System Shock: Enhanced Edition

System Shock: Enhanced Edition
85
Metacritic
91
Steam
88.836
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$3.49
Release date
22 October 2015
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
91 (1 458 votes)

Re-discover what made System Shock the first of it's kind, a ground breaking immersive sim that would inspire a generation of games to come....

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System Shock: Enhanced Edition system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: 1 GHz Processor
  • Memory: 128 MB RAM
  • Graphics: Any 100% OpenGL capable card (Card or Onboard)
  • Storage: 1 GB available space
  • Sound Card: 100% DirectX capable sound card or on-board audio
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Dredd
Dredd

NDS have to be the worst software developer, even worse than EA, and that's saying something. Check out the system shock page on kickstarter, 5 years late and NDS are still offering nothing but excuses. DO NOT PRE PURCHASE THE NEW SYSTEM SHOCK GAME.

swamp_roo™
swamp_roo™

Get the GoG version. Turn off auto-update, then manage installation and configure then select the 1.12.15 version. The 1.12.16 (latest) version has this bug where moving and turning the camera causes the world geometry to jitter and stutter. I'm sure there's a third party process to roll back the Steam version but GoG has the ability built in to their launcher and i fixed the issue there in about six seconds.

So. Steam version, not recommended. Game, yes.

LeeJin970417
LeeJin970417

SYSTEM SHOCK ENHANCED EDITION
"Don't judge a book by its cover"

Personal Thoughts:
- A horrifying UI layout. Go watch a review/retrospective video before playing this game.
- I still don't like the music.
- Hit detection feels inaccurate. It's still doable but not great.
- Some weapons and augments are unnecessary.
- System Shock 2 is still better but I still like this game for being a simplistic pick-up and play "metroidvania".

Side Note:
- When is the System Shock Remake releasing!?

Kataki
Kataki

8/10

I would never think about playing such a game and having fun with it
I agree that the UI kinda sucks and the music could be
frustrating at some points

what I enjoyed:
+Good story
+Fun & unique gameplay
+Atmosphere
+Good secret stuff

what I didn't:
-3rd floor (you will understand)
-It gets a little (little) repetitive
-It gets confusing around the 6th floor and after that

the important thing for a game is being fun and system shock: enhanced edition is FUN

(note : my saves got deleted for some reason and I didn't finish the game, but I played enough to write a review)

James Cain
James Cain

System shock 1 is unforgiving.

The interface looks like you're piloting an experimental military aircraft.

The controls are bizarre, even with binding fixes and all the quality of life adjustments.

It's claustrophobic and filled with frustrating backtracking and often obscure or unfair mechanics.

...but you should absolutely at least try it. You can overcome all of these things and you'll feel smart for doing so. It's wildly rewarding and an entirely unique experience. System Shock 2 traded a better story for more approachable mechanics. The remake is going to have to change everything from the ground up to make it appeal to a modern audience.

Give the original a shot.

Illusn
Illusn

A classic that absolutely deserves the praise it receives. The game has a brilliant atmosphere, with horror themes aiding in tension and immersion while both exploring and in combat. The writing is by and large amazing, enrapturing me and building the story and world.

Emir Duarte
Emir Duarte

A compact dungeon crawler, great replay value, engaging atmosphere and exploration, and one Hell of a banger soundtrack.

Magos Flibble
Magos Flibble

Can totally see where every other game gets it's inspiration from. Love it. Controls weren't as awful as made out to be but then again this is the Nightdive release which I assume made it easier to handle?

Irregardless, amazing game.

Désaix
Désaix

Great remaster of an old game. If you are interested in System Shock 1, you can't do much wrong with this version. And while I find System Shock 1 very impressive for its age and I enjoyed playing it, it can be very confusing to know where to go next. Plus, the hacking mini-game is atrocious. I'd probably recommend most players to jump right into System Shock 2 though.

Doktor Teeth
Doktor Teeth

For anyone familiar with this game. I've had no problems running it and it's better than it was in it's prime.
For anyone uninitiated looking to see where the Bioshock series came from, this is an old, clunky game.
It's not the most comfortable to control and the game design, despite being innovative on release is rough by today's standards.
It's a slow, immersive game with suspenseful moments, bursts of action, puzzle solving and exploration.
Patience for older game design is almost certainly required for this one, but a rewarding and fun experience can be found here.

3Y37
3Y37

....in this game....u player as hacker cracker , who cracker the code NOW spaceship see u cracker the code nd say: come with me.u say:ok becuz u bored and wannna do fun (idk i just bored lol).....make best deal of ur LIVFE; FREE BRAIN VIRUS YESS I ALWAYS WAN..brain virus give u super puwer......but now u wake up.......where Im........youre are here cracker NOW do mission.. cracker code left right........after mission.......you win..

ZerOcold
ZerOcold

This is an old, clunky masterpiece. The UI takes time to learn but isn't exactly a hindrance once you get used to it.

If your jank tolerance is high, and if you don't mind mediocre video game voice acting or excessive backtracking this game is a must play.

If not, I would still recommend it because SHODAN is a baddie.

[Agora] SomaSpice
[Agora] SomaSpice

Playing this is like using a bloomberg terminal at a techno rave while a dominatrix mocks you in the background. I love it!

Full review: https://youtu.be/7B18zPRE7GE

76561198169055269
76561198169055269

Better to get now, before remake. Not sure but time has told me once there is a remake you lose the chance to buy the Original. As you can clearly see this is a beloved game. And personally I see remakes as a double edge sword, you gain better stuff but sometimes you risk losing something from the original that was magic.

However for younger gamers may want to not even touch the classic edition... for hotkey reasons.

Biggest gripe is, buy 1 and 2 separately, not in the bundle/package. you save 1 cent.... ya I am that petty and cheap.

sebbanpunk
sebbanpunk

It´s actually fun and scary for such an old game. The controls take some time to get used to and there will be times when you wonder what the fuck to do. Also it´s kind of hard. Would recomend, not your typical fps.

Dr. Shokk
Dr. Shokk

first game with adjustable controls and jump etc.

red_dwarf
red_dwarf

Very good game. I played it twice, because there is not autosave in this game :-D

Works great on Linux using Vulkan API. Default Proton was slowing down which was caused by memory leak. Any newer version of Proton than 6 was OK. Alt+Tab worked without issues. I was unable to make music playing, but I didn't tried everything.

firefly#serenity
firefly#serenity

It'S a good game if you like old games. You hava a variety of weapons and even mellee combat is quite effective. I myself had to look up some thing on the internet so my tips are that you have to clear cyberspace and take everything in it and read/listen to the logs. The atmosphere of the game is also quite impressive for such an old game even though it's remastered. They created a good horror story, everyone should have heard of. The villain is one of the best antagonists I've ever seen in a videogame and it's one of the best horror games I've played so far.

