System Shock Review | TheXboxHub

It’s a topic that’s been explored in the entertainment world for decades. What happens when machines break down? Well, AI is back on the agenda as technology continues to advance at an often alarming rate. However, many uplifting stories have already been told, and one of the best was System Shock, released in 1994.

You took on the role of an anonymous hacker, who was caught snooping by the shady tech company TriOptimum. After being questioned, one of the leaders makes a deal with you to compromise an AI’s ethical boundaries in exchange for the last implant. As you can probably imagine, this doesn’t end well.

The construct in question is SHODAN, who runs Citadel Station and, thanks to your meddling, has transformed the crew into cyborgs and reprogrammed the station’s various robot types to shoot on sight. Your mission is simple. Stop SHODAN from decimating Earth with a weapon of unimaginable power and converting anyone unlucky enough to survive.

Well, it’s been thirty years and System Shock is back, and it must be said that the game is truly magnificent. It’s been given a total graphical overhaul by developers Nightdive Studios, and despite the increase in detail, you can still easily identify it as a game with roots dating back to the ’90s. is an excellent balance.

What really completes the experience is the use of sound, as this is a shooter steeped in the world of survival horror. Citadel Station is strange and filled with danger at every turn. You’ll hear cyborgs announcing they’re looking for you and reporting to your “mother”, mutants growling and hissing, and cameras beeping and following you.

You’ll be ambushed regularly, and I’ve been the victim of jump scares too many times. SHODAN herself will warn and threaten you in truly frightening ways, often with glitches and stutters as she becomes increasingly manic and unstable. We have the feeling that she is still there, to be looked at like the unwanted companion from hell. The original voice actress (Terri Brosius) is back and is as disturbing as ever.

Your journey in System Shock will see you explore each level of Citadel Station, exploring the different sectors such as engineering, medicine and even the executive suites. Your goal is to reach SHODAN on the bridge, but this is far from simple. Each level is a maze and, therefore, you can approach it in different ways. Your map will prove essential and will expand as you explore, marking key resources and facilities. This also means that you can stick to the main objectives if you wish, or head out to explore the station and discover its secrets. Audio logs and stick data flesh out the story and sometimes provide key information as well. It’s a brilliant mechanic and used by many games that followed the original System Shock.

Overall, there is a tradeoff as (keeping with the survival horror theme) ammo, health, and other items are scarce, making things difficult. I played on regular difficulty and it was more than enough for me. I died a lot, which wasn’t too much of a problem once I stopped the cyborg conversion units. There is one on each floor, and you should think of them as a safety net that keeps you from losing important progress when you die. There’s no usual autosave feature, but you can save from the pause menu as long as you’re not engaged in combat.

To be honest, I sometimes wished for a more linear environment, as there are no hands or waypoints to rely on in System Shock. This means that exploration is almost inevitable, as you try to figure out exactly what to do and where to go. Things can also get tricky when you’re low on ammo. Relying on melee weapons is pointless, especially as you move up the station levels. As a result, things can go very wrong, very quickly. The difficulty is brutal and unforgiving at times, meaning that despite how attractive your inventory is, you’re always vulnerable and never safe.

My advice? Stock up on cash. System Shock’s environments are filled with all sorts of elements, and many of them seem pointless. However, if you vaporize them and turn them into waste, you can go to a recycling center and convert them into Tri-credits. These can then be used in the station’s various vending machines to purchase all sorts of essential items and even upgrade your weapons. Upgrading your gear is also crucial to surviving higher levels. Unfortunately, you are limited when it comes to inventory space, so it’s important to use the cargo hold elevator that you can access from each floor.

There is a satisfying range of weapons that you can find aboard Citadel Station. Carrying a mix of different types will make it easier to take out enemies, such as throwing an EMP grenade to cripple hostile robots or using the impressive upturned laser rapier to take down mutants where they stand. Using less effective weapons will make life much more difficult and will most likely end badly for you. As a result, System Shock requires a certain level of strategic and logical thinking from the player.

This is also the case with hacking, which is a lot of fun. Through various nodes dotted around Citadel Station, you enter cyberspace in a mini-game of sorts to combat firewall defenses and force locked doors open. This is a little reminiscent Starfox as you fly through cyberspace fending off polygonal enemies while navigating a shimmering maze in search of the heart of the system.

Your gray matter will also be put to use thanks to certain doors requiring you to repair their circuitry. There are different configurations, but the main objective is to redirect electricity through a network-based maze to open the adjacent door. These puzzles increase in overall difficulty, but again, I found them sufficiently difficult compared to the default setting.

I guess my biggest problem with System Shock is the control setup. The classic element mapping from the days of PC FPS gaming remains, now traversed by the D-Pad. This shows where System Shock is coming from. Don’t get me wrong, it all works well but it still feels cumbersome. I had to remap the inputs multiple times because I was repeatedly pressing the wrong button as they didn’t naturally translate into the actions I wanted in the game. This usually meant I threw a grenade or used a block power while trying to change my gun settings or reload.

The player interface is also very busy, with a lot of information available to you. Despite the changes, it’s still not as simple as it could be and it took me a little while to figure out how to get directly to what I needed.

Overall, I really had fun with System Shock, and there are plenty of hours of gameplay here, especially if you’re the curious type. SHODAN remains as captivating as it is terrifying, and the storytelling is top-notch. Maybe it’s unfair to say, but because this remake is a superficial highlight, the drawbacks of a thirty-year-old game haven’t been entirely overcome. Still, if this is your first time exploring Citadel Station, you’re in for a treat as System Shock remains an immersive, tense and thrilling experience all these years later.

System Shock fully deserves its second coming, and so many of the groundbreaking elements of the original game still impress today. However, beyond the aesthetic upgrade, the same foundations remain, warts and all.