Hacknet Review

You are a curious hacker. You get a message from someone claiming to be a fellow hacker who has uncovered a dark secret, and chances are since we’re reading this message they are now dead. You’re going to have to get in the driver's seat and pick up the pieces left by this hacker and uncover what is really going on. As you progress through the game you’re going to be given additional tools that you’ll need to unlock the harder to break into systems, and you’ll also be forced with moral decisions, but the life of a hacker is never easy in Hacknet.

I will fully admit that when I first started playing this game I was both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. I was excited to see where the story was going to take me, but at the same time the mechanics of the game definitely requires some time to get proficient at it. You see you’re going to be attacking this game through a terminal view. You will have a map of different machines that you can hit, a command prompt, and on some occasion some graphical interface that you’re going to be able to navigate with. This game is going to test your ability to type out commands, the correct ones, many times within a time limit. You will have to navigate through file directories to uncover the information that you’re looking for, and at the same time you’re going to have to erase your footprints in each system’s log file directory.

In order to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery that is at the center of the story you’re going to have to discover hacker groups, you’re going to have to pass their tests, and you’re also going to have to complete tasks for those groups in order to build up trust. With that trust you’ll be given other programs that you can use to crack tougher systems, and also with that trust you’re going to have to face some moral decisions that may end up haunting you as a result. Sometimes the game feels a little too real, especially when the “system” reboots and there’s that second or two of “holy crap did I break my actual computer?” floating through your mind.

If you are looking for blood and guts, this is not the game for you. If you are looking for a straight forward story, this is not the game for you. In complete honesty there are parts of this game that left me scratching my head simply because I didn’t know what to do next and had to stumble around trying random things until it stuck. It is possible to complete the game without taking on every single hacker request, but I personally think that there’s a chance you’ll benefit from the extra practice. Speaking of practice, this is definitely not a game you can pick up from time to time. This is a game you’re going to want to go at as quickly as you can. I can’t stress enough about how much time is a factor in this game, and the mountain of extra stuff you have to do in order to “right the ship” if the timer were to run out.

I’m happy to say that I was able to play through this entire game, it took me just under 6 hours, but I was able to do it. The strange thing is that outside of my relief and feeling of accomplishment, I can honestly say I don’t know if I can recommend this game or tell you to stay away from it. It was an experience, something that tested me, and I was able to win in the end, I just don’t know what to make of it at the end of the day. As a reviewer this is one of the most frustrating mindsets to find one’s self in, and it is exactly that mindset that I find myself in.