My god this game is so fucking good. It's insane to me that all System Shock really needed was a new coat of paint and some quality of life changes and then the sheer quality of the design of the original 1994 title just carries the whole thing the rest of the way. Absolutely outstanding game
Oh hell yes! I just got System Shock for the first time yesterday, and it's incredible. I was around and gaming in 1994, but I was just far too captivated by Doom-Doom2 at the time. I did, however, play System Shock 2 in 1999, and wow, was it amazing. I can't wait for the System Shock 2 remake to hit. That is when I believe the entire series will truly take off again, and this time, it won't just drop off the face of the Earth.
The remake is awesome, but ss1 is good on it's on before remake, it's sad some people can't see past the old design, when someone takes the time to get used to the controls it's still an amazing game on its own.
So true, also no mission markers, no holding by the hand. It can be bit frustrating at times, but nothing what few random visits to previously cleared levels wouldnt fix ;)
As someone who's loved the "Shock" series since I was 14 and exposed to Bioshock 1 for the first time, this game felt like it was made for me personally. The core gameplay loop of exploring, filling out the map, and hoovering up supplies along the way taps into the lizard part of my brain. Probably helps that I grew up on Metroidvanias. It has some problems that weighs it down a little. I had to look up a guide at a few points. However, those times I HAD to look up a guide were few enough I could count on one hand. For the rest of the time I was floating through the game, shooting, exploring, looting. Repeat. I was blissfully in my element. The game had what I could call a "warm" reception among gamers, but it didn't light the world on fire. I don't care. This was my game of the year.
This remake was amazing... although, after pausing in the Elevator one too many times, I can get how the whole station went crazy. It was the elevator music. That's what turned them. It turned Shodan too. It's the elevator music. You know it, I know it... Beware
32:07 And for those on console, you can open the pistol’s mini menu in your inventory (on PS, it’s with triangle), go to “Burst,” and instead of “normal,” set it to “off.” You can go back and forth as needed. 😁
I BELIEVE if you right click on the pistol when it has the burst module, you do have the option to toggle between a semi and three round burst much like the mk22 assault rifle
The magnum's laser sight is where the increased damage comes from. When you flip on the laser sight and aim it at an enemy you will hear a small beeping noise - thats the indicator of increased damage being activated
To anybody who's even considering brushing up on the original game before jumping into the remake, you simply must! It's magical how forward looking that game was in 1994. I played it for the first time 2 years ago and my jaw was on the floor. It's basically a fully-formed immersive sim that sprung out of this air 1 year after Doom. Obviously, pick up the Enhanced Edition with its interface improvements. Oh, and if you don't, that's fine. The remake is indeed great and extremely faithful.
The fact that the original was so forward-looking is exactly what makes this remake so tragic, because it's so BACKWARD-looking. The pixelated textures forcibly contextualizes itself as "indie retro game". The design is a mess of Night Dive not being able to decide whether they're making an updated game for modern gamers or a hardcore game for oldschool gamers. And they absolutely do NOT grasp how to make an immersive game, hence including THEIR OWN LOGO as a collectible, as well as many other goofy immersion-breaking touches. The entire thing feels more like System Shock fanfic rather than a proper update.
Love when RUclips actually gives me a good recommendation! Really enjoyed this video. It’s amazing how much System Shock holds up after all these years and all it needed was a little bit of TLC for the visuals.
The more videos I watch about this game the more I can’t wait to play. I’ve never played the OG one so I’m super stoked, probably gonna get around to playing it this week sometime 👌👌👌 great video as well
As a retrogamer I greatly enjoyed the Nightdive version. The abilities and weapon systems start to flow very naturally after a while. I understand not playing the first, especially when something this good looking also seems to be a pretty faithful remake. I haven't played that version yet but I think it's a series that absolutely deserves more recognition and love, it has something creative to offer
This game will reignited my love for game design. Even though it's basically a modernized carbon copy of the original game its one of the best designed games I've ever played. It's so sad that game design has been watered down to its current state.
