System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (Switch)

Long before Bioshock hit consoles, the landmark FPS horror game was System Shock 2. Tied to PC’s until now, it was a title that pushed boundaries and tried to merge multiple genres to create a unique, ambitious and unforgettable experience. Its mix of traditional FPS tropes, character-building elements and creepy atmosphere have gone on to influence many first-person games and push the boundaries of what we can expect.

The story is set upon the stricken starship the ‘Von Braun’. It is here, after some early training, that you awaken to find you have little memory and all hell is breaking lose. You are tasked with trying to get the ship back under control from a seemingly rogue AI with the help of Dr Janice Polito who guides you via radio.

The game may be set out as an FPS, but it is really more of an exploration and adventure game. The ship is a maze of fizzing wires, broken machinery and genetic horrors and it’s often best to explore slowly and carefully. Often, events will happen which helps build the environment through visual storytelling and the soundtrack also does an excellent job of getting you in the right mood.

 The environment is an interesting place to venture through but can be a little samey in terms of how it looks, so the included map is very welcome. Although, even in this remake there are no onscreen checkpoints or guidance beacons. This is very much the original game, just looking somewhat sharper. The same can be said about the controls. Originally designed for a mouse and keyboard set up, the controls are difficult to get used to. As System Shock 2 is far more than a basic FPS it requires a host of menus and pop-up options in order to play. During our time with the game this never became a natural process and quickly swapping between objects and weapons often ended in death with us trapped behind a menu we couldn’t get clear of to fight back.

The reason for this though is the game has depth. The mechanics that make the game unique are the way you can build and customise your character. Throughout the game you can pick up cyber modules that allow you to upgrade various skills such as hacking or combat as well as general strength and endurance. These are few and far between though, so you need to really think about the type of character you want to build. We struggled early on in the game as we hadn’t activated the hacking skill which meant security cameras became a major issue to pass. There’s a host of objects and weapons to pick up as well which then need to be fitted into a resident evil style inventory system box.

Combat really isn’t the games strong point though, with enemies just kind of running at you and then waiting to be hit in return. The constant spawning of enemies when you set off security alarms is also annoying as you’ll be attacked every few seconds by the same generic enemies – rather than it just alerting enemies in the area. They always know where you are as well so you can’t go and hide somewhere to wait out an alarm. You do have options for fighting though, there are no shortage of things to hit and shoot enemies with and the plasmids option gives you a host of other inventive things to play around with such as setting them on fire or using telekinesis to move objects.

Another thing to note is that the game is hard and relentless. The difficulty kicks in pretty much straight away, so getting used to the controls and menu system will have you dying multiple times early on. You can save whenever you want though (which we are pretty sure you couldn’t in the original), and there are also regeneration stations set up where you will respawn upon death. Just be warned if you respawn during a security alert enemies will rush straight to you again.

Overall, it is easy to see why System Shock 2 is held in such high regard in terms of its place in video game history. There is an awful lot here that sets it apart and you can see the influence it has had very clearly. But there ae a few sticking points. The controls are a pain and that may well put some people off as when coupled with the difficulty it can cause frustration and block progress. For fans of the genre, and especially those who love Bioshock this is pretty much essential though. If you spend the time needed to get it to click there is little else out there like it, even now.

Overall 8/10