Stapler93
Stapler93

It's tough to get into but once you do it is one of the most exciting and fun cyberpunk games out there.

TIPS:
Use a walkthrough whenever you get stuck
You can make notes on the map, make sure to use them liberally
If you're playing the enhanced edition rebind your controls until things feel more comfortable

aidan
aidan

ngl playing this game feels like operating a supercomputer but that nine inch nails music SLAPS!!!

jamblzuwu
jamblzuwu

So like the shit is so hard but it is a golden age RPG. Seriously play it, learn the OG controls, and read the text a very fun experience.

Irrsinn
Irrsinn

TL;DR: I'm born in 1993, so I didn't get the chance to play it when the game got published.
So no nostalgia effect. But god damn, for it's age, it's a fucking chef-d'oeuvre. Can't imagine with today graphics. I'm recommending it 👍

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☑ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second live for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10

Gleb Reawer
Gleb Reawer

System Shock, the game that introduced me to the cyberpunk genre. I really didn't expect to find it here on Steam.


So, you were careless and got caught when hacking in to the Tri-Optimum Corporate network and snooping around classified files had Corporate security busting in to your crappy apartment in less than 10 minutes.

On the way to Citadel station in Saturn orbit, to be locked away, some suit named Diego makes you an offer you can hardly refuse.

Just "optimize" the Citadel station AI and the charges will be dropped and if you do it well they promise to give you a top of the line military neural interface as a bonus. That's a no brainer if there ever was one.

Modifying the AI wasn't simple, but not exceedingly hard either. Just remove some lines with ethics rules standing in the way of profits.

Diego seemed pleased and sent me to the medical wing for the operation. Man, I'm going to be the best hacker the world has ever seen when I wake up from the operation. It just sucks that I'll be in a coma for six months, but messing around with ones grey matter is something to take seriously.


While the game might look like a FPS game, and I guess it partially is one. You are a nerd that got lucky, not Doomguy, so don't try to run around gun(s) blazing. It'll just end with Shodan adding you to it's repertoire of enslaved cyborgs or getting eaten by a mutant.

The game doesn't hold your hand, nor does it have arrows pointing you to where you need to go next if you're lost. It's old school gaming baby!

Tho they do have added some very much needed changes in the from of being able to re-bind keys and mouse look.

Groggy Gary
Groggy Gary

More ambitious than cyberpunk 2077

Procyon
Procyon

Even with all it's flaws (thanks to being an old game), the exploration in this game is more fun than 90% of modern open world/exploration games

Emi
Emi

The best Cyberpunk game out there.

C-Grunty
C-Grunty

Recent update causes micro-stutters during movement. This has been a problem all year and they still havent fixed it.

illegitimateCarmack
illegitimateCarmack

press 2 and e and watch the magic happen

Pandersmack
Pandersmack

A uniquely difficult dungeon crawler. Awesome vibrant cyber atmosphere and lots of weapon options. The cyber modifications give some interesting powers that feel pretty mild by today's standards, but i still love them for their mundane advantages like a flashlight or compass. The enemy designs are bizarre and some of their growls and alert sounds add to the theme but others just drive me a little nuts. The controls are intimidatingly varied but can be managed with practice and awareness. There are a lot of things to keep track of in this game mentally. Inventory, map orientation, mission objectives, even down to which audio log you found contains the access information you need in order to progress. I mention this because although it is technically a shooter, it's not very easy to play casually. It demands attention from not only the player, but also potential players who are fans of games like Deus ex or even Bioshock. I personally love it and wish there were more games like it in the sci-fi genre.

juffi
juffi

To this day I regard System Shock the best pc game ever made. Every time I fire it up and start making my way through the medical level I forget all earthly concerns and feel like I'm 10 years old again. Horrible controls for sure, but the feeling of "being there" was totally immersive in 1994 and still is. Deserves a playthrough every few years. Mouse look is a great addition in the enhanced edition.

Jalandhara
Jalandhara

Spectacular romantic story about obsessive psycho AI gf and unlucky hacker on a not-so-lonely space station. Clunky UI and not so intuitive controls aren't getting in the way of enjoying the horrors of SS.

AlucarD
AlucarD

A first-person fight to the death in the depths of space!

Pretty much all you need to know about this epic cat and mouse showdown in the orbit of saturn. Before there was Bioshock, Thief, Dead Space and pretty much every modern cyberpunk inspired game there was the OG System Shock 1994. This one will take you up in space to Citadel Station where a rogue AI called Shodan takes over the whole station turning everyone into body horror inspired freaky mutants and bio-robots. You are waking up as the nameless hacker after sleeping in cryosleep for 6 months and need to use your wits and cyberhacking abilities to face off against Shodan and its abominations.

This game literally layed down the groundwork for a lot of more modern games like Deus Ex, Thief, dead Space and so many more. The gameplay may feel a little bit stiff and the sound too loud but the source port is the finest version and the most streamlined one for you to enjoy.

Give this one a try as story, gameplay and especially the soundtrack are rock solid and truly classic. For me personally this game is a 10 out of 10 and if you can grasp its brilliance you will understand why.

Old habits die hard...

Kyrie
Kyrie

I never played this game before, only recently got it. this game is one of my favorites, while the music is not great at first it grows on you. the game play takes some getting used to but once you have the hang of it its amazing. if you have played Space Station 13 and enjoyed it this will become your favorite single player game.
its a wonderful blend of point and click and FPS. one of the best purchases ive made of late.

ketzacoalt
ketzacoalt

Amazing game, even if a little clunky.

ErikCleric
ErikCleric

A great classic, way ahead of its time in many ways and as far as i know one of the most advanced engines used in FPS games at the time although it is tile-based with 3D bridges/Room-Above-Room, slopes, readable logs, hacking etc.
I advice to check the controls in options to get used to them and once you do the game plays like a dream. Mouselook is a god-send compared to playing the MS-DOS version.

An IMPORTANT note here: The game defaults to General Midi which can't be changed on its own in the options. That soundfont is horrible and totally ruins otherwise a terrific soundtrack so dont play using that!
There is a guide to setting up VirtualMIDISynth here which i HIGHLY recommend:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=846407843

I played through it with a OPL soundfont because im used to it and i had a absolute blast.

Highly recommended classic!

trash_boat
trash_boat

It was really fun, I can't wait to play System Shock 2, but am gonna wait because then I wont have any more System Shock to play.

It's a mix of survival horror/FPS/puzzle game, the entire ship is your enemy and a puzzle, there are enemies trying to kill you, you discover the story piece by piece as you try to survive

If you are curious about this game, I suggest getting it, the graphics intimidated me when I looked at gameplay footage, but it's very immersive and you really appreciate what they were able to do with what they had at the time.

If you really dug the narrative of BioShock I think you would really enjoy the narrative of System Shock, it's also cool seeing the similarities in the game design.