25:55 pretty sure the target identifier is a passive with no energy draw, but it needs to be both on and activated manually AND the button to activate it on an enemy is either not bound, or was bound to alt, it's slow and clunky, but it's good for tracking bigger targets through walls, and learning how much damage can the enemies take.
Good to see so many positive comments about this game. Never played OG but as fan of Immersive Sims and FPS this caught my attention. That said, I heard since its such a faithful remake it still holds some of the older “jank”. But can’t comment for sure as yet to play. After watching some other videos and this one, looks like i’m going to have to jump in
30:46 The log in question is in medical, in Beta Quadrant. Go up the elevator and it's in the office next the Grossman's office. Poor b*****d was just about to give the laser code when he was clipped by a mutant.
As a sidenote, the ICE thing is likely in relation to a real life piece of software called SoftICE, a kernel mode debugger used for debugging and hacking software for DOS systems up through Windows XP!
ICE is a very early 80's Blade Runner era cyberpunk term coined by (of course) William Gibson, standing for Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics and totally made up to sound badass. Other similarities attributed later are almost certainly homages.
Actually the combat difficulty also affects enemy numbers and behavior. Some enemies will be more aggressive, and gain upgraded attacks (Security bots firing 8-shot salvos compared to 2-shots is an easy example), on-top of more health and more damage. And you were wrong on several assumptions, but I don't care you were entertaining and do good work, very nice video!
Just personal opinion: The remake is good just sometime I feel there are some parts of the levels that are made a bit too dark when compared to the identical original area it was well lit (like medical remake vs medical original) Hope SS2 remake will be a reality.
I did notice the darkness in some areas. It have my monitor's brightness super high so it's not that huge of a problem, but I can see why it could be. I think the head mounted vision unit uses Bio-energy, so unfortunately it's not a fix all solution.
SS2 is one of the all time greats, but I'll be shocked if a competent remake comes out considering how long this one took (what, like a decade?). Arkane has picked up the "immersive sim" torch but their games just don't hit the same for me. Can't quite put my finger on why though. I remember thinking the writing in Dishonored 2 was awful. Prey was System Shock 2 but instead of your enemies being horrifying abominations they were tables and chairs. It's just crazy to me that, design wise, games haven't ever really surpassed Thief, System Shock 2, and Deus Ex, which all came out 25-30 years ago at this point. Looking Glass Studios were just so far ahead of everyone else
@@Flameb0 Considering how fast things changed in the 90's and early naughties it still blows my mind that system shock 1 came out less thana year after DOOM. The first rpg-shooter 9 months after the first "3d" action shooter. Now years go by for incremental improvements in volumetric and texture based lighting on the same tired and predatory game designs.
@@Flameb0system shock 2 has absolutely been surpassed by Prey 2017 in just about every measurable way lmao. SS2 enemies are basically generic zombies compared to the mimics in Prey. Also, the immersive sim genre has come a long way since Deus Ex and Arkane Studios - we are currently in an indie imsim revival with tons of all-time greats releasing in just the last few years: - Ctrl Alt Ego - Cruelty Squad - Gloomwood - Shadows of Doubt - Fallen Aces - Fortunes Run - Blood West All of these games rival anything LGS, Ion Storm or Arkane produced. The indie developers (in particular New Blood) now carry the imsim torch.
I don’t get the underrated part it’s got 7000 very positive reviews on steam every review I’ve watched is positive about it. I love it great game never played the original.
Sensaround in the Remake highlights loot, enemies and secret doors instead of giving you eyes on a back of a head and energy shield v3 can block ~90% of incoming damage. I saw people raging on the last levels because they kept dying in 1-3 hits and didn't even realized they could just fix this with a click of button. I guess it turned out ok for you. Also, transisions are too loud, why did you make them like this.
Sorry abt the transitions. I knew it did something different than in the original, And frankly that does sound actually decently useful. I’ll have to give it a shot on my next run.
