Honestly I enjoyed this far more than I expected and in many ways this joins Dead Island 2 as a title that has worked through its delays into something that is very worthy of playing. www.patreon.com/AngryCentaurGaming
A bit disappointed that you didn't go through the options menu for this one like you often do, and what I came to look for. In demo, there was no ability to rebind number keys (I don't use WASD so I always change these before playing any game) so I was wondering if that was fixed for the release version. I've been interested in this game for years but if there's no rebind, then I sadly have to pass this one. :/
And they've had years to do the most basic of things for a PC game of which their company that specializes in I remember repeating myself but it's just like it it still blows my mind let like I get the whole dark souls thing.. that makes sense from that company, especially at that time.. fortunately they're technical incompetence allowed for modding and solutions to those problems to be basically playable in the first place.. and it garnered great reviews for some reason LOL despite actually not being playable out of the box for 8 years until they sold.. you know an update.. but from night dive? Given what they make their bread and butter doing and have for so many years? Given their entire experience with the first one? Like you get to a point where you're like hoping that things will come together at the very end.. and it's not a bad game it's great.. but it's great by default.. because it does things that others don't not because it seems like they actually tried to do anything other than a one to one almost except stripping out a massive chunk of the options and controls and abilities you had.. of which yes we're convoluted and poorly implemented in the original.. and of which they fixed in the remaster.. allowing you to do some really nifty stuff if you could go through the keybinds and pick and choose what you wanted.. shares more controls with arma i think, the original, then it does with remaster or most modern games... That's all fine but.. their solution apparently was to remove them.. but they would keep the same game.. with almost identical layout and objectives and design.. except now you get a filing cabinet that you can barely jump crowds on top of that launches you 20 feet in the air but still takes about 20 years to scooch 10 ft across the floor for some reason.. to jump crouch to grab something off a shelf.. when you could just grab it off the shelf in the original LOL.. You could also move the cabinet in the original.. and in this all the cabinets are too heavy.. and you wouldn't even know that you could move anything until you actually drop it out of your inventory.. and even then you still might not.. and then you're going to realize that you had a full-fledged manipulation system built in that they abandoned more or less.. and you still could have had it.. but there's a menu in front of you that's cursor sensitive so what was considered janky at the time to perform things has now become extraordinarily janky to perform things.. and the the I guess the idea is that you just don't.. and at the very least that's something they left in from all of the things that they have tried that they did not leave in over the years that have been kind of dusted around in the files.... It's like this took so long.. to come to the conclusion.. that they were going to do the exact same thing they were doing before.. and not touch it! Props though for leaving the stub arms in.. usually a game will try to gaslight you like you have functional arms until the weapons come out and then suddenly you're basically quatto.. and this one if you look down you really are quatto.. well unless you have enough rifle then you kind of have arms.. but they retract when you hold that phaser or that laser sword LOL. I don't know why they tried to hype up the laser sword at one point.. this it was amazing and that they'd spent so much work on it.. and it's like... On what? Like knowing what the melee was in the demo and subsequent demos and final release demos and the game's coming out in the month but we're going to delay it 2 months demo.. sword gameplay does not make.. unless there was a radical overhaul of the controls or something.. which I was always secretly hoping there was going to be.. just stuff that I hadn't gotten yet you know... How do you have this massive like dismemberment system but the one thing that can't dismember anything is the laser sword? how did you have that incredibly complicated and awesome Gore system that you can see the remnants of.. often as it's disappearing right in front of your eyes as it only splashes temporarily LOL before disappearing immediately.. unless you hit something pretty existing and then it you know does a thing that shows up permanently.. just so that you knew that they knew better.. and then they did all this work on this sword that you control from your hand wrists.. that I think are permanently attached to your shoulder or your PEC muscles or something.. if you look down.. clearly.. there might have been some surgical problems and complications over the 6 months.. they're not exactly proportioned. no that's all fine and dandy except that they got it right on so many different occasions and that they had it right in the original builds far more.. it it retracted as time went on I guess.. still like I said props for leaving that in.. I just left it like that so when you look down you you look at your stubby little arms and you're just like oh wow.. we're going to try to fight these people hopefully I don't have to push any buttons on the high shelf.. which that would be a real shame cuz you know getting a booster seat it's just going to launch you into the stratosphere and usually not in the direction you wanted to go. And that kind of attitude and the way that they regressed from the community and all these things.. just and just didn't talk to them instead of you know trying to explain something I doubt we're going to get the mod support in order to get basic key mapping to work... Or clean up the over convolution of systems to be functional.. like we did with cyberpunk in a lot of cases.. where there was a lot of really good work that wasn't able to make it into the whole game.. and it just needed somebody to release it and add it for fun.. see if maybe it did work.. in this case you have the original where clearly there was some design positives.. especially in that particular regard.. despite negatives and others naturally but the things that did right.. not saying you couldn't do them better but night I didn't do them at all or broke them in in like self-breaking ways. LOL so instead I have a hotkey script called fnight dive which rebinds the zero and the nine button to my thumb solving two problems.. that you can't rebind any of the inventory hotkeys, and that the side buttons on the mouse that had become standard to the point where even Japanese developers were allowing them to exist.. of which they wouldn't allow cap locks sometimes.. is literally a dedicated hotkey script. In a way that I've never had to do.. just play this.. and this is the release version.. this is the final version.. they finished it.. you can now change the resolution and I think it's sort of does work sort of.. sometimes you got to do it a few times though.. and you definitely have to keep refreshing those key maps every time you open the program but.. we're at the point where you can actually say you can accomplish the things.. don't get me wrong it put some still way ahead of from software.. for one it runs in a modern API.. and you can change resolution and there is almost native support for key mapping.. it's just able to do it it's just not what you would call acceptable or not broken.. but they did it at all sort of... Unfortunately it's on unreal so we're probably never going to see mods.. whereas from soft was just not good at locking up of all they're super secret special stuff.. so it was easy to Mod and also not good at basic other things because it was like day one when they figured out how to get it to run in a modern api? The night dive special award.. your interface and your stock unreal engine most commonly used options and functionality.. is better than dark souls on the PC.. enjoy you earned it.
@@jakedill1304 Congratulations on the longest RUclips comment I’ve never read. I didn’t even know you could type in a whole novel in the comments section.
