Hacknet, a “real hacking” game that you can play

Che · July 19, 2015

Hacknet, a “real hacking” game that you can play

After ‘Mr.Robot’ the perfect hacking TV serial, now a perfect hacking game with “real hacking” Hacknet

Don’t actually want to hack but at the same time interested in hacking? Well, now there are hacking games for that uncertain feeling. Hacknet is the latest, and it has a lot of stimulating promises and not least that you will be doing “real hacking”. This fundamentally means that Hacknet uses terminal and genuine UNIX commands and would not appear like the type of hacking usually carried out in hip 1990 films by neon-haired teenagers.

Developed by Team Fractal Alligator, an Australian one-man studio, Hacknet is “an immersive, terminal-based hacking simulator for PC.”

Here’s the official promotional trivial:

Dive down a rabbit hoIe as you follow the instructions of a recently deceased hacker, whose death may not have been the accident the media reports. Using old school command prompts and real hacking processes, you’ll solve the mystery with minimal hand-holding and a rich world full of secrets to explore.

Bit, a hacker responsible for creating the most invasive security system on the planet, is dead. When he fails to reconnect to his system for 14 days, his failsafe kicks in, sending instructions in automated emails to a lone user. As that user, it’s up to you to unravel the mystery and ensure that Hacknet-OS doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Exploring the volatile nature of personal privacy, the prevalence of corporate greed, and the hidden powers of hackers on the internet, Hacknet delivers a true hacking simulation, while offering a support system that allows total beginners get a grasp of the real-world applications and commands found throughout the game.

Hacknet releases on the Humble Store and Steam on August 12. For those who are not familiar with hacking or the hacking game genre, this promises to be helpful and might even end up learning something.

Check out the trailer in video form, which makes it look more worthy than just a cursory glance: