Another showdown with SHODAN looms in System Shock 2 Remastered. Does the sci-fi RPG find its spark in a new generation? Find out in our review.
The old saying, perhaps one of the oldest, goes, ”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. There was probably a caveman telling another one this after the latter one tried improving his smashing rock by sticking some pinecones. Still painful, but it works just as well as a rock, and those pinecones just don’t fit the aesthetic.
But the truth nobody told that caveman is that you don’t have to fix something to make it better. You can simply maintain it with care and attention. In the world of video game remasters and remakes, the old saying is often unheeded, and the truth is ignored.
Not Nightdive Studios though. There’s a studio that can take an old game, preserve the original experience, and make subtle adjustments while applying some polish. How do you tune up a rock? That’s not important; What is important is that Nightdive doesn’t put pinecones on a rock. It buys the finest rock polish and gently smooths sections to make the bludgeoning that much easier to handle for today’s modern caveman, whilst tricking the original caveman into believing that not much has changed.
Time and again, this has proved true, so it’s no surprise that System Shock 2 Remastered, released for the game’s 25th anniversary, continues that trend. It’s always nice to be reminded of a classic. But it’s a bit nicer when the sands of time are dusted off.
Well, it’s not so much a reminder as being effectively new to me. I’ve played System Shock in both its old and new forms, but System Shock 2 had largely eluded me for quite some time. So this was potentially the best way to experience it in 2025.
Be warned, though. Don’t expect a System Shock-style remake here. This is essentially the original System Shock 2, with some quality-of-life upgrades similar to those found in System Shock Enhanced Edition. Temper those expectations, but know you’re still getting a game that was revered with good reason.
Being the forefathers of Bioshock, you’d be forgiven for thinking the System Shock games were just fancy FPS titles. Still, no, they are definitely in the RPG and immersive sim pools, and this is especially true with System Shock 2. I suppose when an RPG is mainly confined to a single location, it’s not going to fit the conventional idea many have for one. Yet that’s where the immersive sim, a close cousin of the RPG genre, fits beautifully. Arkane’s superb Prey from 2017 is probably a lot closer to System Shock 2 than Bioshock is.
This quickly made System Shock 2 Remastered comfortable to me. I adore sci-fi horror, and games like Prey, Dead Space, and indeed System Shock have scratched that itch over the years. Having endured the demented AI SHODAN in the first game, we now find ourselves back in her orbit, albeit under quite different circumstances.
System Shock 2 Remastered Review: Cyber Bullying
The story of System Shock 2 Remastered takes place in the year 2114, where the player character awakens from cryosleep aboard the first ever FTL ship Von Braun, facing a multitude of problems. Bad enough to be suffering from memory loss, but finding the ship is infested with mutant monstrosities and deadly robots is not adding up to a great day. Of course, SHODAN is back too, still out for the annihilation of humankind. The mission is multifold, then. Regain your memories, survive the constant threat of death, and take out SHODAN before she turns humanity into.
You’ll need a particular set of skills for that, and before you even get into this godforsaken situation, you’ll earn a few.
In a training/tutorial opener, you get to pick from one of three military branches, each with its own skillset. The O.S.A. is a second-playthrough kind of class dealing in Psi attacks and weaponry. The Marines deal in combat-first tactics and are best suited to newcomers. Finally, the Navy Sailor provides you with a technical background that’s good for sneaking and hacking.
Crucially, these classes don’t limit what you can use in terms of abilities or weapons, but getting access to them will be easier or more difficult depending on the choice you make.
These do offer quite different playstyles, and each showcases just how flexible the world of System Shock 2 is. You’ll need to be flexible yourself, because SHODAN will test you at every turn, and the game will often leave you feeling stumped. Ingenuity is key, as survival is the overriding mission in System Shock 2 Remastered.
So, for the Navy Sailor class, for example, you can concentrate on conserving the already limited ammo or frail weapons you might have by going around enemies or by hacking into security systems. To enhance these choices, you collect Cybernetic Modules that upgrade your character’s cybernetic implants. So for the Navy Sailor, investing in the tech tree makes the most sense, but it’s not a rigid system, so you can tweak things to a more personal level.
Even by modern standards, the depth and flexibility of systems in System Shock 2 Remastered are staggering, and a big part of why it’s quite RPG-heavy. At times, it almost seems overwhelming to consider just how many options you have, and thus it’s also relatively easy to miss that first go around.
Like all great games in the immersive sim mould, the joy of discovery encourages another playthrough. For instance, the entire Psi ability aspect of the game is something I didn’t explore extensively, but what I learned about it made me eager to try it again next time. I always felt a little jealous of the choices I could have made if I were in a different class and had made other choices, to the point where it almost made me want to start over. Everything seems to be tailored to providing exactly the playstyle you want, be that aggressive or passive in nature.
Anyway, these systems would be worth very little without the proper structure to put them in. In the Von Braun and the Rickenbacker, a docked secondary ship, you have what is effectively a sprawling, persistent environment. While some areas are naturally inaccessible at first, the freedom of movement aboard both is pretty high.
One of the most enjoyable things for me was gradually learning the layout as I headed back and forth through familiar areas. What could feel like repetitive padding is quite rewarding, as different areas of the ships become available as you progress, often returning to places you might not have visited for a couple of hours. There are numerous horrors to face on the Von Braun, but the balance of risk and reward makes exploration very much worth it.
Conveniently, you can store items you don’t need anywhere and retrieve them later, as they remain in the world. That’s especially handy when you have a mini-crisis about keeping hold of an item you can’t use just yet, when your inventory space might be better served for short-term problems.
What this remaster does is give System Shock 2 the tools to show just how solid the underlying systems are even now. There are fewer caveats usually associated with returning to a game from 1999. The game Irrational and Looking Glass created back then remains intact, and its greatness has been digitally enhanced by Nightdive’s expertise in restoring and revitalizing older games.
Put simply, System Shock 2 Remastered still rocks.
Score: 9/10 – Fantastic
Developers: Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studios, Irrational Games
Publisher: Nightdive Studios
Reviewed on: PC
System Shock 2 Remastered review code provided by the publisher.
System Shock 2 Remastered is out now on PC via Steam, GOG, and the Humble Bundle Store. System Shock 2 Remastered will also be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in early July.
