New System Shock video shows off mutant dismemberment tech

Last month, we spoke to game director Jason Fader about how Nightdive is progressing on its System Shock reboot, and now you can see what some of the concepts they sent us look like in an early version of the game. The latest backer update, embedded above, gives us glimpses of a few decks, including the fully dilapidated medical deck, and some of the mutated ghouls wandering their halls.

Near the end of the video, Fader also shows off the 'shatter tech' Nightdive is developing to smash apart frozen mutants, plus a dismemberment system that sends heads, legs, and arms flying—not necessarily in a realistic way, but certainly in a dramatic one. Lookit that head go.

As we discussed last month, rebooting a classic is a tough job, as someone will always be disappointed that it doesn't match their memory of the original. I expect those who've backed System Shock on Kickstarter or its current pledge service will have a lot to say about this work-in-progress footage. According to Fader, though, they aren't worried about the response.

"We got the idea to be more transparent with our backers as a result of some other studios recently calling out their communities for being toxic, leading to a reluctance to show their games as a work in progress," Fader tells me in an email. "Our community has been incredibly supportive of us, and we wanted to do something special for them to show our appreciation of their dedication and maturity while we develop System Shock. They put their faith in us, and we're putting our faith in them. Seems only fair."

System Shock doesn't have a release date yet, and all the footage comes from a work-in-progress. If the format of this backer update proves popular, Nightdive says it'll try to do more.

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.