Most of the classic creatures, weapons, items, and areas are being kept, but we will be applying modern game design principles and visuals to better introduce System Shock to current gamers that might not have had the chance to appreciate the original game.” All of the characters you know and love will be back, but with more refined dialogue thanks to our lead narrative designer, Chris Avellone. We’re not touching the overall story (other than fixing plot holes). 'We’re making a ‘faithful reboot,’ meaning the spirit of the game is the same, but how we present it may be different. With a new investment in a new engine, Polygon asked Fader whether the team still is calling the game a remaster, or a remake? To this, Fader responded that its a reboot.

I know this seems like a risky move, and in some ways it is, but we’ve mitigated that risk by switching over early.

In the same Kickstarter post, Fader writes the following about the change: Fader told Polygon at the 2017 Game Developer's conference that 'Unity is not a great engine to use if you want to make an FPS on console,' and that after spending a few weeks researching other engines, the team landed on the Unreal 4.'

System shock remake switches to unreal