When I played the original System Shock, 29 years ago, it completely blew my mind. It was the first fully 3D game out there and the immersion was incredible. And Shodan scared the living crap out of me. I played at night in headphones and her voice and taunts just gave me chills. The level design was years ahead of it's time. Every square inch of the space station was used for something. No wasted space. Just brilliant. I played it till the end, just mesmerized. Now, almost 30 years later, I played the demo of the remake and surprisingly got the same chills I got from the original. Shodan's voice still makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. I immediately pre-ordered it. Seeing your review confirm that it's still good, Karak, is music to my ears. Thanks for the review, my brother. As of this post, just 1 day and 2 hours till release. I'm soooo stoked!
It was a partialy 3D game, the items and enemies were fully 2D always having the sprite orientation aligned full surface towards the players view angle, which was very interesting in its way.
Yes! There was nothing like System Shock before System Shock (happily ignoring Ultima Underworld :) ) and it is still the blueprint for many later games.
@@knalltfix Yeah, actually, Ultima Underworld was the first. I forgot...LOL I really liked UU and it helped to influence my buying System Shock. And though there were a lot of games set in space stations since System Shock was released, System Shock is still more complex than them. Superior writing and level design than those titles. And Shodan is still my favorite game villain. "Nice jump, Hacker!"
The geometry was 3D but all enemies and items were 2D sprites. Also, it was built on the Ultima Underworld engine, which was released two years prior in 1992. Oh, and there were fully polygonal 3D flight sims available on home computers in the 1980s, so there's that.
Please buy and support this remake, SS1 is a underrated game and definitely deserves more attention! Nightdive has said they'll definitely do System Shock 2 remake if this one does well. We can not miss a chance on a System Shock 2 remake, it is arguably one of the best games ever made from the 90s.
Having just played Black Mesa, I have really appreciated how some of these 'classic' genre defining series still hold up and for good reason. Missed this game the first time around, looking forward to it now.
Black Mesa is excellent and brought back so maby great memories (and frustrations in a good way). The original version of System Shock also skipped me by at the time, so this is a chance to experience now.
@@ZeroChance21 Black Mesa is so damn good, it takes the original and dials it to 11. If this remake of System Shock is even 80% as good, it'll be worth every penny.
Black Mesa is terrible as a remake, but fine as a stand alone game. This one looks like another "alternate take", the original is still plenty playable
system shock is so important to gaming that 0451 comes from it, its the first keypad in this game and still alot of games make their first number key code 0451
@@tcg2717 Honestly, I don't really mind those either. As long as they are coherent I will take any style you give me. I for example think that part of why Metro is such a good game is because of the very realistic art-style and I wouldn't want a game like that stylised
@@Yoni123 I don't know about "common". Sure, there's been a few titles but not many. Valheim is probably among the ones to do it best, but even so... it doesn't quite look like this. There's something to the tilebased layout of the maps in this remake, combined with the neon and chunky pixels - it actually does pull of a unique look.
I was just hoping they wouldn't botch it since it kept getting delayed again and again. But it seems like they did good. Just more proof why Night Dive are legends.
As someone who played this back when it was new, this looks amazing. Can't wait to jump in, the original often felt like you were playing an operating system.
I loved the original two System Shock games back in the day. Kind of the precursors to the "immersive sim", aren't they? I'm not much for FPS games, but I've been thinking about checking this one out for nostalgia reasons. I do kinda like the...neo-retro style of it, and one thing I think a lot of remasters/remakes should do is update the controls and UI to contemporary standards.
Glad this turned out well. I think Nightdive did the best they could to bring this game forward whilst not sacrificing what made the original so special and influential. Given that this version was basically remade from the ground up midway through development I wonder what the original was like that they decided to scrap it entirely? A GDC or noclip documentary on the development of this would be interesting.
The original game one of those very very few that etched itself into my mind for life, and it really kept me at the edge of my seat every second, notice my avatar, been using that for.. like forever :) Don't recall anything about recycling everything you can pick up in recycling stations though... wonder if that can't be a nod and a wink to 2017 Prey which many say is the true spiritual successor to System Shock, never did feel Bioshock filled that role at all. Been waiting for this remake for many many years.
@@sinisterdesign yep, SS 2 did have the "recycler" which could turn anything into nanites, currency in that game. The original System Shock had no vending machines (or crafting), and hence no currency to worry about.
I remember playing the demo of this, thinking it was pretty cool, then hearing the entire project went to hell a year later. Glad they got it back together.
Backed the kickstarter for this way back in the day so I should be getting a steam key very soon. System shock 2 is one of my favourite games of all time, glad to hear you liked this game, look forward to trying it myself
Same here! I keep waiting for that email that says it's in my library LOL; backed this thing pretty much week 1 and am absolutely hyped. Also can't wait to see what SS2: EE is going to be like. Gotta love them free bonus upgrades!
To anyone planning to play, I recommend leaving most of the controls on default. While some things may seem odd and somewhat clunky, many bindes (and lack thereof) in my opinion add to the experience. The interact button being mouse 2 is unique and to aim pressing the scroll adds to that "old game" vibe. A big part of the original System Shock was its ui system. By everything being mouse controlled, it added to the immersion because it felt like the main character was manually sorting his inventory or turning on cybernetics. Same goes for the remake. By default, many cybernetics aren't binded to any keys and the flashlight is binded to the most awkward button possible so it encourages to manually turn it on from the inventory.
After backing the kickstarter in 2016 it’s crazy to think that the game is finally being released. With the devs taking all our feedback and livestream the process of the development I’m happy that it is turning out good since system shock is one of my favorite games of all time
played the demo a while back and was absolutely hooked, I'm so happy nightdive found success with this and am super excited to play it. I hope this cements their path in remaking system shock 2
I loved the original back in the day and I kick started this remake a couple years back when they began development. The direction of the game totally changed part way through and I'm very pleased with what we got. Great game with a retro feel. My main gripe so far in my play though is there's not nearly as many tense moments or jump scares as the original.
As someone who played Prey before System Shock, I have to say I'm impressed with all the homage to that game. It takes many cues from the new daddy of immersive sim and you just can't help but smile. I am so thrilled to have played this game!
I’m super excited to try this, as I have fond memories of playing the Dos version nearly 30 years ago. Due to health reasons, I’m waiting for a console port rather than buying it for my PC. Fingers crossed the wait won’t be too painful!
Man, I’m so glad you covered this. I’ve got a few games in my wishlist now. I’m still looking forward to 9 sols getting released. Thank you for your work, ACG!
