System Shock gets female Hacker and new ending in next patch

eurogamer.net:

Nightdive Studio's remake of System Shock will get its patch 1.2 update next week, adding a new female Hacker and revised ending.

The female Hacker was a stretch goal for the game's Kickstarter, while the entire final fight has been reworked with «new mechanics and a unique flow», according to the Steam post.

The third big change is the addition of Cloud Sync support, so players can continue their save file across any platform.

That's important as the game is set for console release across PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S on 21st May.

Physical copies of the game will also be shipped out «very soon» for backers.

"[Hacker gender choice] was a stretch goal for Kickstarter oh, seven, eight years in the making," Nightdive founder Stephen Kick told PC Gamer. «We knew we wanted to patch that in, it was just one of those things that we knew wouldn't have any kind of immediate effect on gameplay, but just having that option kind of adds to the immersive quality of the game.»

As the game is first-person, the option is a subtle but welcome addition.

Kick wouldn't give details on the revised boss, but admitted this was in response to criticism of the original final boss that used different mechanics to the main game.

There's a long list of other improvements coming in the update, including mission waypoints for easy mode, refined enemy AI, and major optimisations — including for Steam Deck. That's on top of general quality of life changes you can read in full on Steam.

The update will arrive on 11th April.

System Shock was praised on its release last year. «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,» reads our System Shock review.