Neural Shock
Release date: Jun 19, 2024
Developers: Hardwired Studios
Publishers: Hardwired Studios
Genres: Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy
Categories: Single-player, Steam Achievements, Full controller support, Steam Cloud, Family Sharing
Supported languages: English

Neural Shock: Total Destruction (v1.1) The first major content update designated as Neural Shock: Total Destruction was released on March 7th, 2025. The update adds more endgame content, improved replayability of existing missions, as well as numerous visual improvements. The key features of the update are: Chapter 2 with 15 new missions, bringing the total to 42 missions (incl. tutorial) New enemies and mini-bosses Challenge Mechanic & Equipment Rewards Skill Tree & Trap/Turret Balance Overhaul Check the Steam News for more details on the Neural Shock: Total Destruction update. Neural Shock Build, Fight, Improve, Obliterate. Create bloody mayhem in this ARPG / Tower Defense hybrid by building turrets and traps in strategic positions and fighting waves after waves of ferocious clones and creations of immoral research. As you gain experience in the battlefield, improve and develop your characters and weapons to get more and more powerful and decimate your enemies. Combining the classic Tower Defense gameplay, graphic pixel-art violence and elements of character building action RPGs set in a grim, dark world, Neural Shock offers the perfect action-packed slaughterfest experience in a scifi-grindhouse setting. Main Features Controllable Hero with a class-specific Special Ability and a Skill Tree with Active & Passive skills Floor Traps and Turrets, unlocked within the Trap & Turret Skill Tree. Turrets are placeable only on fixed-position Turret Pods - Floor Traps can be placed anywhere except on pods Four Levels of Upgrades to Traps and Turrets, unlocked at specific Skill Levels No 'mazing' - turrets do not block enemies Basic turrets shoot in lines, while most advanced turrets have 360-degree auto-aim Weapon types are Physical, Small Arms, Heavy Weapons and Elemental 41 Missions (+ tutorial), each with their own Mission Challenges & Side Objectives Six different Mission Modifiers to adjust the Difficulty and Experience Reward Character Armor and Weapon Rewards for completing Challenges Dozens of different viable builds to tinker with - low-Tier and high-Tier weapons can be smoothly combined together Skill Points can be reallocated to experiment with different builds Challenging but fair Mission and Enemy Design - Become more and more powerful as you learn to know your enemies from head to toe Class-based Character Building Pick your favorite class, delve into the monster-filled world and exterminate the horrid creatures to level up and create your optimal build by selecting the best Passive & Active skills for your playstyle. Each Class has their own devastating or crowd-managing Special Ability that can be triggered after stacking enough kills. As you gain Experience, you gain Levels and Skill Points to allocate in the Character Skill Tree. Gaining a level also rewards you with a Trap & Turret skill point - the Trap & Turret skill points are shared between characters, so it is encouraged to try different characters to stack up your skill points. The skills can be reallocated at any time. Playable classes in the full release are Sniper and Engineer. The Sniper class is aimed towards players seeking more action and maneuvering, while the Engineer's talent tree serves a more traditional Tower Defense type of gameplay. Engaging Tower Defense Puzzles Unique tower defense missions in an engaging, dark and futuristic world, complemented with captivating side objectives that require razor-sharp senses and wits to complete in the most optimal ways. Find the deadliest combinations from a fine selection of over 20+ different turrets and traps. Visceral Pixel-Art Violence Tens of different ways for each monster to meet their maker, ranging from getting shredded, electrocuted, burnt to a crisp, melted to a pile of goo, and many others, visualized and animated with crunchy pixel art graphics that don't hide any ounce of blood or drop of gore. Let your creativity run wild as you discover new ways to eradicate the murderous cretins that run amok in this vicious world. Story In 2304, CyTech, a scientific research corporation and defense manufacturer revolutionized warfare after discovering ways to integrate artificial neural networks into humans, allowing soldiers to rapidly develop extraordinary abilities that would far exceed the opposition. However, after multiple generations had been tested in combat with great success, one generation found a way to surpass all other generations by multitudes by altering the genetic composition of the subjects. The subjects started experiencing mutations in their bodies, and over time were found to have experienced a rapid evolution into completely different beings. This generation was found to be highly aggressive and hostile even towards the creators. Quickly the specimen, who viewed themselves as a superhuman race, rised against humanity and began creating clones of themselves to achieve superiority and control over the human population. In 2325, you as part of mercenaries from Armorion, a private military contractor, were tasked to infiltrate the main research facility of CyTech to eliminate the rebelling specimens and end the production of new clones. The defense systems of the facility were dismantled and stripped down by the specimens, but the defense network was still connected and you were able to rearm the defenses by building turrets and traps into the existing defense pods. You will need to clear out the facility's sectors one by one and ensure the defenses are able to hold out any hostile specimens. 


Notes: Violence, blood and gore in pixel-art form