When I first saw this on steam I immediately put it in my wish list and added it to my cart. Knowing now that I can get part two for nothing even though I will gladly pay for it is also a bonus. This game and system shock two are probably in my opinion two of the most overlooked games of that era. Especially being only on PC and a lot of people still playing N64 and PlayStation. Only really receiving recognition when BioShock started to become a thing and everyone finally heard where BioShock originally came from. Sound design and atmosphere are definitely what the game is made of. Some really scary parts in part two especially.
LOVE this remake. I played the original (was 22 and had just purchased a Pentium PC upgrade to my 386DX40) and this nails EVERYTHING I loved about the original but brought to 2023. This is THE DEFINITIVE version of the game.
This is gaming history.. one of the if not the 1st ever true FPS... Not only that but its got a deep RPG system layered in top.. looking forward to firing this up tomorrow when it releases on Steam
I've been so worried about this game for so long. I'm a huge fan of the original, and the sequel is among my top 10 favorite games of all time. Thanks for the timely review ACG and assuaging those fears. I cannot wait to dive into this one tomorrow. :D
System Shock 2 is one of the best games of all time in my opinion. Surprisingly, I never played the original. I'm looking forward to giving this a play-through!
I also really love this look and art direction because it ages well. Much better than a game going for a more photo real look. It's similar to Journey To The Savage Planet's art direction.
Super excited for this! I've played System Shock 2 years ago and I still think it's one of the best immersive sim. Hope this one reignites the spark to imsim subgenre
@@markschroder1663 yeah that's such a huge loss for Arkane now. I do hope they will make imsim again like Dishonored. in the 2010s we went from Imsim being gone to have quite many modern imsim like Deus Ex prequels, Dishonored, Prey and then back to nothing again, especially in AAA space
@@samuel.jpg.1080p Arkane's next game is a classic Arkane imsim return to form, according to them. Recent issue is apparently due to company restructuring, and probably a bit of pressure to make more mainstream games for some time. Also, fun fact, SS2 enhanced is the preorder bonus for this game.
@@FelisImpurrator that's good to hear but I'm still cautious tho. Harvey Smith said in pre-release to Redfall that that game is still considered as imsim by him but we know how that game turned out. At this point in time, I can't just give full confidence to Arkane until the gameplay footage is up. Because Deadloop isn't that good too, at least imo, so Arkane has been in a miss lately. That preorder bonus is really good, especially for people who haven't played SS2. That game still holds up really well!
I’m so glad that this is released! I was one of the first backers when the kickstarter was launched because the original game was the first video game that I played that completely absorbed me, and it was the first game I bought and subsequently bought again - when the ‘fully voiced’ cd-rom came out. I actually bought a cd-rom drive and scsi adaptor just for that! I’m so glad that it’s not only good but that it has retained much of what made the original great (you never forget your first one…😊)…
Ever since I played the original in 94 on my 386 I have been in love with this game. The concept, the sense of isolation, the freedom. It truly is one of the greatest games of all time that many have never played. It’s a crying shame that, while SS2 is absolutely phenomenal, it didn’t sell enough copies to save the franchise. SS3 will likely never see the light of day at this point.
Dead on review and commentary, as always. As someone that played the original when it first came out, I am floored by how "faithful" this remake is, from the visuals to the overall feel. Just immaculate eye (and heart) for detail where it was needed.
I downloaded the demo for the original System Shock, which was 4 megabytes and took several hours on my 56k modem. I played it like crazy. I bought the disc version when it came out. I bought the CD version when it came out. I bought the System Shock reissue when it came out. I bought the enhanced edition on Steam when it came out. I backed the remake kickstarter. I've played through the first level of the remake, and it's very, very good.
Pretty pleased to say that I didn't feel any need to move keybinds around, but you definitely do need to mind what the controls are to navigate the media menu quickly.
The only thing I want to know is if there still are the hardware augmentations - in the original there were a series of modules that gave you some extra features. I hope there something similar, at least.
Console version coming May 21st! To current and last gen consoles. Im hyped because i never played the original. But i do vaguely remember my older brother playing it and rage quitting.
I'm lukewarm on the original system shock, mainly because of it's age and i played after games it inspired, but i played the demo for this and have been pretty excited because it just felt good to play and i adore the visual style they chose.
The Karak Attacks again 😂 thanks for the early review of this game! Can't wait to try this having been a huge fan of the original game - I'm sure the revamp will be an interesting nostalgic trip 🎮
If you never played the original it might be a buy. For me it's a wait-for-a-sale. While keeping the same level layout and giving it a fresh look, worked great with the Dead Space Remake, it doesn't so much with System Shock. The original System Shock still had the DNA of grid-block dungeon crawlers, introducing wedged walls and ramps to it. The original Dead Space had a believable architecture and feel to it (and still does), the far older System Shock hadn't. The setting and story still transfer greatly to today, but I wish they'd gone for fresh gameplay and level design.
Primarily a PC gamer here, and left-handed which is relevant. When I played the demo, even the most recent version of a couple months ago, several keys I needed to establish a fluid left-handed experience could not be rebound, and I also noted a bug in which some of the bindings I made were not actually saved correctly. I'm assuming these issues are now addressed? Also, is it possible to adjust the HUD scale? I notice that in this video there's an abundance of extremely small text that may cause me to have to squint or lean in excessively, and that's not really great in the long run. I do very highly appreciate when developers have these accessibility options that help people like me play their offerings - also, and I tend not to believe this is in this game because of the source material which did not have them, QuickTime events. If there were an option to have them solved instantly, that would be wonderful. I have that option on instantly, and my enjoyment of games like my recently completed Star Wars Jedi survivor and Spider-Man Miles Morales which I'm still working through, is increased considerably without that extra level of frustration. A positive response is all I need to make this purchase a lock for me. I absolutely love the classic System Shock, and was so thoroughly disturbed by it - its story, atmosphere, creatures and (insert big horrific potentially repeatable spoiler moment which thankfully didn't happen too often since I was circumspect and did something special before risking too much on each level) - after finishing it back in the day I never really went back into it; but now, I feel like I can do so in its remade form. Now, I really hope that at some point in the future copyright/IP issues are worked out concerning the games in the No One Lives Forever series, which Nightdive here wanted to remaster or remake at some point in the past, but the IP is either tied up among several companies or it's not known who holds the rights, so it's been in limbo, but we classic gaming fans never lose hope about such things. Another excellent review, Kharak! Take care and as always I am looking forward to the next one!
