In exchange for removing the ethical restraints of Citadel Station’s AI, SHODAN, the hacker is promised the neural implants complete with the surgery to install them. Shortly after, the drone hones in on our protagonist: a nameless hacker who, after attempting to access restricted neural implants from TriOptimum’s server, is captured by a security team and brought before a TriOptimum executive, Edward Diego. Three subjects indicative of a plot that’s about to take a nasty turn. A news announcer speaks of mega corporation TriOptimum and its earth-orbiting Citadel Station entering its tenth year of operations, specializing in robotics, genetics and pharmacological research. A drone camera sweeps through the retro-futuristic cityscape of New Atlanta, with architecture plucked straight out of Blade Runner. Like the original, the game takes place in the year 2072. Nightdive Studios’ 2023 remake of System Shock reminds us just how far games have come in an almost 30-year gap between the two releases - and where our expectations for games now lie. As we reevaluate our usage of modern technology, perhaps it's time to revisit some of the games that put us on the path to progress. Now, as it creeps steadily into every corner of our lives, we’re using it to drive cars, write emails, and create audio deep-fakes of Barack Obama playing Five Nights at Freddy’s with Donald Trump.

The original System Shock came out during a time when artificial intelligence was simply a sci-fi trope in a blockbuster movie.

System shock remake pictures