SYSTEM SHOCK
Developer Night Dive Publisher Prime Matter Format PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series Release TBA
Once upon a time, there were two new System Shocks in the works. A belated third entry in the series, led by Warren Spector, seems to have been abandoned, which leaves just this ground-up remake of the first, from Nightdive Studios. Short of Spector himself – who has taken a loosely defined advisory role on the project, and appeared alongside the latest trailer to, essentially, give his blessing – it’s hard to think of a more worthy inheritor. Nightdive was founded as a result of CEO Stephen Kick being unable to get his old System Shock 2 CD-ROM to work on a modern PC, and has already worked on an enhanced rerelease of the original 1993 game. So it’s no surprise that this remake looks just the ticket, with a pleasing ’90s garishness to its visuals, a streamlined but faithful inventory system, and the return of Terri Brosius as the voice of Shodan.