The remake of the 1994 sci-fi game System Shock is well underway, though there's still no definite release date yet. Despite the original being considered one of the best techno-horror games of all time, up there with the likes of SOMA and BioShock, it's possible that it slipped through the cracks after the hugely celebrated sequel came out a few years later. Nevertheless, many gamers are eager to check out what Nightdive Studios has to offer with this reimagining of a cult classic, and recently a new trailer was exhibited at Gamescom's Future Games Show.
The trailer kicks off with the unmistakable voice of SHODAN, the omnipotent AI that serves as the antagonist in System Shock and is responsible for influencing other machine-based adversaries such as Portal's GLaDOS. The rest of the footage, like all good trailers, serves to offer up snippets of what the player can expect in the full game, such as a sinister and dark science-fiction remake of the nearly three-decade-old original. Naturally, there's an immense difference in terms of visuals between this upcoming iteration and the retro source material.
No doubt many who remember playing the classic on PC will be excited about this remake, whenever it finally comes out. There's been a bunch of System Shock remake trailers and play footage that have been dropping every so often. Originally scheduled to come out in 2020, things were unfortunately pushed back and so far there's no real indication of when it will come out, but hopefully it will be this year. Maybe an exact date will get announced soon, especially with the new video being shown off.
Anyone who's been keeping even a cursory eye on the industry will know that gaming is currently in something of a boom of bringing old releases into this modern era. With EA due to release the Dead Space remake next year, The Last of Us Part 1 just around the corner, not to mention Resident Evil 2 which came out a few years ago, now seems like a golden era of video game reimaginings.
On top of all this, the System Shock developer may not be done just yet. Not long ago, Nightdive Studios said it would like to remaster Unreal, another classic game from the 90s PC age. Whether this will come to fruition, or whether someone will come along and remake System Shock 2, remains to be seen. But these days, it seems a lot of developers and publishers are keen to scratch that nostalgia itch.
System Shock is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.