System Shock Remake Review | A Terrifying Return to Citadel Station

Read our review of System Shock to find out if the graphics, story, and gameplay of this modern take on the classic horror game is worth your money!

System Shock Remake Review and Score Explanation

System Shock Remake Score Explanation

System Shock Remake Review: A Terrifying Return to Citadel Station

Nightdive Studios has outdone itself with its take on the classic System Shock. Great visuals, great gameplay, and a terrifying soundtrack are all wrapped up in a $40 package. SHODAN is as terrifying as she is smug, and her creations will have you reel in disgust as you pull out your magnum pistol to take them down.

Citadel Station has also been recreated rather faithfully, with most layouts matching that of the original, with added flourishes like posters, benches, relevant knick-knacks, and other items. Coupled with the lighting and fog effects, these serve to make the space station all the more alive in that player’s eyes.

If you’re a fan of the original, I suggest you give this remake a go. If you’re not a fan, pick it up all the same because it’s a good game to play on its own without prior knowledge. Hopefully, they remake System Shock 2 after this.

System Shock Remake Full Game Review

Pros of System Shock Remake

Things System Shock Remake Got Right
Tense Semi-Open World Gameplay Great Atmosphere Backed by Strong Visuals and Audio Terrifying Enemy Designs, Great Level Designs Quite Faithful to the Original Game

Tense Semi-Open World Gameplay

Just like the original, the System Shock remake’s Citadel Station is a seamless open world that you will have to traverse and backtrack across to get to SHODAN. While you’re doing that, she’ll spawn enemies from all sorts of points, keeping you on your toes. This is what made the original and its remake great. There’s rarely a dull moment - just you going around the station while its malevolent AI master figures out a new way to kill you.

Unless you’re playing Hard Difficulty (which gives you 10 hours to stop SHODAN’s plot), you are more or less free to explore Citadel Station. You will inevitably do that and backtrack a lot unless you know when you’ll need certain items at which point in the game. This gives System Shock a unique open-world feel where you can freely traverse the station and try to unlock rooms of items that might prove useful in taking the AI down.

Some people have said that it feels like Bioshock, though the System Shock remake feels a lot more unique than that. The feeling of a seamless transition between each level really ups the immersion factor, especially in a game that employs all sorts of ways to rope you into its story.

Great Atmosphere Backed by Strong Visuals and Audio

Let’s expand a bit on the tension in Citadel Station because that’s what you’ll be feeling most of the time while you’re there. The corridor is too dark, and there’s nothing else but the deep black of space outside. You don’t know when a mutant will just pop out of nowhere to get you, but you can hear them breathing and gurgling. Then you see them in their bloody, wrinkle-faced glory before they deliver a swipe to your face.

The System Shock remake combines both the 90s hacker aesthetic with various lights and gizmos and smashes this with the same cassette futurism of the Alien films along with feelings of isolation and terror. I mean, whacking mutants is great and all, but when you make it to one of the windows and see Saturn far in the distance, it really hits home with the fact that you are, largely, alone in facing this AI threat.

It uses its graphic effects so well - bloom, volumetric fog, shadows (especially shadows), and those crunchy low-poly textures. Then it’ll hit you with sound. Sometimes it’s something techno and fast-paced whenever you’re fighting something. But other times, it’s quiet, only with the eerie din associated with being in space. It can be quite the mood.

Terrifying Enemy Variety, Great Level Designs

The first level alone already has a good number of enemies like the mutants, the cyborg drones, cyborg assassins, and the Hoppers. As you progress through Citadel Station, the rogues’ gallery of enemies simply increases. Rarely does the game throw enemies at you repeatedly; if it did, then it’ll throw them at you when it makes sense (mutants in the Medical floor because lots of humans there, etc).

I don’t want to spoil much, but there’s a good number of enemies to face, all of them with their own quirks, attacks, and vital spots you’d want to hit. Some of them look freakier than others.

Now, let’s talk about where you’ll fight these guys because the level design in System Shock is something else. It’s labyrinthine, unforgiving, and will screw you over if you’re not careful (imagine getting lost in any level while doing a Hard Mode run). Trying to reduce the security level in Medical should clue you in on how much exploring you’ll have to do in the later levels.

Other games don’t want you to feel lost and give you objective markers and such, but here in System Shock you’re just given a set of instructions and sent on your way without much of a guide. Unless you’re playing Easy mode, of course. I’m glad that more and more games are making exploration like this since it gives the player some agency in deciding how to proceed.

Quite Faithful to the Original Game

After finishing the game, I watched a playthrough of the original System Shock 1 and I found that I could recognize the general map layouts of the levels (Medical in particular). Enemy placements were accurate to the original as well, and that got me thinking of just how much painstaking detail the devs put into developing this remake.

You’ll also notice just how enhanced Citadel Station looks. The Medical level now has benches and stretchers, the Maintenance level has tools, and the Research level has vats full of research subjects. The best thing, though, is that item placements in these levels are mostly the same as well. For any SS1 fans out there, I’m sure you guys already found the Magnum 2100 right out of Medical.

I find it so weird and somewhat satisfying that knowledge of a game from nearly 30 years ago would still work when playing its remake.

Cons of System Shock Remake

Things That System Shock Remake Can Improve
Art Style Is Polarizing The Ending

Art Style Is Polarizing

I’ve gushed over the art style earlier in this review, though I can also see why people might hate it as well. The System Shock remake looks a bit too brightly colored to be scary, to the point that it can either feel cartoony or just downright garish. It doesn’t help that the textures on the enemies and items are low-poly but overly polished in the Unreal Engine.

It feels like the devs were trying to get a PS1 or Half-Life 1 aesthetic, but mixed that with AAA-tier shaders and effects. It doesn’t look ugly to me since it’s kind of like a direct 2D to 3D translation of the 1994 game’s graphics, but I can see others think differently about it.

