What are the pros of Hacknet?

Highly immersive gameplay that captures the feeling of real-world terminal usage.. Engaging story progression that keeps players motivated through the hacking tasks.. Excellent balance between realistic CLI commands and accessible game design for beginners.. Widely considered the best modern successor to the classic hacking game Uplink.. Strong value proposition, especially when purchased on sale or with the DLC..

What are the cons of Hacknet?

Repetitive gameplay loop involving the same sequence of commands for every hack.. File management and deletion speeds are frustratingly slow compared to real-world systems.. May feel too shallow or unrealistic for players who work professionally in networking or software.. Presence of technical bugs that can occasionally hinder progress or break immersion..

Hacknet

Hacknet is an immersive, terminal-based hacking simulator for PC. 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.

94%

Very Positive

DeveloperTeam Fractal Alligator

PublisherFellow Traveller

Release DateAug 12, 2015

-85%

$9.99$1.49

Peak Players127.6K

Metacritic82

PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux

Indie

Simulation

AI Review Summary

Hacknet is an immersive terminal-based hacking simulator that successfully balances realistic command-line mechanics with a compelling, mystery-driven narrative. While widely regarded as the spiritual successor to Uplink, its gameplay loop can feel repetitive or overly simplified for IT professionals and cybersecurity experts.

Pros

Highly immersive gameplay that captures the feeling of real-world terminal usage.90%
Engaging story progression that keeps players motivated through the hacking tasks.85%
Excellent balance between realistic CLI commands and accessible game design for beginners.80%
Widely considered the best modern successor to the classic hacking game Uplink.80%
Strong value proposition, especially when purchased on sale or with the DLC.70%

Cons

Repetitive gameplay loop involving the same sequence of commands for every hack.80%
File management and deletion speeds are frustratingly slow compared to real-world systems.75%
May feel too shallow or unrealistic for players who work professionally in networking or software.70%
Presence of technical bugs that can occasionally hinder progress or break immersion.50%

Notable Mentions

The game has been credited with inspiring players to pursue actual careers in cybersecurity.
Experienced users recommend the free OverTheWire Bandit wargame for those seeking a more educational CLI experience.
Players can accidentally break their virtual OS by deleting critical system files like System32.

Confidence: 58%

Based on the 201 most relevant reviewsGenerated on Sep 1, 2026

Game Vitals

Live snapshot

Player Activity

Current peak

Peak · last 90 days

251

All-time peak

127.6K

Price

Current price

$9.99$1.49-85%

Lowest tracked

$1.49since Aug 26, 2026

Review Sentiment

Launch week

94%

Last 30 days

96%

All-time positive

94%

Review Statistics

Total Reviews26.2K

Positive: 24.5K (94%)Negative: 1.7K (6%)

Reviews from Steam Deck

Dev Response Rate

14h

Avg Playtime at Review

86%

Credible Reviews