The System Shock reboot's new cyberspace is like a trippy Descent
Case in point.
Nightdive Studios has released a video showcasing the System Shock reboot's reimagined cyberspace. In the game, the player jacks in and transitions into a kind of Descent-style 3D space that involves moving through areas and shooting objects. It's all pretty trippy - and very cyberpunk.
The video below, from YouTuber Blain Newport, shows off how cyberspace looks in the original System Shock. Of course it looks dated now, but back in the mid-90s, I thought System Shock's cyberspace an impressive virtual realisation of the cyberspace featured in William Gibson's genre-defining novel Neuromancer.
Meanwhile, Nightdive has unveiled System Shock's dismemberment system, which lets you do something you couldn't do in the original: see inside your enemies.
More specifically, you can blow your enemies to pieces, letting you see for the first time the inside of a System Shock mutant, or behind the metallic panels of a Shock Bot.
The video below showcases this dismemberment system. Enemies have multiple breakpoints and damage zones for you to mess about with - and mess is the word. It's all pretty gory.
Which is in keeping with the original System Shock, LookingGlass' hugely influential 1994 cyberpunk adventure. For the uninitiated, System Shock is an immersive first-person game set upon a spaceship packed with horrible enemies and ruled by a rogue AI called Shodan. It's a non-linear adventure, with immersive sim gameplay that influenced everything from Half-Life to Metal Gear Solid. No System Shock, no BioShock.
The development team at Nightdive is made up of some of the original System Shock team, so there are high hopes this reboot / reimagining will recapture some of that 90s PC gaming magic.