heywood on 14/7/2023 at 20:55
Quote Posted by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
I never played SS1 for more than an hour or so, and what surprised me is how uncomplicated it is once you can play it with an interface that isn't like trying to order drive-through with morse code"
I agree with this. I bounced off of SS1 multiple times in the 90s. Each time, I'd get a level or two or three into it and my patience would run out because I was tired of controlling my character and lost my sense of immersion. I think it wasn't until System Shock Portable incorporated the mouse look mod that actually I finished and enjoyed the game. When I finally did, it felt long and complicated and challenging to manage at times. Not that immersive, but definitely satisfying, like finishing a large puzzle more than finishing a good book.
The remake is intuitive to play for any experienced PC gamer and far more immersive than the original. The levels are also a shitload easier to remember and navigate despite being similar in scale to the original and similarly maze-like. But the side effect is that the remake feels shallower. The old controls were a layer of complexity that required attention and a lot of time to master. I don't miss them. But those who are hoping to be challenged by this game might. The remake is super easy on default (2) difficulty everywhere but cyberspace.
henke on 29/7/2023 at 17:33
Matt McMuscles has this series which looks into games with particularly arduous or interesting development histories, and wouldntyaknowit, his latest is on System Shock!
[video=youtube;jirOqREuA5s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jirOqREuA5s[/video]
Even tho I'd been following the history of this game there were still one or two new tidbits in there I didn't know. Good vid!
heywood on 4/8/2023 at 18:54
I remember the criticism when the concept art started to look less and less like Citadel station, and losing interest as it became obvious they were after a big publisher with the intent of making a modern big budget SS-inspired game. By the time that fell through and Kick put the project on hold, I was sure the remake was dead.
I just played it for a couple more hours last night and I'm still impressed by how close the end result ended up to what I had imagined when I first saw the Kickstarter demo. Hats off to Night Dive for turning it around and delivering.
