System Shock 2 Remastered is a return of the classic 25-year-old game, and it’s something that a lot of new players will have access to. However, difficulty in games back in the day worked very differently from current standards.
As such, a lot of players will be interested in learning about how it stands up to the current standards, where the market is dominated by Souls games. Here’s a rundown of the various difficulty settings that you’ll come across in the game.
Every Difficulty setting in System Shock 2 Remastered

There are a total of four difficulty settings in System Shock 2 Remastered. They are Easy, Normal, Hard, and Impossible. Here’s what they mean and a discussion on which one you should be choosing.
- Easy: In the Easy mode, players have higher health and psi ops points. Additionally, the value of items is quite low, and player upgrades can be purchased at a very low price.
- Normal: In Normal mode, players have normal health and psi ops points. The value of items is a little higher than in Easy mode, and the cost of player upgrades is also the same.
- Hard: Hard mode is where the game becomes quite difficult as the health and psi ops points for players are lowered quite a bit. In addition to that, the value of items that you purchase through Nanites (the in-game currency) is also increased with a high cost of upgrades for the players.
- Impossible: This is the hardest mode of the game, where player health and psi ops points are lowered significantly. Additionally, the value of items is at its highest with player upgrades costing massively.
Which difficulty level should you choose?
The Impossible difficulty is only meant for players who are veterans of System Shock 2 and have knowledge of everything in the game. This is because, if you’re playing in Hard or Impossible, you should know how the skill tree works and what you should be picking.
However, if you’re new to the series, Easy and Normal are pretty good choices. Easy will make the game a breeze, though Normal will keep things more balance both in terms of the player and the enemy.
If you are looking to now explore what class to pick in System Shock 2 Remastered, we have a guide ready on this for you. Also check out our review on the remaster of this classic game here.