Hacknet

Game breaking bug in the Naix GG WP mission prevents advancement. Do not buy.

(Below is a reprint of my original review of 'Hacknet' on Steam. I love the game so much that I purchased another copy on GOG, just for the DRM-free version.) In 'Hacknet', you play as a computer user who has just been bestowed a unique operating system (OS) with tools that can hack different computers. As the game progresses, you will discover new hacking tools, join other factions of hackers, fulfill hacking job contracts to build your reputation, and solve the game’s central mystery. What I love about 'Hacknet' is the high level of immersion and engaging pacing. With my headphones on, listening to the adrenaline-pumping soundtrack, I voraciously took on one hacking contract after another. Before long, two to three hours have flown by. The game's missions, though all require hacking, vary in objects and pacing. Because of that, I did not find gameplay repetitive, and I used every opportunity to familiarize myself with the tools I had at my disposal. All of this prepared me for the climatic final mission, which totally did not disappoint. 'Hacknet' is novice-friendly, but some players may find it having a slightly steep learning curve. Players will be at an advantage if they can type fast, has used *nix (e.g. Linux) shell commands, and/or are familiar with text-based OSes. This is because the user interface of Hacknet is austere, with typing as your primary form of input. Still, there are simple graphics to depict hacking progress, network of computers, and directory trees. You can use your mouse from time to time as means of in-game navigation as I did. 'Hacknet''s appeal aside from immersion and pacing is really its simplicity. The players will always be given all the tools they would need to complete missions. So, the real challenge is to figure out which tool(s) to use to hack the computers and phones, and to do it quickly and efficiently. So, think fast! Type fast and furious! Once the dust has settled, snooping around the hacked machines and reaping your rewards are gratifying. At the time of this review, 'Hacknet' is my favourite hacking-themed game. It’s fast, it’s empowering, and it’s extremely gratifying -- especially after a challenging mission. I highly recommend this game to those who wish an adrenaline-pumping, brain-teasing, text-based adventure game.

Obviously reminds me of "Hacker" from Activision, but this is a fun puzzle game in the spirit of text adventures, just without all that stupid terrible parser stuff and with good in game help.

When you thinking about "hacker game", you thinking about guy with the hood on head and running around the city. This game is completlely another! Here you have console and commands. This game will train your brain and you can learn some basics about networking. Looks very realistic, some commands are real, like listing files, deleting files, etc. Very nice visuals and super-cool music! If you want have some fun with almost real console, go for it! : ) Just remember, this game insn't easy. You almost working in IT until playing this game ;p

This game is a really uniqe concept and a well excuted one at that but the game is quite buggy. Now Disclousre i have not beaten this game because i mistyped and i have to restart the game (although that is my mistake and i will not deduct points for that). The game has a very basic gameplay loop. Crack the secruity (such as proxy's and firewalls) sometimes you need to worry about a timer and then do what you need to with the file in the said computer or scan for another one. Now i have already encountered one bug that made me restart my save which was luckily near the start of the game where i when i scanned and found another computer and then i couldn't finish the mission. There is alot of uniqe missons i won't spoil them but lets just say you ever played a game with dosbox you'll right at home. I give it a 4/5 a very good game with some game breaking bugs and human error on my part.