Finished this today on PS4. An absolute masterpiece. I finished it back in the day, 25 years ago, and this was my second (and a half) run. My score: 11/10.
It's a masterpiece, not despite its inventory systems but because of it. I find myself deeply uncomfortable at comments across the internet claiming the inherent systems somehow detract from the game. They ARE the game! Micro-managing the inventory, on the controller, was flawless. Night Dive did a fabulous job converting it from the PC mouse pointer original.
This game also starkly reminds me why I hate so many modern games. With SS2, there was no hand holding. No waypoints. No yellow paint showing you what to click on. The story had to be pieced together by you through logs. There multiple complex systems overlapping and integrating. The Psi powers. Upgrading weapons. Repairing them. Maintaining them. Different types of ammo for each weapon! Different types of firing mode for each weapon! I'm reminded of how the Deus Ex sequel dumbed itself down by having a single ammo pool for every weapon.
I would load the game and spend half an hour just tinkering with the complex systems. Planning strategies. It was glorious! I regret choosing the Normal difficulty because it ended up way too easy. Next time I'm playing on Hard.
It's 2025 and game design has gotten dumber, simpler, less about creatively playing your way out of situations, and more about following scripts. SS2 is an incredible sandbox of ideas and methods to multiple problems.
SS2 reminds me of all we have lost in the last 25 years.
No one is going to read this comment so long after the review was posted. But if you are somehow late to the party, and put off by the 7/10 number, and criticisms of the "antiquated" design, please pause for a moment and consider that you might still love this. No despite the criticisms, but because of the criticisms.
The things people dislike about SS2 in the year 2025 are the things I love about it.
Also, this line from the review: "We had to turn the music off entirely in our playthrough; combined with the genuinely spooky barks of enemies, made us feel like we were having an extended, terminal anxiety attack."
You criticise a horror game because the music makes you anxious? And then list this in the cons section?
I don't want to appear confrontational, but if you're uncomfortable with a horror game giving you anxiety, then maybe this was not the right game for you to review? I just feel it might not be your style of game. It's like giving a football game to someone who doesn't like sports, etc.
It was one of the main reasons I bought a PS2. Mister Mosquito, Ico, Sky Odyssey, and the promise of MGS2:SOL down the line encouraged me to get a job and invest in a Messiah modded unit to play imports.
I told my friends and at school and they just didn't get it (apart from MGS2). "Why would you even want to play those other games?!"
Because they're fresh. If I invest in new hardware, I want an experience I could not get anywhere else. What was popular back then, Tekken? Yeah, I had fighting games on the SNES already, but nothing allowed me to BE a mosquito.
Comments 2
Re: Mini Review: System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (PS5) - Cult Classic Returns, Cybernetically Enhanced
Finished this today on PS4. An absolute masterpiece. I finished it back in the day, 25 years ago, and this was my second (and a half) run. My score: 11/10.
It's a masterpiece, not despite its inventory systems but because of it. I find myself deeply uncomfortable at comments across the internet claiming the inherent systems somehow detract from the game. They ARE the game! Micro-managing the inventory, on the controller, was flawless. Night Dive did a fabulous job converting it from the PC mouse pointer original.
This game also starkly reminds me why I hate so many modern games. With SS2, there was no hand holding. No waypoints. No yellow paint showing you what to click on. The story had to be pieced together by you through logs. There multiple complex systems overlapping and integrating. The Psi powers. Upgrading weapons. Repairing them. Maintaining them. Different types of ammo for each weapon! Different types of firing mode for each weapon! I'm reminded of how the Deus Ex sequel dumbed itself down by having a single ammo pool for every weapon.
I would load the game and spend half an hour just tinkering with the complex systems. Planning strategies. It was glorious! I regret choosing the Normal difficulty because it ended up way too easy. Next time I'm playing on Hard.
It's 2025 and game design has gotten dumber, simpler, less about creatively playing your way out of situations, and more about following scripts. SS2 is an incredible sandbox of ideas and methods to multiple problems.
SS2 reminds me of all we have lost in the last 25 years.
No one is going to read this comment so long after the review was posted. But if you are somehow late to the party, and put off by the 7/10 number, and criticisms of the "antiquated" design, please pause for a moment and consider that you might still love this. No despite the criticisms, but because of the criticisms.
The things people dislike about SS2 in the year 2025 are the things I love about it.
Also, this line from the review:
"We had to turn the music off entirely in our playthrough; combined with the genuinely spooky barks of enemies, made us feel like we were having an extended, terminal anxiety attack."
You criticise a horror game because the music makes you anxious? And then list this in the cons section?
I don't want to appear confrontational, but if you're uncomfortable with a horror game giving you anxiety, then maybe this was not the right game for you to review? I just feel it might not be your style of game. It's like giving a football game to someone who doesn't like sports, etc.
Re: Mini Review: Mister Mosquito (PS2) - Sony Classic Sucks in All the Right Ways
I loved this game so much.
It was one of the main reasons I bought a PS2. Mister Mosquito, Ico, Sky Odyssey, and the promise of MGS2:SOL down the line encouraged me to get a job and invest in a Messiah modded unit to play imports.
I told my friends and at school and they just didn't get it (apart from MGS2). "Why would you even want to play those other games?!"
Because they're fresh. If I invest in new hardware, I want an experience I could not get anywhere else. What was popular back then, Tekken? Yeah, I had fighting games on the SNES already, but nothing allowed me to BE a mosquito.
I miss those wild and creative days.