I loved the original so much that already took the "buy" plunge for $50 USD when I backed it on Kickstarter in 2016 - unfortunately I have no idea how you're supposed to redeem on it! It's been so long that I dont even remember what platform I specified anymore!
I like what I've seen so far of their art direction and frankly I can't be too mad that they made some changes, the original game played like a battlemech simulator with a graphing calculator as an interface, which no one would be willing to put up with these days.
I never played the original but it was recommended to me, so when this was announced I was excited. I tried the demo and I think the graphics are a perfect balance between modern and retro that fits the game well.
There is something weird going on with delivering keys to the backers. Seems like nobody has gotten any GOG keys and some of the Steam keys going out aren't even for the full game... They announced on May 26th that keys would be going out "today".
Sure hope they keep their backer promise and name enemies after those of us who donated a significant amount. My wife and I both did, 7 years ago. And of course console is getting the shaft yet again and we have to wait yet longer. This Kickstarter definitely turned us off of supporting these types of fund raising. We'll see if they redeem some trust and deliver what they hooked us with when we backed this project
Finally someone understands this remake; I loved closed beta, but stopped early on. Can't wait for the game to unlock tomorrow. Think D4 will have to wait because after this, I'm replaying System Shock 2 as well.
Love the og game and played both during release of each many times each,but tbh I so wish they had remade the 2nd in the series as it was a FAR better game. Remember Citadel Station !!!
Just a heads up because not a single review I have seen mentions it, but if you are planning on playing with a controller, it has a really bad implementation and is partially broken. It's really not worth getting yet if you play solely with a controller on PC and you should wait for an update as it's not great.
I was considering this game but your review definitely pushed me over the hump, just prepurchased on Steam. I really loved System Shock 2 back in the day (didn’t play the original) and I’m positive I will do the same with this.
So I didn't hear them mentioned, how are the cybermods in this title? The original had some pretty weird ones like the 360 vision mod (eyes in the back of your head) and the rollerblade feet, did those make it into this?
Seems like the team accomplished what they aimed for. I love the art style. And has anyone ever played Descent? The hacking segments looks HEAVILY inspired by that 1995 classic (fun fact, Descent was the first fully 3d FPS, 2 years before Quake!).
What I want from a remake of an old game greatly depends on the game, of course. A game like Dead Space, which plays as a modern game and has visuals and style that holds up to date, weirdly enough I'd say EA made a remake the right way: expanded the game, added new areas and a few gameplay options, updated the visuals, but left the gameplay and feel intact. System Shock looks like they followed a different direction, keeping the artsyle but changing the gameplay. I think it's the right call for this game because the original gameplay doesn't hold up to this day, but if they had also changed the art-style, this game would feel like an imposter.
I never played the original, but the remake is a 10/10 for me, which shows the level of brilliance of the original. I'm really happy that i tried it, it absolutely love this genre, the setting and the lore. Genius game design!
Honestly I enjoyed this far more than I expected and in many ways this joins Dead Island 2 as a title that has worked through its delays into something that is very worthy of playing.
www.patreon.com/AngryCentaurGaming
will you be doing a review for Miasma Chronicles?
Thanks for the review. I’m excited to play this.
A bit disappointed that you didn't go through the options menu for this one like you often do, and what I came to look for. In demo, there was no ability to rebind number keys (I don't use WASD so I always change these before playing any game) so I was wondering if that was fixed for the release version. I've been interested in this game for years but if there's no rebind, then I sadly have to pass this one. :/
And they've had years to do the most basic of things for a PC game of which their company that specializes in I remember repeating myself but it's just like it it still blows my mind let like I get the whole dark souls thing.. that makes sense from that company, especially at that time.. fortunately they're technical incompetence allowed for modding and solutions to those problems to be basically playable in the first place.. and it garnered great reviews for some reason LOL despite actually not being playable out of the box for 8 years until they sold.. you know an update.. but from night dive? Given what they make their bread and butter doing and have for so many years? Given their entire experience with the first one?
Like you get to a point where you're like hoping that things will come together at the very end.. and it's not a bad game it's great.. but it's great by default.. because it does things that others don't not because it seems like they actually tried to do anything other than a one to one almost except stripping out a massive chunk of the options and controls and abilities you had.. of which yes we're convoluted and poorly implemented in the original.. and of which they fixed in the remaster.. allowing you to do some really nifty stuff if you could go through the keybinds and pick and choose what you wanted.. shares more controls with arma i think, the original, then it does with remaster or most modern games...
That's all fine but.. their solution apparently was to remove them.. but they would keep the same game.. with almost identical layout and objectives and design.. except now you get a filing cabinet that you can barely jump crowds on top of that launches you 20 feet in the air but still takes about 20 years to scooch 10 ft across the floor for some reason.. to jump crouch to grab something off a shelf.. when you could just grab it off the shelf in the original LOL..
You could also move the cabinet in the original.. and in this all the cabinets are too heavy.. and you wouldn't even know that you could move anything until you actually drop it out of your inventory.. and even then you still might not.. and then you're going to realize that you had a full-fledged manipulation system built in that they abandoned more or less.. and you still could have had it.. but there's a menu in front of you that's cursor sensitive so what was considered janky at the time to perform things has now become extraordinarily janky to perform things.. and the the I guess the idea is that you just don't.. and at the very least that's something they left in from all of the things that they have tried that they did not leave in over the years that have been kind of dusted around in the files....
It's like this took so long.. to come to the conclusion.. that they were going to do the exact same thing they were doing before.. and not touch it!
Props though for leaving the stub arms in.. usually a game will try to gaslight you like you have functional arms until the weapons come out and then suddenly you're basically quatto.. and this one if you look down you really are quatto.. well unless you have enough rifle then you kind of have arms.. but they retract when you hold that phaser or that laser sword LOL.
I don't know why they tried to hype up the laser sword at one point.. this it was amazing and that they'd spent so much work on it.. and it's like... On what? Like knowing what the melee was in the demo and subsequent demos and final release demos and the game's coming out in the month but we're going to delay it 2 months demo.. sword gameplay does not make.. unless there was a radical overhaul of the controls or something.. which I was always secretly hoping there was going to be.. just stuff that I hadn't gotten yet you know...
