I've only played 1/4 of the original so can't compare much between the two. So when remaking a game there is always a tough decision on how true to the original a game should be but IMO some things should be changed:
INVENTORY
Managing inventory in games is ridiculous. Does anyone consider this fun? Either make inventory infinite or change the game to not make this an issue. There is no reason to spend cumulative hours managing inventory in games. The cargo elevator is useless. You may as well just dump everything you need in a common location traversible to other locations like an elevator and call it a day.
There should be an option to enable to identify items that are able to be picked up and/or quest items.
GRAPHICS
I have no issue with the graphics. We've long since gone past the point where graphics are an issue in games. There's an article on pcgames about morrowind complaining about the graphics with this quote and all I could do was roll my eyes "You know that feeling you get when you look back at an old game and realize how much your brain filled in the low-poly gaps"..... It's freaking Morrowind for crying out loud.
INPUT
This is the massive difference in the remake vs the original. Anyone who has never played the original but has played Daggerfall or Ultima Underworld, etc. No one should have any complaints here since there is no reason for the original to be as obtuse as it was.
MUSIC
I know there have been complaints but I can't remember the original music. All I can say is that there was nothing memorable about the remake music which may or may not be the same as the original. All I can remember is the elevator music which you'll hear a lot and the end credits
ENEMY DIFFICULTY
So the enemy difficulty is pretty disappointing.
If you see an enemy they will immediately come straight for you, if you shoot at them they'll keep coming. Just blast away until they go down. You could say this makes sense for mutated\modified creatures but it really isn't, it's just laziness. If they are caught on something on the environment then hide behind something and keep shooting. This may be true to the original but it's a "remake' so....
SHODAN is pretty useless,spouts some bullshit but doesn't actually do anything. If this is a remake then more should have been done to have SHODAN mess with you as was originally planned for the game.
LEVEL DESIGN
Not sure there is much point complaining here since there is a in-game reason for the obtuse design and once you traverse the levels for the most part you remember the main layout of them although remembering the location of vending machines, mod stations and recycle stations may be an issue. Some easier way to find these on the map may be nice....you are a hacker after all. For those who are older and/or who can only play this game in 15-30m spurts periodically every couple of days....good luck 😉
The levels tend to have a tendency to loop back on themselves no matter the route you take similar to other games but the only time I sort of felt like I was taking a path not intended to be taken was at the end of the game where I didn't have a key for a door so I used my jump boots to get where I need to go. More of that please.
DRM
I played the GOG version so unsure of other stores but no DRM here. Didn't even need GOG galaxy
PERFORMANCE
Played this mostly on my living room PC with a 7950x and a 3080 10GB. No performance issues at roughly 120fps at 3840x2160 using DLSS quality mode, my projector only does 60fps though.
No crashes
GAMEPLAY
The difficulty settings at the beginning of the game should be explained better. I can't remember what I used but they were pretty high and I played the game fine but I'm sure someone will have issues. I don't think you can change difficulty later.
There is always the debate about objective tracking, compass in the interface etc etc. In this game you're supposed to be confused BUT you are a hacker so IMO it seems pretty ridiculous that you wouldn't keep track of your objectives on your interface and guess what there could be an option to turn it on or off! Trying to remember what you were doing and what you need to be doing is difficult. All I did was continue to push forward and hope for the best and hope I kept a logic probe and remembered on what and where I needed to use it on (flight deck). When I ran out of inventory I would spend tons of time figuring out how not to drop items since I was sure if I dropped something I wouldn't be able to find it again and I didn't want to have to hunt down a elevator or other common location so I could drop something.
Cyberspace seems lame to me. I guess if your concept of hacking is "Hackers" or "Jurassic Park" or similar then it makes sense but the "hacking" you do to open doors and platforms make more sense (Start from the end first) than the Cyberspace levels. If the reasoning is to break up the game for those tired of playing an FPS then mabye they shouldn't be playing an FPS..... I'm not one for gimmicks for instance the flying sections in the POS Jade Empire game annoyed me.
As with most games the ending is pretty lame, I won't spoil it but pretty much anyone can come up with a better ending and from what I've heard the original ending is kind of corny but fits better than this one. There is no excuse for bad endings in games we all know why this happens but it needs to stop.
P.S. When destroying the A.I. nodes make sure you note the static number on the display and the name of the level that each is in so you don't have to backtrack. Not all rooms with A.I. nodes have a number which is confusing so don't spend forever looking for it if you don't see it when you destroy the nodes, there is no trick.
