hear it’s pretty awesome.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion