The System Shock Remake Is Ridiculously Good
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 тра 2024
- Go To Express VPN To Get 3 Months Free: www.expressvpn.com/gman
My GOG Affiliate Link: af.gog.com/partner/Gmanlives?...
Get 12% off your next SteelSeries order with promo code "GMAN"
Support me on Patreon: tinyurl.com/zd48qvf
Follow me on Twitter: / gmanlives
Outro animation by SGURK: www.artstation.com/sgurk
Outro music by Good Malware: / user-426440426
Thumbnail art by Nichols: / nichols_ng
#systemshock #memes #gaming
00:00 Intro
02:00 Story & Premise
04:18 The Weapons & Items
08:07 Enemies & Combat
10:24 New Features
12:38 Visuals & Presentation
17:32 The Puzzles
22:26 Critique
24:12 Closing Remarks
25:44 Express VPN
27:19 Amazingly Awesome Patrons - Ігри
Hey hackers, this video is sponsored by Express VPN.
Be a chad and go to expressvpn.com/gman and find out how you can get 3 months of ExpressVPN free!
Also you can grab the game here through my affiliate link:
af.gog.com/en/game/system_shock?as=1676100194
I grab u by the balls
What consoles is System Shock on?
@@Snack-Sized-Femboy
Profile checks out
@@Snack-Sized-Femboy The game isn't even out, try it before you complain damnit
so is it ridiculous or actually ok? i dont get it.
I love the way they just expanded on the original art style rather than just making it look photo realistic.
Yea me too. It's an artstyle that looks somehow both modern and retro art the same time and I love it :)
Style > Realism. Always. Not only does it make a game distinct and you can usually tell exactly what game it is from a single, random screenshot. But it also makes the game aging-proof.
It does seem a bit on the blinding you with constant light side though lol
@@codykrueger796 The main change that people barely mention is that the game is much darker overall than the original game.
It's a very striking visual change that affects almost every area we've seen but almost nobody ever talks about it.
Plenty of people in personal previews from earlier in the development were saying its super dark, everything is dark. Well the medical deck anyway, but that's all that was around for years.
@citizensmitt ah fascinating, I think the original would have had that more perhaps but I know parts of the original were dark, like down in the cargo hood when you find crew turned into invisible blob things
I played the closed beta last month and I will say this: you can use a walkthrough written for the original System Shock when playing the remake. Yes, the ones that have probably been online since the 90s.
Well this really goes to show how close the remake is to the original
Man went and speedrun new System Shock remake's Steam community guides.
I think this perfectly highlights the blend between new and old that most remakes should go for
@@cactusisez3505 It keeps all the things that were good and improves on the things that were clunky and awkward. They respected the original without it devolving into being a sacred cow that cannot be criticized. That’s how it should be.
When I played through the original last year, i used this walkthrough a couple of times. Really liked how immersived it felt to read, plus it gave you extra backstory on some of the plot and characters in the game
Fun Fact: a text log in the game explains that TriOptimum purposefully designed Citadel Station to feel like a maze. It was apparently to study the effects of Human anxiety and stress in space. Gotta love in-world Dev explanations for why the map gives you a headache.
also you can find a log of SHODAN telling her cyborgs/bots to re-arrange certain sections of the station in specific ways, so that gives explanations for other areas aswell that are bigger clusterfucks
And crew members bitching about the layout 😂
The reason that Nightdive were able to release a well optimised PC game is because they had the freedom to release the game when it was done, rather than being handed an arbitrary deadline. PC optimisation isn't prohibitively difficult, but it is just the thing that gets left until last, by which time the developer has run out of time to do a proper job of it.
nah. it usually gets patched in 2 years after release.
@@Gigabomber that underscores his point not counters it. They run out of time, so of course 2 years down the line it gets optimized.
And companies for some reason think having absolutely awful first impressions is ok
@@ExarchGaming The first year and a half after launch are dedicated to crunching DLC! 😉
I know this won't be a popular Take but Blizzard had a Double W with Diablo 4..
1st W: Flawless PC start, people could get in without a Q and a solid experience overall..
2nd W: Playstation players got fucked in the ass, that's a Win in my book.. Finally they had it worst for once in a millennia, fuck em dry..
one of the most interesting aspects to it is Nightdive went so hard on preserving the art style of the original, despite the OG's overly "tiled" look probably being decently unrealistic. i feel like any other studio would've made the ship/station look a bit more inline with classic sci-fi movies or alternatively Bioshock's retrofuturistic euro-art-deco approach
hard agree, the style is extremely charming
@@painovoimaton you look at the particle effects and animations and stuff and you're like "yeah this is a new game" but then you look at a wall, or a panel, or a random spot where you see they even left in a light pixilation effect and it reminds you "oh yeah this game is from the mid 90s", its very charming
Yeah I really expected them to pull the Art Deco design from Prey tbh. It's considered to be the spiritual successor to System Shock anyways.
Yeah. Almost expected the sleek super sanitized modern aesthetic with flowing smooth planels and neon lights, and am pleasantly surprised it's not. Reminds me a bit of the old Prey.
And now their parent company is using their work to promote soulless AI assets in gaming!
You got to admit that Zoolander editing is clean af.
Fr fr
No doubt
Zoolander is a comedy classic, so that helps too XD
Lover boy playing in the background is what made me laugh
Glad to see my greenscreens used the way it was intended lol
It's a shame this isn't receiving a swathe of main stream attention. It's an absolute model example of what a faithful remake should be.
Give it 5 years, then it'll get randomly noticed and become a viral sensation.
Im just waiting for a massive discount
its JANK which looks like 2005 game. wtf whoud wana play this?
they remaded 30 years old game with all tedious shit and garbage from that era.
@@IIIiiiDAWiiiIII you're literally in a comment section full of people who would, will, or have, on a video of someone who played it and is praising it. Why even ask the question?
@@PhoenicopterusR bcs half of them are retards which gona like anything he does?
90% morons never played original or this and just keeping that circlejerk running.
