If Looking Glass Studios had survived until this day, its premises would be the least secure in the US games industry. The legendary developer secreted the door code to its office into the first level of System Shock – and ever since, the numbers 0451 have become a calling card for those who share Looking Glass’s immersive sim values; studios that tap into System Shock’s deep worldbuilding, dense level design, and reactive simulation.
Redfall is the latest to pay homage, but follows nearly 30 years of riffs and twists on the code that first allowed you access to Citadel space station’s healing suite. We’ve collated some of the most inventive and memorable below, and won’t even ask you to crack a combination lock to see ‘em.
Ion Storm Austin’s beloved spy story arrived half a decade after System Shock, yet was many players’ first introduction to the four digits that would shape a genre. Tucked away behind the helipad of UNATCO headquarters on Liberty Island – the scene of Deus Ex’s first terrorist standoff – is a comms van with a satellite dish, made accessible via the famous code. Funnily enough, before joining Ion Storm, lead designer Harvey Smith worked in satellite communications for the US air force. He put together the Liberty Island map, and later worked on both Dishonored and Redfall.
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