System Shock: Enhanced Edition
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for System Shock: Enhanced Edition
While certain aspects of System Shock don't hold up in today's world, a surprising amount of them do. New players, like myself, can jump right in and have a very enjoyable experience, full of atmosphere and action. The enhanced version is exactly what it claims to be, and makes the game way more playable than the original version. If you've ever been curious about the first title in the System Shock series, now is the best time to jump in!
If you haven't played System Shock before, there's never been a better time. Whether you're into shooters or RPGs; or just want to experience a cyberpunk romp with a good beat, this one is for you.
System Shock Enhanced Edition is clunky, confusing and still absolutely brilliant. Night Dive has done impressive work to make this game playable on modern hardware, but the game still has a steep learning curve. A complicated and chilling experience await those who dare to enter System Shock.
System Shock: Enhanced Edition doesn't stray far from its roots, for better and for worse. Purchasing the Enhanced Edition includes the original version as well, enhancing this fact. If you can look at it through the lens of when it was created and get past the control scheme, you will find a satisfying experience and show younger gamers why System Shock was so influential to the gaming community.
So good to see Night Dive Studios revive this classic and make it purchasable and playable again. If you've ever uttered the words 'cyberpunk' or like games that have the word 'shock' or "Deus Ex" in them, give this one an honest try -- it may not look the part in screenshots, but it's a legend.
Doom is Hollywood, and System Shock is the avant-garde cinema. The first is fast, loud and in-your-face; the second, subtle, and harder to enjoy and get into - and yet, the first remains fun even to this day. Is it due to its much simpler nature? No, it's just that some things just age better than others, and although the Enhanced Edition is a pretty decent update, it cannot erase the prototype's many flaws, especially its chore-like control scheme; a control scheme that can't be altered. To put it simply, this rightfully deserves its spot in the history of the industry, and fans of the original will surely appreciate Night Dive Studios' handling of their beloved classic, but the rest of the community are advised to reconsider spending any money on it.
The Enhanced Edition does a valiant effort of modernizing such an important piece of gaming history but it's modernity that cannibalized all the good parts from this game to better itself. A victim of it's own success, even System Shock 2 feels a bit like it's predecessor done right. System Shock 2 is a great videogame with great ambitions while the original just had those ambitions.
System Shock Enhanced Edition is a reminder that good graphics are temporary while great game design lasts forever.
