System Shock Review – Fantastic Mr. Firefox

Its been almost thirty years since System Shock first left its mark on the world, with the original 1994 game quickly achieving cult-classic status for its unique blend of sci-fi, terror, and a malevolent AI watching your every move. Three decades later, System Shock is finally back, in a package that blends the old-school aesthetics of the ’90s with a few modern touches in the gameplay department. It’s the System Shock that you know and love, but with a sharper edge to its design juxtaposed against some of the frustrating gameplay quirks of yesteryear. Welcome back, hacker, to Citadel Station.

Like the original game, System Shock kicks off with a “wow they were way off” prediction of what the future will look like. As a hacker who has gotten his hand caught in the proverbial cyber-cookie jar, it’s not long before you’re busted by the all-powerful Tri0ptimum corporation’s security, given an ultimatum, and left to chill in a medical pod while all hell breaks loose on a space station as a merciless artificial intelligence runs rampant. Sort of like what Midjourney is doing to artists right now, but with more bodily mutilation.

At its core, System Shock 2023 is a first-person game about survival and hoarding items, just like your grandmother and her room full of old You Magazines. With the morality protocols on the SHODAN AI taken offline thanks to your shenanigans, Citadel Station is now a hub of homicidal machines and humans who have been transformed into mindless husks. Sure, you can get your hands on weapons during your playthrough, but System Shock is all about that fight-or-flight response and knowing when to pick the right option.

With ammo hard to come by and enemies capable of bouncing back from severe damage, System Shock is about picking the right battle and sticking to the shadows when SHODAN’s cybernetic abominations outgun you. Overall, combat packs a punch, as a weightier system of blunt force trauma and guns with some pep in their magazines combine to give this version of System Shock a tactile feel that was lacking in the original game. That combo of ragdoll physics and smoother animation works a treat, feeling leagues more polished and lethal than the unsatisfying demo that developer Nightdive Studios released several years ago back when this System Shock remake was first pitched in a Kickstarter elevator.

At the same time, 2023’s System Shock is also a game that has brought the need to explore every single nook and cranny along with it from the ’90s, a process that can be cumbersome as you add new items to your grid-based inventory and juggle them around to make use of every single square of space available to you. On top of that, the System Shock remake still takes time to test your grey matter with devious rewiring puzzles and other conundrums as you search for a way off Citadel Station. Plus, the game’s new incarnation of SHODAN has an air about it that feels even more dangerous – a collection of code that views humanity with contempt and will stop at nothing to prove its superiority. You’re a rat in a menacing maze, and SHODAN is pulling all the strings here.

I could go on about the more intricate systems of System Shock. However, this is one of those rare times when I want to actually keep quiet and preserve those deliciously devious moments in the game for people who haven’t yet experienced what it’s like to be a fragile hacker living in SHODAN’s world.

The System Shock remake is a game that was made for the faithful, as it’s a love letter to the past that proves that some games are eternal masterpieces. Right now, 2023 is shaping up to be one of the best years ever for remakes, as it kicks the past to the curb and reinvents the wheel that came before it. We’ve seen this with Dead Space, Resident Evil 4, and Sherlock Holmes remakes, and with System Shock, Nightdive has managed to capture the visual identity of the original game and infuse it with modern sensibilities.

There’s something unnerving about how the new System Shock looks, as it fuses a pixelated art direction with contemporary technologies to create a paradox within every single frame of its design. System Shock 2023 looks both modern and retro, as the game’s aesthetic is one of big blocky buttons, strangely animated monsters, and a horrific atmosphere. It’s a remake that knows just how high the bar has been raised for it, and it manages to reach that same level with a gung-ho approach that’s both nostalgic and fresh to experience. The nearest equivalent to this would be to grab a ticket to Wrestlemania and watch a WWE legend prove that he still has what it takes to drop an elbow from the top rope.

System Shock comes to PC on 30 May. It is also planned for future release on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series consoles.