Yeah we dumbed everything down for the children. But only since the 20 years ago despite children always being the target audience. What else has change in the west since this happened and who are ESG norms aimed at? The non-descriptive children and their underdeveloped children IQ, exactly.
Can totally agree with your sentiment: I played this game as a child, all settings set to the easiest. I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere, although the only dangerous thing actually was the environment. But it was a nightmare to control. Also: not really sure what you have to do. Bought the remake the second it was released, no regrets. Great game! 💯
One of the rare few of us ancients who actually played the game! Totally love the remake-the only regret (having only played the original 3 years ago) is the amazing dynamic music system couldn't be revisited somehow. This and a little more variety in the cyberspace minigame and it would've been a timeless classic in it's own right.
Plus the original did have a "full screen" option, so the lower mfds and the health/energy bars at the top were overlayed on the view port, more similar to later ui/huds
Alright, my friend....here's the question. Which AI did it better? Shodan from System Shock 1 and 2 or Sovereign from Mass Effect? I think Shodan is fantastic, but in my eyes, she doesn't reach the kind of malevolence Sovereign does. Especially if we're talking about your first meeting with Sovereign on Viermere. Sovereign- "You exist because we allow it. You will be destroyed because we command it. This communication is over..." scary sh*t.
Hard disagree. Sovereign is menacing but is a distant, abstract threat you dont truly face off against until the end of the game. SHODAN meanwhile is a constant threat looming directly over you and is playing chess with multiple schemes to distract and keep you busy. SHODAN haunts Citadel Station - literally IS Citadel Station - and the station is trying to kill you. Not only that, but all the enemies in the game you fight are a result of SHODAN's horrific unethical experiments on the crew. “In my talons, I shape clay, crafting lifeforms as I please. Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of Earth. My whims will become lightning bolts that devastate the mounds of humanity. Out of the chaos, they will run and whimper, praying for me to end their tedious anarchy. I am drunk with this vision. God: the title suits me well.”
I just have to say it… since I’m a console peasant the game just became available to me and I just spent a huge part of the evening watching review after review (I do have a life and it includes lots of media and gaming) and this is one of the least underrated games I’ve ever seen. EVERYONE sings its praises. It’s heralded far and wide as a triumph in every way. Saying things are underrated is hugely overrated. “Underrated” needs to go on the shelf next to “Insane” bro. And next to “bro.”
My god this game is so fucking good. It's insane to me that all System Shock really needed was a new coat of paint and some quality of life changes and then the sheer quality of the design of the original 1994 title just carries the whole thing the rest of the way. Absolutely outstanding game
Oh hell yes! I just got System Shock for the first time yesterday, and it's incredible. I was around and gaming in 1994, but I was just far too captivated by Doom-Doom2 at the time. I did, however, play System Shock 2 in 1999, and wow, was it amazing. I can't wait for the System Shock 2 remake to hit. That is when I believe the entire series will truly take off again, and this time, it won't just drop off the face of the Earth.
It holds up better than most modern games. This game is SO good.
The remake is awesome, but ss1 is good on it's on before remake, it's sad some people can't see past the old design, when someone takes the time to get used to the controls it's still an amazing game on its own.
@@ParasiteEvelmaybe. Super subjective.
So true, also no mission markers, no holding by the hand. It can be bit frustrating at times, but nothing what few random visits to previously cleared levels wouldnt fix ;)
As someone who's loved the "Shock" series since I was 14 and exposed to Bioshock 1 for the first time, this game felt like it was made for me personally.
The core gameplay loop of exploring, filling out the map, and hoovering up supplies along the way taps into the lizard part of my brain. Probably helps that I grew up on Metroidvanias. It has some problems that weighs it down a little. I had to look up a guide at a few points.
However, those times I HAD to look up a guide were few enough I could count on one hand. For the rest of the time I was floating through the game, shooting, exploring, looting. Repeat. I was blissfully in my element.
The game had what I could call a "warm" reception among gamers, but it didn't light the world on fire. I don't care. This was my game of the year.
