Hacknet

I'd recommend this game - but you should ready below!

I'd like to address the most common question I see floating around first. YES, you absolutely can play this game without any knowledge of cybersecurity, programming, coding languages, etc. The tutorial is short but good IMO - watching a few videos online can be helpful but it's optional.
You basically run the same loop of commands the entire game, it just get more complicated as you go - but the foundation is the same.

With that out of the way, let's address the elephant in the room.
IF YOU HAVE A MAC RUNNING ON M CHIPS - DO NOT BUY!

Unfortunately, this game does not perform will on MacOS with M chips. I have a M3 Pro and the game crashes randomly every 2 - 10 minutes. And this is a real shame.
I have tried joining the official discord to speak to the developer, but it's pretty clear that the game has been abandoned.

If you are running on Windows, then this is a gem of a game and you should definitely buy it. I never knew these kind of games could be so much fun.
If you are a Mac user, don't waste your money :(

The game where you pretend to be a cyberpunk keyboard god, tapping out “ls” and “cd ..” like you're slicing through the Matrix. It's not real hacking, unless you think Hollywood got it right in Swordfish. Inaccurate? Absolutely. Fun? Weirdly, yes. It's like cosplay for your inner nerd.

Note: I am biased because of the nature of my job. While not related to IT Security, it involves technical troubleshooting / problem solving and all kind of investigations. Basically, less fun version of Hacknet.
Accurate Hacking Simulator?
I was not exposed to a lot of hacking in games, maybe just a bit in Sleeping Dogs, or Cyberpunk 2077. While other games focus purely on hacking vibes, those tend to ignore the actual process. And Hacknet pays much more attention to the realistic aspect of the game.
Of course, to me it looks like huge oversimplification, but that was made as a game, right? It was made to be simple, fun and accessible. And it never felt like I am working, it felt like I am playing a game and having a good time. So while not being accurate, it nails the realistic hacking experience to enough extent.
Handholding or Exploration?
The first 60% to 70% percent of the game felt like a tutorial. Fun, with a lot of stories and action, but with a huge sense that I am playing in a sandbox. Everything is pretty safe, and you get what you need to do right from the email, so you need to execute specific steps without much investigation. Yes, you need to look for something specific, but it is usually very algorithmic and follows the same steps.
So, this feels like handholding to me, and having to "detective" part to it, where you just don't know where to look at and have to think and explore.
But! There are endgame quests, such as the main story line or Project Junebug quest. Those actually did things perfectly as I have wanted. There is more to reading, investigating, searching and connecting pieces of information together. This was perfect.
Example: usually it would be "find a (file / password / IP) or edit / remove something. Here is the server.". That is straightforward.
Project Junebug: Here is the name of the person. Kill him.
You see what I mean? That is perfect example of what I wanted this game to be. And it eventually has things that appeal to me! So, overall, great experience. Right?
A bit of so-so moments
Just one. The game has netMap, a graph that displays the machines you have connected to. And the graph grows, and there is less and less space, it all becomes cluttered at some point. And there is no way to clean it up, resize, organize or alter. And this is sad a bit, because the missions that I liked involve a lot of research, but the research progress was hevily impacted by overall messy navigation system.
But it's a minor thing. What else?
The Easter Eggs and Secrets
While the big part of the game feels like a tutorial, it has a lot of things to explore. Jokes and memes, hidden quests with high rewards - it's all there. So if you want, you can take much more from the game than it offers at a first sight.
Like in some RPGs you can even get overpowered pretty early - if you follow some clues in the game, you can get CLOCK.EXE, which makes game itself hacked. Things that are hidden and require exploration definitely cool here.
The Music
I pay a lot of attention to game OSTs, it makes me love the game more if the music resonates with me. And back in 2017 when I have bought the game, I learned about Hacknet from Remi (The Algorithm) - one of the musicians behind the OST, and I bought it. So, to me the OST is perfectly fitting the game. Just very neat, I thought. Until the final mission.
I have three examples of getting goosebumps from the music in the game:
1. One optional boss fight in Baldur's Gate 3
2. Expedition 33 in various places.
And... Yeah, the final mission of Hacknet! Putting Carpenter Brut's Roller Mobster, one of my favorite synthwave / darksynth tracks ever made me freeze for a minute in awe. And then realize that time is ticking and I need to do everything fast. Perfect sense of adrenaline. Great choice for OST!
Really solid hacking-lite experience
Overall, I liked this game. Relatively short, but never gets dull. And I have not even touched the DLC yet - and it has 97% positive rating! So, while the main game is over for me, I will get to Labyrinths in future to feel this enjoyment again.

the perfect game to get stuck trying to get a single file to open in the tutorial when you know nothing about programming.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☑ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☑ Very Long - with Labyrinths
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

A hacker named Bit is dead. His computer had an automated script which sends a random person a set of instructions. YOU are the one selected to follow out his last will.
The game is a good hacking simulation, with a good command line system, a well-designed UI for those who aren't quite used to the command line yet, and a very well-designed web of connections. IP addresses, names, and quests are randomized each time so everyone's experience is slightly different. They even have some funny conversations in text files on some PCs. All the scripts you need to complete the game are easily accessible, whether you get them from hidden locations or you find them in organization databases. There are even some interesting things you can do with the command line and some interesting moments where it pays to have a bit of extra knowledge going in. And easter eggs. MANY easter eggs. Seriously, when you think you've found it all, something new catches your eye.
Through my playthroughs I did not check if there was a way to create automated scripts for some of these things. If it was possible, I completely missed it, and if it wasn't, it is something I would fault this game for at least slightly. However, it not being there does not detract from the rest of the game, as hacking tools are abundant. The story is really good, and all of the design moments know just how to kick your brain into overdrive.
Overall, I'd give it a 10/10. This is one of my favorite games to date. If you are willing to learn the command line, generally good practices, and pay close attention to everything you find, this game will be a blast. I HIGHLY recommend learning how to use the command line instead of relying on the UI, as there are some things that will definitely be much better if you do so. A second or third playthrough also still hits pretty good, as you can look back at when things were introduced, catch things you wouldn't have caught before, and overall experience it in a completely different way. After you've played the DLC and the game itself once or twice though, the replayability goes down heavily, but there is a TON of mods in the community if you want to see what others have made.
Go out there and leave no trace behind.

Ahem...
I think it's time to finally write something about this game, with which I actually share quite a fun personal story. I received it as a gift from my close friend when I "finished" studying as a software engineer at a local college where I lived for some time. And when I actually began to play it, it ended just like my study. Disastrous! I was completely lost and confused, dropping the game after a while.
But the time passed, and my hands finally reached it again in 2024 when I began to clear up my gaming backlog. Finishing all that I missed or didn't play yet. Including this particular game. And what can I say? I actually finished it! I'm sure my teachers would be so proud of me! If I did it myself, that is... Which I didn't, obviously! Some things just never change... Certainly not my stupidity! But enough of self-embarrassing stories. Now about the game...
It really is that good! I never imagined that it'd have such a wild plot with an actual plot junction at some point. Not to mention it was actually fun to pester in other people's business via hacking and reading all their sensitive data. Found a few wild stories that way! In addition to learning something in the process! I already forgot what it was, but I certainly felt a bit brainy after I finished this game. At least for a bit...
So if you're really interested in something different and aren't afraid to bash your head during the process, give this game a try. It's quite unique in its own way! And don't be intimidated by it. There's quite a good guide to help you out if you're underwhelmed by it.