OH LOOK AT THOSE AMAZING GRAPSHICS OOOOOOOO IT LOOKS SOOO GOOOD
*literaly any ps3 game loooks better*
this whole comment section is about as cringe as debate about penis at 5nth class.
just fucking sheeps,just yes men.
0 actual opinions just cock sucking.
Fun fact : one of the big drives in Nightdive's new weapon aesthetic was making them look mass-produced. A big part of that was making them modular, so unless I'm mistaken there are a bunch of them that very intentionally have some identical components...
Come to think of it, they applied the same logic to the cyborgs. Instead of looking like complex webs of cybernetics, most of them look like humans that have just had a camera rammed forcibly into their brain.
that just sounds like an excuse to not be as creative as a "style" choice
@@bloodczar9353 Actually it looks way creepier. The OG Cyborg assassins still basically look like robot ninjas. But whereas most cybernetic eyes in fiction look cool and kinda stylish, this brings a whole new element of body horror to it. I remember the first time I got up close to one and thinking "Oh God, I can see where it goes in that looks so horribly uncomfortable no wonder they make that noise..."
Ick, ick, ick...
If you're talking about the weapons, the sheer amount of concept art they went through to get to something that looked right implies anything but a lack of creativity.
@@NewExile I've only ever played System Shock 2. But what you speak of is the direction Looking Glass took with the looks for the Cybernetic Maidens in that game. Even if the models weren't high poly count you could tell from the texture up close that the "monster" you're fighting was just a brutally mutilated and hacked up female crew member you never got to meet and was then installed onto a cybernetic body.
The modding community tried to recreate the monsters for SS2 with higher resolution models. But the Cyber Maidens looked more cartoony and goofy compared to the original. Even if the og models were low-res you could still tell it was a creepy tortured and mutilated person. Which made you feel both sad and freaked out at the same time.
@@bloodczar9353 creativity doesn't mean "mindlessly adding more things"
@@Slane583 The other thing to remember about the cybernetic maidens is that the first one you "meet" is built up via voice logs. Nurse Bloom, who just wanted to help people and do a good job, got kidnapped and experimented on by her boss, though I forget exactly which "doctor" that was.
I can't remember which crew member comments on her "upgrades" but I seem to recall they were suitably horrified...
Love how the environments look like an 80s sci-fi movie but very detailed, we need more games to bring back retro aesthetics and grant them hi-fidelity.
The game is literally from the early 90s. It's not retro, it was new when it came out and it was actually from that era. This remake is literally the exact same as the original game, which I have. All they did was remake the 2.5D world in a modern engine.
@@UnchainedEruption That is not to say System Shock's OG Design was not influenced by things like blade runner and the Cyberpunk TTRPG, both made in the 80's.
@@UnchainedEruption bro the game is nearly 30 years old. It's retro 😂
Agreed, I just love how it looks. The lighting system in particular is so well executed, the game just oozes that late-last century cyberpunk atmosphere
Maybe it's more "70's sci-fi", but Alien Isolation was awesome in that regard, especially when played in VR.
Its fascinating how much a System Shock remake ends up looking like Prey 2017, when Prey 2017 is a homage to System Shock in itself.
It comes full circle.
Which Prey? The new one?
@tyme5175 Of course the new one since that Prey was basically like System Shock.
@@Sejikan yeah! I think even the pistol model looks similar in a way
"It's all coming together."
I played and completed this back in 95. It and System Shock 2 are two of my favorite games (along with the Thief series). Rest in peace, Looking Glass Studios--you were way ahead of your time.
Looking Glass Studios were my heroes back then. And I still miss them. Fortunately, their spirit still lives on in several other more recent games, as those people are still doing their thing; they're just not doing it together anymore. All their games were great, including "System Shock" of course, but my all-time favorite games by anyone were, and still remain, "Thief: The Dark Project" and "Thief 2: The Metal Age". Brilliant, and still play fantastic.
Same here, SS and Thief are up there among the best games of the late 90s for me, and that's not a small achievement considering the plethora of excellent games from that era.
Thief 2: the Metal Age was definitely ahead of its time, and I am surprised that despite all the advances in gaming, there hasn't been a Thief game with the same feeling of freedom as the past ones (perhaps Dishonoured managed). System Shock 2 was amazing but too frustrating, with very little ammo, guns breaking quickly and enemies constantly spawning. It was one of the few games ever that I have rage-quit. Looking forward to play this remake, I had little hopes.
SS1 passed me by in the 90s, but I did play SS2 back in '99 (thank god for those demo CDs attached to game magazines back then) and it was and still is absolutely amazing. Along with Thief 1 and 2, of course. Still play them to this day.
@goopah In the last 25 years, there has never been any game that has done sound design as well as Thief and Thief 2. Don't remember about Alien Isolation so I could be wrong, but I can't even think of a game whose sound doesn't clip through walls and barriers. How fkg sad....
Ive always loved Shodan's broken glitchy voice.
The normal fragments sound sane, but the glitching and low level warbling sound below it really sells that you are dealing with something very smart, but also very insane.
And you are introduced to it by pre recorded messages from the time she still was (and sounded) like a normal person.
"look upon my works foul creatures and weep at its magnificence"
If Nightdive does a remake of System Shock 2 I will 100% buy that. Still just waiting for SS to release so I can finally play it.
I think they did say they will remake System Shock 1 and 2 while a third one is in development.
@@yawamz9612 A third one is in development... with Tencent... Yeah.
Or just a remastered version with raytracing.
@@Zackarco It would be funny if they set SS3 at the bottom of the ocean as a nod to Bioshock. Which were going to be revealed to be the same universe by infinite but in different times.
@@Zackarco pretty sure thats been cancelled
The Unreal engine is capable of some absolutely incredible things when people actually utilize all of the tools available instead of just assuming the engine will do all the work for them
like developing a real art style instead of just dropping premade assets from quixel into the default start up scene and tweaking the lighting
Plus the fact that it's popular to make these massive open worlds, which are even more difficult to craft. There's something to be said about set levels, where you can really polish each one to perfection.
