SYSTEM SHOCK (REMAKE) - Game Infinite Demo Impressions Review

Imagine a classic game that was popular from long ago comes back on stage with a kickstarter for a remake. You might be excited to get to play your childhood classic over again with modern visuals and gameplay. We have some recent examples of succeeds with very old games getting a full modern level remake like Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy 7 Remake. These games set the standard for what expectations are when you say "remake". It’s not just about a 4k re-skin or little a little polish here and there. It’s a ground up rebuild that looks like a modern era game. It is the old game in name and story only.

For every Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 2 story...we have System Shock.

The original System Shock is a two decade old game that is in desperate need of a modern remake. It is ripe for a foundation for a modern survival horror FPS. You could have creepy environments that remind one of something like Prey. The potential for environmental detail and atmosphere is endless. There is so much there for a game like System Shock to be remade.

Instead what we have is a super ugly game that looks like a remake meant to come out in 2005. Honestly there are times that if you took away my 4k screen and plugged it into a screen from 20 years ago, I imagine anyone unfamiliar with the two versions might have difficulty pointing out which game is “newer”. This might be more to blame on their choice of retro art style, but the execution is awful.

Now, I can already hear the comments. “But this is a kickstarter!” “This isn’t a big budget game” and I don’t want to hear any of it. Indie studios are capable of making beautiful, amazing looking games. Games like Hellblade or Bright Memory prove that small non-AAA games can look beautiful. This game may have been a smaller budget, but that doesn't mean this is the best possible.

Let's talk about this trailer. There is a pretty significant graphical downgrade from this trailer and the demo. Rewatching this trailer, it looks significantly better than the demo I played. The demo has low rez textures that are hard on the eyes, and the enemy animations look like 2002. This trailer has the enemies acting way more organic and life like than they do in the demo. If you watch the trailer and play the demo you will be disappointed. I know that this game has had a troubled development, with many behind the scenes set backs and delays, and it shows in the product currently available. This game needs a delay out of 2021 and maybe into 2023 to be honest.

Maybe they wanted this game to have an older art style, or recapture some of the old atmosphere of the original. Even with that, the execution is just a travesty. This is a unfinished demo of the final game, so I labled this as an impressions review, but honestly, short of years more of development, a huge budget, and honestly...maybe even a better studio, I fail to see how this can become anything other than a total fail. System Shock needs to be in the hands of a skilled developer with an appropriate budget behind it. I just can't see how it will be worth 45$ at a 2021 release. It is such a shame too, because if a better team and budget were brought in to finish this game, there is potential for an actual good game.