How do you have this massive like dismemberment system but the one thing that can't dismember anything is the laser sword? how did you have that incredibly complicated and awesome Gore system that you can see the remnants of.. often as it's disappearing right in front of your eyes as it only splashes temporarily LOL before disappearing immediately.. unless you hit something pretty existing and then it you know does a thing that shows up permanently.. just so that you knew that they knew better.. and then they did all this work on this sword that you control from your hand wrists.. that I think are permanently attached to your shoulder or your PEC muscles or something.. if you look down.. clearly.. there might have been some surgical problems and complications over the 6 months.. they're not exactly proportioned.
no that's all fine and dandy except that they got it right on so many different occasions and that they had it right in the original builds far more.. it it retracted as time went on I guess.. still like I said props for leaving that in.. I just left it like that so when you look down you you look at your stubby little arms and you're just like oh wow.. we're going to try to fight these people hopefully I don't have to push any buttons on the high shelf.. which that would be a real shame cuz you know getting a booster seat it's just going to launch you into the stratosphere and usually not in the direction you wanted to go.
And that kind of attitude and the way that they regressed from the community and all these things.. just and just didn't talk to them instead of you know trying to explain something I doubt we're going to get the mod support in order to get basic key mapping to work... Or clean up the over convolution of systems to be functional.. like we did with cyberpunk in a lot of cases.. where there was a lot of really good work that wasn't able to make it into the whole game.. and it just needed somebody to release it and add it for fun.. see if maybe it did work.. in this case you have the original where clearly there was some design positives.. especially in that particular regard.. despite negatives and others naturally but the things that did right.. not saying you couldn't do them better but night I didn't do them at all or broke them in in like self-breaking ways.
LOL so instead I have a hotkey script called fnight dive which rebinds the zero and the nine button to my thumb solving two problems.. that you can't rebind any of the inventory hotkeys, and that the side buttons on the mouse that had become standard to the point where even Japanese developers were allowing them to exist.. of which they wouldn't allow cap locks sometimes.. is literally a dedicated hotkey script. In a way that I've never had to do.. just play this.. and this is the release version.. this is the final version.. they finished it.. you can now change the resolution and I think it's sort of does work sort of.. sometimes you got to do it a few times though.. and you definitely have to keep refreshing those key maps every time you open the program but.. we're at the point where you can actually say you can accomplish the things..
don't get me wrong it put some still way ahead of from software.. for one it runs in a modern API.. and you can change resolution and there is almost native support for key mapping.. it's just able to do it it's just not what you would call acceptable or not broken.. but they did it at all sort of... Unfortunately it's on unreal so we're probably never going to see mods.. whereas from soft was just not good at locking up of all they're super secret special stuff.. so it was easy to Mod and also not good at basic other things because it was like day one when they figured out how to get it to run in a modern api?
The night dive special award.. your interface and your stock unreal engine most commonly used options and functionality.. is better than dark souls on the PC.. enjoy you earned it.
@@jakedill1304 Congratulations on the longest RUclips comment I’ve never read.
I didn’t even know you could type in a whole novel in the comments section.
When I played the original System Shock, 29 years ago, it completely blew my mind. It was the first fully 3D game out there and the immersion was incredible. And Shodan scared the living crap out of me. I played at night in headphones and her voice and taunts just gave me chills. The level design was years ahead of it's time. Every square inch of the space station was used for something. No wasted space. Just brilliant. I played it till the end, just mesmerized.
Now, almost 30 years later, I played the demo of the remake and surprisingly got the same chills I got from the original. Shodan's voice still makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. I immediately pre-ordered it. Seeing your review confirm that it's still good, Karak, is music to my ears. Thanks for the review, my brother. As of this post, just 1 day and 2 hours till release. I'm soooo stoked!
It was a partialy 3D game, the items and enemies were fully 2D always having the sprite orientation aligned full surface towards the players view angle, which was very interesting in its way.
Yes! There was nothing like System Shock before System Shock (happily ignoring Ultima Underworld :) ) and it is still the blueprint for many later games.
@@knalltfix im a big fan of Void Bastards also
@@knalltfix Yeah, actually, Ultima Underworld was the first. I forgot...LOL I really liked UU and it helped to influence my buying System Shock. And though there were a lot of games set in space stations since System Shock was released, System Shock is still more complex than them. Superior writing and level design than those titles. And Shodan is still my favorite game villain. "Nice jump, Hacker!"
The geometry was 3D but all enemies and items were 2D sprites. Also, it was built on the Ultima Underworld engine, which was released two years prior in 1992. Oh, and there were fully polygonal 3D flight sims available on home computers in the 1980s, so there's that.
Please buy and support this remake, SS1 is a underrated game and definitely deserves more attention!
Nightdive has said they'll definitely do System Shock 2 remake if this one does well.
We can not miss a chance on a System Shock 2 remake, it is arguably one of the best games ever made from the 90s.
I was a backer,and hope many buy this.
I bought it and do not regret it for a second, great game.
It's definitely in my top 10 for PC
Played the demo yesterday, going to buy it next paycheck!
Dk ab a remaster but the enhanced edition looks promising. The turok3 remaster was sick
This year might actually really be the best year for horror game fans for a long time. So many stellar horror games being released.
Got that right
Are there any more good ones coming I’m genuinely curious? Thanks (:
@@Jaebird2 yeah, amnesia: the bunker
And sadly every great horror game this year is a remake, showing the utter decay that is the industry today.
Its....ok i guess. Badly produced and lack of inspiration.
System Shock is such a legendary game so ahead of its time, I backed this and I'm so happy to see they managed to pull it off, can't wait to play it.
Oh hey man, i love your SS remixes so much!
I really want no2
I wish they would do this for Deus Ex...
Still holds up.
That would be awesome
Revision is available for free and is basically a Remaster
the way Deus Ex has been treated in the recent past, like a middle child😢
I'd love a remake of Deus ex it's got alot of detail
Having just played Black Mesa, I have really appreciated how some of these 'classic' genre defining series still hold up and for good reason. Missed this game the first time around, looking forward to it now.
Same. This is one of those classics I didn't play back in the day. Will be fun to experience it like this 👍🏻
I just started black mesa today lol
Black Mesa is excellent and brought back so maby great memories (and frustrations in a good way). The original version of System Shock also skipped me by at the time, so this is a chance to experience now.
@@ZeroChance21 Black Mesa is so damn good, it takes the original and dials it to 11. If this remake of System Shock is even 80% as good, it'll be worth every penny.
