DATA WORM

The SYSTEM SHOCK 2 REMASTER makes a classic more approachable

- Ted Litchfield

There’s a hubris to reviewing a unanimous classic decades after the fact - this mostly applies to guys on YouTube not named Mandalore. Yeah buddy, sure, you've got something to say about Earthbound that nobody cottoned on to before. Thank God, then, that I’m not charged with reviewing the 1999 classic System Shock 2. I’m only reviewing System Shock 2’s long-awaited remaster from the specialists at Nightdive.

This is the way you should play System Shock 2 now. You could approximate the remaster with a constellation of mods and quality of life fixes, but Nightdive’s System Shock 2 removes the headache, offering a well-curated suite of changes and upgrades. One thing you can’t get in any mod is the remaster’s redone cutscenes. Even with the NewDark engine upgrade and high-res panels, we've been condemned to a blurry 4:3 for the past 25 years. The new intro and finale movies - which Nightdive said did not use AI-uprezzing for their recreation - are crisp and gorgeous.