Data Hacker Initiation
- July 21, 2014
- New Reality Games
- 2h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Data Hacker Initiation" , play as Jay, a banned hacker seeking revenge on Online World's administrators. Uncover the game's hidden purpose and secrets, engaging in monster and player hacking with around 25 hours of core gameplay. With over 50 class archetypes and real choices, plunge into this immersive narrative-driven RPG. Note: No information available about the release date or developer/publisher.
Reviews
- The game features an interesting storyline that resonates with fans of MMORPGs and has a unique concept of hacking within a game world.
- Players appreciate the engaging music and atmosphere, which enhances the overall experience.
- The game offers a variety of characters to recruit and a New Game+ mode that adds replay value and changes loot drops.
- The game suffers from repetitive combat and grinding, which can make the experience tedious over time.
- There are significant performance issues, including bugs and a lack of optimization, which detracts from gameplay.
- The mechanics, particularly around hacking and character progression, are poorly explained and can lead to confusion and frustration.
- story35 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story revolves around a hacker named Jay, who, after being banned from an online game, creates a new identity to uncover the mystery of players disappearing from both the virtual and real worlds. While the narrative draws comparisons to popular series like .hack and Sword Art Online, it features unique elements and moral lessons about perseverance and identity. Overall, players appreciate the engaging plot and character backstories, despite some criticisms regarding pacing and grinding.
“Your hero, a hacker named Jay, was just banned by the admins of the 'online world' game, but of course that’s not going to stop him from creating a new identity and diving into the game again. On his quest to gain more power, he soon gets involved in a mystery of players vanishing from the online world and the real one too.”
“The story is coherent, with multiple endings that affect the sequel, and there is quite a bit of customization in party composition, along with a fair number of side quests.”
“The scenario of 'online world' is great, with an engrossing plot and an enormous amount of areas to explore and do battle in.”
“The storyline so far reminds me of Sword Art Online's storyline - only as a real game.”
“Although after playing a significant number of hours, I didn't see much story.”
“Around halfway through, the story can turn into a grind-fest for items needed to unlock essential dungeons, if you haven't been hacking and stockpiling these items beforehand.”
- grinding15 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and time-consuming, particularly due to the need to farm data cores and level up characters for challenging content. While some appreciate the MMORPG-style grinding, others criticize the pacing and mechanics, leading to frustration and a loss of interest. Overall, the game appeals to those who enjoy extensive grinding, but it may deter players seeking a more streamlined experience.
“You have lots of grinding and annoying fetch quests.”
“For a JRPG based on grinding, this game has awful pacing.”
“The story is somewhat interesting, but the grinding and limited spells/skills make it quite boring.”
- music8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its memorable and delightful quality, enhancing the overall experience. Many players appreciate the custom soundtrack and find the in-game tracks enjoyable enough to add to their personal music libraries. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere and storytelling.
“The music does seem very memorable to me, but it is there; the game isn't silent.”
“The music is delightful.”
“I paid backer rewards for reboot to get the soundtrack, but even the version in the game files themselves are quite nice, and a number of tracks are going right on my music player.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“I paid backer rewards for the reboot to get the soundtrack, but even the version in the game files themselves are quite nice, and a number of tracks are going right on my music player.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as an above-average JRPG featuring a typical combat system and a unique mechanic that allows players to "hack" opponents for experience and resources instead of defeating them. However, the implementation of this mechanic is criticized for being poorly executed, leading to frustrating grinding and a lack of clarity in tutorials. Overall, the gameplay experience is marred by balancing issues and a convoluted world that detracts from enjoyment.
“Gameplay-wise, it could be considered an above-average JRPG with a typical combat system, a multitude of skills, and one non-typical mechanic: instead of defeating your opponents for experience, you can try to 'hack' them and convert them to data to sell for good money. Not to mention that you can add more characters to your team this way.”
“- Decent RPG mechanics.”
“The random item mechanic can be both a positive and a negative, but it is listed as a negative here because most people are not obsessive save-scummers - that is to say, people that save and reload until they get the outcome they want.”
“Tldr: poorly implemented mechanic obfuscated by decent concept.”
“- endless grinding and poorly documented mechanics in a ramshackle world that thinks it's an MMO is your personal notion of one of the circles of hell.”
“I thought the tutorials came out of place; if you managed to skip that part, it was gone... you should do it automatically when a new mechanic or feature or option is introduced.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are a mix of custom and standard assets, with notable attention to detail that enhances the atmosphere and mapping. While some areas exhibit glitchy visuals and stuttering movement, the overall aesthetic is praised for its uniqueness and effort, resulting in a score of 7/10. Players appreciate the distinct biomes of the dungeons and the enhanced art style, contributing to an engaging experience.
“The graphics look very nice, and it's obviously not stock assets.”
“The new art style and enhanced atmosphere and mapping look great, and I know Ross - the main developer - has been busting his ass on the trilogy so far.”
“Audio and visual wise, it's mostly standard RPG Maker, but NRG have put great attention to detail and the use of both custom and standard visuals in order to create the online world.”
“The creator tried their hardest to make the glitch areas look like a mess of graphics that are out of place, while the regular dungeons are designed to be their own biomes.”
“The graphics look stuttery while moving around.”
“Audio and visual-wise, it's mostly standard RPG Maker, but NRG has put great attention to detail and the use of both custom and standard visuals in order to create the online world.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is widely criticized, with users reporting significant stuttering during movement, particularly in major cities, and poor default performance, including a broken fullscreen mode. Many players experience frustrating frame rate issues, with some only achieving a maximum of 40 fps, leading to a consensus that the game requires substantial reworking to improve its performance. Overall, the performance rating averages around 4/10, highlighting the need for urgent optimization fixes.
“Extremely poor default performance, with a flat-out broken fullscreen mode.”
“Stuttering in the major cities, even after my fix.”
“Performance: 4/10. This game really needs to be reworked. 28 fps max and 40 fps in hometown? Lock it at 30 fps if it won't run 60. It hurts the eyes of players like mine with drop-downs and lags!”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its well-developed online environment, enhanced by a new art style and thoughtful mapping. Players appreciate the immersive experience created through engaging terminology and visuals, contributing to an enjoyable gameplay experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature that elevates the game.
“I've had a blast playing this in the past and I'm looking forward to a replay once the reboot initiative is ready to go. The new art style and enhanced atmosphere and mapping look great, and I know Ross - the main developer - has been working hard on the trilogy so far.”
“I have to say though, not once did I feel like the visuals were a detriment to the game, RTP or not, and the atmosphere itself was brilliant.”
“Data hacker tries to create an atmosphere of an online environment using terms like 'logging in' for when certain players come into different areas.”
“The atmosphere is well-developed.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is somewhat limited, primarily appealing to players interested in obtaining specific items in New Game Plus (NG+). However, it offers some extra value through save/load mechanics for re-looting chests, and features two endings along with items and companions that enhance the experience across multiple playthroughs.
“It's pretty simple, but fun - adds some extra replay value as you can just save/load and reloot the chests for a while to try to get the rare good stuff.”
“So its replay value is lacking, unless you want certain items in New Game Plus.”
“With two endings and a number of items and companions that cross over between playthroughs - and some that are only available in the second playthrough - it has a bit of replay value.”