Black Mesa is terrible as a remake, but fine as a stand alone game.
This one looks like another "alternate take", the original is still plenty playable
Never got a chance to play the original, but I absolutely LOVE the genre it spawned.
system shock is so important to gaming that 0451 comes from it, its the first keypad in this game and still alot of games make their first number key code 0451
I played System Shock for the first time last year, all the way through. It still hits good.
I'll be excited to get around to this in 28 years.
This art direction is so unique. I honestly have not seen anything similar and that says a lot in today's age of gaming
It is a great blend of looking like the original pixelated look but also being 3D.
@@zenithquasar9623 It's very common these days
You mean you don't want YET another hyper realistic open world game???
@@tcg2717 Honestly, I don't really mind those either. As long as they are coherent I will take any style you give me.
I for example think that part of why Metro is such a good game is because of the very realistic art-style and I wouldn't want a game like that stylised
@@Yoni123 I don't know about "common". Sure, there's been a few titles but not many. Valheim is probably among the ones to do it best, but even so... it doesn't quite look like this. There's something to the tilebased layout of the maps in this remake, combined with the neon and chunky pixels - it actually does pull of a unique look.
This has been on my radar since they announced it years ago. Stoked to see that it's been worth the wait
I was just hoping they wouldn't botch it since it kept getting delayed again and again. But it seems like they did good. Just more proof why Night Dive are legends.
As someone who played this back when it was new, this looks amazing. Can't wait to jump in, the original often felt like you were playing an operating system.
Civvie11 fan to eh?
I loved the original two System Shock games back in the day. Kind of the precursors to the "immersive sim", aren't they? I'm not much for FPS games, but I've been thinking about checking this one out for nostalgia reasons. I do kinda like the...neo-retro style of it, and one thing I think a lot of remasters/remakes should do is update the controls and UI to contemporary standards.
Glad this turned out well. I think Nightdive did the best they could to bring this game forward whilst not sacrificing what made the original so special and influential. Given that this version was basically remade from the ground up midway through development I wonder what the original was like that they decided to scrap it entirely? A GDC or noclip documentary on the development of this would be interesting.
Look at the early demos to see what it used to be like.
The original game one of those very very few that etched itself into my mind for life, and it really kept me at the edge of my seat every second, notice my avatar, been using that for.. like forever :) Don't recall anything about recycling everything you can pick up in recycling stations though... wonder if that can't be a nod and a wink to 2017 Prey which many say is the true spiritual successor to System Shock, never did feel Bioshock filled that role at all. Been waiting for this remake for many many years.
I seem to vaguely remember that recycling things into credits was something you could do in System Shock 2 if you got the right item
nice pfp
@@sinisterdesign yep, SS 2 did have the "recycler" which could turn anything into nanites, currency in that game. The original System Shock had no vending machines (or crafting), and hence no currency to worry about.
Glad to hear you liked it. Gives me confidence in picking it up soon. It's easily my most anticipated game this year.
System Shock 2 is a legend of a game, I've never tried the 1st and this looks amazing.
I remember playing the demo of this, thinking it was pretty cool, then hearing the entire project went to hell a year later. Glad they got it back together.
I guess I can finally give System Shock a try.
Backed the kickstarter for this way back in the day so I should be getting a steam key very soon. System shock 2 is one of my favourite games of all time, glad to hear you liked this game, look forward to trying it myself
Same here! I keep waiting for that email that says it's in my library LOL; backed this thing pretty much week 1 and am absolutely hyped.
Also can't wait to see what SS2: EE is going to be like. Gotta love them free bonus upgrades!
Did y'all ever get a key?
To anyone planning to play, I recommend leaving most of the controls on default. While some things may seem odd and somewhat clunky, many bindes (and lack thereof) in my opinion add to the experience. The interact button being mouse 2 is unique and to aim pressing the scroll adds to that "old game" vibe.
A big part of the original System Shock was its ui system. By everything being mouse controlled, it added to the immersion because it felt like the main character was manually sorting his inventory or turning on cybernetics. Same goes for the remake. By default, many cybernetics aren't binded to any keys and the flashlight is binded to the most awkward button possible so it encourages to manually turn it on from the inventory.
After backing the kickstarter in 2016 it’s crazy to think that the game is finally being released. With the devs taking all our feedback and livestream the process of the development I’m happy that it is turning out good since system shock is one of my favorite games of all time
played the demo a while back and was absolutely hooked, I'm so happy nightdive found success with this and am super excited to play it. I hope this cements their path in remaking system shock 2
I kinda expect this remake to be NightDive's last and greatest hurrah, tbh. Which is sad, but I'm glad System Shock at least didn't fall through.
I loved the original back in the day and I kick started this remake a couple years back when they began development. The direction of the game totally changed part way through and I'm very pleased with what we got. Great game with a retro feel.
My main gripe so far in my play though is there's not nearly as many tense moments or jump scares as the original.
As someone who played Prey before System Shock, I have to say I'm impressed with all the homage to that game. It takes many cues from the new daddy of immersive sim and you just can't help but smile. I am so thrilled to have played this game!
Loving all the horror games this year. Can we get FEAR and Condemned back?
Always wanted a Condemned 3 after that cliffhanger ending.
Check out Trepang2 if you haven't already. :D
This way a great hit of nostalgia for me since i played the original way back in the day. Remake is looking good
I’m super excited to try this, as I have fond memories of playing the Dos version nearly 30 years ago.
Due to health reasons, I’m waiting for a console port rather than buying it for my PC. Fingers crossed the wait won’t be too painful!
Steam Deck, my dude.
@@kent1146 nah deserves to be played on a real PC
Health reasons? Excuse me for asking, but of what kind? Nothing comes to my mind.
The game has controller support, I'm playing the nextfest demo of it on my TV.
you could try to play it with controllers since it has controller support for pc
Man, I’m so glad you covered this. I’ve got a few games in my wishlist now. I’m still looking forward to 9 sols getting released. Thank you for your work, ACG!
When I first saw this on steam I immediately put it in my wish list and added it to my cart. Knowing now that I can get part two for nothing even though I will gladly pay for it is also a bonus. This game and system shock two are probably in my opinion two of the most overlooked games of that era. Especially being only on PC and a lot of people still playing N64 and PlayStation. Only really receiving recognition when BioShock started to become a thing and everyone finally heard where BioShock originally came from. Sound design and atmosphere are definitely what the game is made of. Some really scary parts in part two especially.
