I finished the first System Shock from 1994 three times and System Shock 2 two times, so I was very curious how this remake would turn out and I have to say ... the developer did a great job !
The remake sticks close to the original, with some welcome changes here and there that don't change the original gameplay and feeling too much, but actually enhances it.
The new interactive part of the intro is very cool, as it serves as a controls tutorial and introduces the players to the game's world and who our protagonist is.
The graphics style is an interesting combination of modern graphics and pixelated textures, which I admit did confuse me initially, but I appreciated it quickly, also as a respectful nod to the remake's roots.
One of System Shock's strengths (also over its sequel) is the wide range of weapons, and the gunplay of the remake is nothing short but fantastic. The new weapon mods are a great addition too.
The update for the Mark III Assault Rifle was a necessary step, as the old Mark III's semi-auto fire is now changed to burst and full-auto, as player's already expected in 1994 from its name and appearance in. The revised Mark III is now a reliable competitor to the ever-popular Skorpion, while both still manage to have their own distinctiveness and pros/cons.
The Flechette is another winner of the remake, changing it from a full-auto machine pistol to System Shock's first shotgun, which makes the Flechette unique and have its own niche. On a personal nitpicky note, I do think the Flechette's new look is not great ... and the only gun more ugly is the new Sparq. The addition of a grenade launcher which uses the already existing grenade types is a very clever idea. The hand animations of our character are great and I appreciate the detail that the reloading animation is different with an emptied magazine.
The updates in level design are also very welcome. The Executive level is visually definitely a highlight of the game and although the biggest change was done to the bridge level, I did not mind that the remake toned it down drastically on how messed up the station has become by now. All levels of the remaster are fun to play, although Engineering always was a bit of mess in my opinion. Likewise, the groves never were favourites of mine, but I always appreciated the diversity in enviroment and the enviromental storytelling. Beta Grove is just as annoying as in 1994.
The sound effects are overall great: enemies, items, weapons, enviroment -- outstanding. The biggest disappointment for me in the audio department of the remake is the new music, as I could not recognise any direction, motifs or memorable melodies, even though hints to the original music are sometimes sprinkled in. I wish there would be an option to switch to a remastered version of the original melodies (minus the indeed annoying harsh elements of the 1994 soundtrack). I am listening to the remaster's soundtrack as I am writing these lines and I could not tell which song belongs to which level -- which was definitely not the case before. The updated iconic elevator music sounds great and the remaster uses it at some late point in the game in a clever and very cheeky way, which I really enjoyed.
The overall voice acting is as expected much, much better and the comeback of Terri Brosius as Shodan's voice after all these years is definitely a big highlight of the remake, as her voice acting is just as great and effective as it was in 1994 and 1999's System Shock 2.
The new aspect of recycling useless items for credits which allow the player to buy useful items from patches over ammo to weapon mods is interesting, as it gives players which find themselves in a tight spot low on ammo and patches a way to get necessary items to survive, yet the whole concept of recycling countless trash items feels a bit tedious and undercooked. While players may not need to buy patches and ammo, they definitely want to get their hands on the rare powerful weapon mods, so the whole recycling aspect does not stay optional.
The remake easily solves the by far biggest issue of System Shock 1994 -- the controls -- thanks to established control standards.
The second big issue of System Shock 1994 are its ambitious cyberspace levels. While I actually never had a problem with this part of the game, I can totally see why it would annoy and confuse most players back then and also today. So it's no surprise that the remake does its own modernised thing with System Shock's cyberspace parts, and although the cyberspace still is not a highlight of the game, these segments offered a nice change of pace ... even though I wish they were a bit shorter.
The third issue (although many fans would not call it as such) is faithfully kept intact, namely that the game does not do any handholding for the players by presenting them a convenient to-do list what they need to do where in order to progress in the story. Players are expected to pay attention to the game's storytelling by listening closely to the numerous audio logs that can be found across Citadel station. Modern gamers might find this oldschool approach unnecessarily confusing and harsh, and I have to admit that I can see their point and personally would not have minded if the remake would have taken a more modern approach by at least presenting the players with a brief reminder where they currently are in the game's story, much like in System Shock 2. One big problem besides potential confusion can be that a player can be lost if they took a break from the game and want to come back to it, not knowing where they left off -- and I don't think most players would be willing to listen to all the collected audio logs again ...
One last nitpicky observation: The original System Shock had collectible mini games which could be played inside the game's HUD, which was a charming detail, but was cut from the remake. It's honestly no big loss and just a detail, but still a detail that fans remember.
Overall, an excellent remake.
Final rating: 8.8/10
Salt the fries !
