These days, there is a very clear and distinct line between a remaster and a remake. Sometimes the distinction is as simple as the difference in visuals: while a remaster focuses specifically on updating the graphics, a remake seeks to entirely re-design the art direction from the ground up.
That said, I would argue that the difference comes down entirely to the desired audience. While a remake seeks to recreate a game for audiences both new and old, a remaster is a way for fans of the original game to play the version they always imagined on modern platforms. This can work to both its benefit and detriment. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is a great example of this dichotomy.
The game seeks to remaster one of the first entries in the underrated immersive sim genre. While System Shock, which released last year, was a full remake of the 1994 cult classic, this release primarily focuses on updating the visuals and controls. On the one hand, the minor updates to System Shock 2 are fantastic and make it worthwhile, especially if you’re a fan of the series. However, if you are looking to try the System Shock series for the first time, you may find yourself quickly frustrated by some aspects of the game’s age.
“Are You Afraid?”
System Shock 2 is a hard game to explain. In many ways, it serves as a prototype for the immersive simulator genre. An immersive sim seeks to empower the player by giving them a wide variety of different ways to interact with the environment and the level design, all so no one playthrough is exactly the same. The most notable entries in the genre are Deus Ex and Dishonored, but the System Shock franchise in particular helped to lay the foundation for the concept. While the original System Shock established the formula, System Shock 2 is where it really begins to shine.
You start as a soldier, conscripted to the United National Nominate (UNN). The first thirty minutes of playtime are dedicated to you learning the basics and understanding the different classes you can choose from. This includes Marine, which prioritizes simple shooting, Navy, which highlights hacking and repairing items, and OSA, which focuses on psychic attacks. While you are asked to commit to one, you can freely experiment with different skill points as the game continues.
One of my favorite elements of the opening is that, after you commit to a class, you are thrust into a fast-forward of the first few months of the soldier’s service. You get to pick from a variety of different assignments, each of which can enhance your stats before starting the main story. It’s a great way to naturally integrate the game’s RPG mechanics with the narrative.
Of course, as is tradition, everything quickly goes wrong. Within a few months of the soldier being assigned to the UNN Rickenbacker, which is escorting an FTL starship called the Von Braun, both ships are overtaken by an alien communion known as The Many. The Many overtake and corrupt a majority of the ship’s inhabitants and kill the ones who are left.
You are one of the last survivors, as you wake up aboard the ship with a few months of amnesia and a woman named Dr. Janice Polito instructing you to meet her on the 4th floor so you can both coordinate a way to stop The Many once and for all. The story has a lot of moving pieces, but it’s actually really compelling from beginning to end. What helps is the sense of worldbuilding, strengthened by some of the many audio logs you can encounter throughout the Rickenbacker, as well as just the natural level design.
The storytelling of System Shock 2 is a bit more “in your face” compared to its predecessor. There are a lot more cutscenes and dialogue that you encounter outside of the audio logs, which is in stark contrast to how much of the first game had a more subtle approach to its narrative. While I liked both approaches, System Shock 2 does a great job of balancing the tone despite the more frequent interactions with other characters.
For instance, Polito is a character who will be talking to the protagonist for the majority of the game’s first quarter. While the protagonist is completely silent and won’t respond to Polito’s remarks, you get a sense of how aggressive she is as the game continues. It’s incredible foreshadowing for one of, arguably, gaming’s most profound plot twists: the revelation that Janice Polito has been dead all along, and that instead, you’ve been hearing the voice of SHODAN, the main antagonist of the first System Shock and true creator of The Many.
I must admit, the remastered version of System Shock 2 did a fantastic job of capturing just how profound this twist is. Seeing the dead body of Polito as SHODAN’s voice fills the room, and she asks you, “Are you afraid? What is it you fear? The end of your trivial existence?” All the while, the walls begin to dissolve, and her face appears in the walls, taunting you. Despite knowing of this twist before playing the game for the first time, I was still blown away at how SHODAN’s reveal was brought to life.
This isn’t to discount the audio logs, as I’d argue that this is another element that System Shock 2 improves compared to its predecessor. While most of them are used to provide hints for progression and puzzle solving, quite a few are meant to emphasize the threats of SHODAN and The Many. The latter logs in particular are especially haunting, as you overhear the sounds of the corrupted inhabitants of the Rickenbacker slowly losing themselves to the alien’s control.
The remaster does a fantastic job of emphasizing the qualities that make the original game so great. As mentioned previously, the new visuals are fantastic. A lot of the character animations and designs have been completely revamped. There are also brand-new textures, achievements, and way better controller support.
One of my favorite new additions is the inclusion of the Vault, which features a lot of the original concept art for the original game. It even features entire design documents that provide an overview of the premise and design goals of System Shock 2. As a whole, I think this is a great remaster that will really appeal to fans of the original game.
As a whole, I’d say that System Shock 2 is a far better game than its predecessor. I would also say that the new elements featured in the remaster are handled very well. If that is all that matters to you, especially as someone who played the original release of System Shock 2, then this is undoubtedly the definitive way to play this game. However, if you’re a newcomer to the series trying to find an entry point, then the gameplay will very quickly prove to be intimidating, especially since it has largely remained untouched in the 25th Anniversary Remaster.
Aged Like Milk and Wine At the Same Time
System Shock 2‘s gameplay is a lot to digest. In the first few minutes, you’re hit with the flashbang that is the game’s menu, which is a hodgepodge of different sub-sections all combined. There’s a section for your stats, inventory, audio logs, map, hints, and other menus. I imagine it feels way more natural on PC, but on PlayStation 5, it felt very unintuitive. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of the many difficulty curves in System Shock 2‘s gameplay design.