This looks awesome! I wish these guys would do Ultima Online 1-2 Remastered instead of what we got with that other so-called sequel or follow-up
LOVE this remake. I played the original (was 22 and had just purchased a Pentium PC upgrade to my 386DX40) and this nails EVERYTHING I loved about the original but brought to 2023. This is THE DEFINITIVE version of the game.
Pre-ordered and I'm currently excited to play this for the first time. Enjoyed the demo, seems like the game will be a fun ride!
This is gaming history.. one of the if not the 1st ever true FPS... Not only that but its got a deep RPG system layered in top.. looking forward to firing this up tomorrow when it releases on Steam
I've been so worried about this game for so long. I'm a huge fan of the original, and the sequel is among my top 10 favorite games of all time. Thanks for the timely review ACG and assuaging those fears. I cannot wait to dive into this one tomorrow. :D
Never played before the demo, ended up played for 8h and i was absolutly blown away
System Shock 2 is one of the best games of all time in my opinion. Surprisingly, I never played the original. I'm looking forward to giving this a play-through!
Can't wait to play. The og is one of my fav games of all time
I love the art direction here, I never played the first two games, but I heard a lot about them. Will be awesome to try this out.
Do yourself a favor and play the second one. Still holds up as very effective and fun sci-fi action horror. Emphasis on HORROR.
@@titusorelius9458The first one is still better for me.
This looks incredible. And still manages to maintain the original vision. Definitely day 1 buy for me.
Didn't even realize this was releasing this week, glad this review popped up to remind me.
I wish someone would do this for Deus Ex.
It's so colorful it makes me wish it had a grittier palette option
I agree, I still plan on picking this up, but the bright colorful neon everywhere is definitely not my favorite.
It was better than expected, but still needs the original music, at least as an option.
I also really love this look and art direction because it ages well. Much better than a game going for a more photo real look. It's similar to Journey To The Savage Planet's art direction.
Super excited for this! I've played System Shock 2 years ago and I still think it's one of the best immersive sim. Hope this one reignites the spark to imsim subgenre
Yeah now that arcane isnt what it used to be we need other studios to make immersive sims
@@markschroder1663 yeah that's such a huge loss for Arkane now. I do hope they will make imsim again like Dishonored. in the 2010s we went from Imsim being gone to have quite many modern imsim like Deus Ex prequels, Dishonored, Prey and then back to nothing again, especially in AAA space
@@markschroder1663 what about that game by the Bioshock devs?
@@samuel.jpg.1080p Arkane's next game is a classic Arkane imsim return to form, according to them. Recent issue is apparently due to company restructuring, and probably a bit of pressure to make more mainstream games for some time.
Also, fun fact, SS2 enhanced is the preorder bonus for this game.
@@FelisImpurrator that's good to hear but I'm still cautious tho. Harvey Smith said in pre-release to Redfall that that game is still considered as imsim by him but we know how that game turned out. At this point in time, I can't just give full confidence to Arkane until the gameplay footage is up. Because Deadloop isn't that good too, at least imo, so Arkane has been in a miss lately.
That preorder bonus is really good, especially for people who haven't played SS2. That game still holds up really well!
I’m so glad that this is released! I was one of the first backers when the kickstarter was launched because the original game was the first video game that I played that completely absorbed me, and it was the first game I bought and subsequently bought again - when the ‘fully voiced’ cd-rom came out. I actually bought a cd-rom drive and scsi adaptor just for that! I’m so glad that it’s not only good but that it has retained much of what made the original great (you never forget your first one…😊)…
Ever since I played the original in 94 on my 386 I have been in love with this game. The concept, the sense of isolation, the freedom. It truly is one of the greatest games of all time that many have never played. It’s a crying shame that, while SS2 is absolutely phenomenal, it didn’t sell enough copies to save the franchise. SS3 will likely never see the light of day at this point.
CHILLS. Always in my top three favourite games and I can't wait to go back. Only reviewer I would trust with understanding what this game is. Thanks
Dead on review and commentary, as always. As someone that played the original when it first came out, I am floored by how "faithful" this remake is, from the visuals to the overall feel. Just immaculate eye (and heart) for detail where it was needed.
Ooo great review! I played the original as a kid but was too dumb to appreciate the nuances of this genre. Eager to give it another go!
I downloaded the demo for the original System Shock, which was 4 megabytes and took several hours on my 56k modem. I played it like crazy. I bought the disc version when it came out. I bought the CD version when it came out. I bought the System Shock reissue when it came out. I bought the enhanced edition on Steam when it came out. I backed the remake kickstarter. I've played through the first level of the remake, and it's very, very good.
really glad they went for a remake instead of a reboot. looks fantastic. thanks for the review!
Game is absolutely phenomenal, as a Bioshock and Prey fan I'm having a blast.
Pretty pleased to say that I didn't feel any need to move keybinds around, but you definitely do need to mind what the controls are to navigate the media menu quickly.
I quite like the classic 90's look with modernized elements. There's some really rad visual work here. Love the undulating walls in cyberspace.
Kickstarted this. Can't wait to play the final version.
The only thing I want to know is if there still are the hardware augmentations - in the original there were a series of modules that gave you some extra features. I hope there something similar, at least.
Console version coming May 21st! To current and last gen consoles. Im hyped because i never played the original. But i do vaguely remember my older brother playing it and rage quitting.
I'm lukewarm on the original system shock, mainly because of it's age and i played after games it inspired, but i played the demo for this and have been pretty excited because it just felt good to play and i adore the visual style they chose.
The Karak Attacks again 😂 thanks for the early review of this game! Can't wait to try this having been a huge fan of the original game - I'm sure the revamp will be an interesting nostalgic trip 🎮
If you never played the original it might be a buy. For me it's a wait-for-a-sale. While keeping the same level layout and giving it a fresh look, worked great with the Dead Space Remake, it doesn't so much with System Shock. The original System Shock still had the DNA of grid-block dungeon crawlers, introducing wedged walls and ramps to it. The original Dead Space had a believable architecture and feel to it (and still does), the far older System Shock hadn't. The setting and story still transfer greatly to today, but I wish they'd gone for fresh gameplay and level design.
I cant help looking at the mini pistol and think of that 10mm Highpoint that got released recently.
Primarily a PC gamer here, and left-handed which is relevant.
