With Nightdive Studios’ System Shock remake releasing on May 21 for PS5 and PS4, it’s the perfect opportunity to look back and celebrate the original PC game that changed everything.
The original System Shock was developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Origin Systems on PC in 1994. It was a groundbreaking first-person adventure that is now considered one of the most influential games of all. time. Modern classics such as BioShock, Dishonored, Dead Space, the Deus Ex series and many others have drawn inspiration from its pioneering gameplay.
All gameplay and screenshots shown in this article are from Nightdive’s System Shock remake.
System Shock’s distinctive features have become the hallmark of what many now consider a genre called “immersive simulations”: games with large, non-linear environments that offer players a large degree of freedom in how they overcome challenges. , whether through combat, stealth or otherwise. means.
To mark the occasion of Nightdive’s System Shock remake releasing on PS5 and PS4 next week, we reached out to some of the gaming industry’s most acclaimed developers to highlight the influence of 1994’s System Shock on the first-person shooter genre and trace its impact back to modern times.
“System Shock pioneered the genre we now call “immersive simulations,” which combines gameplay elements from multiple genres to immerse players in a simulation experience where their choices matter and they have the flexibility to interact with the game world and discover it.“
– Stephen KickCEO, Nightdive Studios
In addition to adding layers of complexity to game systems, System Shock left a last ing impact on video game storytelling and storytelling.
“The biggest influence of the original System Shock on BioShock (and of course the sequel we created, System Shock 2) was the feel of a world inhabited by normal people in abnormal situations. We also loved the wide range of tools the game offers the player and, of course, one of the best video game inventions of all time: the audio log. I still remember the thrill of hearing real human voices coming out of my computer recounting their incredible circumstances in a way that seemed so grounded and real. I’ve never made a first person game without them and I’m not sure I ever will.
“– Ken Levinecreative director, Ghost Story Games
System Shock also innovated by using physics to govern the player’s movements and interaction with the world. Players could look up and down, crouch, jump, and lean around corners – hardly revolutionary things by 2024 standards, but revolutionary in 1994.
“The depth of the combat system allowed even the most common encounters to exercise choices and consequences – the physics of mass and speed determined everything from weapon recoil to the arc of thrown objects and effects of strikes on the player character. Even head movements when running and stopping were determined by physics. Due to its emphasis on physics and a systems-based approach to feature implementation rather than scripting, System Shock was one of the first games to deliver on the promise of gameplay emerging. Result: no two players had the same gaming experience.“
– Warren Spector, Creative Director, Otherside Entertainment. and producer, System Shock (1994), Looking Glass Studios, Inc.
Today, 30 years later, Nightdive Studios expands on the classic original game with a completely rebuilt PS5 and PS4 remake that includes updated visuals, new music, and modern controls. The upcoming remake also stars Terri Brosius, the original voice actor for AI mastermind SHODAN, one of the most iconic video game villains of all time.
Discover (or rediscover) a gaming classic when Nightdive Studios’ System Shock remake launches May 21 on PS5 and PS4.
