We also tested it out today! Nightdive announced today that all major PC platforms will be available for pre-order with a massive remake of the Shock System (extremely affordable $ 45, plus for those who invest in it prior to their summer debut, a Turbo version of the sequel). Also get free). That in itself would be just good news, but even better: at the same time the pre-order option is available, the software’s final demo will also be available everywhere. We’ve had plenty of opportunities before to try out the vision Nightdive builds on the cult game, but the current beta will override previous releases: we can shoot cyberspace, look at completely redesigned weapons, and even hear the sync rerun entirely.
After Nightdive acquired the rights to System Shock 2 in September 2015, it made sense to acquire the first installment as well. Since its legal background was so intertwined, it looked hopeless at first glance – which is why I was glad that in 2015 the process was not only announced (and not in the way we did the enhanced version we tested), but also for the update it’s completely from scratch, armed with The power of the Unity graphics engine. They wanted to raise $ 600,000 on Kickstarter, but this was easily doubled – probably also because everyone was able to experience their vision at the time thanks to a demo put together in Sepia. Then the work went quietly – and it was early December 2017 that we could get the full version ready – but then came the change: Nightdive announced that they had decided to change the Unity graphics environment to Unreal 4, the final launch of the program and was postponed indefinitely. In 2018, supporters could have a slight heart attack: the company’s CEO announced that they had halted development (the project became “pending”) – but it managed to bypass it by leaps and bounds. The business has been going great since then: In May 2020, fans have been waiting for years with an improved demo, and now it’s the endgame.
So System Shock Remake will come out sometime this summer, and a new demo, which reflects the quality of the final release, will be available for everyone to try out sometime tonight.
