System Shock has a reputation for being incredibly awkward to control and sticking the player in labyrinthine levels that are impossible to get your bearings in. A lot of people have probably passed over this game because of this reputation. Most of this review will consist of arguments for why people shouldn’t be afraid to play this game.
Contrary to what I expected System Shock Enhanced Edition was actually a pretty accessible game to pick up and learn. The enhanced controls aren’t particularly clunky or hard to get used to due to the addition of optional mouse look. The biggest hurdle to getting started is learning how to navigate the UI which definitely can be overwhelming at first.
The levels, while sprawling and maze-like are actually pretty easy to navigate. The artists and level designers did an amazing job at making the different areas of each level look and feel distinct. I was also expecting the levels to consist entirely of winding and claustrophobic corridors, but they’re actually surprisingly open and at times highly vertical. Playing this game really does feel like being in an actual space station as opposed to navigating a labyrinthine 1st person dungeon crawler, which is more of what I was expecting.
System Shock rarely makes you feel like a rat hopelessly trapped in a maze. It’s very possible to find your way around through visual recognition alone in all but one level IMO. The fact that you have an auto mapper readily available makes navigation surprisingly intuitive and rarely frustrating.
There’s a lot to love about System Shock. Combat and exploration are fun and rewarding, SHODAN is a really engaging and well written villain, and figuring out how to progress the plot is a fun challenge for the player to puzzle out. I won’t go into any more detail about these qualities of the game and instead let people who want to play System Shock discover that for themselves.
I decided to play System Shock mainly for its historical value. This is a massively influential game and one that despite looking and feeling dated in various ways was decidedly ahead of its time. When I actually started playing the game, however, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it holds up and how easy it was to get into. If you have even the slightest curiosity in this game I’d highly recommend giving the enhanced edition a shot.
N.B - Purchasing the Enhanced Edition on steam also includes a copy of classic System Shock, so if you decide you want to have the old school using a graphing calculator to control a tank experience that’s a possibility as well and seems like a very rewarding control scheme to master.
Contrary to what I expected System Shock Enhanced Edition was actually a pretty accessible game to pick up and learn. The enhanced controls aren’t particularly clunky or hard to get used to due to the addition of optional mouse look. The biggest hurdle to getting started is learning how to navigate the UI which definitely can be overwhelming at first.
The levels, while sprawling and maze-like are actually pretty easy to navigate. The artists and level designers did an amazing job at making the different areas of each level look and feel distinct. I was also expecting the levels to consist entirely of winding and claustrophobic corridors, but they’re actually surprisingly open and at times highly vertical. Playing this game really does feel like being in an actual space station as opposed to navigating a labyrinthine 1st person dungeon crawler, which is more of what I was expecting.
System Shock rarely makes you feel like a rat hopelessly trapped in a maze. It’s very possible to find your way around through visual recognition alone in all but one level IMO. The fact that you have an auto mapper readily available makes navigation surprisingly intuitive and rarely frustrating.
There’s a lot to love about System Shock. Combat and exploration are fun and rewarding, SHODAN is a really engaging and well written villain, and figuring out how to progress the plot is a fun challenge for the player to puzzle out. I won’t go into any more detail about these qualities of the game and instead let people who want to play System Shock discover that for themselves.
I decided to play System Shock mainly for its historical value. This is a massively influential game and one that despite looking and feeling dated in various ways was decidedly ahead of its time. When I actually started playing the game, however, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it holds up and how easy it was to get into. If you have even the slightest curiosity in this game I’d highly recommend giving the enhanced edition a shot.
N.B - Purchasing the Enhanced Edition on steam also includes a copy of classic System Shock, so if you decide you want to have the old school using a graphing calculator to control a tank experience that’s a possibility as well and seems like a very rewarding control scheme to master.