Otherside Entertainment has released a first short trailer for System Shock 3. What is shown looks fantastic. But the question arises: Will the developers, like in part 2, include a multiplayer mode again?
What was shown? The trailer is very short, but gives a pretty good impression of the atmosphere in the game. Dark corridors of a space station can be seen, where gruesome mutants are eating corpses.
Also visible are crazy killer robots trying to break out of some kind of laboratory, and there are some experiments being conducted on humans. Of course, a performance by the insane AI Shodan, who already mimicked the antagonist in System Shock 1 and 2, must not be missing.
Unity Engine RPG with or without multiplayer?
Which engine is used? The System Shock 3 announced about 3 years ago uses the Unity engine, which is why the trailer was also presented during the Unity keynote at the Game Developers Conference.
The video demonstrates very well what the engine is capable of. Graphically, the game looks impressive.
What is known about the title so far? Not much is known about the story. An artwork shows the destroyed Citadel Station, the space station where part 1 of the series took place. Perhaps we will return there to finally defeat Shodan.
The game appears to be played again from the first-person perspective. How strong the role-playing elements are is still unclear. System Shock 1 was more of an action-adventure, while part 2 had significantly more RPG features.
What about multiplayer? System Shock 1 is a pure single-player game. Part 2, however, allows you to experience it with up to three other players in co-op.
This co-op experience greatly enhances the title. As nowadays a lot of emphasis is placed on multiplayer elements, it is quite conceivable that System Shock 3 could again receive a co-op mode. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
Skepticism prevails at the moment
Why are players still skeptical? System Shock 3 is being developed by Otherside Entertainment. The studio did not exactly cover itself in glory after the launch of Action RPG Underworld Ascendant flopped in November 2018.
Not only was the game plagued by technical issues and bugs at launch, it did not meet what players expected from a spiritual successor to the role-playing classic Ultima Underworld. Instead of an RPG, an action-adventure with parkour elements, little story, and only rudimentary interaction with the few NPCs appeared.
Therefore, some are now fearing that a similar thing could happen with System Shock 3.
However, fans need not worry much: System Shock 3 is being developed by Otherside in Austin, Texas. It is a completely different team led by cult designer Warren Spector (System Shock, Deus Ex). He knows System Shock very well, as he was responsible for the first part.
Moreover, Starbreeze is no longer the publisher of the game. The developers of the failed online shooter Overkill’s The Walking Dead have returned the distribution rights.
When is System Shock 3 coming out? A release date has not yet been announced. The trailer is from a pre-alpha version, so a release before 2020 is not to be expected.