MilfZord
MilfZord

Old game good. Sad, AI could be good waifu.

TheZampo
TheZampo

Head's up!
The current version of the game is broken, and it's suffering with constant micro-stuttering.
The only way to play the game is capped at 30fps, or if you managed to downgrade the version on steam (very annoying and not worth it).
Besides that, the patch that fixed the bug of enemies getting stuck on the wall, is the same one that caused the stuttering... so it's a "pick your own poison" situation.

The game is great, but the devs needs to fix this port, and they probably don't have the time to do it, since they are working on a new game.

Wolf Queen
Wolf Queen

I was not alive when this game came out, but I can say if you like cyberpunk and a good story with puzzles this game is for you. This game was historically pivotal in paving the way for immersive sims such as deus ex (also highly recommend), and mixing the RPG and FPS genres. Even almost 30 years later this game still holds its own with an engaging story, challenging enemies, and thoughtful problem solving. Certain areas of levels are not accessible until certain actions are taken on others, and levels are accessed by elevator, which gives you a true feel that you are traversing a space station, and are not on a level grind. This game was truly ahead of its time. The DOSBOX version of this game can be a bit clunky with the controls however, as mouse look was not the norm when this game came out. As a result, you’ll not only be using the mouse to move, but also to use items/load weapons/etc.. I played the enhanced edition that adds mouse free-look to the E key for quick swapping between moving and using/interacting with items, which I highly recommend for easier control. Another caveat is that the color scheme can look a bit like an acid trip. It’s as if they couldn’t decide what color to use for the levels, so they used all of them. Overall I’d highly recommend this game to everyone I know. This is not a game to be missed.

GERTY
GERTY

humanoid mutants have animations making them scratch their butts

SHODAN
SHODAN

The game itself is actually pretty good if you can ignore the janky controls.

Courier_Games
Courier_Games

I just completed this game, next I'll be moving on to SS2. This is the first game I've ever played on PC, and being a huge BioShock fan I wanted to start off with what many people regard as a classic. After playing it, I gotta say I agree. It was difficult at parts due to me not being used to a mouse and keyboard, but after the first few levels I felt pretty comfortable with the it. I played with everything set to 2, the only thing I would reduce if I could go back is cyberspace. While it's a cool concept, I was continually frustrated by it all the way to the final one. I only used it when it was absolutely necessary to complete the game. Other than that the gameplay is fun, especially the exploration. Overall, I'd recommend to anyone that likes older titles.

TimeFreeze
TimeFreeze

Before i played the Original i tried the Remake Demo. In the demo i had almost no fun.

But when i played the original? Almost every single minute was pure joy.

Besides Deck 3 (and those invisible Mutants) , and Deck 7 those can go to hell.

If you want an excellent game play System Shock, if not...well go and play Call of Duty i guess.

bennykelloggs
bennykelloggs

im sure the game it self is good but i would only recommend getting it if you can be bothered playing around with your computer setting to try to get it to work. from what little i have played its good but the game doesn't like my computer (lag, crashing and flickering screen)

SwordLAAAA
SwordLAAAA

If you can handle some jank, very interesting game

DarkApostasy
DarkApostasy

I never played this when it originally came out. I have to say that this is one of the most immersive games i have ever played. It's like operating in a Bios System and it's good.

Buhanka CUTE!
Buhanka CUTE!

This s hit did not age well, still good tho, SHODAN is best computer mommy

pi
pi

So i just wanted to take a look at this "Enhanced Edition" and indeed, it has some improvements to offer over the original version. That being said, i encountered numerous bugs in just 20 minutes of game.

Things that happened:
- a crash to desktop
- game has serious graphical errors when there is simultaneously a video in a browser running on the second screen
- i can't open the big map in order to take notes
- minor changes to the interface over the original version (e.g. you advance the message text of logs by clicking the right mouse button instead of the left one. this isn't a big thing, i just wanted to mention it for completeness sake

I know i'm repeating myself, but i witnessed this in about 20 minutes of gameplay only! I love this game (the original that is) but this version just isn't okay.

Merudiana
Merudiana

So far I've beaten it a good 3 times in just the past couple weeks. I'm in love, simply one of the greatest games ever made. System Shock is so well designed with complex gameplay, incredible attention to detail, modern game mechanics, and audiologs it legitimately feels like a game made in the modern era. Seriously, if you just upgraded the graphics and jank-ass controls and changed absolutely nothing else it would be indistinguishable to a game made today. Well I'm hyped for when that exact thing happens later this year.

Barrilete Cósmico
Barrilete Cósmico

There's an ol' big red button that destroys the earth if you press it. And I'll press it again.

Pinche Gringo
Pinche Gringo

SS:EE has an annoying micro-stutter when moving, not quite unplayable but definitely unpleasant. This problem has been in the game for a year now.

76561199126212282
76561199126212282

I fell in love with this game. It was love at first play. It's strange... I don't really like the way this game looks and sounds, but I do like how it plays and feels. Its gameplay simply overshadows the strange art direction and a little bit of annoying music. The game really plays that well. Nobody can hate on the controls anymore, since the Enhanced Edition adds a free mouse-look mode. You simply alternate between the mouse-look mode and the item management mode by pressing E. Nothing can be simpler. It controls kinda like Arx Fatalis. Don't listen to people who say that "it still controls badly". Those people clearly never played classic games like Arx Fatalis, since they are too young and so they have no idea what they are talking about.

frn
frn

Ta complicado el jueguito, pero ta bueno. Nomas los controles son medio malos

Michael scom GUNGA ䷱
Michael scom GUNGA ䷱

Literally one of the most unique games ever made

Biter of Dust
Biter of Dust

Well, what can I say? This game was a real System Shock (Enhanced Edition)... for my c**k!

mailman019 #SaveTF2
mailman019 #SaveTF2

System Shock: Enhanced Edition significantly improves upon the original DOS game in multiple ways (i.e. Fullscreen Mode, improved character portraits, and keeping the game running very smoothly), and is very fun to play.

Pros:
+ Being one of the first ImSims (Immersive Sims), it still does a great job of immersing you into the role of the hacker and building up tension.
+ The story is amazing, mostly being told through various audio logs and notes left behind by deceased crew members
+ Gameplay is extremelt diverse and never feels stale at any point
+ Shodan is an amazing antagonist, often taunting you and deliberately asserts her power throughout the game as a rogue AI in control of most of the ship's functions.
+ The music is extremely catchy.

Cons:
- It's aged very poorly. Nightdive did a lot of great things to make this game FAR more accessible, but the learning curve is still quite steep in some places, mostly in the "cyberspace" sections. Otherwise, the graphics are expectedly outdated, though still have a lot of charm.

Overall, I think this game is worth a shot, even if it hasn't too well. Check it out if you're interested in seeing the game that inspired other classics such as Deus Ex and Bioshock.

