System Shock didn't have the benefit of decades worth of RPG shooter design to draw from, but System Shock Remastered does, and it's looking very nice in its first gameplay footage. Developer Night Dive Studios says it will keep System Shock Remastered true to the original experience, "while updating the user interface and graphics to use a modern day engine". That's why the environments all still look like big boxes, but now they're boxes with detailed sci-fi panels on the walls and creepy lighting.
Now try comparing that to the original. You have to respect the legacy of "immersive sim" games that System Shock inspired, from Deus Ex to BioShock to Dishonored, but cripes it's ugly. The thing is about two-thirds chunky interface, with waveform status indicators and weapon diagrams blocking your view of the environmental storytelling (that's the bit where people draw graffiti in blood):
[original System Shock image embed]
After BioShock Infinite went ziplining down the action shooter path, it's exciting to see System Shock return as both predecessor and successor to BioShock's slower pace and creeping dread. System Shock Remastered is planned for release on Xbox One and PC, pending an upcoming Kickstarter campaign - and it's not to be confused with System Shock 3, which is also a real thing that seemed implausible a year ago.
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