This is, of course, completely changed for the remake, which behaves far closer to how System Shock 2 worked – more traditional FPS controls for most of the game and mouse interactions for the inventory/Multi-Function Display (MFD). So it controlled closer to how one would expect from a dungeon crawler RPG, like recent Legend of Grimrock or Vaporum, rather than Doom. Being a follow up to Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, the original title retained a lot of similar basic concepts and controls.

Now where do I even start… I’ll try to describe both the original game and the way it’s been tweaked in this remake, as it is indeed very close to the source material. Which is exactly what we got now for better and for worse. It switched engines, then it was decided to expand the scope of the project and then, when it became obvious that the plan wasn’t working, switched back to being a faithful remake of the original game. Originally announced as a Kickstarter project around the same time as the Enhanced Edition came out, this project spent a long time in development and had several major changes in its focus. That was the only way to experience the original game until now when the very same Nightdive released the remake of the game. Especially in the Enhanced Edition version released 8 years ago by Nightdive Studios, known for their faithful and high quality restorations of older games. Even in this rougher form the game was great and if one can get through layers of outdated UI, controls and quality of life aspects it’s exciting even today.

A concept that is nowadays usually defined as an “immersive sim”. In some regards it was “Ultima Underworld in space”, and alongside its two Ultima Underworld predecessors, was an early example of a game designed around simulated systems that heavily leaned into emergent gameplay. The original System Shock from 1994 was an incredibly important game.

System shock enhanced music mod