An amazing remake. A true labor of love.

I don’t think I’ve played a remake with this much care and attention poured into it. If I had to describe it, I’d say it’s like Deus Ex meets Doom II, set on a space station.

The mix of modern visuals with a pixel-art aesthetic works really well and made it a joy to play. Combat is fairly simple but can be punishing and occasionally trial-and-error, so expect to save often. The game doesn’t hold your hand — you’ll need to pay attention to audio logs and emails to figure out where to go next. Some players may not enjoy that, but I found it really rewarding to solve things through exploration and deduction.

There are multiple large, detailed levels to work your way through. Each one is unique, and the attention to detail is impressive — nothing feels copy-pasted, and it never seemed like the devs were cutting corners.

Adding to the gameplay:
- Fun little door-hacking puzzles
- A decent variety of weapons with mod upgrades
- Biomods with enhancements
- Secrets to uncover throughout

SHODAN, the rogue AI villain, completely steals the show. Menacing, memorable, and easily one of the best video game villains I’ve encountered.

There’s also a scrapping system: you can vaporize junk and used items to build up scrap (10 scrap = 1 credit), or recycle whole items for a better return. I never had to constantly juggle my inventory — I mostly vaporized small items and it worked fine. You likely won’t use every weapon on your first playthrough, and you’ll settle into your favorites pretty quickly.

Only downside for me: the Tron-style hacking minigames. They broke immersion and became tedious fast.

Final verdict: 9/10. A fantastic remake and a must-play if you’re into immersive sci-fi games with atmosphere, exploration, and a strong sense of place.

It's a game with pros and cons. Thankfully, the pros easily outweigh the cons.

Pros:
-Atmosphere, immersion, and visual style
-Gameplay variety (lots of tools, weapons, and gadgets let you approach combat scenarios in many different ways)
-Enemy variety
-RPG elements and character progression
-SHODAN (such a relevant and iconic antagonist still today) and general voice acting
-HUD, map, and inventory system is great
-the game is a challenge in the best way, meaning if you make mistakes you can die easily, but if you are intelligent about how you approach situations you really won't ever die to something unfair

Cons:
-little guidance (both for objectives and for how some mechanics work)
-confusing and maze-like level design
-puzzles are not fun (somewhat optional)
-cyberspace sections are not fun (somewhat optional)

In summary, it's a fantastic remake that is almost too faithful to the original in some ways.
Anyone who has played the original System Shock is likely going to love this remake, because it is faithful to the original in many positive ways. If you've never played the original, but you are a fan of space horror and gaming, you're probably still going to love it. If you find yourself frustrated by certain things, just stick with it. SHODAN will reward you.

Awesome remaster. System Shock remaster is clearly done with love and it delivers an essential classic in an approachable form. The game keeps intact what is worth keeping and changes some things that have room for it.

I especially enjoy the old style of no quest logs and compasses pointing your way. The game feels more engaging when you really need to listen up where to go next. Backtracking through the levels doesn't feel like a chore and makes the space station feel like a really lived-in place, not just set dressing for a game. The main antagonist SHODAN also carries the game from start to finish.

I also very much appreciate the different difficulty sliders, already present in the original. Difficulty doesn't need to be a singular factor and you should be able to adjust different aspects of the game, in more games.

All praise being said, the final 15 minutes of the game almost manages to ruin my good feelings. (Spoilers:) The end sequence has somewhat been altered from the original game. It still happens in cyberspace but suddenly the cyberspace gameplay is totally different than earlier in the game. The ending is very detached from every other aspect of the game, and also very frustrating and difficult in all the wrong ways. Finally finishing it I just felt frustrated and didn't pay enough attention to the ending.

I still very much recommend the game, but be prepared for a weak ending.