10 Critically-Acclaimed Video Games NO ONE Played

System Shock 2 is arguably the poster-child for critically acclaimed games that bombed. It won seven Game of the Year prizes, earning itself a Metacritic rating of 92, and is considered highly influential, with its DNA in everything from BioShock to 2017’s Prey.

And yet it sold barely 58 000 copies in ten months, and it’s difficult to understand why.

A blend of first-person shooter mechanics and deep RPG customization options, the game was consistently praised for immersive, open-ended gameplay that allowed players to play as they wanted to, a rarity at the time.

Critics were also universal in their praise of the game’s horror atmosphere, achieved through an unholy marriage of a nightmarish story, exceptionally creepy enemies and horrifying effective, spine-chillingly disturbing sound design, all of which had one journalist describing it as the most frightening game he’d ever played.

But with the first title’s deserved reputation for slow pace and a clunky interface, System Shock 2 was perhaps always up against it. It didn’t help that it faced strong competition in the form of Resident Evil 3, Age of Empires II, and Pokemon Gold/Silver.

Still, it remains an eminently playable classic to this day, and with an enhanced edition on the way will hopefully win the player base it has always deserved.