I never played System Shock 2. I’ve thought about it. Some people that I respect really dig it. However, some people that I respect dig the spiritual successor, Bioshock, and I don’t really care for that series.

However, back in 2023, I reviewed the System Shock remake for Destructoid, and I really enjoyed it. I think I mostly enjoyed the approach the remake took, which stayed true to its primeval roots while updating everything and making it shinier. Nightdive knew what made the original great and didn’t compromise that when reworking it.

At that time, I picked up System Shock 2 to continue the series, but then put it right back down when I realized that Nightdive was remastering it. Took a bit longer than I maybe expected, but here it is. Now, I’m still waiting on SiN: Reloaded. And while we’re on the topic, when are we getting a remaster of William Shatner’s TekWar?

I’M DOWN WITH BILL GATES, I CALL HIM MONEY FOR SHORT

System Shock is the story of a hacker trapped on a space station with a deranged AI. System Shock 2 is about a soldier (who is maybe also a hacker) trapped on a starship with a deranged AI, a hive-minded parasite, and another deranged AI. So, that’s pretty similar, but also more.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say SHODAN, the AI from the first game, is in this one right? Like, it’s maybe supposed to be a narrative twist, but she’s on the cover of the game. Not just the remaster, but the original boxes.

Anyway, System Shock 2 is also structurally similar to the first. It’s sort of a bunch of key hunt maps stacked on top of each other. Oh, gosh. Is Blake Stone a prototypical System Shock?

System Shock and its sequel are usually referred to as immersive sims – games where you’re given a set of skills and let loose in an environment with a defined set of rules to apply them in various ways – but they’re pretty rigid immsims. You search the environment for keys that let you into other environments. You can sometimes hack things to get ahead or just blast your way through, but I never really felt like I had to think too hard about how I was going to approach things. Not like I would in Deus Ex or, um, Cruelty Squad.

YOU’RE USING A 286? DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH

On top of gunplay and hacking, there’s also psionics. I didn’t use psionics. Do I seem like the sort of person who uses their brain? No. Never again. I mostly specialized in tech: hacking, repair, research, maintenance, and I really should have pair more attention to modify because it lets you upgrade your guns for a small fee. Also, it took me the whole game to realize that adding points to strength unlocks more inventory slots.

Hacking is useful for shutting off the cameras and turrets. A gun is also good at turning off cameras, but having the turrets hold still while you smack them with a wrench is useful. You can also hack turrets, but when I first tried it, my skill was too low, and then I forgot it was an option until way later in the game.

I’m making myself sound really bad at this game, but I think I only died a small handful of times. But even death isn’t much of an issue, since it uses the previous game’s resurrection system. You just need to turn on the “Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Chamber” on whatever floor you’ve reached, and if you die, you spend a few nanites (System Shock 2’s currency) and walk out as good as new. The only time you’ll get a game over is if you don’t have enough pocket change.

YOU THINK YOUR COMMODORE 64 IS REALLY NEATO

But that’s not to say System Shock 2 is easy, either. In fact, it’s probably the best I’ve encountered when it comes to keeping a strangle on resources. I largely got by with my pistol and shotgun, but ammo for them was scarce early on, and even at the end, I had to frequently swap ammo types to keep fighting.

Health and repair tools can also be difficult to keep in stock. There are ways to heal without needing a kid, but they aren’t easily locatable on every floor. You can buy items from replicators, but it’s expensive, so even having sufficient nanites isn’t guaranteed.

What this means is that I had to try and make every shot count and learn ways to most quickly take down enemies. Most of them drop organs that can be researched to give a 25% increase in damage you deal to them, but even when I could take out some with a single shot, I’d take my time lining my sights, because I didn’t want to waste anything. This level of starvation is something that a lot of survival horror games try to balance, but System Shock 2 is possibly the only one I’ve encountered that does it convincingly.

I also didn’t feel like it was possible for me to be an expert in all skills. The upgrade points are doled out pretty sparingly, so you may be able to max out all the tech skills or psionic skills, but not both. Likewise, it’s probably not advisable to try and spend points in a balanced way, as the later game encourages that you master something.

