System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (Switch 2) Review – Lost in Time

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster Nintendo Switch 2 Review

The System Shock games are considered classics of the narrative-focused first-person adventure genre. With renowned auteur Ken Levine at the helm, the second entry laid the groundwork for his magnum opus, the spiritual successor BioShock. Originally released over 25 years ago, Nightdive Studios aims to preserve the classic with a remaster that brings it in line with modern standards, but has time been kind to the influential horror adventure?

Set on a large, lonely spaceship, you awake with amnesia, having to learn about the environment and your mission. Soon, you discover that things have gone awry as SHODAN, the Station AI, has gained sentience, transforming those aboard into mindless creatures that follow her command. With sights on branching her domination to Earth, you must shut down the AI before it’s too late. Although an engaging plot, it lacks the complexity and nuance seen in Levine’s later work; however, fans of sci-fi horror will find a lot to love.

Silent Screams

The oppressive atmosphere still thrives decades later. Each area beckons you to explore and rewards you with items and lore. While the design is strong, its age is instantly apparent, resulting in locations that feel familiar throughout. Repeated textures, lacking detail, plaster the spaceship, resulting in a tired and uninspiring aesthetic. Although there are snippets of strong visual storytelling, the aging environments often struggle to convey the same sense of dread they once did. The soundtrack, however, still holds up, adding tension to each step as you progress through the dangerous ship.

Playing a 90s FPS in 2026 can be a struggle. There are a number of aspects baked into the experience that feel cumbersome, hindering the moment-to-moment gameplay. Starting with combat, melee strikes lack any real weight, making tense encounters feel flat and lacking impact. This bleeds into the gunplay, which also struggles to capture any real satisfaction or kinetic punch. Hit detection is a real issue, as swings and bullets don’t always register. Even when they do, the animations fail to clearly signal it as they continue to hone in on your location.

Weapon degradation is also an issue. While you can repair these, it takes time to do so and it happens too often to make this an engaging mechanic. Instead, it becomes a hurdle to leap through while wading through the numerous issues. There are also psionic powers and a variety of upgrades to personalise your character. Unfortunately, ammunition for weapons is sparse, meaning you’ll have to conserve bullets.

Too Many Clicks

Possibly the most frustrating aspect of the experience is the menus. Inventory management is painful as you slowly manoeuvre items and have to jump through menus to equip weapons. While this may not be as much of a concern on PC, on console, it can derail the experience. Combined with the great difficulty level and infrequent auto saves, this means you’re constantly in your menu to manually save to not lose progress or navigate the tedious inventory system.

Fans will be pleased to find a collection of artwork and additional materials celebrating the game’s legacy. These extras help elevate the overall package, but they remain fairly limited. While some remasters include extensive bonus content, such as developer interviews and behind-the-scenes features, System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster offers little more than a small selection of expected extras. They’re a welcome inclusion, but not enough to make the package essential, even for longtime fans.

The remaster runs at a stable frame rate, which helps engagement; however, System Shock 2 is in desperate need of a full remake. Although a classic title from the 90s, for a modern audience, there are many issues. Nightdive Studios has successfully preserved the game, but it needs more than that to celebrate what the title did for its genre. While there are upscaled textures, it doesn’t do enough to mask the game’s age or bring its presentation in line with modern expectations. As it stands, this is not a game to showcase the impact of the adventure; instead, it’s a reminder of the evolution of the genre. While returning players can enjoy a more polished return to Von Braun, newcomers may struggle to look past its dated design and appreciate the influence it had.

***A PS5 code was provided for this review***