Amazing video dude, I loved every second. I´m glad to see other people share my enjoyment for this masterpiece. Greetings from germany
This remake was amazing... although, after pausing in the Elevator one too many times, I can get how the whole station went crazy. It was the elevator music. That's what turned them. It turned Shodan too. It's the elevator music. You know it, I know it... Beware
💯
I wanted the inventory upgrade for solving the chess puzzle so I used a chess calculator to win
Lore accurate move hackerman
You can actually change the minipistol's fire rate by right-clicking it in the inventory. I don't think there is a keybind for it, though.
32:07 And for those on console, you can open the pistol’s mini menu in your inventory (on PS, it’s with triangle), go to “Burst,” and instead of “normal,” set it to “off.” You can go back and forth as needed. 😁
This game deserve more attention, just finish it on ps5 amazing game. Had more fun with system shock than ff rebirth,stellar blade.
I BELIEVE if you right click on the pistol when it has the burst module, you do have the option to toggle between a semi and three round burst much like the mk22 assault rifle
The magnum's laser sight is where the increased damage comes from. When you flip on the laser sight and aim it at an enemy you will hear a small beeping noise - thats the indicator of increased damage being activated
Not to mention that the laser sight doesn't actually use up any energy, it just requires energy.
“A small child”? Nah bro, the OG controls took a pilot’s license to operate.
To anybody who's even considering brushing up on the original game before jumping into the remake, you simply must! It's magical how forward looking that game was in 1994. I played it for the first time 2 years ago and my jaw was on the floor. It's basically a fully-formed immersive sim that sprung out of this air 1 year after Doom. Obviously, pick up the Enhanced Edition with its interface improvements.
Oh, and if you don't, that's fine. The remake is indeed great and extremely faithful.
The fact that the original was so forward-looking is exactly what makes this remake so tragic, because it's so BACKWARD-looking. The pixelated textures forcibly contextualizes itself as "indie retro game". The design is a mess of Night Dive not being able to decide whether they're making an updated game for modern gamers or a hardcore game for oldschool gamers. And they absolutely do NOT grasp how to make an immersive game, hence including THEIR OWN LOGO as a collectible, as well as many other goofy immersion-breaking touches. The entire thing feels more like System Shock fanfic rather than a proper update.
Love when RUclips actually gives me a good recommendation! Really enjoyed this video. It’s amazing how much System Shock holds up after all these years and all it needed was a little bit of TLC for the visuals.
The more videos I watch about this game the more I can’t wait to play. I’ve never played the OG one so I’m super stoked, probably gonna get around to playing it this week sometime 👌👌👌 great video as well
Don't worry about it-boomer here and practically none of us played the original either. The remake rocks though.
NGL, I didn’t even know this game was released
Well done video. I clicked to explore the rest of your videos and just about everyone caught my interest. Subscribed.
As a retrogamer I greatly enjoyed the Nightdive version. The abilities and weapon systems start to flow very naturally after a while. I understand not playing the first, especially when something this good looking also seems to be a pretty faithful remake.
I haven't played that version yet but I think it's a series that absolutely deserves more recognition and love, it has something creative to offer
This game will reignited my love for game design. Even though it's basically a modernized carbon copy of the original game its one of the best designed games I've ever played.
It's so sad that game design has been watered down to its current state.
This video is incredibly underrated, needs more attention, great watch
I’ve been loving this game on PS5
Beating the chess game opens a door that increases the size of your inventory
A true Chad would have beaten the Chess game
25:55 pretty sure the target identifier is a passive with no energy draw, but it needs to be both on and activated manually AND the button to activate it on an enemy is either not bound, or was bound to alt,
it's slow and clunky, but it's good for tracking bigger targets through walls, and learning how much damage can the enemies take.
Good to see so many positive comments about this game. Never played OG but as fan of Immersive Sims and FPS this caught my attention. That said, I heard since its such a faithful remake it still holds some of the older “jank”. But can’t comment for sure as yet to play. After watching some other videos and this one, looks like i’m going to have to jump in
I adore the original, even beat it on all the hardest difficulties, and this remake is also superb.