The Ending

Now, a word of caution. This section is spoiler-y, though I am talking about the story of a 30-year-old game that many other people have already played.

At the ending, you’re supposed to go to Cyberspace and kill SHODAN there. But one thing that weirded me out was the decision to make it an FPS-style fight rather than the cyberspace jet simulation we’ve been playing for almost the entire game. That was how the original ended, so why did they have to change it in the remake?

I also found the outro sequence rather weird. After the boss fight, the Hacker is tired but we can still see the image of SHODAN. What was up with that? I was personally left confused. So much so that I first thought that I got a bad ending or something because the Hacker looked like he was running away from SHODAN instead. Sure, SHODAN’s color scheme changed, but I didn’t notice that at all the first time around.

In fairness, when the Hacker got back to Earth, things played out relatively the same with TriOp offering him a job, him refusing, and then going back to hacking. We don’t get to see that he’s hacking into TetraCorp, though, sadly. Still, Nightdive managed to do that thing in the original where the buildings happened to be shaped into letters of the title ‘System Shock’, so there’s that.

System Shock Remake Story and Plot

Once again, the System Shock remake puts us in the shoes of the "Hacker”, who was caught trying to break into the mainframe of the Tri-Optimum Corporation. To be forgiven for his crimes (and receive a swanky new neural interface), he is told to disable the ethical functions of the AI SHODAN on Tri-Optimum’s space station, Citadel Station. But little does the Hacker know that his unethical modification would make SHODAN self-aware… and become mad with power.

System Shock first came out in 1994, developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Origin Systems. Now though, with Nightdive Studios at the helm, the remake breathes new life into the decades-old classic by giving it full 3D graphics, modern video game effects, and a new interface, while still retaining the game’s original 90s cyberpunk aesthetic.

With how the gameplay is so far, the System Shock 2023 remake is the perfect (and modern) way to enjoy this classic almost 3 decades after its release.

Who Should Play System Shock Remake?

System Shock Remake is Recommended if You Enjoy:

• The System Shock series 
• The Bioshock games
• Horror games set in space (Dead Space, Alien: Isolation, etc)

People who loved the original System Shock will get quite a hoot out of playing the remake. Bioshock fans too, especially since that series was a "spiritual successor" to the System Shock games. All the hallmarks are here - apocalyptic logs, environmental storytelling, and a setting that’s just been destroyed long enough for you to wind up in it and face its inhabitants.

Also, those who love screaming in space (and not being heard) will have a great time with the System Shock remake. The ways that enemies respawn when you backtrack is reminiscent of the Dead Space remake, and the way that SHODAN keeps track of you and tries to get you at crucial moments reminds me of Alien: Isolation. The System Shock remake is a really great game that horror fans shouldn’t miss.

Is System Shock Remake Worth It?

Worth It if You Like Horror and Don’t Mind Spending $40

The System Shock remake is worth your $40 because not only is it long enough to be entertaining, but also because of how good it looks and how much it encourages you to be a completionist (lowering the security level of Citadel Station’s floors unlocks certain doors and goodies, so there you go).

How System Shock Remake Matches Up to Recently-Released Games

Games That Came Out Recently/About To Come Out	Pros	Cons
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	The System Shock remake is not only futuristic but terrifying. If Hyrule is proving a bit too tame for your tastes, then put that money toward SS instead.	But TotK is a longer game and has a lot of content to unlock. If you’re looking for something to consume your time, then the latest Zelda game should do you nicely.
The Outlast Trials	Both The Outlast Trials and System Shock have tense atmospheres, but System Shock wins out in that it’s not as tedious as The Outlast Trials can be.	But with The Outlast Trials, you can play with friends. Unfortunately, SS1 doesn’t have a coop mode where you can take down SHODAN with your pals.
Amnesia: The Bunker	The System Shock remake should tide you over until Amnesia: The Bunker comes out. Both are dark, creepy games though SS1 gives you more bullets to take care of your enemies.	Amnesia: The Bunker is a more terrifying game, though. So if you’re looking for a purer horror experience, then buy this game.

How System Shock Remake Matches Up to Similar Games

Games Similar to System Shock Remake	Pros	Cons
System Shock 1	The only reason you’d want to play the original System Shock at this point is if you find the soundtrack better than the remake (and also don’t mind the pixel graphics). Other than that, though, the remake wins out… almost.	I say ‘almost’ because the ending in the remake is lackluster compared to the original.
Bioshock	Both are terrifying games that narrate the end of their respective settings through voice logs and occasional conversations with NPCs. Props to System Shock 1 for being the progenitor of this style of "immersive sim."	Though I have to say that Bioshock 1 is stronger than System Shock, if only because of the deeper themes it tackles compared to SS.
Dead Space Remake	System Shock 1 feels more of a battle between you and SHODAN, so it feels a bit tenser than Dead Space.	But just like with Amnesia, the Dead Space remake is a purer horror experience that you might like better if you’re in the mood for something like that.

System Shock Remake Trailer

System Shock Remake Product Information

Title	SYSTEM SHOCK
Release Date	May 30, 2023
Developer	Nightdive Studios
Supported Platforms	PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S
Genre	First-Person Shooter, Survival Horror
Number of Players	1
ESRB Rating	Mature 17+ (original game)
Official Website	https://www.systemshock.com/

Michael Mendoza Ab..

Reviews video games by day, tries to write novels by night. He's a sucker for open-world games (Bethesda Fallout titles, Mount and Blade Bannerlord, Grand Theft Auto), CRPGs (Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium), and First-Person Shooters (Call of Duty, Battlefield, and immersive sims like Bioshock..