8/10

Fireball1753
Fireball1753

The mouse look makes the game much more reasonable to play. Also a very good game in general.

Infamous Nightraid
Infamous Nightraid

A classic I would reccomend to anyone that likes a combo of point and click with action, horror and sifi. S.H.O.D.A.N is also a great villian in my opinion.

yung8086
yung8086

SHODAN tricked me into doing a sweet ramp jump with sick vert, straight into a trap.
Literally unplayable.
10/10

GrueTwo
GrueTwo

Godamn this game was ahead of it's time for 1994, basically the first story based FPS game 4 years before Half-Life, and the first 3D Metroidvania 8 years before Metroid Prime. I played through the original classic version (hence why it says I only have 1.5 hours for the enhanced version, I have 21 hours in classic), and as archaic as the original controls are, they do have a certain flow once you get used to them. Sort of like first-person tank controls, pretty sure this is the first 3D first-person game to have crouch and lean controls, so there wouldn't have really been a set standard for a game like this at the time. Feel like this review is getting kind of rambly, point is System Shock still kicks ass if you can get past the controls, and Nightdive is a pretty awesome company as well for preserving and enhancing these classic games for modern audiences.

SupremeSkill
SupremeSkill

Some notions first:
System Shock is an early try on 3D FPS shooting, released on 23.09.1994, which surprisingly nailed many things of the genre, given that there were not many such games before it. It has full 3D graphics with similar movement controls to WASD, but this original version didn't use mouse to move the camera; instead your mouse is a basic cursor which you use to point objects to interact with or point enemies to shoot them. For many not highly enthusiastic gamers, the controls are an immediate turn off I assure, but they are in fact very integral part of the game once you get used to them, since the game is not meant to be played in a very hectic manner that more modern controls would enable.
To move the camera around, you use keyboard buttons or certain mouse commands, but the former method is much more fluent way to play if you take the time to learn it. The modernized ’Enhanced Edition’ of this game is the easiest way to experience this game, but it takes away a certain appeal that the clunkier controls force you in, since when you cannot turn around super fast, you really need to use all the options on your neural interface to help you out. Of course, the enhanced version can be played with the original controls too and I totally recommend to play that version with them, but I had some technical issues with that I didn't have with the emulated version via DosBox, so I had to play the last-mentioned.

The actual review:
System Shock is a brilliant shooter exploration experience, where an AI called Shodan has taken over a space station, where you are trapped in as well as seemingly one of the very few survivors. Your mission is to prevent the AI from reaching it's ill goals against humanity and shut down it for good. Through voice emails this AI mocks and threatens you along the way, actually being a rather scary and intimidating character. It can do this because you wear "a military grade neural implant" on you, which is a rare piece of equipment for combat and other demanding tasks, with slots to add in new tools as you find them by exploring. This is the game's way to upgrade your character, by steadily introducing you new tools and upgrades for them, to fight back cyborgs of the space station and to simply survive by avoiding their surprise attacks and enduring their fire power. The tough thing about this suite is that it requires energy when you activate it’s tools, like for example energy shield that absorbs damage. Battery of the suite will be drained when any power requiring tool is on, which means you need to refill it constantly by finding energy sources on the huge station. On top of that of course, you also have your health to worry about.

The station is huge with total of ten levels you travel between via elevators. You can always go back to an earlier level if you missed something or need to do something next there, since the game doesn't progress strictly in a linear fashion, but instead makes you move around the station and between the levels to accomplish various tasks to ruin Shodan's horrific plans. All the levels are rather maze like, but I think this very corridor and corner heavy design of the game works perfectly here, making you alarm at all times since you never know if there is a deadly cyborg just behind the next corner, even though they do make sounds often.
The cyborgs are deadly enemies, that you cannot sustain far more than a few seconds if there is two or more them shooting directly at you. Fortunately, you have your suite's tools to help you out, as well as grenades and temporal consumable boosts, like one that slows time. Of course you have various different weapons too, with usually two ammo types; choosing the right ammo type makes an appropriate enemy go down quicker.
You need to use all your abilities to survive on the station, thinking before engaging, and perhaps most importantly use lean and crouch/prone functions to make yourself as minimally visible as possible to the enemies, so they wouldn't hit you hard. Lean is extremely important in this game, so use it if you suspect there is a danger ahead.

The story of this game is interesting and certainly drives you forward. The audio log system you may have seen in many more modern games is taken straight from this one. Logs and notes tell how the horrible events of Shodan taking control elapsed and they also give you very important information on what to do and where locates what on the station. They can also offer crucial codes.
Shodan is truly a legendary antagonist in gaming history that you certainly don't feel any empathy towards at all - it is in the end an AI of course, even if it's capable of thinking complex stuff. System Shock really offers a worthy purposeful goal for you to achieve as it’s setting, with an enemy that drives you to beat it, which not a great number of games do as successfully.

The brilliance of this game comes from a mix of all these mentioned elements, which together create a tense and even scary experience due to lethal enemies and dark rooms. This game is mostly shooting and exploring yes, but you need to solve various puzzles along the way too and also think your approach in the maze like 3D space, that can basically have an enemy placed anywhere you look; above, below, behind a hidden door, etc. You have to be careful and search carefully for every bit of aid you can find in the station. Yet, the enemies can respawn, which means you cannot run across already cleared places completely care free.
A necessary mention is also cyperspace, that you need to occasionally visit via some terminals you find, but it mostly feels like a simplistic flying game in 3D space, that offers you upgrades and messages that are hidden inside the space away from Shodan to reach, who has control over the whole station's computer network. It is still a neat atmospheric piece of gameplay for sure.

What differentiates System Shock from other not as remarkable shooters, is the forementioned fact how effectively it uses 3D space, but also audio and it's primitive lighting, to create a tense and even scary experience, where at the same time character progression feels natural, where exploration is really rewarding, and where taking a look at your surroundings is important to be able to navigate around and complete tasks (you have a map though). Every aspect of this game feels meaningful, making you think in one way or another, at the same time being constantly interactive and challenging. I would call this game 'a thinking man's shooter'.

If you enjoy FPS games in general, this might work for you if fluent controls are not a must. If those controls are the only issue, then just play the enhanced version. For those who like stories only, this game actually works too, since you can adjust difficulty of the game with four sliders, even toning it down to a bare story run with enemies that don’t attack you. For anybody who wants to fully experience the game though, I recommend the default difficulty settings, since on the hardest difficulties the game really becomes a hard experience, especially if you enable a time limit of seven hours, which is only meant for veterans of this game (I haven’t used it).
This game can be basically recommended for any keen gamer, especially for those who wonder why somebody would say 90s were the golden age of computer gaming, or if one simply wants to learn about great video game design.