RULE CYBERSPACE AND CRUNCH NUMBERS LIKE I DO?

The story was interesting. SHODAN plays a really cool role in this that is a bit more complex than the omnipresent antagonist in the first game. But like the first game, most of your contact with people is through audio logs. And the audio logs are often lame. It’s somewhat fun to learn little snippets of individual characters throughout the game, but it’s difficult to ascertain how far behind them you’re supposed to be.

There are also audio logs that are practically meaningless. I picked up one that essentially said, “Oh, god, noooo! Uggghhh! Aaahhh! Blglglglgl! Oh nooo!” I’m only paraphrasing slightly. I had to go back and confirm that it was a character who died on an audio log and nothing else.

I think part of the reason I don’t care for the audio log narrative delivery is because I don’t remember faces or names very well. So when the story keeps swapping between different characters and I’m never meeting them, so I just have a name and static image to go off of, it’s hard to care because my brain lacks something that connects them easily. Captain Diego was easy enough, since he’s the son of one of the villains of the first game. The dude and his girlfriend I could remember because each log was them simping for each other. Otherwise, the scientists felt interchangeable.

The best part of the story is just your journey through the mostly derelict craft with someone in your ear anyway. The rest is just flavouring, I guess. Not necessarily added depth, but something that adds to the taste.

WHILE YOUR COMPUTER’S CRASHING, MINE’S MULTITASKING

In terms of the remaster, it’s typical Nightdive, which I’m a huge fan of. They have a way of touching everything up without betraying the feel of the original. I have no direct comparison, because I only briefly played the original version, but all the models and textures still feel like they are from 1999. I know that they’ve been improved, but not so improved that it removes the historical context. It’s very loving. They make it a lot more comfortable without sanding off the edges.

They also did a lot of work to get the multiplayer working. Unfortunately, I don’t care. I don’t really play multiplayer often. It’s co-op, which means I’d be more likely to play it, but it’s also obvious that System Shock 2 was designed as a single-player game. There’s a pervasive feeling of loneliness as you make your way through the Von Braun, and I think another player would detract from that. It seems like it would be more valuable for fucking around. However, it’s great that Nightdive made the effort to get it working, as it sounds like it wasn’t easy. They didn’t include multiplayer for, like, Turok 3, so I’m thankful, even if it’s not my thing.

On the other hand, like many of their remaster, there’s a “vault” where they stuff all the documents, cut content, box art, promotional materials, interviews, and what not. Sometimes, they don’t have much to fill their vaults with, but System Shock 2 is absolutely crammed with things to dig through. Pretty rad.

If there’s one downside to the port, it doesn’t seem like you can swap to the original models and textures. This is the same as it was in Turok 3, but if I recall, the Quake remasters let you choose. Also Killing Time. I guess the original version of System Shock 2 is still available, if you need that original flavour.

All-in-all it’s up to Nightdive’s standards. Which are great.

YOU’VE GOT YOUR OWN NEWSGROUP: ALT.TOTAL-LOSER

I didn’t like the last couple parts of the game. I kept thinking about Xen from Half-Life, but they weren’t quite as much of a slog. They sort of felt rushed or they just weren’t entirely sure how to put a cap on everything. There’s a cool sequence at the very end, but I won’t spoil it.

I’m kind of… annoyed how underwhelmed I am with System Shock 2. Like, sure, I was underwhelmed with Bioshock, as well, but I loved Nightdive’s remake of vanilla System Shock. I was open to loving System Shock 2, but I think it’s just good.

The supply starvation is spot on and lends to an ever-present tension, and the isolated feel of being mostly alone on a derelict starship is terrific. The skill system is skewed in such a way to maintain the momentum of character building and the satisfaction of progression. I just didn’t feel much in the moment-to-moment gameplay to chew on. And without that attachment, I just drifted through the hallways feeding buckshot to mutants.

But, I mean, it’s good. It just didn’t tickle my tush. You should definitely try it, and the remaster is probably the best way to do it now.

7/10

This review was conducted using a pre-release digital Steam version of the game. It was provided by the publisher.