Developer: Nightdive Studios
Publisher: Prime Matter
Steam Deck Compatibility?: Playable
Rrp: £34.99 (Gog.com, Humble, Steam and Epic)
Released: 30th May 2023
Available on: Gog.com, Humble, Steam and Epic
Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard
Approximate game length: 20 hours
Before I start this review I have to mention that I backed this game on Kickstarter.
Way back in December of 2015 I reviewed System Shock 2. I’ve always felt wrong about reviewing that game and not the original but each time I tried to play it or the enhanced edition I found myself just too put off by the ‘clunkyness’ of the game. So I’m very pleased that this remake was made as it solves many of the issues I had with the original release. Of course, I understand that while this remake has been pretty faithful to the original the developers have made a few changes so its not 100% faithful.
The game is set on the Citadel Space Station in the year 2072. You play as ‘The Hacker’ (yes, that is the only name given) who awakes on the space station. The onboard AI, Shodan, has taken over and has been either eliminating or ‘modifying’ the residents of the space station.
When you start a new game you get to individually select the difficulty of the combat, cyberspace, puzzles and missions. Once the difficulty is set you won’t be able to change it.
As you can see from the screenshots this game is a First Person Shooter, however unlike most FPS’s this game has an inventory system that works like the attache case in the Resident Evil games. Everything you carry takes up space within your inventory meaning that you’ll be playing inventory Tetris quite often.
Throughout the game are items that are junk (you’ll know which items are junk as it’ll have the word ‘junk’ in brackets next to the items name). These junk items can be ‘vaporised’ into scrap within your inventory taking up much less space and can be used to claim credits at recycling points. This system is where some of the clunkyness I mentioned before comes in. When you pick up junk items they take up a space (or several) within your inventory and you have to vaporise each type of junk individually by right clicking on it and selecting the vaporise option. As I’m sure you can imagine this can mean you spend much longer in the inventory when you could be wandering the ship. Oh, and the game doesn’t pause when you’re in the inventory so its not a good idea to do this unless you’re sure you’re safe.
I should mention that vaporising system is totally optional, but the credits are very useful as they are used to purchase items from vending machines such as ammo, single use enhancements, health kits and even weapon modifications.
There are no objective markers to be found nor even a quest log. This is both a strength and a failing as it doesn’t clutter up the map or your HUD with markers or handhold you through the various missions. But it can mean that you may spend a lot of time trekking back and forth trying to work out what you’re next objective is since there is nothing to directly tell you. However, if you find yourself in that position I recommend checking the map for any places that remain unexplored and going through the various audio logs and emails you collect as those can contain important clues.
Occasionally you’ll have to enter cyberspace which plays similarly to an old game called Descent. In this mode you essentially control like a free floating camera and can roll like an aircraft.
I loved playing System Shock 2 so it’s been really nice to go back and play this version of the original predecessor. As I mentioned before, I have attempted to play the original or enhanced editions and just found it far too clunky to be enjoyable. This game mostly avoids that but newcomers may still feel a certain level of… age, especially when compared to more modern fare. I would ask that anyone who decides to give this game a go keep in mind that this is a remake of a game that predates and is a major influence upon many of the games that it shares a genre with (immersive sim) such as Prey, Bioshock and even Dishonored plus many more games that have taken inspiration from it and its sequel.
While I really like the games art style I will admit the rather ‘busy’ nature of it can make it easy for a player to miss a button or lever they need to interact with in order to progress. A feature I quite like is the shader that Nightdive have implemented to the graphics which gives all the textures a somewhat pixelated look, I know that some people aren’t a fan of the effect but I think it really suits the over aesthetic of the game.
It’s also wonderful that the original voice actress of Shodan was able to retain her role, I was a little worried that they might try to recast which would be like recasting GlaDos.
On the whole I’m pleased with this game and I’m very glad I backed it.
I just hope that System Shock 3 is able to have a similar impact when that finally appears (though I have some doubts as the licence has gone from Otherside Entertainment to Tencent).
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Prey
System Shock 2
Bioshock
—-
If you’d like to support me I have a Ko-fi, the reviews will continue to be posted donation or not.
