10 Best Sci-Fi Video Games You've Never Played

2. Shadowrun (1993)

ENSLAVED odyssey to the west
Beam Software

Dungeons & Dragons essentially established pen and paper role-playing games as a viable means of jumping into a world and playing an imaginative story, but it was only the beginning of the genre. Shadowrun entered the RPG arena in 1989 as a science-fiction RPG, and it was incredibly popular.

Eventually, it was adapted into video games, and other media with the 1993 title for the Super Nintendo System being the best adaptation of Shadowrun made to date. This is one of those games that was played heavily when it came out, but seeing as it is more than 25 years old, the current generation of gamers likely missed out.

Shadowrun was based on a novel titled Never Deal with a Dragon by Robert N. Charrette, who co-created the original tabletop RPG. It is set in the year 2050, and players take on the role of Jake Armitage, an amnesiac who was seriously injured and must learn who wants him dead.

It wasn't a commercial success when it came out, as many games that were critically praised didn't necessarily sell well. Despite this, Shadowrun has been beloved for years by anyone who played it when it was released. Fortunately, it gained new life in 2013 with a successful Kickstarter campaign for a rerelease/sequel/tie-in titled Shadowrun Returns, so it can be enjoyed with a modern update on the PC, Mac, iOS, and Android

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Jonathan is a graphic artist, illustrator, writer, and game designer. Jonathan retired from the U.S. Army in 2017 and enjoys researching and writing about history, science, theology, and many other subjects. He writes for ScreenRant, CBR, NerdBastards, Listverse, Ranker, WhatCulture, and many other sites online. You can check out his latest on Twitter: @TalkingBull or on his blog: jonathanhkantor.com