System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster will likely impress existing fans of the game but leave others cold
Originally released back in 1999, I’m not quite sure why I never played System Shock 2. An action role-playing survival horror, it’s the type of game that’s right up my street. Indeed, I absolutely adore its spiritual sequel, Bioshock. It’s perhaps easier than ever to play it now, thanks to a 25th Anniversary Remaster being available on both consoles and PC. But having spent some time with it, I wish we had a remake instead.
System Shock 2, like its predecessor, finds players going up against a rogue AI by the name of SHODAN. While System Shock takes place on a space station, however, in System Shock 2 you’re confined to an experimental FTL starship called the Von Braun. Awakening from cryosleep, it’s clear that something bad has happened. And making matters even worse is the fact that you’re suffering from amnesia. Thankfully help is at hand to get you more acclimatised with your surroundings and find your way. But as you start to explore the Von Braun, encountering grotesque mutants and hearing strange voices, you might begin to wonder who you can trust.
If you played and loved System Shock 2 back in the day, chances are you’re going to get much more of a kick out of this 25th Anniversary Remaster than others. Being a remaster, it is, after all, simply the original game given a spruce-up. The visuals have been tastefully updated, for example, and along with welcome quality-of-life improvements, there are also new features such as optimised controller support. It brings the game kicking and screaming into the 21st century, making it playable on more formats in its definitive form. But – and this is a big but – it’s still clearly a game that’s more than two decades old.
While its visuals have been polished up, the halls of rooms of the Von Braun in System Shock 2 just aren’t all that foreboding or atmospheric in the modern age. Its enemies, meanwhile, are almost comedic at times, not just because they look a bit daft, but also because their AI is terribly basic. More problematic, however, is the dated game design. There’s a large focus on combat here, for example, but the melee combat mechanics in particular are lacking. You can strike out with a melee weapon, and that’s it – there’s no way to block or dodge incoming attacks, making for many unrewarding and rather awkward tit-for-tat combat encounters.
There are other issues as well, including a finicky control system when playing on console or using a controller on PC. Put it this way, you’ll spend a lot of time navigating awkward menus and tapping various buttons to perform what should be basic actions, such as accessing your notes. All in all, it makes for a game that’s full of faff, where, in the heat of the moment, it’s very easy to find yourself in a menu with no idea of where your cursor is instead of dealing with the threat that’s ahead of you.
I’m sure that many will disagree with me, asserting that System Shock 2 is a classic that holds up to this day. But in my eyes, this is the type of game that needs a remake rather than a remaster. With updated mechanics, more modern systems and controls, and more realistic visuals, it could have the same impact on newcomers as the original did all those years ago. As it is, it’ll likely bring some pleasant memories back to those who already put the game on a pedestal, but those new to the experience, like me, will simply find it to be nothing more than a curious relic of the past.
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC.
