In short, it’s the plot and environment of System Shock, with the freeform exploration and horrific atmosphere of System Shock 2, all built in the Unreal Engine for a modern audience. According to Kuperman, System Shock ’22 is a mix of new and old design, where it’s been made deliberately difficult, but its UI and other mechanics are up to 2022’s standards. I had the chance to play Nightdive’s System Shock for about half an hour on the Penny Arcade Expo’s show floor, with Nightdive’s Larry Kuperman as my tour guide. It updates System Shock into the same kind of open-ended first-person action/exploration game that System Shock 2 popularized, while also bringing Nightdive back to the series that started its run. If you go back and play SS ’94 side by side with SS2, it’s difficult to believe they have any connection at all.Īs a result, Nightdive’s forthcoming remake of System Shock has a feel like it’s bringing a lot of things full circle. 1994’s System Shock is basically a science-fiction dungeon crawler, made by some of the same people who created Ultima Underworld II, while System Shock 2 is one of the foundation stones for Western action games. Now, Nightdive is best-known for its rereleases of great dead ’90s games, like Powerslave, SiN, and Forsaken.Īt the same time, System Shock is one of the great all-time examples of a game that’s been completely overshadowed by its sequel. Its CEO, Stephen Kick, co-founded the company in 2013 because he couldn’t find a legal way to play System Shock 2.

Nightdive Studios effectively exists because of the System Shock games.

System shock in game portraits