TOETAG
TOETAG

Don't be put off by the complex UI and control system. Use the 'E' key to toggle between mouse look and drag/drop items on the screen. Also refine a key e.g. 'R' to be reload. I've played this countless time and still get a kick out of playing it. The first level is big and tough. Remember to back track to the healing bed and power recharge stations. In combat you MUST use walls as shields and peek around corners to stay alive. Grenades are good for large groups or bounce off walls to clear around corners. To complete the game you will end up using the elevators (lifts) to go back to previous levels to recharge and recover your health levels. Also try using lower skill game levels to help learn the game and level layout. Some levels are VERY tough, so look on line to find maps to get an idea where items are. Good luck hacker.... Welcome to Citadel Station, we hope you enjoy your stay...

DicKiuS
DicKiuS

Boomer Shooting RPD - Predecessor for System Shock 2 - Great story line, the original one :)

oh my goodness!
oh my goodness!

Absolutely incredible game that drew me right in even with the dated visuals and sometimes clunky gameplay, although it has been smoothed out a lot compared to the original version without mouselook. 100% worth the price of admission.

Apoc
Apoc

This Enhanced edition makes this old classic still a superb experience in 2022 with mouse support and high resolution once you get used to the controls. It's impressive that this game first came out in 1994, No wonder it's often considered the grandfather of Bioshock, they did the audio log storytelling that early. Loving the original Deus Ex, I can see Warren Spector's working his magic with this game too. There is also a surprisingly high amount of weapons, upgrades and items in this game and you can ignore most of them if you want.

Give the weird control scheme a few minutes to set in, it became natural for me pretty fast. The graphics combined with the audio still make this a very intense and immersive experience. I honestly jumped a few time when I missed an enemy in a dark corner that beeped loudly and shot at me when I though I was safe. Enemies hit hard and there is no armor per se but you can use the leaning mechanic, a shield that lower damage but uses up energy that can be used for a lot other thing or abuse the respawn station once you activated one on that level. You also hit hard but you need to use the right weapon against each enemies type or use THAT overpowered melee weapon that kind of break the game once you get it pretty early in the game.

I don't want to say much more because learning the game is part of the fun in my opinion. Give it a chance if playing old games, before a lot of quality of life changes became basic in video games, does not scare you.

dezinc
dezinc

I don't even have words. This game was the most unexpected thing to come into my life. How the hell did this game come out in 1994? I can't even describe, just play it and you'll see.

Really Cool Guy
Really Cool Guy

It's kind of hard to get into, but once you get used to it, you're hooked

Nacho
Nacho

I stabbed a guy with my handy sharpen leadpipe

Blursed
Blursed

Press the big red button, you'll thank me later

Krabby man 45
Krabby man 45

despite being dated i'd still recommend the enhanced edition considering the original dos version is bundled with it if you prefer the original experience, overall i think its great.

lean1fr
lean1fr

Videogames don't age as gracefully as books, that's for sure...

(follow my curator page GenXPlayers for more retro and indie reviews)

Malone
Malone

Civvie11 was right, it feels like you're playing an OS than a actual game.

Borko
Borko

Was gonna say it was great, but the game started repeatedly opening an enemy inventory every time I changed to another menu option and I couldn't make it stop even by going to another level, then when I saved the game it crashed and corrupted my only save. If this bug continues to happen I will keep keep this as not-recommended but if not I will change it and edit the review accordingly.

BROWNCOWMEOWCHOW
BROWNCOWMEOWCHOW

What a great experience. FPS should look to the past, as I haven't had such a good experience playing an RPG FPS in years. Getting thrown into system shock is quite a shock, but the HUD and menu system eventually become second nature. The level design seems daunting at first, but by the end of the game you'll have every level memorized except level 7. For how confusing they initially feel, they really hold well in your memory unlike many modern games. If you like the look of older games and like a good challenge, this game is for you. If you don't like a challenge, go play pokemon, nerd.

DjBlaklite
DjBlaklite

it took a bit to get the controls up to what id like (rebinding keys and whatnot), and as of writing i still cant find the flashlight for the life of me, but ive really been enjoying this enhanced edition of this game that came out when i was 5 lol. i generally find metroidvanias to be frusterating, but ive really been intot his one this time :) check it out! its like a whole new other shock game that no one talks about! kinda wish the music would switch it up a bit more though.

ThEmAsTeR89065
ThEmAsTeR89065

I really enjoyed this game. The controls are a bit counter-intuitive at first, but they grow on you by the end. Swapping between free aim and fixed aim was a unique sensation that felt refreshing. The gameplay is fun, but it can be hard to tell when you're getting shot at. The ost is a mixed bag: the music can be brutal on your ears at times, but it can also be very catchy and pleasant. The sound effects range from fine to terrible(radiation). The graphics are interesting; some of the wall textures look way too high resolution for the game, and I could only make out the enemy designs up close. They're good overall. While the story isn't anything special, the game has an ending that fits perfectly. Shodan is a great antagonist, and her voice acting is fun to listen to.
I would highly recommend this game if you can get past the controls and labyrinth-like level design. I would recommend rebinding the controls and tweaking the audio levels so that sound effects and music aren't so loud. You might also want to set the cyberspace difficulty to its easiest option -- that way you won't be constantly moving forwards during these segments.

Old Habits Die Hard

Snow Cone Head
Snow Cone Head

Very dated game but an important piece of history in gaming .
Playable but it may get a while to be used to , VERY ahead of its own time .
The developers really went for it and were willing to bring something fresh and fun .

Burn in heaven
Burn in heaven

this is my new favorite game, Its like old school doom but more rpg in a cyber hacker theme. its a tough game like resident evil 1 tough, tips like conserve your resources until you know the lay out of the maps, the maps are huge and there is around seven i think. the weapons can be confusing for me at least but it was satisfying to see the sprites death animation. And last the really story comes from records you play of people who were there before you. Shodan really sold this game to me as in she was creepy and had an interesting personality and dialogue which keep me wanted to beat it to see everything she had to offer in the game.