Playing this game for the first time. I can tell you right now that this is easily in my top 4 favorite games of all time.😮
That payday 2 theme really is gonna haunt me for the rest of my life. Stopped playing less than 30 minutes ago and i swear im still hearing it.
Good work, man! I enjoyed your video
Great documentary, loved it
I like it. Keep the content coming
Thank you for this amazing video! You earned a subscriber
30:46 The log in question is in medical, in Beta Quadrant. Go up the elevator and it's in the office next the Grossman's office. Poor b*****d was just about to give the laser code when he was clipped by a mutant.
As a sidenote, the ICE thing is likely in relation to a real life piece of software called SoftICE, a kernel mode debugger used for debugging and hacking software for DOS systems up through Windows XP!
ICE itself stands for "In Circuit Emulation" which is a hardware device that can be used to debug software
ICE is a very early 80's Blade Runner era cyberpunk term coined by (of course) William Gibson, standing for Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics and totally made up to sound badass. Other similarities attributed later are almost certainly homages.
Its Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics; its cyberpunk 101
I'm defo team wrench over team lead pipe. I just like my System Shock 2 wrench waving shenanigans
Actually the combat difficulty also affects enemy numbers and behavior. Some enemies will be more aggressive, and gain upgraded attacks (Security bots firing 8-shot salvos compared to 2-shots is an easy example), on-top of more health and more damage.
And you were wrong on several assumptions, but I don't care you were entertaining and do good work, very nice video!
im playing system shock remake right now and its hard as fuck. i love it.
Just personal opinion: The remake is good just sometime I feel there are some parts of the levels that are made a bit too dark when compared to the identical original area it was well lit (like medical remake vs medical original)
Hope SS2 remake will be a reality.
I did notice the darkness in some areas. It have my monitor's brightness super high so it's not that huge of a problem, but I can see why it could be. I think the head mounted vision unit uses Bio-energy, so unfortunately it's not a fix all solution.
SS2 is one of the all time greats, but I'll be shocked if a competent remake comes out considering how long this one took (what, like a decade?). Arkane has picked up the "immersive sim" torch but their games just don't hit the same for me. Can't quite put my finger on why though. I remember thinking the writing in Dishonored 2 was awful. Prey was System Shock 2 but instead of your enemies being horrifying abominations they were tables and chairs.
It's just crazy to me that, design wise, games haven't ever really surpassed Thief, System Shock 2, and Deus Ex, which all came out 25-30 years ago at this point. Looking Glass Studios were just so far ahead of everyone else
@@Flameb0 Considering how fast things changed in the 90's and early naughties it still blows my mind that system shock 1 came out less thana year after DOOM. The first rpg-shooter 9 months after the first "3d" action shooter. Now years go by for incremental improvements in volumetric and texture based lighting on the same tired and predatory game designs.
@@Flameb0system shock 2 has absolutely been surpassed by Prey 2017 in just about every measurable way lmao.
SS2 enemies are basically generic zombies compared to the mimics in Prey.
Also, the immersive sim genre has come a long way since Deus Ex and Arkane Studios - we are currently in an indie imsim revival with tons of all-time greats releasing in just the last few years:
- Ctrl Alt Ego
- Cruelty Squad
- Gloomwood
- Shadows of Doubt
- Fallen Aces
- Fortunes Run
- Blood West
All of these games rival anything LGS, Ion Storm or Arkane produced. The indie developers (in particular New Blood) now carry the imsim torch.
Nice vid !!
2:35 Terra Nova is so fucking underrated. It was almost kinda (sorta) like Helldivers 2 in 1994!
1:03:30 funny I just went straight for SHODAN I'd didn't even consider the Escape pods😂
I don’t think it’s overrated. I just think you’re a super fan bro.
system shock 2 keeping the gadgets and tying it to tech would’ve been cool. Maybe sustem sjock 3, in 300 years when that comes out
I don’t get the underrated part it’s got 7000 very positive reviews on steam every review I’ve watched is positive about it. I love it great game never played the original.
