Hacknet Price History & Deals Across Stores

Language	Interface	Subtitles	Audio
Simplified Chinese	Yes	Yes	Yes
English	Yes	Yes	Yes
French	Yes	Yes	Yes

Language	Interface	Subtitles	Audio
German	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spanish	Yes	Yes	Yes
Korean	Yes	Yes	Yes
Russian	Yes	Yes	Yes
Japanese	Yes	Yes	Yes
Turkish	Yes	Yes	Yes

RecommendedSteam player

08/13/2015

Hack the Planet!! I was a fan of Uplink back in the day, but it is certainly time for a modern quality release! I streamed Hacknet for 5 hours the other night and we had a great time experiencing what the world had to offer. You would think I rocketed through the game faster, but honestly much of the time was spent messing around in servers and poking around. The intuitive gameplay, explorable content, and the way the game handles failure made for a really enjoyable experience. One thing I enjoyed was how intiutive everything was. This isn't linux, this isn't MS-DOS, this isn't even hacking per se. It's an adventure game with a command line interface. Hacking concepts and tools are abstracted for playablilty though it should be noted that there are some real hacking suites out there that are scarily easier to use then what you find in the game. I'd love to go into details about the exciting things I found, but half of the fun is exploring. One big suggestion I have is to read through the help command in your OS - all 3 pages. Your HacknetOS has a lot of functionality that you wouldn't normally expect. The commands can also let you have a lot of fun! I had a ball changing some IRC logs and websites to include my viewers names to much embarassment and laughs. An aspect I appreciated is that the punishment for making mistakes is firm but fair. Going into too much detail would be spoiling, but suffice it to say don't just get cozy clicking on the GUI for everything you do. Know your commands and they will treat you well in return. I did encounter a few minor bugs, some graphic glitches dealing with text, however none were game breaking and I documented this information back to the company. At the stage I'm at in the game there were no hardware upgrades, but I have uncovered a number of hacking tools to provide alternate forms of entry into more difficult servers. I'm happy to share more of my experience with you, or if you'd like just stop by the channel to see it in action. DISCLAIMER: I was provided a pre-relase copy of the game by Surprise Attack Games with no additional compensation or influence. Heck I like the game so much I'm picking up a copy to give away to my viewers. :) EDIT: After a few more streams of the game, and now about 15 more hours spent with Hacknet I'm still loving the experience The universe is solid, with some very interesting servers you encounter that make homages to pop culture and game references in some instances. The banter logs are proabably my favorite things to hunt down as it makes it feel a little more real that people are using these boxes. As for those miffed about me talking about my stream? I respect your thumbs down, but potential buyers got to see Hacknet in action and it helped them make a purchasing decision (lots of YES!). Totally worth it.Show moreShow less

26.5 hours at review1,045 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

06/20/2018

I have a confession. I like goofy fake hacking scenes in movies. I know it's not indicative of "actual" hacking, and as a programmer I should probably be a little miffed at how unrealistic they make the whole thing seem. But I don't care! I love it anyway. Hacknet promised to give me that kind of feeling, and like Uplink before it, it kinda did. It's a puzzle game where your tools are 'hacking programs' and your problems relate to breaking into computers and grabbing info, deleting info, or causing chaos. It works well, and it reveals just how satisfying it is to solve software problems, even when it's heavily abstracted and simplified. But my biggest problem with Hacknet is that it never really takes that next step into something greater than a simplified hacking game. Toward the end of the game there's a distinct feeling of "That was it?" Want to hack an SSH port? Then use SSHportHack.exe. Want to hack an FTP port? Then use FTPportHack.exe. The entire game is like this. For each problem or situation there's almost always exactly one answer, and there are few opportunities to feel clever. In some ways the game actually feels unfinished. Many computers you hack into contain generically named folders that are either empty or have snippets of IRC conversations from Bash.org. The game is set in modern times, yet your computer only has ~800mb of RAM and you can never upgrade it. The UI for selecting systems to hack into is an absolute nightmare. There are even mechanics that don't seem to actually...exist? For example, a big deal is made about deleting your logs and leaving no trace behind - a classic hacking trope - yet I never once saw any consequences for forgetting. I eventually just stopped clearing logs and it never was a problem As I said, I like Hackers-style hacking. It's fun and goofy and still scratches the same itch as actual hacking. Hacknet gets close, but its far too shallow and misses the mark.Show moreShow less

3.4 hours at review855 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

06/07/2016

I took down a hacker's proxy. Then I try to take down his main machine, but he catches me offguard and starts tracing me back. Before I know it, my machine BSODs and I have to reboot. I check my email and find an email from the hacker where he taunts me. I know it's game, but I couldn't resist and replied "♥♥♥♥ you." Then I got a reply "Yeah, ♥♥♥♥ you too buddy." and an achievement. 10/10, would BSOD again.Show moreShow less

9 hours at review693 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

01/24/2023

If you work in software/networking of any kind, you are going to hate this game. It's mindless, repetitive actions over and over again. There's no strategy or thinking involved. You just type the same commands every time you connect to a new machine and delete files and then disconnect. Deleting files is INSANELY slow compared to actually running `rm log/*` and you'll find yourself immediately bored.Show moreShow less