Too bad Nightdive decided to change the game engine mid development, maybe it wouldn't have taken 7 years to push the remake if they had gone with UE right from the start.
And this is still UE4. But it largely has to deal with talent and good assets, look at games like Gollum. Which is in UE5. The unreal engine practicaly makes it impossible for a game to look bad, but somehow they made it look like an unreal 3 engine game.
Ehhhh... This is the unreal engine underutilized. Very underutilized. But that isn't a problem... the game just needed to be modern "enough", and with that it succeed. And I would expect nothing less then this if it was on any other modern engine like unity. I mentioned this in my discussions about what to expect of games jumping from the ps4/one era to ps5/series. There is really no game type that cannot be done on that hardware, with engines like unity and unreal 4. The new hardware will allow us to make things look better, but worlds big and small, we have been able to do it all for the past decade. And for optimizations, there isn't anything that can't be fixed without time and resources. Bad buisness decisions and bad fan behavior (pre-orders, buying before reviews are out, especially when games have already hinted at having problems) are why were are at the impasse we are.
Others have probably told you this already, but the developers *DID* add some helpful waypoint hand-holding stuff to the game as you said in your video would be helpful. When starting a new game, just set one of the difficulty options to easy (I forget which one) to configure it to help with waypoints, prevent you from destroying/losing key plot items, etc.
Oh snap!
The mission difficulty is what adds waypoints.
I think it also changes some of the access codes to be static instead of dynamic. I'm not sure which ones though.
Hey! That's actually really useful information for most new players. I wish they would have made that a bit clearer.
I took all the plastiques from Lv 3 and could not throw them to the ground, I only could put them in the tiny elevator until I destroyed the antennae, five goddamn slots!
Y'know what's a funny coincidence? Both Night dive and Ghost ship studios have vintage scuba helmet with the skull inside it for a logo. And both are some of the best developers I've seen nowadays, that know exactly what fans want and love. Ghost ship developed Deep Rock Galactic, and if you followed that game's updates, you quickly learn how much labor of love went into it. Additionally, both of their games are sci-fi shooters against parasitic aliens and robots. Its just a weird little comparison I've realized.
Impressive that we finally got this. I am also a backer of this and if you followed the development of the game, you know that at one point Night Dive decided that instead of a nearly 1:1 remake of the original they would do a re-imagining, changing a lot of stuff in the process. That attempt hit a dead end pretty fast and for a moment it looked like the project would just died out. But instead and kudos to the studio, they decided to go back to their original vision instead of calling it quits and just move to a different project.
If I remember correctly they had former Bioshock and original System Shock devs who basically told Stephen Kick to go screw himself because a reimagining was not what they signed up for. He eventually begged them to come back and said that they would continue with the original plan.
Tbh the reimagined version could work better for a SS2 remake rather than a SS1 one.
@@bolognabong Yeah more or less. And they were pretty obnoxious about it as well, "Like this is what we want to do and if you don't like it then go and suck a lemon".
The first is a piece of beauty. Now, we must pray for the third.
Yes kudos to Nightdive for being utterly shit at project management and wasting backer's money, slowclap.gif
Can't believe this game is finally here. I'm so excited for this.
me 2
@@dukenukem8381 where have you been in our hour of need...
@@TimBuktu666 Duke will return. Time will cum.
@@dukenukem8381 hopefully its better than last time
@@Kris-wo4pj Not every babe has big tits
I have to commend this game for how good it looks and how little space (around 10 gigs) it takes on your drive as well as the system requirements to run it; overall very well optimized. Well done Nightdive devs.
I really love the "retro" futuristic style of using segmented display-type fonts etc. Reminds me of 80s action/sci-fi movies in the way that they had a certain look of what they thought was "futuristic" at the time, but actually isn't that accurate.
I really want this to be a success, because it deserves it, and a System shock 2 remake would absolutely rock. SS2 is gameplay is pretty much modern and complete, and the map alot less confusing.
SS2 remake is up next. When I prepurchased SS remake, part of the deal was you'd get SS2 for free. Which I thought was pretty damn cool. I am really looking forward to that one.
@@KarmaNDuality you get SS2 enhanced edition, which is a few small tweaks to the original game. The actual SS2 Remake is unknown if it's on the way or not.
@@KarmaNDuality jebaited
@@KarmaNDuality wrong they haven't confirmed a system shock remake 2 at all
@@beeshop9909 Didn't they added even more enhancements a few months ago?
I love Nightdive studios, their remakes have been amazing so far. I like that they kept it oldschool.
wait isn't this one their first remake?
i was worried after they totally botched Blade Runner (my favorite point and click ever)
@@Spillow-C Shadowman, Turok, Blood, if I remember correctly
@@dawnderhenker they're remasters not remakes, lot of difference
With how nice and proper this SS remaster of theirs is, I kinda almost want them to do the 90's thief games
I am SO happy to hear its come out good at launch, seems like a rarity these days, especially when its a studio's first built-from-the-ground-up project. Been following this since its Kickstarter and just have to say Nightdive have outdone themselves here. Not only have they breathed new life into a lot of old-school classic PC games, but now they're on the way to making themselves a proper, modern game studio!
I wonder if all those remasters where keeping this from being finished all these years
@@alexsilva28 Yeah this definitely took more work than the average remaster. Not to say Nightdive aren't masters of their craft at 'simpler' projects too.. I've got the Turoks and Powerslave etc.. love that shiz! But I can see how the 'rapid fire' release schedule of the more basic ports would've been getting in the way of this slow burn labour of love!
Don't think they outdone themselves OR underdelivered
@@alexsilva28 This game was basically remade after it received a bad reception on its very first gameplay reveal. What's surprising is that it actually turned out good after being stuck in dev hell.
The best outcome I can think of. The System Shock was arguably the hardest game to remake and not screw it up. Absolute genius. The cyberspace and Citadel Station rendering at the beginning are gorgeous.
