System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster Review

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster

Developed By: LGS/Irrational Games, NightDive Studios

Published By: NightDive Studios

Date of Release: June 26, 2025

Price: $29.99

In September 1994 Looking Glass Studios shocked the PC gaming world. Famous for their work on Ultima Underworld, they had decided to branch out into the realm of science fiction, and so System Shock was born. Thought it was never commercially successful, its successful blend of sci-fi action and horror gained a massive cult following. In 1999 Looking Glass partnered with Irrational Games to produce a sequel, System Shock 2. It also fared about the same commercially as it's predecessor, quickly becoming a cult classic as well. To this day original copies are still highly sought out by collectors, often fetching exorbitantly high prices. Thankfully in 2013 NightDive re-released it with some much needed bugfixes on Steam and GoG. However we're living in 2025 now, and what a wonderfully shocking future this is, as NightDive has released System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Edition on PC and consoles.

                              
System Shock 2 takes place a full 42 years after the events of the original game. As the events on Citadel Station fade into memory, the Faster-Than Light starship Von Braun is on its maiden voyage, and you are a soldier assigned to the military vessel Rickenbacker to provide security during the Von Braun's shakedown run. Things however do not go as planned, and all hell breaks loose. You awaken with amnesia some time after everything has gone south, and it is up to you to try and find out what fate has befallen the two ships and their crews. The stunningly written narrative is presented to you by audio logs and emails left behind by crew members, and it serves as a chilling reminder of how alone you truly are out here in space.
                              
Gameplay-wise, System Shock 2 is quite similar to its predecessor, seemingly being a first person shooter at first glance. Once you get into the fray however, it quickly becomes apparent that LGS had managed to create a seamless blend of RPG and first-person survival horror. The controls in the original release were honestly clunky as hell, but with the remaster they have been cleaned up nicely, with lots of options to tailor them to your needs, as well as some amazing controller and gyro support.  With the RPG style upgrade system that System Shock 2 uses, you have near infinite possibilities to customize your character as the game progresses, and that adds a lot of replayability to the game.

The graphics in this remaster have been subtly enhanced, staying true to the originals while taking off a lot of the rough edges. The cinematics have been reworked from scratch as well, with no AI bullshit being used to "enhance" things. You can play the game in 4K144hz if your system supports it even, making it feel a lot smoother than the original release. All the little control, audio, graphical and other QOL fixes really come together to make the whole package feel quite modern. They've even managed to include full crossplay CO-OP, which is an impressive feat considering how complicated the gameplay systems are. There's also a full set of achievements to unlock. Having played through the remaster on both the PC and Nintendo Switch 2 I can honestly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the series. Just be prepared for a decent challenge.