System Shock 2 arrives on Steam

The infection spreads.

System Shock 2, the atmospheric and genre-defining brainchild of Bioshock:Infinite designer Ken Levine, has been released on Steam. Originally published in 1999, System Shock 2 blended RPG and FPS elements with a cyberpunk flair right out of a William Gibson techno-nightmare.

System Shock 2 was already the most requested game on GOG.comwhen it was released there in February, and will likely see similar interest on Steam due to its nostalgic pull and its competitive price point.

The Steam version lacks achievements at the moment, but handily advertises full German-language audio support, just in case you want to reach a whole new level of alienation. Sometimes I just feel like survival-horror is best experienced in a foreign language.

To prep yourself for the cybernetic terror that awaits you, check out Tom Francis's take on the classic title in his Reinstallrun-down or spend some time with Ken Levineas he talks about the history of the System Shock series during a recent BAFTA Q&A.

For a decidedly less-terrifying but still interesting peak into the background of System Shock 2, Irrational Games has excavated some original concept sketches. They even include the original coffee stains.