15.9 hours at review786 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

09/24/2016

>Started the game, revealed new commands 30 mins in >One command is "openCDTray" >Accessed my ingame PC >Typed "openCDTray" >My actual PC's disc tray opened >Panicked like a motherf*cker 10/10Show moreShow less

11.9 hours at review575 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

09/12/2021

I'm not entirely sure what the target demographic is for this game. It's an ostensibly terminal-based game running on a UNIX platform, but it has minimal overlap with bash commands, and trying to treat it like bash will only get you confused. So, this must be aimed at people without any tech background. However, how much fun can someone uninterested enough in coding to not care about this have, if all they're doing is typing in the same auto-completing commands over and over into a terminal? Oh, and you can't scroll on the terminal, too. On the other hand, the GUI is both cluttered and unintuitive. Everything feels horrid to use. It claims to feature "REAL HACKING", but the hacking consists of running magic hack spells via the terminal, and, if you DO know anything about hacking, that makes a lot of what the game asks of you feel obtuse. It took me so long to realise that I was supposed to open up a shell on my own PC, which, if crashed, would somehow take down a proxy server hosted elsewhere? I was assuming I had to find some kind of initial access mechanism to bypass the proxy and execute shellcode on the target PC, but, uh, I guess crashing the equivalent of cmd.exe on my computer really is the future of hacking. The story is okay, I guess. At least it was easy to 100%. My advice to anyone interested in a hacking-type game aimed at beginners is to check out the (free!) OverTheWire Bandit wargame, instead; it's fun, and it'll actually teach you something useful.Show moreShow less

21.1 hours at review338 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

04/30/2023

I'd personally like it more if I didn't do hacking for a living. I can't help but find flaws in its guitar-hero style approach to cyber security. This game is at its strongest when it closest resembles real hacking: problem solving through enumeration, weaponization and exploitation. This is especially evident when you are plundering compromised hard drives and linking information together to achieve a goal. The game is at its weakest when it relies too much on the "hacking tools". It's like a less comprehensive version of Metasploit and Nmap where you just use the same modules over and over again. For me, it got boring fast and I would constantly try to rush through the repetition. Props to whole game being playable from the CLI though. Solid game, but if you want to do real hacking, go to TryHackMe or HackTheBox. 8/10 EDIT: I have had a couple people contact me, thank you for doing so. I didn't mean to sound cynical, the developer took on a huge challenge and he largely succeeded. Development is really tough. He got pretty much everything right about the industry however. And there is a balance between real hacking and accessibility being juggled here. When I say, it's the "guitar hero" of hacking, I mean that while the hacks being pulled off are completely plausible in real life, the execution is much, much harder. It's a video game, so I should have allowed it more grace. If you have a passing interest in hacking, I'd absolutely recommend this game. If you want to do the real deal, feel free to contact me and we can set up some CTFs. Oh and one more thing: the game's soundtrack is super fun to listen to while doing the real thing. (: Revised score: 9/10Show moreShow less

6.5 hours at review503 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

05/07/2017

The gameplay basically consists of nothing but navigating folders. There's no coding to be done, no puzzles to be solved. All you'll do is connect to "computers" (folders), run a program that magically "hacks" your way into them, scan for more "computers" to "hack", rinse and repeat. It is mind numbing and repetitive. I kept playing because I thought surely something interesting must happen eventually, but I was wrong. The most challenging problem you'll have to solve is writing down a password to use on a locked folder. If you want to feel like a super smart hacker without having to put in any actual effort, you might like this game. If you were looking for a real puzzle game, then look elsewhere.Show moreShow less

8.5 hours at review315 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

08/14/2015

My Windows XP got bluescreened and I thought it's part of the game..Show moreShow less

4.4 hours at review496 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

06/21/2023

"Real Hacking Based on actual UNIX commands, Hacknet focuses on real hacking, not the Hollywood-style version of it. This creates a truly immersive experience and puts players right in the thick of trying to break through the firewalls." Blatant lies. Hacknet is straight up Hollywood hacking. The terminal is a simplistic cross-breed between bash and cmd.exe. It puts you in the role of a script kiddy, who "hacks" systems by observing which ports are open on the target machine and running the corresponding hacking program by typing its name and a port number (e.g. "FTPHack 21"). Once you're in, your job is to either snoop through some files for a password, to download files, or to delete them using basic terminal skills. You're supposed to cover your tracks by deleting logs, but it rarely matters. The same thing, over and over, no brains required. There's no sense you're accomplishing anything of value, nor of any consequence to yourself or others. It's an insult to anyone with more than a surface-level understanding of network security, as challenging to a puzzle gamer as 50 consecutive games of Tic-tac-toe, and isn't even that interesting in terms of Hollywood hacking simulations. It's on par with a budding game developer's first project, not something worth spending $10 to $24 on. If you want an intellectual challenge (Hollywood setting, but real problem-solving), check out Zachtronics (Exapunks, Shenzhen I/O, TIS-100). That said, Hacknet does have a few high points. The music is pretty great. The Labyrinths DLC is slightly less mediocre, but isn't worth the regular $7 price point on top of the base game's $10. If everything was like the DLC's final mission — which unexpectedly drops you into a timed, high-stakes situation with dire consequences — this might actually be a decent game. As is, though, it's just a bland waste of money.Show moreShow less

15.3 hours at review207 people found this helpful

Hacknet

Price History

01About Hacknet

Credits

Steam player reviews

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02Before you buy

Terminal-based hacking

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