Free retro roguelike about hacking

HACK THE PLANET is a free-to-play simulation from Jess Levine. This hacking game combines elements of roguelike gameplay and retro visuals as it tasks you to hack NETPOL, the fictional group in charge of the internet. With your hacker buddies, you will try your best to bypass firewalls, reconfigure network nodes, and get into the occasional friendly squabble.

Since the game is primarily text-based and highly technical, HACK THE PLANET is admittedly tricky to get into, especially if you’re not a programmer yourself. Still, it makes a compelling experience for this niche, similar to its fellow indie HackTheGame.

An immersive hacking experience

In its effort to create an immersive experience, HACK THE PLANET features a combination of retro graphics, text-based gameplay, and a highly technical premise. As mentioned, it can be difficult and tiring because the game starts out really slow with no other control options other than choosing from a numbered list. However, it gets better as you go on, offering a learning curve of sorts, albeit steep for non-programmers.

To round up the experience, it has a story. In this game, you are one of the hackers tasked with finding the legendary Motherlode. Across the game, you collaborate with other hackers on your BBS, or bulletin board system, which is a parallel of real-world discussion groups, now facilitated through platforms like Reddit or Discord. There are a lot of randomized and triggered events, ensuring replayability.

The game is a good throwback to old, text-based games like the first Oregon Trail game. It even features immersive and naturally sounding dialogue. The only issue with this game is its lack of optimization. By default, it runs on a windowed mode that bleeds beyond most screens. Although it can be easily resolved, it’s a minor inconvenience for players every time they start up the game.

Both fun and challenging

If you’re a programmer or a dedicated fan of role-playing games, HACK THE PLANET will definitely hit that unique spot. For most of the game, it feels like you’re inside a command prompt window or an old-school discussion board, interacting with your fellow hackers and trying to hack different locations on the internet. Once you get past its slow start and recurring start-up problem, it’s a fun and engaging experience.