System Shock 2
Survive the infection aboard the Von Braun in this 1999 action role-playing and survival horror classic.
System Shock 2 is a 1999 action role-playing and survival horror video game designed by Ken Levine and co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. Originally intended to be a standalone title, its story was changed during production into a sequel to the 1994 game System Shock. The alterations were made when Electronic Arts—who owned the System Shock franchise rights—signed on as publisher. The game takes place on board a starship in a cyberpunk depiction of 2114.
The player assumes the role of a soldier trying to stem the outbreak of a genetic infection that has devastated the ship. Like System Shock, gameplay consists of first-person combat and exploration. It incorporates role-playing elements, in which the player can develop skills and traits, such as hacking and psionic abilities. System Shock 2 was originally released in August 1999 for Microsoft Windows.
The game received critical acclaim but failed to meet commercial sales expectations. Many critics later determined that the game was highly influential in subsequent game design, particularly on first-person shooters, and considered it far ahead of its time. It has been included in several greatest games of all time lists. In 2007, Irrational Games released a spiritual successor to the System Shock series, titled BioShock, to critical acclaim and strong sales.
System Shock 2 had been in intellectual property limbo following the closure of Looking Glass Studios. Nightdive Studios were able to secure the rights to the game and the System Shock franchise in 2013 to release an updated version of System Shock 2 for modern operating systems, including for OS X and Linux, and released a 25th anniversary remaster of the game in 2025. OtherSide Entertainment announced in 2015 that they had acquired the rights from Nightdive Studios to produce a sequel, System Shock 3, but as of 2020 the rights have since been transferred to Tencent.
Quick Facts
- Character
- Soldier (player character, designated G65434-2)
- Affiliation
- UNN Marine (United Nations Navy)
Lore & Background
In 2072, after the Citadel Station's demise in System Shock, TriOptimum's attempts to cover up the incident were exposed to the media, and the corporation was brought up on charges from multiple individuals and companies for the ensuing scandal. The virus developed there killed the station's population; the ruthless malevolent AI supercomputer named SHODAN controlled the Citadel Station in hopes of enslaving and destroying humanity. After a large number of trials, the company went bankrupt, and its operations were shut down.
The United Nations Nominate (UNN), a successor to the UN, was established to combat the hostility and corruption of power-hungry corporations, including TriOptimum. Artificial intelligence was reduced to the most rudimentary of tasks to prevent the creation of another SHODAN-like malevolent AI. In 2100, 28 years later, the company's failed stocks and assets were bought by a Russian oligarch named Anatoly Korenchkin, a former black market operator who sought to make money legitimately.
He re-licensed and restored the company to its former status in the following decade. Along with producing healthcare and consumer products, Korenchkin signed weapons contracts with various military organizations, private and political-owned. The new UNN was virtually powerless, with Korenchkin exercising control over them. In January 2114, 42 years after the Citadel events and 14 years into rebuilding TriOptimum, the company created an experimental FTL starship, the Von Braun, which is on its maiden voyage.
The ship is followed by a UNN space vessel, the Rickenbacker, controlled by Captain William Bedford Diego, son of the Citadel Station's infamous commander, Edward Diego, and public hero of the Battle of the Boston Harbor during the Eastern States Police Action. Because the Rickenbacker does not have an FTL system, the two ships are attached for the trip. However, Korenchkin was egotistical enough to make himself the captain of the Von Braun despite being inexperienced.
Five months into the journey, the ships respond to a distress signal from the planet Tau Ceti V, outside the Solar System.
Reader's Guide
As in its predecessor, System Shock, gameplay in System Shock 2 is an amalgamation of the action role-playing game and survival horror genres. The developers achieved this gameplay design by rendering the experience as a standard first-person shooter and adding a character customization and development system, which are considered signature role-playing elements. The player uses melee and projectile weapons to defeat enemies, while the role-playing system allows the development of useful abilities.
Navigation is presented from a first-person view and complemented with a heads-up display that shows character and weapon information, a map, and a drag and drop inventory. The backstory is explained progressively through the player's acquisition of audio logs and encounters with ghostly apparitions. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses a career in a branch of the Unified National Nominate, a fictional military organization. Each branch of service gives the player a set of starting bonuses composed of certain skills, though may thereafter freely develop as the player chooses.
The Marine begins with bonuses to weaponry, the Navy officer is skilled in repairing and hacking, and the OSA agent gets a starting set of psionic powers. The player can upgrade their skills by using 'cyber-modules' given as rewards for completing objectives such as searching the ship and spend them at devices called 'cyber-upgrade units' to obtain enhanced skills. Operating system (O/S) units allow one-time character upgrades to be made (e.g. permanent health enhancement).
An in-game currency called 'nanites' may be spent on items at vending machines, including ammunition supplies and health packs. 'Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Machines' can be activated and reconstitute the player for 10 nanites if they die inside the area in which the machine resides. Otherwise, the game ends and progress must be resumed from a save point. The player can hack devices, such as keypads to open alternate areas and vending machines to reduce prices.
When a hack is attempted, a minigame begins that features a grid of green nodes; the player must connect three in a straight row to succeed. Optionally, electronic lock picks, called 'ICE-picks', can be found that will automatically hack a machine, regardless of its difficulty.
More in Development & Legacy
Elsewhere in System Shock
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced