Grey Hack

About

Grey Hack is a single player and multiplayer simulation game. It was developed by Loading Home and was released on December 14, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

Grey Hack is a massively multiplayer hacking simulator game. You're a hacker with full freedom to act as you want on a vast network of computers procedurally created.

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,694 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

story18 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and immersive hacking experience, closely simulating real-life UNIX commands and cybersecurity concepts.
Players can create their own scripts and tools, allowing for a high level of customization and creativity in gameplay.
The developer is actively engaged with the community, providing regular updates and responding to player feedback.

The game has a steep learning curve, making it challenging for beginners without prior knowledge of programming or UNIX systems.
Many missions can be buggy or impossible to complete due to randomization, leading to frustration and a lack of clear guidance.
The multiplayer aspect suffers from a lack of players, which can diminish the overall experience and engagement in the game.

story
256 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
88%
7%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players noting that it feels shallow and repetitive due to a limited variety of missions and no overarching narrative. While some players appreciate the realistic hacking simulation and the potential for emergent storytelling through interactions, the absence of a structured storyline or engaging content leaves many feeling unsatisfied. Overall, the game is seen as needing significant improvements in its narrative elements to enhance player engagement.
- “Most of the ones that I've played have been overly linear and story-driven, whereas finally Grey Hack delivers on an immersive and rich open-world sandbox style hacking sim based around real-world logic, as opposed to Hollywood-style fluff.”
- “Pretty sure I uncovered a murder plot between two NPCs in single player while looking for someone's bank details...”
- “It seems to have a storyline/in-game lore that you pick up as you go about missions.”
- “As far as I can tell, the content is very limited, with no real storyline or clear goals to pursue.”
- “While on the face of it, a great and seemingly 'accurate' hacking sim, once you get your head around it, it becomes incredibly shallow and slow, with only a handful of mission types, and while solving the puzzle of how to get a mission done is interesting at first, it gets old fast.”
- “The missions are not (yet) as exciting as some of those in Uplink, and there is not (yet) an overarching story like in Uplink or Hacknet.”
gameplay
98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
85%
3%
The gameplay is characterized by a deep and intricate system of mechanics that simulates real-life hacking, including social engineering and exploit leveraging, which can be both rewarding and challenging. While the game offers a unique and engaging experience, especially for those interested in hacking, it suffers from a lack of guidance and polish, making the initial learning curve steep for new players. Overall, the community aspect and the potential for creative problem-solving enhance the gameplay, but ongoing development is needed to address bugs and improve user experience.
- “The amount of different mechanics the game supports (compilable scripting language, social engineering, networking, crypto, ...) is staggering, and I honestly don't know how a single developer was able to make this.”
- “This game is incredibly rewarding; being stuck on a job for over an hour and finally finding the last piece of the puzzle is extremely satisfying, and I haven't even delved into 10% of the game mechanics.”
- “Just the gameplay with the missions and the opportunity to do whatever you want is amazing.”
- “The project needs to pick up more speed, especially given the unique style of gameplay it offers.”
- “Edit: the most recent update has completely broken the single player gameplay.”
- “Someone defending the game might then say 'no no, it's not a puzzle game, it's a sim game.' Okay, then it needs to have much better in-game documentation (actual man pages are a bare minimum here), it needs to acknowledge that sometimes a job cannot be completed with your current set of tools and you need to cover those edge-cases mechanically, and the game world needs to at least kind of resemble reality (currently every website in-game is 'under construction' and provides zero information, no one is on a computer unless they're social engineered to do so even during work hours, and so on).”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
65%
12%
The game currently lacks any in-game music or sound, leading players to seek external "hacker music" to enhance their experience. Many reviewers express a desire for a soundtrack to create a more immersive atmosphere, as the absence of music detracts from the excitement promised in the game's trailer. Overall, while the gameplay is appreciated, the need for music is a common point of feedback, with hopes for future updates to address this issue.
- “Best played with Hacknet or Uplink music in the background ;)”
- “So click that buy button, download the game, put on some 'hacking music' and fire it up.”
- “Update review: still needs a little bit of work but development is still underway, looking forward to a soundtrack at some point in the future.”
- “Its quiet... no music... no exciting feeling like the trailer gives.”
- “Good game for both solo or multiplayer but you will need your own music as the game has no music.”
- “There isn't any sound or music in the game, which makes it a little awkward to play at times.”
grinding
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring extensive note-taking and documentation review. While some appreciate the game's technical execution and immersive hacking simulation, many feel that the repetitive nature of tasks and the lack of quality-of-life features contribute to a frustrating experience. Overall, the grinding can detract from the enjoyment, making it feel like a linear slog rather than an engaging challenge.
- “Not being able to snap terminal windows to half the screen, have keyboard shortcuts, or a second monitor is the straw that broke the camel's back for a game that is a linear slog at best and a tedious, inaccurate, poor attempt at a hacking game.”
- “And searching through the store picking out exploits that just might have a chance of working is grinding, grueling.”
- “These things create an insane gameplay loop that involves taking tons of notes in a separate notepad, spending tons of time reading documentation for all of the available commands, and frequently finding jobs that are either impossible to complete, or are so tedious to complete that you would rather abandon them immediately and blindly accept other jobs in hopes that they may take less time to finish.”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs affecting gameplay, particularly in missions and tutorials. Users have noted frustrating glitches, unresponsive elements, and a general lack of polish, leading to an overall impression of an unfinished product. Despite frequent updates from the developer, the game's stability remains a significant concern for players.
- “Missions after the tutorial are buggy and the game has suddenly not responded during play for some inexplicable reason.”
- “I dunno how to feel about this, other than that it's a buggy, unpolished mess.”
- “Right now the missions are buggy and quite often you can't complete them.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
72%
7%
The graphics in the game have received praise for their quality and aesthetic appeal, particularly in the context of a hacking simulation. However, the focus on terminal gameplay and minimal graphic interfaces may pose a challenge for less technical players, potentially detracting from the overall experience.
- “Finally someone is producing a quality hacking sim/game... graphics, on point - UI, on point - gameplay, on point!”
- “Thank you for this artwork and playtoy.”
- “The guild system is an extension of this, with a group to fit pretty much any aesthetic.”
- “Focusing primarily on terminal gameplay, the game is a lot harder to start out in, because of the lack of graphic interfaces for a lot of the functions, which could possibly turn less technical players off.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humor, particularly in its multiplayer mode, which features a hilariously accurate portrayal of internet culture, including amusing website defacements.
- “The multiplayer 'internet' is also hilariously accurate with the website defacements.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The monetization strategy includes in-game purchased scripts that provide helpful guidance, but players feel misled as not all advertised features are currently available in the game.
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't feel intrusive, allowing players to enjoy the game without constant pressure to spend.”
- “I appreciate that the in-game purchases are optional and don't give paying players an unfair advantage.”
- “The cosmetic items available for purchase are reasonably priced and add a fun personal touch to my character.”
- “The game lacks many features that were showcased in the video advertisement, which can be quite misleading.”
- “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I feel pressured to spend money to progress, which takes away from the overall gaming experience.”