Hacknet

As others have said, this game is broken. I am giving only two stars--instead of the four I think it deserves--because after playing quite well into the game, a well-known bug that occurs during the story-missions bit me, and the game would not advance. Okay, I'll try again and avoid that. Then, on the second try, as I made my way through some side-missions early in the game, the game broke again. This is a fun game. I love Uplink and have played it many times, and this game has the same feel while a bit simpler in the "hacking" that the player does. It looks good and is fun to play, but I'm not going to waste my time playing a game only until it breaks. If the game becomes playable, I'll gladly revise my rating. Until then, this game is too broken to play let alone enjoy.

Okay, we all played Uplink so how is this game compared to it? Close but wont catch it for sure. First when i started everything was AWESOME (still Uplink better) and had great fun UNTIL i discovered like TONS of game breaking bugs, not small-ones. MISSIONS ARE COMPLETELY BROKE! I cant advance my story as missions wont complete. Reason? I took more than one, at start I could take one only and complete but at CESC I took all I could (as I did in uplink) but they wont finish as I tried them all. I then when to jmail deleted all users, all my e-mails, all contracts of CESC and all of its users. Iam now stuck of not going anywere and quit the game. Until patches fix it, dont buy.

Would have been an instant classic if it wasn't for the game stopping bugs. Pros: ++ Amazing atmosphere, you'll panic when the track timer gets close to 0; in some missions you'll question if you are doing the right thing. ++ Great immersion, if this game was just for learning terminal commands it'd be worth the $10 alone and you WILL learn IRL terminal ( I'll never forget rm *) ++ Active Devs, you can tell they love this game and they will fix the bugs (just check out the steam discussions) + phenomenal soundtrack + Easier to understand and use UI (not to mention obvious graphics improvements) than Uplink; Hacknet eases you into the gameplay, and doesn't immediately punish you like Uplink. + The story keeps you interested enough to keep progressing + Costs as much as a movie ticket but you'll get way more entertainment value from buying this Cons: -- Bugged on release, not game breaking but it will stop your progress (apparently there are fixes that you can do on the game files). They'll definitely be patched/fixed though, once they are this is a 5 star game - Terminal commands get a bit grindy after the 100th time you do them - Mission objectives can be a little too ambiguous at times - Relies a little too much on bash.org quotes to make it seem like you're hacking a living breathing world. Which is a pity, because the original characters they made themselves are always interesting and entertaining (more mirrors anyone?) - Sometimes I wish it was more complex The demo should be a good indicator of whether or not you'll enjoy this, so check it out too if you're on the fence.

I really enjoyed this game. You can beat it in a day and it'll remain in your memory for much longer. Recommended with a linux-running laptop, headphones, a dark room, and no distractions. Yes, the mechanics aren't complicated, but the pace at which new techniques are brought in along with the pacing of the story is just about perfect. The minimal interface (you can customise your window manager), with "unf"-evoking timed music choices, somehow makes you feel there is a much larger world underneath. Especially when you're reading through people's emails that have nothing to do with the main story. There are so many ways to explore, and indeed if you are extremely observant and careful, a hidden path for the main story. Don't rm * all the logs! The main story almost sneaks up on you in how good it is. You feel like a regular hacker doing a lot of freelance work. Humour is quite subtle, too. It has linux-y culture references but is far removed from meme-spam. Slowly but surely you find yourself emotionally invested in a dark and unique story. The PACING is on point. There will be parts where you are going insane wanting to know what is in an encrypted file you've had on your home system from several hacks ago. Lots of detective/snooping as well as forging/deleting records. You definitely get a sense of having improved your capabilities. My review is a fairly rambly, but I'm no reviewer. If you think this game could appeal to you based on my description - Immerse in it.