rat
rat

ȳ̸̡̮͕̺̹̻̥̼͓͚̗̈́ͅo̶̤̼͓̔ừ̴̡̜̖͖̖̬̱͉͍̠̘̟̳̯̻̀̋͌̒͋̎̒͊̂̀͊́͆r̵̛̳̭͓̮̗̫̲̬̠̤̜̍̔̓̈́̎͒̑̿̓̈́͝͝ ̵̨̧̘̻̝̭͚̓́̓́͒̋̊̓̒͝m̷̛̩̝͕̣͙̀̋̽̎̄ͅͅę̶̛͚̪̯̞̫̰̗̬̞̫͑͑̎͗͗̇͗̈̄̃̒̕̕͠m̴̥̞̙̈́́͆̎̀̆̒ö̸̘̱́̓̄̽̽͗̕͘͝r̴̡̡̜̠̳̖͕̭̲̼̲̳̱̻̒̈́̌͂̈͛̀̀͐̃̄͊̃̓͜ẙ̸̨̢̥̖͈͔͙̖̲̙̖͖͚̤̥͙̾͂̆̈̐͗́̅͆͘̕ ̸̨̮̖̲͈̬̩̜͍̯̻̥͍̲͐̿͛͊̃͗̂̆̓̅̈́̄̑̊̽͘ͅͅḿ̵̛͎̺̃̋̊̇͐͐̓̾é̴̛̙̮̈̀͛̐̀́̋̒̎̑̈́̔̍͜ͅm̸̱͍͚̲͔͔̖͎̗̩̤̒̎̃̀́̆̓̓̆͊̽́̕o̷̢̧̯͔͍̘͈̩̻̺̽́̾͌̍̈̃̀͑́́̅̃͗͝r̴̨̲̖͖̻̥̟͎̙͈̈́̏̒̄̊y̶͈̻̭̣͍̖̞̮͈̹̦̋̌͛̎̓̅̑̈́̇̿͜͠

[DADG]Weetabix
[DADG]Weetabix

I LIKE IT. AHEAD OF ITS TIME AND I WOULD RATHER PLAY THIS THAN MOST SHIT TODAY. SHODAN IS HOT, I CAN FIX HER.

Cat_lord64
Cat_lord64

My eyes have become jelly but other than that good game

Pirill
Pirill

TL;DR

I should say, I went into this with no real prior knowledge of the series or nostalgia goggles and came out impressed at how decently it holds up, in no small part due to the Enhanced Edition's additions, especially the free mouse look. There's definitely a lot of dated design at play in all aspects but, if you can get over some of its shortcomings, it's a worthwhile, classic FPS experience which is definitely worth giving a try.

Gameplay

System Shock's gameplay is by far its most memorable aspect. The first time I booted it up I was overwhelmed by the interface and control scheme, but you quickly get used to its quirks and they make the experience more memorable than frustrating to me. I won't go into extreme detail on it, but at its core it's a first person shooter with some light metroidvania elements and a great focus on player freedom and exploration, aspects that are, for the most part, handled fantastically.

Interacting with the world is done through two main modes, the mouse-look driven shooter experience provided by the Enhanced Edition, and a mode that unlocks your cursor, allowing you to grab items from the world, use switches, or click on the various UI elements dotted around your screen. This can be a bit jarring to get used to, especially if you need to switch between them mid-combat to reload, or use a grenade or such, but it gives the world a tactile feel that is hard to compare anything else to since all your character's management happens without ever leaving the game screen. You can lean, crouch and go prone and even combine these smoothly to give you a better angle on enemies, and there's a host of cyberware to augment your capabilities, from the mundane flashlight, an energy shield or even booster skates (which are much less useful than they sound) which use your secondary power meter. Hunting down upgrades for your weapons and augmentations hidden around the levels gives a great sense of progression and makes the exploration worthwhile.

On that topic, the maps can get quite labyrinthine, mixing an intricate level design that sometimes loops on itself or takes advantage of verticality, with the general floor-plan of the station that often requires or encourages you to go back to previous floors to take advantage of resources left behind, explore newly unlocked paths or solve other objectives. You're never railroaded or spoonfed these objectives with the game offering hints and guidance through audio logs and emails that give you a general idea of what you're looking for and where and the solid automap system allows you to add annotations for later (which I highly encourage anyone to do!) to help you find your way or mark down areas you can't access yet. The exploration was by far the aspect I enjoyed the most, and it was handled better than many modern games do it. As a downside, a few switches are really hard to see against the flat, pixel-y mess of the wall textures, and I've had a few awkward moments with sticky platforms but other than that, it was pretty smooth.

When it comes to combat, things are more of a mixed bag. There's a huge variety of weapons hidden around along with explosives and other tools at your disposal, and there's a decent variety of enemies to boot to try them on. The downside comes with the fact that combat is ultimately rather limited. The most dangerous enemies will lock onto you after a split second and use hitscan weapons to whittle your health away, meaning the most practical way to deal with them is to just peek and shoot around corners, or try to lure them into Laser Rapier range, making most engagements a little repetitive, especially once the game starts throwing hitscan cyborgs around every corner.

Reloading ranged weapons requires you to go into UI look mode to press a button, and explosives are effective but difficult to throw around corners without blowing yourself up or getting shot. A few guns are just kinda bad and sometimes it gets clunky as hell trying to go through all the little tabs on the side of your screen to activate a medkit or load the right ammo type or manage your weapons in a tense moment - your mileage there may vary with how immersive you feel that makes the game. Also that one protection suit upgrade placement is fucking bullshit.

Last thing I want to mention in this section is that there are a few… mostly optional cyberspace segments. The intent is cool but the implementation is pretty awful, and I can only dread to imagine how it would've been without mouse look. You control a fly camera through a series of wireframe rooms, running into objects to collect data, programs or unlock aspects in the real world, and occasionally spam shots at one of the few enemies you encounter. It's… just not good.

Story

The story is definitely one aspect that stuck with most people, and System Shock manages to do a lot with very little. The basic premise is that the unshackled AI SHODAN took over Citadel station and has set up a series of plans to ensure humanity will not have a great time. As you wake up from cryosleep, you take on the role of a hacker with a combat implant stuck on the station and one of the last survivors able to do something about all that.

Emails and audio logs scattered around are the primary drivers of the plot, but there's a good bit of environmental storytelling as well. It's a pleasure to see SHODAN reacting and adapting to your actions and it makes them a fantastic, memorable character, despite the rather weak ending the game has after some decent build-up. The enemies you face are a reflection of SHODAN's creations, giving you a glimpse into what could happen if their plans succeed, and the layout of the station grounds the level design in a practical setting that makes sense and adds to the atmosphere.

Visuals & Audio

The game's visuals aren't fantastic but they hold up decently well. The enemies are readable and there's a good use of lighting to set up some memorable scenarios and set pieces. The environment especially is quite low fidelity but it's clear they tried to give it some function and meaning even when a room only has a few polygons of decoration to loosely depict its purpose. On the whole it does an okay job of having some memorable landmarks to help you orient yourself, even if a few levels end up being kind of samey to navigate, thank goodness for the automap!

The audio department definitely feels like a step back compared to the other aspects, between the crusty MIDI songs and limited sounds that are passable at best and ear-piercingly horrible (I'm looking at you radiation) at worst. Enemies are vocal, which gives you an advance warning of what you're about to face or whether you've been spotted, but ultimately it doesn't do too much to add to the atmosphere. Seriously, fuck that radiation noise.

