Epic Games Store has opened October with a strong weekly giveaway. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is free to claim now, paired with the mystery adventure Buried Stars. Both stay free through October 8, 2026, and anyone who claims them keeps them permanently. After that, the store rotates to Out of Sight and TerraScape through October 15.
A deserted starship and a familiar enemy
System Shock 2 shipped in 1999 from Looking Glass Studios and Irrational Games, with Ken Levine among its writers. Set in 2114, you wake from cryosleep aboard the starship Von Braun and find the decks nearly empty. Audio logs from the dead crew explain what happened. An expedition brought alien eggs back from Tau Ceti V. Those eggs hatched into the Many, a hive mind that twisted people into hybrids. Machines have turned hostile. Behind it all is SHODAN, the rogue artificial intelligence from the first System Shock.
How the game plays
Play is a first-person mix of shooting, role-playing, and survival horror, later called the immersive sim. You pick a background at the start: Marine, Navy, or O.S.A. Marines lean into guns. Navy training favors repair and hacking. O.S.A. opens psionic powers. Strength, Agility, and Cyber Affinity shape combat and hacking. Weapons can jam. Research turns enemy tissue into upgrades. Inventory space is tight. You move deck by deck, lean around corners, hack terminals, and decide whether to fight or slip past.
Why it became a cult classic
That mix is why System Shock 2 became a cult classic. It sold modestly, then grew a following that still ranks it among the best PC games ever made. Audio logs, player-driven builds, and a hostile spaceship fed directly into BioShock, Dead Space, and Prey. The mid-game reveal, that the ally guiding you is SHODAN wearing a human face, remains a landmark twist. Few games leave you so powerless.
What the remaster changes
Nightdive Studios released the 25th Anniversary Remaster in June 2025. It keeps the original systems and horror tone, then updates character models, weapons, animations, cutscenes, and visuals. On PC it supports up to 144 frames per second, ultrawide displays, an adjustable field of view, and better controller support. It also adds cross-play co-op for up to four players, full mod support, and 50 achievements.
The rest of the October lineup
Buried Stars, free with the remaster this week, follows contestants trapped during a survival audition who must spot a killer among them. Out of Sight, due next, is a horror puzzle game about a blind girl escaping a haunted mansion. TerraScape is a medieval city builder set on floating islands.
Claim both current games on the Epic Games Store or in the launcher before October 8. The order total is zero, and no payment method is required. If you missed System Shock 2 the first time, this is the cleanest way to board the Von Braun.