Review Sepix 3/5 · Feb 27, 2026
Finally Playing a Legend — And Stopping Just Before the End
When the game was released around the turn of the millennium, I didn’t have a PC capable of running it. Both installments were constantly praised in the gaming magazines I read as the greatest games ever made. I tried the first one years later but gave up halfway through because it felt too cumbersome.
Now, thanks to the Switch remaster, …
When the game was released around the turn of the millennium, I didn’t have a PC capable of running it. Both installments were constantly praised in the gaming magazines I read as the greatest games ever made. I tried the first one years later but gave up halfway through because it felt too cumbersome.
Now, thanks to the Switch remaster, I was finally able to play the second game—25 years after declaring it the best game of all time without ever having played it. The remaster itself doesn’t fundamentally change much; it’s mostly a visual upgrade rather than a full remake. Still, having it available on a modern platform made it accessible for me.
What’s striking is how influential it remains. Games like Prey or BioShock clearly build on what System Shock 2 established in 1999. The atmosphere, the space station setting, and the overall sci-fi worldbuilding are still impressive. For its time, it must have been extraordinary.
At the same time, playing it today can be exhausting. The constant enemy respawns add little value and mainly make progression feel tedious. I also spent a lot of time disoriented, unsure where to go next. Even with modern guidance systems, it can feel overwhelming—especially toward the end, when resources run low and the game shifts from tense to draining. I stopped about an hour before the finale and will likely watch the ending instead of finishing it myself.
Overall, I’m glad I finally experienced it. It’s an important and ambitious game, and its legacy is undeniable. But it is very much a product of its time. While its atmosphere and ideas remain strong, parts of its design feel dated today, which makes it harder to fully appreciate than I had expected.