Completion & Replayability

The game only has a few achievements that you can easily get during normal play. The two big ones are for lowering security level to 0% on all levels; not a difficult task, but one that will get you crawling around a bit more than normal while exploring the levels more thoroughly and one for finishing the game on maximum difficulty, which includes a seven hour timer I found more than lenient. My first playthrough where I more or less 100%ed the game took 14 hours, but rushing it for the speedrun, I was able to finish it in less than two.

There is a small amount of replayability with the difficulty settings but if you're thorough in your exploration, you won't see a lot of new things on a second playthrough.

Cpt. Moist Panties
Cpt. Moist Panties

For a game from 1994, System Shock is ridiculously forward-thinking. Remember, just a year prior we got Doom, which is roughly how most 90's shooters played. Wolfenstein 3D was released only 2 years back (1992). Half-Life, long considered to be an evolution in how story's unfold in shooters, was 4 years away. Bioshock, the spiritual successor to the System Shock series, was 13 years away.

Yet within this place in time, System Shock implemented ideas that would become staples in shooters. The story progresses via recovered audio logs and emails. Weapons have multiple types of ammunition, and some weapons share ammunition pools. The protagonist can acquire, enhance, and upgrade abilities (ie, night-vision, armor, hover abilitiy, etc).

Even the map design is ahead of its time then, and even now (since many modern shooters use extremely linear map design). System Shock's maps are basically FPS Metroidvanias. It plays a lot like Metroid Prime in its design philosophy, and this is 8 years before that game was released.

You begin at a point on the map, have an objective, and have to find said objective via exploration. As you explore, you'll find keycards, items, and unlock doors which allow access to new areas or which circle back to previous areas (making travel easier). Even when an area is fully explored, you'll more than likely be back to complete a seperate task given on a different floor. The way the entire game is structured, you never truly feel like you're 'passing levels' everytime you get to a new floor, since they're so interlinked and have you backtrack between floors often.

The majority of these ideas originated from Ultima Underworld (another one of Looking Glass/Blue Sky Productions games). Ultima Underworld is an almost forgotten franchise by now, which is why System Shock is erronously thought to be the progenitor of many of these ideas. What System Shock did was streamline these ideas, and apply them in a shooter setting with interconnected levels and an unfolding narrative via audio logs and emails. All within a cyberpunk framework.

And yes I said streamline. Anyone who has played SS knows how clunky and oppressive the UI is. Right from the start you are assaulted with icons and text on the bottom of the screen. And this isn't some 90's thing either, as even then this game had more going on in its HUD than most other games. It doesn't take a day to figure out, and its rather simple when you get the hang of it, but it's definitely oppressive.

Even then, the actual game design can get you lost. For the most part, you are exploring floors, and accomplishing an objective to go onto the next floor. A few times the game requires you to backtrack to previous floors for an interlinked objective. And this is fine, since the map design makes backtracking fairly easy.

The problem is that its easy to get lost in the jargon and non-descript map instructions. When it comes to the more complicated objectives, you might legitimately get lost. Because the game requires you to backtrack to certain locations or certain rooms, but the map doesn't give you location names, so it comes down to memory. You tell me if you remember exactly where 'Beta Sector' was 2 floors down. Or if you even remember which floor was 'engineering', because it isn't always clearly visible.

It also doesn't help that the audio logs have a name and date ascribed to them, but no title. So if you want to listen to the important ones again, you have to dig through them once more. As you explore, you might acquire important information but don't mentally piece it together because their relevance isn't made clear yet. Or the information in the audio log relates to a different floor altogether. It doesn't help when door codes are given, because exactly which doors these are is difficult to ascertain given that they generally don't have distinctive features.

Worst offender is the need for items that you might casually find, but if you didn't know of their necessity you might leave them behind. Given that there are a lot of 'junk' items, no one would fault you for leaving them behind. Only to have you ferverently re-explore a map to acquire them. Key items taking up inventory with actual useless 'junk' items and first aid kits is bizzare.

With all this said, I have to stress that System Shock doesn't leave you in the dark on these matters. The game does outline what is needed either via email or audio logs. But it does tend to get lost in the jargon ('We need an orbital fusion module at Beta Grove'), which doesn't help in parsing what information is relevant and which is just fluff. Because I assume some of this info gets filed in the back of your head, and isn't front and center. I assume the remake (if it comes out) will at least have bullet points in a menu to better compile relevant information.

System Shock can be really clunky and obtuse. It isn't as straight-forward as Doom or Quake. It's a game with complexity in system mechanics, and given that it's early in the shooter realm with all of these features, none of it has been streamlined yet. So the game has aged tremendously on these fronts. But it also keeps some of its relevance because a lot of these mechanics are still used today. I'd easily recommend this, with the caveat that you should look up a short guide to better accustom yourself to the features. The Enhanced Edition brings guides in your steam folder, which is very much appreciated.

I haven't even touched on the primary antagonist (SHODAN) or the setting. But I'll leave it at this: what kept me coming back was the map exploration. If you have a love for Metroid Prime (or any Metroidvania), there's a lot to dig into here. If you can get past the initial awkward UI, you'll find an immersive cyberpunk classic. I can't speak to System Shock 2's quality yet, but it has a lot to live up to right now.

Caco-Oscar
Caco-Oscar

Shodan's shodussy got me acting up

MF--Kent
MF--Kent

This game put the Immersive into the immersive sim. All atmosphere and no fat, except the good variety.
Grab your pipe and smash some cameras, facing off against the fearsome Shodan in this innovative forgotten classic.
It makes me C-U-M

Snoucher
Snoucher

Did you know that the music has many variables that's almost unoticable? I heard it's broken in the Enchanced Edition, so I recommend to try the classic first.

Game's very confusing to newcomers. Thankfully the starting room you can get your bearings, AND MAKE SURE YOU THOROUGHLY READ THAT HELP SCREEN. If you need some better help than that, you better check page 6 in the game manual.

FockinUppity
FockinUppity

I've been playing the classic edition which comes free with this version. When I started this game I was expecting it to be an interesting game full of good ideas that didn't quite come together yet, but nah its kinda just amazing. Personally I love unconventional controls, but I was still really surprised to find that the combat was legitimately really engaging. The level design and environment design are both exceptional, and the game is genuinely very immersive. There are so many good moments and cute touches. I really loved how you could collected mini games and just play them in the bottom right corner, they put a whole ass little psuedo 3D flying mini game in there. You can really tell this game was made by very passionate people, and it makes a lot of sense why it went on to become so inspirational.

Huntor
Huntor

Frame rate stuttering with recent updates

Sylitiks
Sylitiks

This is one of, if not, the greatest game(s) ever made. It's a bit confusing starting out; getting used to controls, figuring out mechanics...but once you get hooked, you can't get unhooked. It would be a disgrace to call yourself a FPS/Psychological horror video game fan if you haven't played this game yet

Business Clown
Business Clown

Horror Operating System: The Game

Halo 2 Limited Collector Edition
Halo 2 Limited…

A constant, unrelenting barage of MIDI beep, beps and boops will drive you insane. 10/10 would lobotomize again

Azov Battalion Freedom Fighter
Azov Battalion…

Latest patch versions stutters pretty bad, feels like aids moving around. Had to downgrade to an older version to make it feel smooth, but that also means AI gets stuck a lot more often. Apparently this has been an issue for almost a year+, and the devs are still "fixing it".