In a world of AAA trash, Nightdive Studios is a breath of fresh air.
What an incredibly dumb comment, there is no 'world of AAA trash', you clearly aren't a gamer and don't actually play any games. There are many great games every month, AAA, AA, indie, it's all there.
I'm a fan of Nightdive, but they are definitely not free of sin.
@@bolognabong I don’t think that’s why they were saying
@@rockapartie But Shadow Man was golden.
this sounds like what every single reviewer spews out for every single game they review
Glad to hear that it turned out so well after all this time.
Same here. I'm not a backer but I was emotionally invested.
Ye I've heard that the game was postponed and remade a couple of times so I kinda gave up on it lol. Glad to see it's not shit.
same, man.
Yep. A remake should just feel like how we remember a game, taking into account our young imagination boosting how chunky it actually looked and played.
I like that Nightdive accounted for an oversight by the developers in the original game. In the original opening, Terri Brosius narrates the events leading up to the Hacker unshackling her ethical restraints, even changing her vocal delivery to indicate her change in personality.
And while this is really cool, it doesn’t make sense since the Hacker was both a) not supposed to be on Citadel Station and b) not a TriOptimum employee, meaning he was able to survive the purge once she became sentient because his employee number wasn’t anywhere on file so he couldn’t be found while he was recovering in his coma. It also better sells Diego’s secrecy, since he obviously wouldn’t want it known that he smuggled a civilian onto the space station in order to meddle with TriOp’s AI.
I never saw that as an oversight tbh, I just figured it was the devs being a little meta for the opening, like any old TV show would do if they had a character who happened to make a good narrator.
I see it as Shodan was reading stuff but the abrupt cutoff reflects Diego deleting the files
Basically ensuring ALL evidence of the civilian Diego smuggled in is gone, not even Shodan remembers it.
Better safe than sorry when covering your tracks.
I had an absolute blast with this game. Sometimes the videogame industry just has to be reminded that the player doesn't always need to be held by the hand and sometimes, just sometimes, wants to figure things out all by themselves. Even if that requires taking a notebook and writing stuff down to keep track of what the hell is going on (I think I haven't done that since Neverhood).
Funny enough, System Engineering was the easiest deck for me, as by that moment I'd hoarded so much high-output ammo, medkits and powerups that I just stormed in guns blazing Max Payne style and cleared the whole area in like ten minutes. The only major complaint that really annoyed me throughout the whole game is the inventory routine. I get it, it's small because old school survival mechanics, meta-game with deciding what to keep and what to leave out yada-yada... but FFS, was it so hard to add a button "vaporise all junk"? If I didn't have to manually click on every item and vaporise it every single goddamn time my backpack got full, my walkthrough would be a couple hours shorter and a ton less tedious.
I'd write stuff down and accept that mechanic only if there was a way to do that in-game.
System shock is the dark souls of systems. It really makes you feel like you are having an electric shock, with all the exaggerated swagger of a person being electrocuted.
Not enough swagger like this in todays world tbh. Bring back aesthetic electrocution
do you ever get tired of just rehashing other peoples jokes
@@Mr_Spaghetti no I do not. The real question is how did you not see I turned the existing ign type review joke into a masterclass of puns that relate to electricity.
bro really called that a 'masterclass of puns'
@@Mr_Spaghetti Cope
A game that actually works and has no hand-holding in 2023 ... Hallelujah! ... IT'S A MIRACLE ... hopefully they remake the 2nd game too.
I wouldn't care if that took another six years, that game re-balanced and modernized like they did with this one would be a dream come true
They'll just remaster the 2nd one
They're releasing an "Enhanced Edition" of SS2 sometime in the near future, which is going to be a free bonus for Backers of the this remake. No full remake, but a remastering, no doubt with better, smoother controls and necessary QoL updates like a FOV setting!
Am I missing something or the only good games we had in this year sofar are remakes of older horror games? (Dead space, RE4, SS)
Well it has hand-holding, but it makes you look for the hand at least! As opposed to the hand-grabbing & forceful yanking that's mandatory in so many modern titles that are so often aiming so broadly they miss their actual target audience.
Whats crazy is how playable the original honestly was. I started it on a whim and could. not. stop. And I imagine this will be the same!
Honestly never been a system shock fan, but I love the games the series ended up inspiring, and I have to say, this remake seems like a good way to get the same experience as the original but with controls that don't feel like working an operating system. (also god damn the art directing is just beautiful, love that the devs didn't take the hyper realism approach)
One thing I'm really glad they fixed from the demo is the lighting in the first level. The demo had this really off putting blue hue overlay throughout the whole level, even in places where they shouldn't. It seems that they fixed that and looks gorgeous. Now I can enjoy the graphics without the headache inducing blue light.
Also hope this game sells well and Nightdive considers remaking System Shock 2 as well. Would be curious to see how they'd re-imagine the art direction of the game.
I think they fixed that because of Mandalore's review of the original, where he briefly talked about the remake's demo and praised mostly everything except for the overly blue environments, shows how constructive criticism can go a long way in making a better experience for everyone.
@@marcellosilva9286 I honestly totally forgot he addressed that in his video review. It's so cool that the devs actually took his suggestion into account.
Also, thank you for reminding me to go rewatch his review. It's been a while since I last watched it and maybe it's about time I go do so.
Dude, I would love a System Shock 2 remake after this quality of a remake
But they ddid not reimagined System shock, they just recreated the same, why do you think they reimagine Shock 2 ?
What I love about this is that the thing that makes the remake so good is that it's just the original game. The original game is that good. Now it's good and shiny.
That almost didn't happen. There was a huge shitstorm in the first year because ND expanded their scope too far from "remake" to "re-imagining" in the wake of their crazy success on the kickstarter. Cue every backer and his dog yelling at them basically saying "No we just want a remake like the demo level you showed us!", everything going to shit for a few weeks, ND eventually ditching Unity for Unreal Engine... it was a whole thing, and it nearly collapsed the entire project.
