Each area is large, sometimes labyrinthian and freely explorable. Gameplay in System Shock revolves around exploring the Citadel Station and working tirelessly to stop S.H.O.D.A.N., the station’s AI that the player themselves helped to unshackle in the opening moments. multiple, vastly different approaches for puzzle/problem-solving and even audio logs can all trace their origins to System Shock in some way.

Large, interconnected maps, heavy emphasis on environmental storytelling. Many features of what would come to be called “emergent gameplay” would be pioneered here by developer Looking Glass Studios. Released in 1994, System Shock is one of the first examples of a true immersive sim game. While its sequel, System Shock 2, is the more-celebrated game, System Shock could be considered a landmark game in its own right. If something does indeed pop-out, perhaps we could put it to use and make treasure hunting on the likes of Steam that much easier. So how about we set it against Returnal, another game that may or may not make it to cult-status in the coming years, and see what they share. One such game, System Shock, actually has a remake coming out at the end of the month.

Why those games, though? Is their rediscovery a matter of mere chance or are they always the crème of the forgotten crop?īoth of these seem unlikely, so perhaps there are certain qualities that cult classics in-the-making all share. There are those that, for one reason or another, however, eventually make comebacks as cult classics. They just get buried under the ongoing deluge of releases and wind up largely forgotten by the wider gaming populace. Unfortunate though it is, there are many good games out there that just never get the kind of attention they deserve.

System shock how many interface