System Shock

This article is about the 1994 video game. For the remake, see System Shock (2023 video game). For other uses, see System Shock (disambiguation).

System Shock
Developer(s)LookingGlass Technologies[a]
Publisher(s)Origin Systems[b]
Director(s)Doug Church
Producer(s)Warren Spector
Programmer(s)Doug Church
Composer(s)
SeriesSystem Shock
EngineKex Engine (Enhanced Edition; 2018 update)
Platform(s)
Release
September 23, 1994
  • MS-DOS
    • NA: September 23, 1994
    • EU: November 1994
    Mac OS
    • NA: December 23, 1994
    Windows
    • WW: September 22, 2015
Genre(s)Action-adventure[2]
Mode(s)Single-player

System Shock is a 1994 first-person action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game is set aboard a space station in a cyberpunk vision of the year 2072. Assuming the role of a nameless security hacker, the player attempts to hinder the plans of a malevolent artificial intelligence called SHODAN.

System Shock's 3D engine, physics simulation and complex gameplay have been cited as both innovative and influential. The developers sought to build on the emergent gameplay and immersive environments of their previous games, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, by streamlining their mechanics into a more "integrated whole"; it is considered one of the defining examples of an immersive sim.

Critics praised System Shock and hailed it as a major breakthrough in its genre. It was later placed on multiple hall of fame lists. The game was a moderate commercial success, with sales exceeding 170,000 copies, but Looking Glass ultimately lost money on the project. A sequel, System Shock 2, was released by Looking Glass Studios and offshoot developer Irrational Games in 1999. The 2000 game Deus Ex (produced and directed by Spector), the 2007 game BioShock, and the 2017 game Prey are spiritual successors to the two games. A remake by Nightdive Studios was released on 30 May 2023.


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  1. ^ Nico Jaenecke (March 10, 2015). "Diese Spiele haben das Gaming revolutioniert". Die Welt (in German). p. 16. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "System Shock - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2017.