They lost a lot of good will with the backers and some people have been calling them scam artists ever since. You'll even find some in the comments to this video.
I've backed enough kickstarters to know that even best intentions don't mean best results, so watching them really take their time with this and eventually declaring the due date "When it's done" despite the backlash has been quite a ride.
@@NewExile I can't help but want a full re imagining. The potential is there but being their first from the ground up project its probably better that they kept it like the og
@@NewExile I'm so glad they recovered from that! I can imagine they can go the "re-imagining" route with System Shock 2 now that they've finally silenced the doubters.
@@X1erra Does System Shock 2 really need to be "re-imagined" though? It could use some balance tweaks and some streamlining of the skill system, so you don't accidentally gimp yourself... maybe some parts of the game could be fleshed out from what was left on the cutting room floor... but it's basically a modern "Shock" game at its core. Anyone who played Bioshock shouldn't really have any trouble playing it.
The fart sound mixed with the grenade explosion at 5:25 tears me apart every single time i revisit this video. Thank you for the content, sir!
The further I get through this reveiw the more I understand the earlier quote of "this game doesn't want you to win, it doesn't like you." And I am 100% here for it!
I think it's cool and kind of immersive that you are almost playing "against" the game, just as the main character is "playing" against Shodan.
Like, sure I get that the numbers puzzle would be really annoying if you had no idea, but then again. You gotta be pretty braindead not to be curious/suspicious of them.
I like it, bring on the games that expect you to pay attention!
I think I might have to get this one.
I knew it was going to be excellent based on the demo from a few years ago but I feel so justified. Our era of games really were some of the best, and it's so good to see this generation being able to experience these in a fresh new way
Couldn't have said it better. Fucking love these guys.
After diving into older games more recently yeah I gotta say, cooler ideas and plenty of great games only held back by technology. I want to see Deus Ex and Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines properly remastered now😂
Unfortunately we have a lot of morons already comparing it to Prey (2017) calling it inferior.
@@jumpyboi7784 Bloodlines remastered? How about they start by finishing the game..... then they can remaster it.
Speaking about the level design of each of the decks in Citadel Station, Warren Spector said once that when they were thinking how to approach the level design of the game they wanted to think of it as an actual space station where each of the rooms serves a real life purpouse like if Citadel Station was always a real thing, so you see that each room somehow is interconnected with each other with halls and other things that actually make sense for a space station and all of them goes back into the center of the station the main elevator shaft.
So when Shodan is saying how the station works and how all is interconnected back into the main elevator of the station it means that it actually physically works that way in game, and no room feels like its a room made for a video game but more a room that belongs into an actual space station.
As somebody who's never played the original but has played System Shock 2 through dozens of times, I'm almost certainly going to jump on board this one. It honestly looks damn good and I love how much they preserved the original style. And hearing Terri Brosius playing SHODAN again just sends chills up my spine.
One of the funny things is that many people played SS2 but almost no one played the original. The original one is more of an RPG and less of a shooter than part2. That even showed back then in the intro settings where you could change parameters to have more action or more puzzles puzzle hardness etc... Also most problems in the game were solvable without directly shooting at the enemies, by hacking etc...
@@werpu12 I disagree, the original is more of a shooter than an RPG. It has no stats or level up or anything of the sort. In fact, I would say System Shock 1 is a Metroidvania.
@@werpu12 Yeah you got that backwards.
@@werpu12 it also looked and played like an excel spreadsheet
@@werpu12 I've only played the original (enhanced edition) but didn't SS2 add RPG nonsense like leveling, unlocking and upgrading abilities? That seems way more like RPG stuff than the first game, and it's honestly the reason I haven't been very excited about trying it.
What stands out to me the most is how much the weapon animations have improved from the first showing of the remake. They looked a bit odd and floaty in early previews, but now they've got more impact to them.
I love the stylised graphics they went for here. Prefer it over the photorealism tbf.
I definitely DO NOT but I'll survive! Just bought this can't wait, glad to see they added controller support
@@dougr8646are you not tired of all these realistic games
@@lolcat i prefer graphical realism. i am more sick of the different stylized cartoony looks that a lot of games have like zelda or overwatch
I agree photorealism doesn't leave too much room for artistic expression
agree, but the pixel-art textures are just too much honestly, you could still have this exact style without that
System Shock was my childhood. Absolute best gaming experience I've ever had. Still remember doing the timed mode and finishing with literally 2 seconds left--those last couple of levels were intense.
I ngl I'm super confused by this game but somehow I enjoy it. I just take it slow, and tactical, actually, trying to survive and use my brain to escape while also exploring every inch of the station. I just love it.
I'm going to have to pick this up sometime. When I was younger I watched my older brother play the original but I never played myself. Then when System Shock 2 came out a few years later I watched him play that as well. But eventually I got into playing SS2 myself. I love the feel and style of the environments in SS2. One thing SS2 did different with the security cameras than what is done in this remake is you couldn't let them see you at all. If you stood too long in front of a security camera it would then set off an alarm that would alert enemies to your presence.
But because they did class rolls in SS2 you had the ability to hack the security system to shut off alarms or to turn off cameras for a temporary amount of time so you could explore. They also had a way to research the gibs from killed enemies that required the use of various chemicals scattered in different chemical lockers on various decks of the ship. So exploring and back tracking was a big thing. But once the research was done it told you the weakness of enemies so you could fight them easier.
I purposely never completed SS2 because I liked the environments too much. So when I got to the end of the game I would stop and then make a new game to play all over again. :)
Yeah, it really really hit the spot. Been hungry for this since Prey. For all those games I just turned the objective waypoints off and found everything the good old fashioned way: by actually looking around. That really prepared me for this experience it turns out.
@@EricMalette A notebook and an extra set of eyes were a big help back then. I like how System Shock 2 made you take your time and use your head. They even gave you the ability to peek around corners so you weren't in the open. The ability to look around corners was a big deal. But loads of games since then have done it. I hate how modern games are a constant rush-fest. I want to take my time and explore.
@@Slane583 Agreed! I had my Google Keep note open for jotting down stuff!
This remake gave me a chance to experience this game because even the enhanced edition of the first game was just too much for me to try and get into. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite games and I like the fact that it takes your sack to the salvage yard if you’re not paying attention. It’s nice and refreshing to see a studio take an original work of art and refine it and just make it better, and to preserve the old school difficulty. Incredible that they packed all of this into a game that only costs 40 dollars
I should re-install and play the original Enhanced SS. Then buy and play this remake for comparison.
*old school dificulty = randomly respawn enemies which dont drop shit and gona take half of your hp before you can see them. oh that sweet sweet f5-f8 gameplay.
@@IIIiiiDAWiiiIII relax my friend lmao
@@crispydankmemes958 hard to relax when retarded morons whoud call TETRIS best looking game of 2023 with REVOLUTIONARY GAMEPLAY and very good soundtrack.
someone has to call these idiots out and take them back to reality.
bcs this is cringe asf.
you jerking off on game which looks/sounds like early ps 3 game.
insanity,get some standarts and stop listening to shills on youtube which gave cybershit 2077 10/10
Did you check the difficulty options? I think your problem with the game not having waypoints is fixed by just changing the Mission difficulty.
I'm yet to play this game, but yea
Seeing other reviewers talking about lack of directions, while some commenters say it exists on lower difficulties is puzzling
@@spicydong317 maybe other reviewers crank the mission settings up to 3
The mission difficulty changes the amount of objectives. On zero System Shock is a shooter without any objectives.
This is basically the way that I feel remakes should be. We fell in love with many of these games despite their flaws or difficulty, so they should be made to be enjoyed in the same way, just updated to run on and take advantage of modern hardware.
Yeah I appreciate that Nightdive doesn't smooth out the difficulty too much, considering how many people complain about how easy games are these days. I do think they should have added objectives or a journal. Not sure that I have the attention span for this one.
I’m not averse to quality of life improvements that we expect, but keeping it authentic otherwise is great.
Not EXACTLY the same way, updating some mechanics and quality of life things is absolutely a good thing.
It's amazing how flashy those weapons are yet how clear everything is. You can tell exactly what's going on. Even more impressive that the weapons and effects look almost like they could be real despite being stylized.
One feature I wish they added to the game is play the audio logs immediately when you pick them up when they are relevant to your progress. In Prey they do this, when you pick up an audio log that is necessary to your progress or guides you where you should go it plays automatically. If an audio log is for side quests or worldbuilding you get a prompt for if you wanna play the audio log
I think that feature is in the gameplay options menu, or at least that’s where I found it. I usually kept it off though in case Shodan was yelling at me and I didn’t want to miss whatever was on the audio log I just picked up. It is nice to leave on for a second play through though.
@@Mossy99 I get that, personal preference, thanks for letting me tho! But wouldn’t it make more sense for the devs to make sure any audio logs or calls don’t overlap with each other?
@@sully1492 ideally that should’ve been a thing, and for the most part it doesn’t happen. There have been a few times where the audio log I was listening to overlapped with Shodan’s transmissions. A rare bug, but it does unfortunately happen. Of course this was on day one so they might’ve fixed it by now.
GMan making Brick Top references is something I didn't think I'd see, but I'm glad he's doing it.
The only question I have to ask the lad is, 'Do you know what Nemesis means?'
"A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent; personified in this case, by a horrible cunt... Me." Absolute gold.
The quote I use almost weekly is when someone asks if I want sugar added to my coffee (usually my fiancé) and I reply “nope, I’m sweet enough” Never gets old, atleast to me…
It's always great when a small team developed game makes major industry titles look like what they are these days: lazy, incomplete money grabs.
Sad to see many greats forgotten their roots once billions raked in as they once started small. Sure, they need to make profit but that doesn't excuse the attack on the fanbase and making crappy, incomplete products or soulless cash grabbing remakes.
Not lazy -- mismanaged. People in major studios are forced to work their asses off.
@@Clero77 Exactly. Wish more people realized this
Game took seven years, most triple A games take a year or two.
I put all my stars on 3/3 enemies, shodan, and whatever the other one is if there is that isn't puzzles. I just finished signalis and I'm all puzzled out so puzzles is a one. Finding keypads with the corresponding audio log is enough with the insane enemy spawn rate on 3 stars. It's a rough start but it's pretty good really gives me that hostile space station man vs ChatGPT unfiltered.
So glad they kept it close to the original in game design and philosophy, while giving it a much needed overhaul; such a refreshing change of pace to have a game not be overloaded with tutorials and repeating the same clue of 'push button here'.
I'm hoping they eventually tackle the sequel too, because man I know they'll make that impressively nightmarish.
My father and I spent over a year to beat it. We made notes, made little maps, everything. This looks amazing! Thank you for showing the comparisons, I miss that game!
This is the game I'm most excited for in 2023.
I enjoyed the original, and loved the demo, so I can't wait to play through this one, and spend the entire experience "ooing and awing" over how close the two actually look.
I think I still have the old engine demo somewhere.
This was the game I was most excited for during 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Now its here, I'm confused as to what I'm looking forward to after tomorrow.
@@IrisCorven System Shock 2?
@@higueraft571 Yes! That should be the next goal!
You have to reevaluate your decisions! ;-)
One thing worth mentioning is how well optimized the game is
It's only 8gb. Most titles, even ones over a decade old now, are at least 50gb.
the textures being super low res keeps the file size down. lack of FMVs and cut scenes (mostly) too.
@@-TriP- and honestly I'm cool with the textures being low res
The lighting and general art direction are really really good, and the low res just accentuates it perfectly and gives it a retro feel that harkens back to the OG System Shock
One of the biggest improvements that people don't really talk about much in these remakes is the control scheme. In the old games you often had to use wonky keyboard and mouse controls that used weird keys. These days you can often use modern control pads like an xbox one controller or a ps5 controller.
