7.9

Genre: First-Person Survival Horror
Developers: Nightdive Studios
Publisher: Prime Matter
Platforms: PC

PCGamer 8
Eurogamer 8
Destructoid 9
TheSixthAxis 7
Shacknews 8
Metro GameCentral 7
Worthplaying 8
User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

The original System Shock is one of the most influential games ever, heralding the immersive sim genre from which many games have taken inspiration. These include classics like BioShock, Deus Ex, Dishonored, and Prey.

So, for the developers of the remake, Nightdive Studios, the work was cut out for them. Keeping the core of the original and modernizing it for new players is no easy task, but judging from the reviews, it seems to have largely succeeded. While many reviews have praised the game for being remarkably faithful to the original, they also wanted to see a little more modernizing to make the game more palatable for today’s audience – for instance, the vast amounts of backtracking is still present. Regardless, many reviewers agree that the System Shock remake is the defacto way of playing the genre-defining game.

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08/22/2023 10:43 pm GMT

System Shock (2023) Review Roundup

Here are some reviews and first-look articles for System Shock (2023) from around the web. At the time of publishing this article, the score for this game was 74 at Opencritic and 75 at Metacritic

PCGamer

This is, I feel confident saying, the definitive way to play System Shock in 2023 and beyond, but I can’t help but wonder what that other world looks like. The one where Nightdive had the budget and the goodwill to take a few more risks, make a few more changes, and dramatically reduce the number of times it asked me to make a U-turn.
PCGamer rating: 8/10

Eurogamer

Ultimately, the System Shock remake faithfully recreates a classic, retains most of its appeal, reframes everything with a horror tilt, and as a result, makes it more playable for everyone.
Eurogamer rating: 8/10

Destructoid

Nightdive has proven once again that they fully understand what made the classics so indispensable. Their reverence for the source material pays off, as while the System Shock remake is better tailored to modern tastes, it still has everything that made it special in its 1994 release.
Destructoid rating: 9/10

TheSixthAxis

Behind the glammed up modernised graphics, this is still System Shock to its core, and there were good reasons why the sequel basically rendered it obsolete. The end result is a game that still ranks as a classic, but you must accept it on its own terms. If you want to explore the history of the horror genre then this is the version to play, but you might want to bookmark a guide to avoid System Shock’s most outdated elements.
TheSixthAxis rating: 7/10

Shacknews

The original System Shock was foundational to so many games that would come after it, but it aged like milk in its gameplay and visuals. Nightdive’s System Shock remake keeps much of its successful elements intact while doing away with a lot of its archaic issues that would drag down a modern game. It doesn’t do this perfectly. There are still a few pain points that I feel could have been addressed, but this is an incredible first-person adventure.
Shacknews rating: 8/10

Metro GameCentral

As remakes go, it isn’t the most technically impressive; nor is it, by modern puzzle-shooter standards, very original. But as an item of gaming memorabilia, it’s absolutely fascinating, and much more fun to play than you might expect it to be. If you fancy yourself as something of a gaming historian, you’ll find that System Shock is full of delights.
Metro GameCentral rating: 7/10

WorthPlaying

System Shock Remake is a solid remake of an exceptional game. It doesn’t quite reach the levels of modernization that you might see from something like Resident Evil 4 Remake, but it does a good job of adapting a classic without losing what made it a classic in the first place. It’s a clever and creative game that deserves its place in gaming history, and the remake emphasizes that.
WorthPlaying rating: 8/10