System Shock 2
The late 1990s was a golden age for PC gaming in general, but System Shock 2 is the culmination of the sort of innovation and creativity that has helped to move the industry forward. The game is nothing short of a masterpiece, a perfect marriage of genres that is as genuinely entertaining as it is terrifying. Forget cheap jump scares and flashy visuals; System Shock 2 is about isolation and vulnerability. The game’s moody sound effects and clever lighting combine with its futuristic cyberpunk themes to create a palpable tension, the result of which is a truly frightening RPG.
System Shock 2 approaches cyberpunk in unorthodox fashion. Where we normally expect games of the genre to detail a degraded human society vividly through interaction with its characters, System Shock 2’s environment is desolate of life. Indeed, the eerie emptiness of its space station locale describes the fate of the space station in retrospect, building ambiance via grim discoveries of violent death and the reading of the game’s many logs and journals.
In regards to gameplay, System Shock 2 still absolutely holds up today. In fact, the game is the cyberpunk predecessor to the critically acclaimed Bioshock series, with game director Ken Levine being instrumental in the development of both products.
System Shock 2, though, places far more emphasis on RPG aspects; each skill point making a critical difference to player build. Moreover, System Shock 2 is a survival horror game at its core, making contemporary titles of the genre feel like child’s play in comparison. To get the most out of System Shock’s futuristic cyberpunk world, players will have to up their game and steady their nerve.