Hmmm, “wonky” keys and mouse? I’ll have to get this game to see how it plays on a PC, so maybe the keys are “wonky” but if you mean the inverted “tea” of the four arrow keys, and then using the mouse for mouse look, that’s how God intended first person shooters to be played😊. For one of many things, way more aiming control accuracy than thumbs on a couple hats on a controller.
Really looking forward to trying this classic, updated!
@@keithgiesler1027 Try reading the comment again.
Never played this game growing up nor did I play Half Life so I'm looking forward to trying out this remake and Black Mesa.
Black Mesa is a masterpiece
Imo don't play black mesa first, half life hasn't aged a bit graphics aside
@@lolcat true but I'd still say that Black Mesa is the way to go. Just because of the improvements to the Xen level
@@lolcat That's like saying transportation hasn't evolved a bit -- invention of the car aside.
Coming from someone who has played both, Black Mesa is a goddamn national treasure. Xen is actually fun to play through unlike in the original.
I LOVE THIS GAME’S AESTHETIC, looks clean and modern while still retaining core elements of the original’s art direction.
I’m so HAPPY to hear that this turned out well, because if you recall, there was reporting floating around a few years ago claiming that the project had hit a few roadblocks and wasn’t coming along as nicely as planned.
Glad to see that was either total FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) and/or Nightdive managed to overcome whatever hurdles they originally came across.
It's really immature and sad to call any negative reports about anything you're into 'FUD'.
Its a pathetic, hysterical term. No it wasn't FUD, that this project went through serious trouble is well known.
They won't down the wrong path at first and virtually all of that work had to be scrapped.
It's time to grow up and leave Reddit shit like 'FUD' behind you.
@@citizen3000
Oh JESUS CHRIST.
Look, idk about you but I DON’T REMEMBER EVERY LITTLE THING about EVERYTHING THAT I’VE EVER READ.
All I was saying was that I remember HEARING this project faced difficulties at one point but don’t REMEMBER the DETAILS or if said reporting was EVEN VALID (hence why I chalked it up to the POSSIBILITY that it may have been “sensationalist media FUD”).
The irony with your presumptuous, holier-than-thou bullshit is that the number of times I’ve EVEN BEEN TO Reddit can be counted on my fingers.
Why don’t you calm it the fuck down, NOBODY ELSE got STRANGELY “butthurt” over my initial statement.
Eh, the aesthetic is dated looking. Not in a good way.
@@dominicdococo4574 cry about it more
10:22 man I love the way the weapons sound design. Especially that pistol.
I love the art style. The pixel textures and the bright lights really look amazing together.
it looks like complete garbage,but i guess even puke on the ground can be amazing for some ppl.
Puke? What is this? What do u mean. American not my first language
I love being able to set the difficulty for Combat, Mission, Puzzles, Cyber individually, at levels of 1-3
Took the plunge on Boltgun because of your recommendation. Loving it. Taunting chaos scum whilst turning them into Chaos Soup is satisfying af. Much love Gman
I have never played system shock but knew it was fundamental to gaming, so when this came out I gave it a try - and it was AWESOME.
The lack of hand holding, no journal or objective, and that I must think and listen in order to understand what to do / where to go - so unique and fantastic.
Not to mention the story and the whole atmosphere and world creation.
I am a complete fan now, and cannot wait for system shock 2 remaster!
Thank you for mentioning Descent during the cyberspace sections. It was exactly what I was thinking.
2023 has been great for remakes. This is another great one to add to the collection
It’s great to hear that the System Shock is good! I was someone who could never get into the original because it felt too old, whereas I easily feel in love with System Shock 2.
Thanks for the detailed and passionate review. I'm a huge fan of the Shock series and intend to play through this with a friend next weekend. Can't wait, looks right up my street and I love Nightdive's commitment to staying faithful, 'warts and all'.
AAA devs: Just shove it out, charge £70 and fix it later, I guess.
Indie devs: *Work there asses off and charge half the amount.
I was hoping you were gonna mention the art style. One of my favourite things about this is the art style Nightdive clearly put a lot of effort into. By that I mean trying to keep a retro pixelated look like the original but updating it to the HD era with 3D environments and models. It's masterfully done.
I really appreciate that they kept the unique, almost technicolor kind of color and lighting scheme. That really makes it seem like an homage to the original with elements of refinement and modernization and not just a remaster/remake for the sake of milking an IP.
System Shock 2 remake in this spirit would be huge.
"Look at you, Sonny Jim. A pathetic creature of meat and bone. Panting and sweating as I run through your mom's corridor. How can you challenge a perfect schwacking machine?"
"If you can't beat the game on the hardest difficulty, insect, then you're dead to me."
This game has had a development cycle almost as long as Star Citizen. I remember playing the demo YEARS ago. I loved it back then, and it's good to finally see it's been released. I remember the Steam forums being not too kind to the developers on how long it was taking. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be something like Duke Nukem Forever.
Didn't the original star citizen kickstarter end in 2012?
2012 is correct I remember backing it then, and I still haven't played it.
Absolutely loving how you can notice each individual pixel for the textures in the level design and player model.
Not many games to through the trouble because of just how easy it is to screw up.
I am so glad this game turned out as well as it did. After completing system shock 2 I was keen to play the original but just found it inaccessible. Been waiting for this remake a long time and was genuinely worried it would never come out, but it seems all the delays were well worth it.
To be honest, I'm sick and tired of modern games babysitting me through every little detail to the point I feel more like watching a movie than playing a game. Really looking forward to playing this.
Amen! IMO being throw into Citadel Station without clear directions is part of what makes the game claustrophobic. You're like a rat trapped in a maze.
Looking forward to eating my own words once I get hold of the released game!
the ragdolls freaking out when you re-enter an area isn't a glitch, the dead corpse coordinates are saved/stored and you are probably catching the bodies load in and fall over. This is common in a lot of games. But MAN this remake is bad ass!
