System Shock review: PC remake takes us back to the '90s

radiotimes.com:

The System Shock remake is the definitive way to play System Shock — that is our System Shock remake review. You can close the tab now… But wait, there’s more!

This is such a faithful and enjoyable remake that, unless you really want to see for yourself where it all began, there is now little point in playing the seminal 1994 classic.

Gone are the dizzyingly archaic controls, replaced instead with a far more natural-feeling FPS experience that doesn’t get in the way of the story or combat.

Also new is full voice-acting, which really makes Citadel Station feel like a place where people lived, worked and died in awful circumstances, elevating the very personal horrors faced by the crew.

The developers at Nightdive have really leaned into the horror, more so than the original did, and this new take is all the better for it.

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We would argue, despite that, that the System Shock remake retains too much of its mid-1990s design choices, harking back to a time at which best practices in game development were nascent at best. It is well worth sticking with and enjoying, however, as what made the original so great is also intact, updated with gorgeous visuals that pay homage to its blocky and pixelated origins.

For the uninitiated, you play as a hacker caught breaking into megacorporation TriOptimum’s servers, looking to steal the plans for a military-grade neural implant. Their security forces quickly apprehend you and shuttle you to Citadel Station, where vice president Edward Diego offers you the implant with top-quality surgeons doing the work in exchange for removing the ethical constraints of the station's AI, SHODAN.

Refuse and you will see yourself ejected into space. The hacker agrees — understandably, given the