The System Shock remake’s coolest bonus makes me wish I could smell it
The System Shock remake is finally upon us, and the immersive sim FPS game is an absolute blast from the past that endeavors to modernize a classic while staying true to what made it special in the first place. To that end, System Shock includes a somewhat hidden bonus that I absolutely love, and if you’ve missed the physical side of videogames in recent years, you’re going to love this too.
Amazingly, the System Shock remake comes with a 42-page manual. In a digital age where videogame manuals are all but extinct, the download versions of Nightdive’s swing at a classic come with a fully immersive and in-universe piece of art that is a total treat for the mind – you can also learn more about the game itself in our System Shock remake review, which dives into the immersive experience.
As a bit of a sci-fi nut, having almost 50 pages of fiction to parse through styled after an employee handbook for the TriOptimum Corporation – System Shock’s megacorp responsible for creating AI antagonist Shodan – filled with great lore and extensive designs to make it feel real is a delight. All you have to do is go to the game’s directory and you’ll find the PDF.
From a map of the US showing the abolishment of state borders in favor of a corporate makeup to the corporate structure of the System Shock universe, there’s a lot of digital eye candy for us. You even take a dive into how Shodan was designed, alongside some beautiful graphics of the solar system too.
I don’t want to share or talk about much else of the System Shock manual itself, as you should explore it yourself.
“Extremely pleased to show off the system shock game manual I wrote and designed for Nightdive Studios,” manual designer Joshua Jenkins says on Twitter, who adds they
Read more on pcgamesn.com