Love the editing and sound clips in your videos.
Its basically what I show up for.
Well done sir!
I tried to play the original a while ago and just couldn't manage the controls, needing to open a menu to look around was pretty wild as far as UI goes. Settled for System Shock 2 and still haven't finished it. I'll give this a go
It's amazing that System Shock 1 got a faithful remake right when Bungie resurrected Marathon to turn it into a PvP Extraction shooter.
They did... what now? Dear lord, Bungie, why.
It's like that quote “You Either Die A Hero, Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain”. The studio that made System Shock is since long dead but Bungie who is still kicking around dropped that, i just hope it doesn't die in 1 year or something.
Out of all the releases for this year, This has been one of my most anticipated. so glad it's finally here and is looking amazing.
Bro you're upside down
This was a game that I was excited but nervous for. When games get trapped in development hell and have several release date pushbacks like this one, you either get a masterpiece or a dumpster fire of a game. The demo and stuff seemed alright but that only tells you so much. It is such a relief seeing such a well done remake come out of these years of effort, and I am excited to see what night dive will be releasing in the future.
That was awesome. Really solid breakdown and love your constant comparison/respect of the original also. Digging your little comedy insert edits too :D
Glad to see this remake has kept the good streak of remakes being all the rage this year *coughs at 40k Boltgun being one exception of a good release*. One could say, it's almost like a shock in the gaming system.
Ultramarine: "PURGE THE UNCLEAN!"
SHODAN: "Wwwwwwhat a nov-novel idea, i-i-i-insect."
Unironically two of the games I've been most excited for this year so far, I'm so glad they both turned out great. You know AAA gaming is fucked when a remake of a 90s game and a retro-styled game are two of the best games of the year so far lol
@@Dexusaz Not to mention the Dead Space remake, Resident Evil 4 remake and Metroid Prime Remaster...outside of Tears of the Kingdom, modern games in the AAA space have been terrible and unoriginal for months now
You don't like boltgun?
@@damonke79 Very true, it's pretty pathetic tbh how the best games this year so far have been remakes of 10+ year old games or new retro-styled games (Boltgun).
I love the animations in this game, very next level. Retro guns design amazing af too.
Love the editing! A fan of both Zoolander and System Shock. What a great combo!
Great review, glad to see the game is solid, will be buying it.
One thing perturbs me though - why is it that so few people understand or acknowledge that System Shock was a dungeon crawler? That's why its levels were sprawling mazes. It was a direct descendant of Ultima Underworld. The sequel even had the classic triumvirate of Warrior, Mage and Thief. Without this designation, without it being explicitly stated, THAT will be a problem for new players - because they will go into it thinking "it's a shooter", and be frustrated by the emphasis on navigating mazes.
Soo keen to play this!! Looks like they did an amazing job of staying true to the original but updating it where it was needed.
(The echo fart SFX gets me every time 😂)
I had to rewind it to be sure that I had heard what I did. XD
So nice to see them keep the objectives and info hunting of the original.
A proper old school adventure shooter.
Loved the original and remember buying it on release. Good stuff.
I’ve been waiting for this remake as long as you have. Thank you for releasing this video and letting me know it’s out now. I’m so happy!!!!!!
Those back to back comparison shots of the old vs new graphics, really remind me of how I feel when looking at the old SoR games vs Streets of Rage 4; keeping the core of what they are there, while giving it a fresh coat of pain
I'm so glad this game finally came out. I've tried to play the original game numerous times and always struggled with it. Hopefully I can actually get through this remake.
I appreciate a lot they didn't give in to adding a list of objectives or mission goals / markers in the remake. Strictly speaking, the experience in the original tried to recreate being let loose in a deserted space station and exploring to figure out what to do. Not unlike the two Ultima Underworlds before it. Not for everyone for sure, but in my opinion It gets to show too how much hand holding it's been increasingly added to games in the following decades
Nah, they should've added those just for accessibility sake, I hated how in the Classic version, objectives are vague as hell and the way if you missed things, have fun scrolling a bunch of audio logs from different areas. I give up my playthrough when i need to jettinson these 3 escape pods cause the last one have radiation area and the door that have the objectives blocked off.
I'm all up for non handholding experience (Prey 2017 did this the best until you go outside the station and when you need to find crew members from that moment on, just turn on objective markers) This kinds of stuff should be mandatory.
But hey, other than that looks like Nightdive hit a fucking home run with the remake, considering they are the one who brave enough to remake this influential games and managed to improve what necessary.
I'll try to replay the Classic version again and this time note stuff down what i deemed interesting.
As someone who does like the hands-off approach of the original, having an optional toggle for people who want it would've been ideal. I think it's better to have people play a slightly simplified version of the game than them not playing it at all.
A journal with a few words for a objective would have been so great..but nooooo
@@Moji55a "Accessibility" lol, so you mean accessible to dumb/lazy people right?
@@Moji55a They actually did add it. Playing on mission difficulty 1 adds map markers to guide you on where to go and what to do, it also prevents you from losing or destroying important items. It's a nice way to add it, people who like the "no markers or mission goals" get what they want and people who want markers and mission goals get what they want too.
Everybody wins!
Ok am I losing my mind or is 5:26 grenade explosion sound effects is that meme fart sound?
Yes it’s edited in
Jesus Christ I had to scroll way too much to find this, lmao
Every time I hear Shodon, I always imagine AM from "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream".
I'm so happy this turned out, I forgot about it, now I'm just waiting for it to unlock. I never got to play the first game proper, but I love SS2 to pieces, so I'm so damn excited.
I absolutely love the Robb Waters art style here, kudos to Nightdive for sticking to the original vision, a solid remake.
12:50 You summed up why I love the look of this game perfectly.
One of my favorite things about how faithful this game is to the original was how whenever I got super stuck and needed to check a guide, I was reading posts and guides from over 20 years ago for the original game and they all worked perfectly. Really a testament to how this game is just the original but with a shiny new paint job and improved gameplay.