The other major highlight of System Shock’s remake is the aesthetic of the game itself. It’s easily the best part of System Shock, although special mention should be made to the rest of the voice cast for significantly improving the audio logs the voice acting in the original System Shock by comparison is… well, it’s not good, to be blunt. She’s all-encompassing, an omnipotent entity constantly watching through security cameras and commenting on your progress.
The AI isn’t just a single computer on Citadel Station, SHODAN is Citadel Station. There’s a malevolence to SHODAN’s voice, not a disregard for humanity but a genuine hatred that’s convincing. Rerecording returning voice actor Terri Brosius and infusing her delivery with glitches and stutters make what could be a generic “robot-gone-bad” villain into something genuinely scary. Nightdive Studios knows SHODAN is the star of System Shock and went to great lengths to elevate her presentation. While the plot itself is effectively an excuse for the player to run around and flip switches, the driving force behind it is its villain. A rookie error to be sure, but they get a sweet military-grade neural implant in return.įrom there, the rest of the story is delivered through audio logs and text messages, fleshing out the inhabitants of Citadel Station in the aftermath of SHODAN’s rampage. System Shock’s story is a bare-bones narrative, one that sees the player step into the role of an unnamed hacker who, having found themselves in trouble with the sinister corporation TriOptimum, is dropped onto a space station orbiting Saturn and tasked with removing the ethical parameters of the onboard artificial intelligence SHODAN. Sure, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is hailed as the first ‘immersive sim’ – a genre of game that allows for multiple approaches and encourages player choice within a tightly-controlled, systemic environment – but System Shock perfected it.Ī difficult game to parse, even with the help of the overhauled Enhanced Edition, Nightdive Studios’ efforts to rebuild this classic with a new engine and mechanics more in line with what audiences expect nowadays is commendable, but sometimes it’s better to iterate rather than reiterate. The original 1994 game was groundbreaking on so many levels, it’s considered by many to be the birthplace of an entire genre. If there was any game that deserved a complete remake, it’s System Shock.
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