Initially developed by Irrational Games, which would then go on to create the mostly excellent, Bioshock franchise, System Shock 2 is known as one of the most revolutionary games of all time. Still, its relatively cult following and inaccessible nature for many players (especially on console) means that a lot of people haven’t managed to try it out. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remastered is the perfect game for Nightdive to bring to more modern hardware. Does it live up after all this time? The short answer is: absolutely. 

While I didn’t play System Shock 2 when it first came out, I eventually got into playing it when I was first introduced to the world of PC gaming, alongside games like Thief and Deus Ex, immersive sims that helped shape the industry as a whole. It definitely did age by the time I played it for the first time, but it was still worthwhile to experience an essential part of gaming’s past. 

The game is set around 30 years after the events of Citadel Station, which saw the rampant AI known as SHODAN going on a rampage and unleashing powerful bioweapons. You play as a nameless soldier on the Von Braun, an experimental FTL ship sent out into deep space before picking up a distress signal from Tau Ceti V. Of course, being a sci-fi horror game, this leads to the crew being infected and turned into creatures, all whilst you are stuck in cryo stasis.

It’s a simple premise, but one that remains engaging throughout. You awaken aboard the Von Braun and must work with another survivor called Polito in an effort to stop the spread of a hive-mind known as The Many. A potent threat that has turned many of the residents into creatures, acting as this game’s SHODAN, who will relentlessly hunt you down, mocking you and trying to force you into joining the hive.

What makes System Shock 2 special, though, is how it builds its world, with audiologs and environmental storytelling that paints a gnarly picture of what happened whilst you were still in stasis. Throughout the story, you will be uncovering what happened tothe  crew members to make them go crazy and how the infection spread. Mix that in with an incredibly effective plot twist (I’ll avoid it even if its well known by this point) and an absolute batshit crazy ending and you’ve got a classic. 

 

A perfect immortal game

If you’ve never played System Shock before, at the very least, you have likely heard of it and its impact. It’s a first-person immersive sim hybrid. One that gives you a gun, a vague objective and tells you to go wild. If you’ve played Bioshock before, that franchise is basically its successor; think Bioshock with more emphasis on exploration. And more complex. And in space.

Set aboard a derelict ship, you will explore winding, almost maze-like hallways and deal with mutated crew members, rampant AI and robots, all with the goal of murdering you. The mutated crew isn’t the only thing to contend with; The Many have corrupted the ship’s AI, Xerxes, who has turned the boat against you. Cameras will trigger alarms and alert the entire sector to your location, whilst turrets will shoot you on sight. 

System Shock 2 is about the freedom of choice. From the very moment you boot the game up, you are making choices that will impact how the game plays out with intensely deep RPG mechanics. You can spread your skills into various specialities with different weapon types, stats like strength or agility, psionic abilities or tech skills. All of this will determine what you can and cannot do, such as the weapons you carry and how easy it is to get around. It’s a complex system that will absolutely overwhelm you at first. My advice is not to try to generalise and spread skill points; focus on one or two elements and work from there. Spreading your skills out too far in the early game might cause some frustration.

I personally like the good ol’ run-and-gun approach to the gameplay, grabbing as much firepower as possible to overcome the odds. Yet, I am still focusing on hacking to ensure my supplies always look good. If you want to get ridiculous, you can even become a space wizard by specialising in Psionics with some absurdly powerful build potential. 

There’s no handholding, no real objective markers. Even though the game initially came out in 1999, it feels refreshing in that it trusts players to figure things out on their own. Listening to the fantastic dialogue and drowning yourself in audio logs for passwords and clues. A handy notes page does keep track of things for you as well, so if you are lost, then that page can definitely help point you in the right direction. Unfortunately, the last stretch of the game doesn’t quite live up to the previous 10 or so hours, but it’s still worthwhile. 

What surprised me a lot about replaying System Shock 2 is how well the horror holds up. The cramped, winding corridors of the Von Braun are littered with all sorts of horrors. You never know what’s around the next corner, and with the excellent sound design, there’s an almost aggressive atmosphere enshrouding the whole game. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not a truly terrifying game like Amnesia: The Bunker or Visage, but it’s an incredibly effective effort to combine the horror and first-person shooter genres. 

As a whole, System Shock 2 is still a fantastic game, and while it is not newcomer-friendly, I highly recommend giving it a go. Try without a guide and lose yourself in the experience, but if you do need the extra hand, then there are 25 years of resources out there. System Shock 2 just feels right, thanks to the deep RPG mechanics that can really let you build your own playstyles. Strong level design that had me scouring every single room for some sweet lore or just the solid core gameplay. Not only that, Nightdives’ work here has been excellent. 

Nightdive’s best remaster?

I support Nightdive’s mission. They preserve all-time classics while introducing them to newer audiences by adding quality-of-life features and helping them run on modern hardware, all while keeping the core elements intact. It is for both great games like Turok, Quake, and DOOM, as well as the not-so-great The Thing adaptation. Their work always features a clean, upgraded look that retains the same art style, whilst adding support for modern hardware features. Namely, that sweet, sweet ultrawide support, though I would like to see an option to tighten the HUD. 

The 25th Anniversary Remaster also contain a cooperative multiplayer mode. I didn’t get the chance to try it out during the review period, but it promises a whole cooperative campaign with crossplay support. While I mainly played on the keyboard and mouse with its nicely refined controls, I was surprised to see how well the game is supported on a controller. I just happened to have my DualSense plugged in to try out the controller support, and DualSense features like gyro-aiming are supported. Translating System Shock 2’s controls over to a controller would always be a difficult task, and the results here are reasonably solid; there’s a learning curve, but one that is manageable. 

As for the visuals, unlike Nightdive’s fantastic System Shock remake, which gave the 1994 original a drastic overhaul, the results here are much more identifiable with the original game, sticking as accurately as possible to the original visuals. Just better. New character models for the player and enemies are also glorious, with much more fluid animations. Now, is it worth it over the classic version of System Shock 2 with a few mods? I’d say so, yes, especially if you want as little friction as possible to get stuck in. And as for console players, this should be your chance to finally try this classic, assuming the console version does live up to expectations.

The sound design is awesome as well. I’ve previously mentioned the great voices for both The Many and Xerxes. Then we have the sounds around the ship; screaming in the distance or the sounds of an infected crew member waiting around the corner with a shotgun. There’s some good stuff here. Mix this in with a high-energy techno soundtrack that complements the game really well. 

System Shock 2 is an all-time great, easily one of the most important games of all time, and Nightdive’s 25th Anniversary Remaster edition makes it a touch more accessible without ever gutting its core, or anything that made it so cherished in the first place. The excellent core gameplay and stellar level design come together for an unforgettable experience. Furthermore, the fact it works shockingly well on a controller is already something worthy of a medal of honor for the studio. Now, while we’re at it, where’s that System Shock 3 we were promised all those years ago? I’m hungry for more!

Graphics: 9.0 Nightdive have done an exceptional job upgrading the visuals whilst keeping the core atmosphere intact.	Gameplay: 9.0 Flexible RPG mechanics, great level design and no hand-holding! Furthermore, it works surprisingly well with a controller.
Sound: 9.0 Awesome techno soundtrack and a great villain in The Many. SHODAN’s voice performance still holds up.	Fun Factor: 9.0 System Shock 2 remains a classic, this remaster just makes it more accessible and easier to play than ever before!
Final Verdict: 9.0

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remastered is available now on PC.

Reviewed on PC with an RTX 4070, Ryzen 7 7800X3D and 32GB RAM. 

A copy of System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remastered was provided by the publisher.