System Shock, released in 1994, was well-received and while it didn’t reach the success of Doom, it certainly went on to be known as one of the most influential sci-fi shooters in gaming history.
When a remake for System Shock was announced fans were naturally thrilled and gamers who were interested in the original, but never got around to playing it were excited too. Finally, after a few years of waiting, Nightdive Studios has delivered us the System Shock Remake. Massive changes have been made from the original, and here are the five most significant of them.
A much better Cyberspace
Cyberspace is a prevalent minigame in System Shock, and those who played the original game were less than pleased with it. In the remake, Nightdive Studios has made significant changes to it, turning it into a fun experience that everyone can agree, is much better than the original.
While the core mechanics of Cyberspace remains the same, minor tweaks here and there transform it into a whole new experience.
Better graphics
Speaking of updated graphics, Nightdive Studios has done an excellent job upgrading the 1994 classic with modern graphics. The original System Shock was one of the better-looking games in terms of art style, but sadly the graphics have aged like milk.
The remake on the other hand has great modern-day graphics while still managing to retain the unique art style and atmosphere of the original, making it more appealing to today’s gamers.
Improved movement
Game mechanics in older games were usually — for the lack of a better term — tedious. This proves true when it comes to the movement system in the original System Shock.
The movement in that game was barely intuitive and took some time to get used to, which obviously wouldn’t be preferred today. Thankfully the remake has the same movement one would find in modern shooters like Call of Duty or Bioshock.
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Limited Inventory Space
The original System Shock allowed players to carry a large number of weapons without caring too much about inventory space. However, the remake places some hard limitations on that, forcing players to plan and think about what they want to carry and what they don’t.
Better HUD and UI
To say the UI in the original System Shock was crowded and chaotic would be an understatement. The UI in the original could best be described as a colorful Excel sheet full of words and numbers that required a whole lot of clicking.
The remake does a complete revamp to the UI and HUD, making it more concise and readable, more akin to games like Minecraft.
Easier navigation
One of, if not the biggest, complaints the original System Shock received was of its confusing level layouts. The levels in the original were essentially mazes that players had to memorize unless they wanted to get lost.
This made for a rather frustrating experience. Thankfully, players won’t have to experience this in the remake for a variety of reasons.
The maze-like feel is still present in the remake, however, the updated graphics make the environment feel less samey and claustrophobic. Waypoints can also be used on lower difficulties, ridding players of the burden of memorizing routes.