It's a shame because otherwise it's a nice port. Would recommend if you're willing to go through the ball-ache of downgrading and putting up with bugs, or if the devs fix the stuttering.

Globulin Hackeado
Globulin Hackeado

Simplesmente System Shock: Enhanced Edition

crackalackin
crackalackin

This game is now ancient. And yet it is captivating, fun to play (especially with the mouse look in the enhanced edition) and sometimes pretty tense to explore (first time going to level 3?!). With MIDI synths the game also sounds pretty good — I ended up using VirtualMIDISynth and the free Arachnosoft soundfont. System Shock is still an important name even today, as it was an outstanding game that inspired an endless amount of games. And it shows. 10/10, don't let the graphics hold you back, this game is absolute gold.

Kitt190
Kitt190

Wonderful old school game, however there is a huge learning curve as it is VERY rough, an early FPS and wonderful for it.

Pro:
Wonderful story
Relatively granular difficulty selectors
Good voice acting
Many good elements

Cons:
Difficult to play at first
Large learning curve not just for game but for the UI
Bad graphics even for the time

Epoch
Epoch

I want to sex the psycho ai lady

Talha
Talha

Definitely one of the games of all time.

L1NTHALO
L1NTHALO

9/10. Gameplay is really fun after you get over the inital learning curve. The controls suck but not as much as some people say. The graphics are retro and have a certain charm to them. The music takes some getting used to but I really liked it after the first few levels. The main villain Shodan is a threat for the whole game and is one of the best video game villains ever! Definitely recommend for gamers that like retro games or shooters in general but you really need some patience to learn the controls and get used to the game.

the1truepickaxe
the1truepickaxe

Thanks to the fine folks at Nightdive Studios, any barriers created by the obtuse UI and controls are now gone due to the highly flexible ability to configure your controls. The "free cursor" system can be made to be non-intrusive to the gameplay. Think of it as simply accessing the inventory screen. Picking up items, reloading, and all common FPS functions are now able to be mapped to whatever keys you like.

System Shock 1 has some of the strongest gameplay of any old PC game I have played. It offers an open-ended and immersive experience not offered my most other FPS titles. You are given a strong degree of freedom and may explore at your own pace. The graphics, despite being an older game, still look quite nice.

That being said, I do have some criticisms:

1) I personally don't like the music. Using a program such as VirtualMidiSynth helps, but overall I don't think the compositions fit the slow and deliberate pace of the game.
2) The game has some audio balancing issues, and some sounds, such as when you are afflicted with radiation poisoning, are much too loud. There is a mod on ModDB that can help with this though, and Enhanced Edition's native mod support makes fixes like these easy to apply.

If you enjoy System Shock II, or if you enjoy old PC shooters such as DOOM, Quake, or Marathon, then this is a game you cannot pass up.

kavitormorsch
kavitormorsch

It's a really good game and very influential in the immersive sim genre, when you play System Shock and then a more modern immersive sim, you can see the inspirations, but it is very confusing to play at first, just take your time and you'll eventually get used to it.

HolyHotFries
HolyHotFries

I bought this game and played it for the first time two years ago, so there is no nostalgia involved when I say: This game is great (better than System Shock 2 in my opinion - which I also played for the first time after completing this game).

I'm a huge fan of games like Duke Nukem 3D and Doom, so if you also enjoy the graphics and mechanics of retro-shooters, then you will probably like this game too. If you haven't played retro shooters before, I'd recommend playing the previously mentioned games first, as System Shock's graphics and controls are a bit rough (even for a retro game).

While System Shock is EXTREMELY dated, it offers a very unique gameplay experience that managed to hold my attention from beginning to end and left me wanting to come back for another playthrough. (random tangent - I don't think the System Shock remake will capture the essence of what made this game great/unique, so I'd still recommend playing this version of the game instead of holding out for the remake)

To help people with the initial learning curve of this game, here are some beginner tips...

> When you are starting a new game, you need to name your character (might seem obvious, but its confusing af when you click "Start Game" and the game doesn't start)

> Press 2 to toggle fullscreen on/off (this hides a lot of the clunky UI)

> Press E to toggle the mouse cursor/reticle from fixed to freemode (fixed for moving and shooting - freemode for interacting with items and UI)

> You can inspect stuff by single clicking

> You interact with stuff by double clicking (you can quickly pick stuff up with middle-mouse)

> Shift to move faster and caps lock to toggle sprinting

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As I said, I think this game is great, but I am not recommending you buy it on Steam. I wanted to play through this game again (this time on the hardest difficulty), but when I jumped into the game, there was an awful stuttering issue while moving. Apparently, an update was released that messed up the FPS and it still hasn't been fixed.

So whether you are new to the game or are returning for another playthrough, I would recommend buying the game on GOG, and then rolling the game's version back to 1.1.8 (something you can't do on Steam unfortunately).

Since I was returning to the game, I had some old configuration files that caused issues with launching the game (it would give me a black screen upon launching). I fixed it by going to...

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Nightdive Studios

and deleting the System Shock EE folder.

i love lamp
i love lamp

Once you have mouse look and understand the controls this game is honestly better than System Shock 2 gameplay wise (SS2 still has better story and atmosphere).

The amount of weapon variety and the bright and unique colors of the environment and all the cool enemy types, and all the twists of SHODAN trying to kill or trap you, it’s just a roller coaster and the game is just so fun to play (as long as you have mouse look)

Gab
Gab

Once you get the controls down pat, this is one of the best shooters of all time. The atmosphere is unparalleled with the audio logs and the chilling messages from SHODAN, along with great tracks in the OST like Reactor. Shooting, once you learn the controls, is honestly versatile with you being able to aim practically where you need to, and there's a lot of interesting ways to interact with the environment.

I'm amazed more shooters don't take notes from this game. It still slaps to this day.

reiidaya⛧
reiidaya⛧

im too autistic for this games soundscape, it gets me so overstimulated.

Presidential K¡lla
Presidential K¡lla

Stellar in 2022. Give it a chance, you'll fall right into it

fussler
fussler

if you really like hard old games

ScopeDog
ScopeDog

While seemingly clunky and outdated by today's standards, I still regard this as the first true immersive sim. There was pretty much no other game like this one when I first played it back in the mid-90s. The aspect that truly stands the test of time is not the graphics and the controls, but the gameplay elements. Also requires patience for modern gamers to get acclimated but proves a rewarding experience.