This or the original game?

[LemonRush7777]

If I planned on playing System Shock only once and had to choose between this version or the original version, which one would you recommend?

I should add I have no qualms with playing old games since I played them a lot back in the day. Just the other day I was playing Bioforge, so I'm used to old game quirks.

[(N☆G) Jackal ★JJ★]

This.
The original is very dated and this is very faithful to the original.

If you played Half Life and Black Mesa, its about the same type of ordeal. Very faithful.

[LemonRush7777]

Originally posted by (N☆G) Jackal ★JJ★:

This.
The original is very dated and this is very faithful to the original.

If you played Half Life and Black Mesa, its about the same type of ordeal. Very faithful.

Thanks. This seems to be the consensus seeing other comments on the other version's forum. I'll stick to this one, then.

[ZylonBane]

The original System Shock was designed and developed by the legendary game developers who also gave us Ultima Underworld, Thief 1 and 2, and System Shock 2.

The remake is by... some guys who port old DOS games to modern systems. It's basically the silly fan-fiction version of System Shock, full of questionable changes and additions.

It's of course technically more advanced, but that's about the only way it's any better.

[FMRTKL]

Definitely remake, it's rly well made and extremely fun and the original is way too dated to be even remotely enjoyable for me personally.

[LemonRush7777]

Originally posted by ZylonBane:

The original System Shock was designed and developed by the legendary game developers who also gave us Ultima Underworld, Thief 1 and 2, and System Shock 2.

The remake is by... some guys who port old DOS games to modern systems. It's basically the silly fan-fiction version of System Shock, full of questionable changes and additions.

It's of course technically more advanced, but that's about the only way it's any better.

I am a very big fan of Through the Looking Glass. Thief is a masterpiece, but there is always space to improve things as long as you respect the source material.

For example, I'd love to play Ultima Underworlds 1 & 2 again, but the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ UI by today's standards prevents me from doing so. I hope someone will port it or make an alternate engine for it at some point.

I can handle jank and quirkyness just fine, but if the experience is effectively improved, I don't mind playing the remake.

[Nilichi]

DOS original in DOSbox preserving the MIDI OST.
Enhanced Edition crashes with Sensaround active, and imo sounds worse than the DOS build due to no built in support for Adlib emulation. Mouselook also arguably throws off the pacing of the encounters.
The remake mutilates several key moments in the game. The two that chiefly come to mind for me are the lighting on Level 3 being too bright, and a certain trap on Level 7 not actually killing the player anymore. Additionally player death has been almost completely defanged in the Remake. Now when you die you can actually resurrect on a lower floor if you unlocked a regen bay previously. Although now bossfights force a gameover, so it's a slight tradeoff. Cyberspace is somehow even worse in the remake in my opinion. Yes the controls are easier to grasp, but there is now less to do and it takes longer to get through. Providing a more monotonous experience.
The remake also effectively removes Sensaround, in addition to introducing a mildly frivolous recycling mechanic inspired by Prey (2017). Inventory management is also tighter in the remake, since weapons and ammunition take up more space now. I suspect that this is a key contributor to Nightdive extending the Mission 3 timer from 7 hours to 10 hours. I do enjoy the Remake, and think its an excellent way to experience system shock after playing the original version. However I cannot recommend the remake in its current state, as the recent update has introduced yet more bugs that Nightdive may or may not ever address.
If you're willing to fuss with MIDI soundfonts, play the enhanced edition if you "need" mouselook. Though note that NightDive has done nothing to address the SSEE crashes and stuttering for years now.
Otherwise learn to handle the DOS keybinds, or create a more comfortable binding in the DOSbox keybinding menu. Note that if you do play System Shock in DOS, you'll probably have to reduce CPU cycles with CTRL+F11 before the final bout with Shodan. Otherwise a frame dependent logic bug can render the encounter impossible to win.

[Seamus]

Or, people could just play the substantially more convenient remake.

[Nilichi]

Originally posted by Seamus:

Or, people could just play the substantially more convenient remake.

If someone is only going to play one version of a historically significant game, it should be the most feature complete and least buggy version of said title. The System Shock Remake takes enough creative liberties to be only an interpretation of System Shock, rather than a definitive edition. Having played both extensively, I can tell you that the remake almost changes the genre of the game. Lots of small tweaks like how there's now fall damage and how velocity are handled have also resulted in some reduction of possible game routing.
Again, it's a fine game. But OP's question was about playing only ONE of them, and I insist that the remake does not accurately reproduce the nuances of the original.

[Seamus]

You're also insisting that people learn to use dosbox.

Having played the original, the source port, enhanced edition AND the remake? Frankly, I'll take not having to deal with dosbox, the potential for cpu cycles to break the shodan encounter and having to spend entirely too much time on keybinds.

Again:

Originally posted by Seamus:

Or, people could just play the substantially more convenient remake.

[FMRTKL]

The thing is, OP and other ppl with the same question usually don't want to play system shock because it's system shock, they want to system shock because it could be a fun game, and (by my standards atleast) the remake is significantly more fun to play than original.

[rane]

Originally posted by LemonRush7777:

]
For example, I'd love to play Ultima Underworlds 1 & 2 again, but the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ UI by today's standards prevents me from doing so. I hope someone will port it or make an alternate engine for it at some point.

I'm sorry but just a few days ago I was watching a zoomer (ok, someone in late 20s, whatever gen that is) play UU for the first time and enjoy the ♥♥♥♥ out of it, repeatedly insisting it's actually pretty good and not nearly as awkward to play as he thought it would be. Man normally plays Yakuza and weeb games, and the oldest game he played up to that point was Deus Ex.

[rane]

Originally posted by Seamus:

Or, people could just play the substantially more convenient remake.

Or, people could just play the just as, if not more given the persistent technical issues and still awful Shodan fight, convenient kex engine port.

[FMRTKL]

Originally posted by rane:

Originally posted by Seamus:

Or, people could just play the substantially more convenient remake.

Or, people could just play the just as, if not more given the persistent technical issues and still awful Shodan fight, convenient kex engine port.

I did a full playthrough post patch and I did notice the bugs, but they almost never negatively impacted my experience. Game is 100% playable and enjoyable in it's current state, tho I would still love to see a hotfix in the near future. Garbage shodan fight barely detracts from the other 99.9% of the game which is extremely good. Considering how dated the original is I would still deem the remake to be more convenient and accessible than og by any metric.

[Seamus]

rane isn't happy about literally anything?

Must be a day ending in y.

[nixos]

Originally posted by Seamus:

Must be a day ending in y.

i agree.