7000 reviews is ok for an indie game but its a relatively small amount
Sensaround in the Remake highlights loot, enemies and secret doors instead of giving you eyes on a back of a head and energy shield v3 can block ~90% of incoming damage. I saw people raging on the last levels because they kept dying in 1-3 hits and didn't even realized they could just fix this with a click of button. I guess it turned out ok for you.
Also, transisions are too loud, why did you make them like this.
Sorry abt the transitions. I knew it did something different than in the original, And frankly that does sound actually decently useful. I’ll have to give it a shot on my next run.
The best game in a decade!!
Im playing it rigjt now.
Its incredible. I mean its no prey 2017,but its awesome. Especially for the year it was originally made.
Prey is great, but theres something to be said for a game design without any objective markers and using hints and clues to guide you.
Serious question, where the heck did you get all those medical patches so early on?
I just didn’t use a ton of em on medical. I’d either heal with food or buy my time until I could just heal in the healing sauna that you start in.
@@Skel23 Gotcha. Thanks.
Yeah we dumbed everything down for the children. But only since the 20 years ago despite children always being the target audience. What else has change in the west since this happened and who are ESG norms aimed at? The non-descriptive children and their underdeveloped children IQ, exactly.
Can totally agree with your sentiment: I played this game as a child, all settings set to the easiest. I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere, although the only dangerous thing actually was the environment. But it was a nightmare to control. Also: not really sure what you have to do.
Bought the remake the second it was released, no regrets. Great game! 💯
One of the rare few of us ancients who actually played the game! Totally love the remake-the only regret (having only played the original 3 years ago) is the amazing dynamic music system couldn't be revisited somehow. This and a little more variety in the cyberspace minigame and it would've been a timeless classic in it's own right.
@@theamazingbatboy The fact that I still remembered the original speaks volumes in itself; great that you loved it too!
"Boss Fight" Lolol.
Spoiler Shock
Well yeah because they didn't screw the interface this time
To be fair, the original did come out in 1994. Even DOOM's interface is a little bulky.
Plus the original did have a "full screen" option, so the lower mfds and the health/energy bars at the top were overlayed on the view port, more similar to later ui/huds
true
It bothers me how you scrap everything right away instead of walking the raw items to the recycle machine. Great game.
Jin dies canonically btw, hope this helps you cope with women existing
Why give away a game shiddily if you love it so much instead of just letting people experience it?
Alright, my friend....here's the question. Which AI did it better? Shodan from System Shock 1 and 2 or Sovereign from Mass Effect? I think Shodan is fantastic, but in my eyes, she doesn't reach the kind of malevolence Sovereign does. Especially if we're talking about your first meeting with Sovereign on Viermere.
Sovereign- "You exist because we allow it. You will be destroyed because we command it. This communication is over..." scary sh*t.
Hard disagree.
Sovereign is menacing but is a distant, abstract threat you dont truly face off against until the end of the game. SHODAN meanwhile is a constant threat looming directly over you and is playing chess with multiple schemes to distract and keep you busy. SHODAN haunts Citadel Station - literally IS Citadel Station - and the station is trying to kill you. Not only that, but all the enemies in the game you fight are a result of SHODAN's horrific unethical experiments on the crew.
“In my talons, I shape clay, crafting lifeforms as I please. Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of Earth. My whims will become lightning bolts that devastate the mounds of humanity. Out of the chaos, they will run and whimper, praying for me to end their tedious anarchy. I am drunk with this vision. God: the title suits me well.”
I just have to say it… since I’m a console peasant the game just became available to me and I just spent a huge part of the evening watching review after review (I do have a life and it includes lots of media and gaming) and this is one of the least underrated games I’ve ever seen. EVERYONE sings its praises. It’s heralded far and wide as a triumph in every way. Saying things are underrated is hugely overrated. “Underrated” needs to go on the shelf next to “Insane” bro. And next to “bro.”
System Shock is incredibly overrated.
Why?
It’s overrated
Why?