10 Forgotten Sci-Fi Video Games You Need To Play

7. System Shock 2 - Electronic Arts (1999)

Binary Domain
Electronic Arts

System Shock 2 takes us all the way back to 1999 and to suggest it was a very different world then, consider this: In addition to being released for Windows, Dreamcast, and macOS, it also got a port for DOS.

This one boasts the unique feature of having been developed as an entirely standalone title that was later reworked to be a direct sequel to 1994's System Shock by EA.

The game takes place on board a starship in a cyberpunk depiction of the year 2114. The player assumes the role of a Marine trying to stem the outbreak of a genetic infection that has devastated the ship.

Like System Shock before it, gameplay consists of first-person combat and exploration while incorporating role-playing elements, in which the player can develop skills and traits, such as hacking and psionic abilities.

The game is known for its gritty, dark, and, at times, terrifying ambiance. It was unprecedented then and still holds up fairly well today.

Contributor

Jason Russell has been working in video game journalism since the early 1990s before the internet existed, the term "fanzine" had meaning and sailors still debated as to whether or not the earth was flat. The first time. More recently he has been the guy responsible for the Retrospective column for Old School Gamer Magazine, pens up a Game Skinny column on a plethora of video game topics. He's somehow managed to author nine novels, writes and runs the blog CG Movie Review, is co-founder of the science fiction publishing house Starry Eyed Press, and sometimes, when the planets align and the caffeine has fully left his system, it's rumored he sleeps.