System Shock
Shares rank 63 of 78 video games by recommenders
People recommend this sci-fi shooter for its story of a hacker sent to subvert a station's AI, and for paving the way for Deus Ex and Thief. Critics raise no recurring complaint.
People recommend this sci-fi shooter for its story of a hacker sent to subvert a station's AI, and for paving the way for Deus Ex and Thief. Critics raise no recurring complaint.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Influential forerunner to Deus Ex and Thief
“Without System Shock, Deus Ex, and Thief leading the way”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Deus Ex creator Warren Spector is retiring from game development” Hacker hired to hack station AI
“a game about a hacker hired to hack the AI controlling a space station, who gets a neural implant as a reward for completing the task”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Cyberpunk Video Games”
Other video games people recommend
The four most recommended other video games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helldivers 2 | 50 | 34 | 60% | 10 | 1.9 yrs3 owners | — |
| GPU building game | 49 | 16 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Triple-A Minesweeper | 40 | 25 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Quake II | 33 | 8 | 80% | 10 | — | Approved |
| System ShockThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Without System Shock, Deus Ex, and Thief leading the way”
“a game about a hacker hired to hack the AI controlling a space station, who gets a neural implant as a reward for completing the task”
“or GoldenEye 007 or System Shock and watch the "excitement"”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.