Sci-fi and space horror Horror shooters and action horror

System Shock

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Fight through a space station run by a mad AI, her mutants and her cyborgs.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (90% of 13,113 reviews); Metacritic 78 (PC, 77 critics); 4.4 of 5 on GOG (425 reviews); 4.38 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (1,577 ratings)
Length: about 13 hours for the main story
Players: 1
Made by: Nightdive Studios
Released: 2023

No. 15 of the spider horror games · No. 17 of the mutant horror games · No. 13 of the robot horror games · No. 12 of the artificial intelligence horror games · No. 6 of the space station horror games

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (PS4, PS5)Xbox Nintendo eShop (Switch)Nintendo eShop (Switch 2)Official site GOG

What frightens SHODAN, an AI gone mad, has taken over Citadel Station and turned its crew into cyborgs and mutants. You explore the station's dark decks while she watches and speaks to you, and her creations come at you from every room.
Content: gore, violence, strong language, spider-like enemies.

System Shock is Nightdive Studios' full remake of the 1994 original. A rogue AI called SHODAN has taken over Citadel Station and turned its crew into cyborgs and mutants, and you explore and fight your way through the station to stop her before she turns on Earth. The fear is a station gone wrong, with a voice in the walls that knows where you are.

About System Shock

System Shock is the remake of the 1994 first-person game of the same name, rebuilt by Nightdive Studios with new HD visuals, updated controls, a new interface and new sound and music. It came out for Windows on Steam on 30 May 2023, on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on 21 May 2024, and on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 in December 2025. SHODAN is voiced by the actor from the original.

The setting is Citadel Station, a corporate space station in the year 2072. You play a hacker who wakes from a long recovery after surgery to find that SHODAN, the AI that runs the station, has taken control. Its robots are hostile, and its crew has been mutated, turned into cyborgs or killed. She plans to do the same to Earth, and you have to stop her.

The game is an immersive sim as much as a shooter. The story unfolds at your own pace as you explore the station's decks, read what the crew left behind, search bodies for weapons, ammunition and medipatches, and improve your skills. You jack into cyberspace, a glowing maze where you fly and shoot, to hack the system and open other routes. Fights are close and violent, with pipes and other melee weapons, pistols, rifles and energy weapons against mutated crew, cyborgs and security robots.

What frightens is the station itself and the voice that runs it. SHODAN talks to you over the station's systems, sends her creations after you and watches through her cameras, so the halls never feel safe. The art pairs retro-future design with grimy, blood-stained rooms; the developers warn of gore and of spider-like enemies.

It is more action than slow survival horror: you are armed and grow stronger as you go. It suits players who like Prey, BioShock or DOOM 3, first-person sci-fi horror where you fight back, and anyone who wants to meet SHODAN before System Shock 2.

How to play System Shock

Buy the game on Steam, GOG, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch and start a new game.
Explore Citadel Station's decks; the story unfolds at your own pace as you go.
Pick up weapons, ammunition and items from rooms and bodies, and manage what you carry in your inventory.
Fight the mutants, cyborgs and robots SHODAN sends after you, and improve your skills as you go.
Jack into cyberspace to hack the system and open other routes.

Screenshots

System Shock screenshot: two mutants with glowing heads stand behind an orange laser barrier in a red station lounge while SHODAN speaks in a subtitle

System Shock screenshot: the player fires at a hulking red-chested robot in a dark station corridor beside a green SHODAN emblem, as level security drops to 78%

System Shock screenshot: the inventory screen open over a crew member's corpse in a dim corridor, listing rifles, a shotgun, ammunition and grenades

System Shock screenshot: a bloodied mutant lunges from the left in a blue-lit corridor while a sparking red robot waits ahead and the player aims a blue gun

System Shock screenshot: aiming an assault rifle at a red cyborg across a red and gold station hall with STAY AWAY written in blood on the wall

System Shock screenshot: in cyberspace, the player shoots a purple spiked enemy apart in a corridor of glowing yellow circuit lines

System Shock screenshot: gloved hands at a keyboard below SHODAN's blue holographic face and a setup screen of ethical constraint switches

Tips

Search bodies and rooms: the inventory screen shows what a corpse carries before you take it.
Some guns take more than one kind of ammunition; switch types to suit the enemy in front of you.
Keep an eye on the minimap in the corner; the station's decks are large and you will come back to them.
Watch the level security figure on screen; it falls as you destroy the systems SHODAN uses to hold a deck.

Questions

Is System Shock a horror game?

Yes, a first-person sci-fi horror game: you are alone on a station whose crew has been turned into cyborgs and mutants by a mad AI. It has more fighting than slower survival horror games.

Is this the original 1994 System Shock?

No. It is a full remake by Nightdive Studios with new visuals, controls, interface, sound and music, built on the original's design.

How long is System Shock?

About 13 hours for the main story by HowLongToBeat's figures, and longer on a first run if you explore every deck or take your time over the puzzles.

Do I need to play System Shock before System Shock 2?

No. They are separate stories on different ships, though SHODAN links them. Playing this one first shows where she came from.

What platforms is System Shock on?

Windows PC on Steam and GOG, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. There is no Mac or Linux version; the planned ports were cancelled in 2024.