System Shock 2 - Story Explanation and Analysis 

Have you played System Shock 2? Yes or no? Just want to do a quick poll.

"Last night I had the strangest dream... I was in my room by myself... but all of a sudden, there was not just me there, but a hundred me's... a thousand me's... The strange thing was... it felt good... I felt like I was part of something... like I belong... I hope I have the same dream tonight..."

Max, you made a mistake in your synopsis in SS2: The ship was overtaken by the Many,

Powerful. The decision to stand up in the face of evil, to choose to remain an individual in the face of the collective, is too tough for most to make. But to truly make it and put your money where your mouth is makes you more powerful than whatever you suffer.

System shock 2 is on the shortlist of video games that anyone who considers themselves a fan of the art should be required to play the same way that a literature class requires learning Shakespeare.

You only played SS2 recently? Must have been quite an experience. And Bioshock really pales compared to it.

There are many of you, who like this game. You are all my brothers.

system shock 1 is the pioneer. system shock 2 is a coop very polished version of the game.

Huh, I didn't know it was that rare to have played it, suddenly I feel proud... It's probably my favourite game. 1998/99 was a wonderful time, I swear I played Half-Life, Homeworld and System Shock 2 all in a row, as a kid who was into sci-fi, it was

The System Shock games really struck a cord with me in the mid 2010's (only discovering them through attending a conference at my college where some of the creators presented at). There is something innate about this specific brand of both artificial and body horror that seems so plausible in the future. One can't help but compare Trioptimum to the mega corporations of today, corporate greed to that of Edward Diego, and the new space race happening to that of the advent of SHODAN and the faster than light drive. The audio logs in series are a particular favorite of mine (though some incredibly cheesy by today's standards) SHODAN is forever quotable in all their majesty.

Shodan did not take over the Von Braun and repeat the events from the first game. Nor was she able to continue her experiments once she was reconstructed on the Beta Grove. Shodan is responsible for the distress signal, but the majority of her time spent on the Beta Grove was sleeping.

System shock: The AI turned evil because its ethical protocols were disabled for a corrupt man's personal gain

Great video, as always. But as far as I remember, Shodan didn't have much control over Von Braun, moreover wasn't continuing her experiment. It continued on its own. The Many managed to do everything themselves by evolving for decades on Tau Ceti V (while "the machine mother" was asleep). They took control of Diego and Korechkin, which made it easier for them to eventually take control over most of the crew. Plus, besides the people of Von Braun, they had control over Von Braun itself via hacked Xerxes AI, which didn't have such a good security system (it is even mentioned in one of the audiologs recorded prior to the incident, that someone of the crew members hacked Xerxes and made him sing Elvis Presley for three hours)

You miss a key part of the Many. They had telepathic abilities. It’s why the survey team brings the eggs back from the planet and why some crew members are persuaded to join with the Many. Those who resist are hunted down.

"But how many of you have actually PLAYED System Shock 2?" On a channel like this? I'd wager most of us.

Hi Max. I have been watching your channel for the last year or so, I really enjoy your videos and was super excited for this one. What I wasn't expecting was to have my own weaknesses as a person to be presented to me so thoroughly, that all I could do was break down and weep for myself. I only hope this leads me to be a better version of myself and to fully acknowledge the parts of myself that are detrimental and self destructive. Thank you so much for your insightful channel and the hard work you put into your content.

One more minor mistake (though I love the retrospective and am always glad to see Shock 2 get some attention): SHODAN doesn't actually want to entirely crush individualism. She's only doing that as a means to an end. Because, most importantly, she wants the life she controls to willingly worship her as the goddess she thinks she is - one of the many reasons (no pun intended) she hates her creation for rebelling against her. SHODAN wants a cult of cybernetic life made in her image, The Many want to make all live a single collective organism. Diego's constant ass kicking in System Shock 1 resulted in her rewarding him with more and more power.

Never stop uploading max, your videos really make me appreciate games and mental health!

To this day, the Cyborg Midwives are the only video game enemy I've had nightmares about.

It's an incredible project of a game.