Luckily it was fixable by copying the .dll from here:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/999220/discussions/0/4227150602817608623

Only took a few seconds, and then it ran perfectly. I just flag this up for anyone else on Win7.

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I'm enjoying it so far, though it is a bit exposition (memory) heavy at the start - most things I click on or look at seem to trigger a pause in the game while a memory and picture shows (unlike System Shock 2 you can't move on without cancelling them). Plus it begins with caves, which are never the most exciting environment (Scanner Sombre did them well; and caves are still better than sewer levels). But I have moved on to a new environment and enjoying exploring it, and some of the skies and lighting and distant desert views are amazing.