There are few games with more loyal followings than System Shock 2, Ken Levine's classic sci-fi horror game. System Shock Infinite, an ambitious fan mod, kicks into gear as the game ends.
System Shock Infinite has been in development for a few years now, with regular updates flowing to ModDB. Just a few days ago, however, the creators published the final version.
Some mild System Shock 2 spoilers for anyone who wants to know how this fits in:
"System Shock 2 never ended: to this day, the amnesiac player is still trapped in Shodan's virtual reality. Taking inspiration from Solaris and Groundhog Day, the story presents you with a stream of hallucinations about your lost comrades. Each has their point of view on the situation and yourself. The ones you trust rebuild your new identity, breaking the stalemate."
There's an extensive 50-minute trailer to go along with the mod's release, as well.
The developers have approached this as a remix of sorts.
"The new events are familiar variations of the vanilla ones. To tackle the issue of difficulty within the previous version, combat in 2.0 can be as advanced as you like. Play on the lower difficulties and you get a FPS with rpg elements. Play on the hardest setting and you get an RPG with shooting mechanics, requiring good knowledge of the skills system."
This reminds me I haven't played System Shock 2, a sin I must finally atone for this year.
You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek.