It's amazing that a game like System Shock and its sequel can live in relatively obscurity, especially given how much of the industry the two games have influenced. Were it not for Irrational Games' sci-fi RPGs, BioShock would never have existed - and yet, relatively few gamers have ever gone toe-to-toe with SHODAN.
To be fair, the games have aged quite a bit since their initial release - the original System Shock in particular isn't nearly as playable as fans might remember. They're not bad games, they're just products of their time...and gaming has changed quite a bit since System Shock was a household name. While deep first-person RPGs still exist in the form of Fallout 4, the genre's mostly given way to games like Halo and Call of Duty.
Well, if you've grown tired of the same old shooters year-in and year-out, we've got good news for you: a new teaser site from Otherside Entertainment has gone live, and the studio isn't exactly being subtle about what they're working on...
As far as 'teases' go, it's less of a subtle hint at what Otherside is working on and more of a blatant confirmation - either way, fans of the franchise should definitely be excited.
The only thing that may seem a little off is the developer behind the project: Night Dive Studios, the current owners of the System Shock rights, haven't made any hint at continuing the franchise outside of HD remasters and remakes. On top of that, Otherside Entertainment is an extremely young company - according to their website, System Shock 3 will be their first major project. Rebooting any series comes with major risks, and handing such a huge project off to such a young developer could end up being more than they can handle.
On the other hand, a System Shock revival would fall in line with what Night Dive Studios have been up to lately: the team has been giving the series plenty of love lately, with two separate HD remasters for the original System Shock and its sequel in the works.
If the teaser turns out to be legitimate - which it most likely is - there's a good chance that gamers can finally return to the world of System Shock. Who knows - maybe SHODAN will be a bit less psychotic and violent after all these years?
