The original game was created with the engine originally designed for Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, which while impressive when it released in 1992, but has unfortunately not aged well. If Night Dive Studios is building System Shock again from the ground up, they might as well do it with the tools that will benefit most players.Įither the Unreal Engine or Unity would provide a solid foundation for a completely new approach. It's a harsh world, and the remake shouldn't back down from that only to pander to new players.

They don't want to be so hard or disturbing they to turn players away, but that's what System Shock is.

Their portraits alone elicit a sense of dread that isn't present in a good portion of other modern cyberpunk thrillers. It's difficult to trust any of the characters you come into contact with in-game. System Shock is not a forgiving or friendly game. There's something disquieting about this still, but it's hard to pinpoint. Hopefully, the fact that the original creators will be involved with this project means we don't need to worry about this too much. Granted, it's all about a hacker at its core, but that doesn't mean the protagonist should suddenly transform into an angst-ridden Everyman spewing dated pop culture references. The tale is disturbing on its own, reveling in the sheer horror surrounding the rise of a malevolent computer and its ability to commandeer and control an entire space station. Watch Dogs' laughable take on surveillance and Deus Ex: Human Revolution's soliloquies about cybernetics come to mind.įor a game like System Shock that essentially wrote the book on how to effectively sell a maniacal artificial intelligence, there's no need to shoehorn any tired tropes into a remake. I mean, no duh, but System Shock was good because it was subtle and creepy, and too often these days games try to beat you over the head with grander themes.

As someone who loved the original game, these are five things I'd like to see in the System Shock remake.ĭon't mess with the original story too much System Shock appeals to a very specific niche of gamers, and capturing the essence of the original masterpiece will not be easy.

System shock ue4 remastered