Let’s start with the positives. It’s worth noting that I played the game as a Navy officer. I never usually play as characters who are good with tech, so in this case, I wanted to do something different. There were a lot of benefits to this style, namely that I had the opportunity to experiment with hacking into cameras, turrets, and chests in order to acquire more items. Even if the hacking minigame is a bit repetitive and rudimentary, I’m at least glad it doesn’t overstay its welcome compared to its contemporaries.
While the moment-to-moment combat for System Shock 2 also takes a little bit of time to get used to, I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable. The 25th Anniversary Remaster‘s new controls allow for more seamless inputs between sliding in and out of cover, shooting cameras, and finding the best way to approach the different types of enemies. There is a great feeling of satisfaction to every action you take.
For instance, each enemy has its own weakness that can be exploited. The first few weapons you’ll end up using are a wrench, a pistol, and a shotgun. Both the pistol and shotgun have multiple bullet types that are useful for certain situations. The anti-personnel bullets can be used against the more fleshy zombie-like creatures, whereas the armor-piercing rounds are more useful against robots. Figuring out the right weapon to use in the right situation is part of the fun, especially as some weapons and skills will likely never be used throughout your entire session.
At the end of the day, though, that is part of the appeal of the immersive sim genre. When you find yourself sticking to a very specific playstyle, either because of personal enjoyment or for role-playing purposes, you are effectively crafting your own character simply by playing the game. Your own version of the protagonist may be completely different from someone else’s. As a result, you may completely miss things on your first run that the other person encountered in theirs. That constant experimentation and approach is where the appeal of System Shock lies. Yet, I don’t think the overall design of the game holds up as well as it should.
The first time I noticed this dated design in action was with the aforementioned navy path. One of the first skills I built up was hacking, which I believed would be instrumental in navigating past the cameras and turrets throughout the Rickenbacker. I felt confident in my choice to focus on a “hacker” play style, up until the moment I realized that my weapons had a durability meter. This applies to the pistol, shotgun, and other firearms: sometimes, out of nowhere, they can just break spontaneously.
The solution, then, was to invest in the repair statistic. As the name implies, this would allow me to repair my weapons quickly without further problems. At least, that’s what I thought. I quickly realized that not only was the repair minigame the same as the hacking minigame, but repairing is a temporary solution. I swear, I needed to repair my guns every five minutes at one point. The novelty quickly became tiresome, especially when I was in the middle of a gunfight, my gun broke, and I very quickly had to run away as my enemy chased me, knew exactly where to find me, and shot me while I was still fumbling through the repair minigame.
The worst part of System Shock 2‘s design is how it over-emphasizes backtracking. Unlike most modern immersive sims, where there’s more than one way to progress, this game is shockingly linear in its progression. To put it simply, let’s say a game like Dishonored blocks your progress with a locked door. You can look around for the code, or you can try and find a way around the door.
In System Shock 2, that same situation will require you to find the code in a far-away area of the map, which you can’t access until you get a specific keycard. You can’t get the keycard, however, until you find a dead body that holds that keycard. Unfortunately, that dead body is locked behind a door with its own code and in order to uncover that keycode, you have to find the audio log that contains the dead body’s last message. Then, and only then, can you get the code to get the dead body, which has the keycard to the room that has the code.
Yes, System Shock 2 was released before all the modern immersive sims that feature a far more nuanced take on the genre. The issue is accessibility. A remaster should be at least somewhat accessible to new audiences, but at the end of the day, I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t intimately familiar with the System Shock franchise picking this game up and clicking with the mechanics.
If you’re like me and playing this after the System Shock remake, which features far more quality-of-life changes to gameplay and the game’s overall structure, you’ll likely be quickly frustrated with everything this game has to offer. As a result, this is a hard game to recommend unless you’re part of a very, very specific niche.
“What Is It You Fear?”
I’ve always had a soft spot for the immersive sim genre. Some of my favorite memories in the gaming medium come from playing Dishonored, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, and the original Deus Ex. Even games that take inspiration from the genre, such as Bioshock, have always had a special place in my heart. It’s hard not to want to go back and see where the genre truly began. Sometimes, though, even with a remaster, revisiting the past isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is a hard game to truly recommend. On the one hand, if you’re someone who is extremely eager to try out one of the first immersive sims, or if you’re extremely familiar with the System Shock franchise, then this is a must-buy. The remaster is a great treat for fans and features some incredible quality-of-life visual updates without detracting from what makes the original game special. I would argue that this is the definitive way to play System Shock 2.
At the same time, it’s not exactly accessible to newcomers. The backtracking is absolutely obnoxious, and there is no way to mitigate it through non-linear design (unless you look up a walkthrough). Additionally, certain classes are more punishing than others, and you may need to think a little more practically about your choices, rather than picking a playstyle that you think you will enjoy.
A question arises here: how accessible should a remaster be for new audiences? Is it meant to hook new players or simply to create the ideal experience for older players looking for a replay of a cult classic? At the end of the day, regardless of the answer, the fact is that the 25th Anniversary Remaster was preceded by the System Shock remake.
If you beat the remake and enjoyed it, and you immediately move on to the remastered sequel, you’ll quickly find yourself in a game that is unfortunately a bit too dated. Maybe one day I’ll click with System Shock 2‘s design, but for now, all I can do is hope that it will get the remake treatment at some point as well.
Disclaimer: Nightdive Studios provided a PlayStation 5 copy of System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster for review purposes.