When I played the demo, even the most recent version of a couple months ago, several keys I needed to establish a fluid left-handed experience could not be rebound, and I also noted a bug in which some of the bindings I made were not actually saved correctly. I'm assuming these issues are now addressed?
Also, is it possible to adjust the HUD scale? I notice that in this video there's an abundance of extremely small text that may cause me to have to squint or lean in excessively, and that's not really great in the long run. I do very highly appreciate when developers have these accessibility options that help people like me play their offerings - also, and I tend not to believe this is in this game because of the source material which did not have them, QuickTime events. If there were an option to have them solved instantly, that would be wonderful. I have that option on instantly, and my enjoyment of games like my recently completed Star Wars Jedi survivor and Spider-Man Miles Morales which I'm still working through, is increased considerably without that extra level of frustration.
A positive response is all I need to make this purchase a lock for me.
I absolutely love the classic System Shock, and was so thoroughly disturbed by it - its story, atmosphere, creatures and (insert big horrific potentially repeatable spoiler moment which thankfully didn't happen too often since I was circumspect and did something special before risking too much on each level) - after finishing it back in the day I never really went back into it; but now, I feel like I can do so in its remade form.
Now, I really hope that at some point in the future copyright/IP issues are worked out concerning the games in the No One Lives Forever series, which Nightdive here wanted to remaster or remake at some point in the past, but the IP is either tied up among several companies or it's not known who holds the rights, so it's been in limbo, but we classic gaming fans never lose hope about such things.
Another excellent review, Kharak! Take care and as always I am looking forward to the next one!
I played the very early demo and seeing all come together has been a ride. Can't wait to play this.
ACG, my favourite reviewer
I've always wanted to play this!!! I find it really difficult going back to old games unless I've played them before, so I'm all over this!
Never played it while growing up but it looks great
I loved the original so much that already took the "buy" plunge for $50 USD when I backed it on Kickstarter in 2016 - unfortunately I have no idea how you're supposed to redeem on it! It's been so long that I dont even remember what platform I specified anymore!
I like what I've seen so far of their art direction and frankly I can't be too mad that they made some changes, the original game played like a battlemech simulator with a graphing calculator as an interface, which no one would be willing to put up with these days.
It is odd and unique. It wont work for some
Really like the way this video feels super focused and streamlined. Great format!
I completely forgot this game was coming out so soon! Awesome review!
System Shock 1 was too janky for me even back then, but i loved 2, but definitely gonna try this
I never played the original but it was recommended to me, so when this was announced I was excited. I tried the demo and I think the graphics are a perfect balance between modern and retro that fits the game well.
There is something weird going on with delivering keys to the backers. Seems like nobody has gotten any GOG keys and some of the Steam keys going out aren't even for the full game... They announced on May 26th that keys would be going out "today".
Interesting, I was not expecting this remake to be good. Hope they do a remake for the second game too.
Sure hope they keep their backer promise and name enemies after those of us who donated a significant amount. My wife and I both did, 7 years ago. And of course console is getting the shaft yet again and we have to wait yet longer.
This Kickstarter definitely turned us off of supporting these types of fund raising. We'll see if they redeem some trust and deliver what they hooked us with when we backed this project
Finally someone understands this remake; I loved closed beta, but stopped early on. Can't wait for the game to unlock tomorrow. Think D4 will have to wait because after this, I'm replaying System Shock 2 as well.
this game literally sends me off to the golden age PC retro games ngl
I still have the original System Shock game in the original box. Gotta replay this version now.
Love the og game and played both during release of each many times each,but tbh I so wish they had remade the 2nd in the series as it was a FAR better game. Remember Citadel Station !!!
I was a fan of the demo, this looks good too. Can't wait.
Looks awesome. Really hope it comes to next gen systems soon
We’re you able to find my KS dead body in the game? I can’t wait to look for it when the game comes out.
Just a heads up because not a single review I have seen mentions it, but if you are planning on playing with a controller, it has a really bad implementation and is partially broken. It's really not worth getting yet if you play solely with a controller on PC and you should wait for an update as it's not great.
this remake looks so cool. love the style they went for, completely ignoring modern graphics remake tendencies. looks really unique.
I wonder if the Shodan I use for cybersecurity research was named after this Shodan in the game? I had no idea.
5:50 better Gollum design than in that Gollum game.
System Shock was the first game I ever played that taught me a shooter could also be a puzzle/rpg game. Blew my mind.
I was considering this game but your review definitely pushed me over the hump, just prepurchased on Steam. I really loved System Shock 2 back in the day (didn’t play the original) and I’m positive I will do the same with this.
So I didn't hear them mentioned, how are the cybermods in this title? The original had some pretty weird ones like the 360 vision mod (eyes in the back of your head) and the rollerblade feet, did those make it into this?
Seems like the team accomplished what they aimed for. I love the art style. And has anyone ever played Descent? The hacking segments looks HEAVILY inspired by that 1995 classic (fun fact, Descent was the first fully 3d FPS, 2 years before Quake!).
Well, unlike today's "AI", SHODAN actually is an AI.
shodan is a fictional character. what do you mean “actually an AI”
@@titus17I mean the fact that the best example of our most advanced AI is in overcomplicated plagiarism cheater
@@ArcangelGamingEntertainment you dont know much abou AI do you
@@titus17 an AI as in a artificial sentient being. Today’s AIs are not even remotely close.
@@WaveForcefulIntelligence is not "sentience".
What I want from a remake of an old game greatly depends on the game, of course. A game like Dead Space, which plays as a modern game and has visuals and style that holds up to date, weirdly enough I'd say EA made a remake the right way: expanded the game, added new areas and a few gameplay options, updated the visuals, but left the gameplay and feel intact. System Shock looks like they followed a different direction, keeping the artsyle but changing the gameplay. I think it's the right call for this game because the original gameplay doesn't hold up to this day, but if they had also changed the art-style, this game would feel like an imposter.
Played this game back before the mouse existed. One of my favorite games to this day. I will be very happy to give this a go.
Been waiting to play this for years. Great to know it turned out good!
I never played the original, but the remake is a 10/10 for me, which shows the level of brilliance of the original. I'm really happy that i tried it, it absolutely love this genre, the setting and the lore. Genius game design!
The demo had some issues with motion sickness, for example the melee weapon swings. Maybe I missed a comment - but did they address that?
Never had it in demo or in here sadly