hackmud

About

"Hackmud" is a massively multiplayer puzzle game with both co-op and PvP elements, set in a cyberpunk-themed, text-based world. Navigate the abandoned future internet, uncover a complex narrative, and prove your worth in trials set by the governing super-intelligence. The game features phenomenal gameplay, a good story, and perfect music, but be prepared for some grinding. Note that it is a complex game with a dedicated community and active developer.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,248 reviews

story44 positive mentions

grinding54 negative mentions

Engaging and mind-bending puzzles that make the steep learning curve worthwhile.
Strong community support with helpful players willing to assist newcomers.
Unique atmosphere that immerses players in a cyberpunk hacking environment.

Long and tedious tutorial that can take several hours to complete, potentially leading to refund issues.
Limited NPC availability for new players, making it difficult to progress and earn in-game currency.
The game can feel overwhelming and confusing after the tutorial, with little guidance on what to do next.

story
142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
61%
8%
The game's story is primarily delivered through a tutorial that introduces players to its mechanics, featuring an engaging narrative that many find enjoyable. However, once players transition to the multiplayer aspect, the story becomes less prominent, with a lack of clear quests or direction, leading to a feeling of disconnection from the narrative. While some appreciate the initial storytelling and the universe's lore, many express disappointment over the limited story content and guidance available after the tutorial.
- “The puzzles (locks) so far have been fun to solve, and the writing and story of the universe this game takes place in is amazing and has kept me coming back.”
- “The story was great, and is an awesome way to slide you into the real meat of the game - the multiplayer.”
- “Honestly, I have never played a hacking sim with a story other than 'hack this, make money, upgrade, repeat', yet here was h a c k m u d making me engage with AI to learn more about them and have them help guide me and get me going.”
- “The lack of goals, quests, or missions visibly available to the user takes away from the experience.”
- “Unfortunately, the game suffers from not really having enough story content or guidance.”
- “The online 'sandbox', which the game becomes after its plot concludes, has absolutely no direction and nothing fun to do at all.”
gameplay
98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
71%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its deep mechanics and a steep learning curve, requiring players to engage with coding and problem-solving. While the tutorial is praised for its engaging introduction, many players find the subsequent gameplay repetitive and reliant on guesswork, particularly with the "locks" mechanic. Overall, the game offers a unique experience for those willing to invest time in mastering its systems, but it may be off-putting for players seeking a more straightforward or cooperative experience.
- “The lore is deep and interesting, and the gameplay mechanics are very fun.”
- “Hackmud stands as a testament to the sheer entertainment potential of even the smallest and roughest of games with the right kind of mechanics to allow for infinite user-generated content.”
- “By spending time to learn and use game mechanics to your advantage, you can excel far beyond your peers.”
- “This game is not only mechanically very niche, but incredibly brutal when you mess up.”
- “Since finishing up and reading about other locks, it’s disappointing to see that this guesswork mechanic appears to continue for the rest of the game in increasing levels of obscurity/complexity.”
- “It doesn't even have consistent gameplay.”
music
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
41%
4%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its engaging and immersive quality, with many players describing it as a "banger soundtrack" that enhances the overall experience. While the few available tracks are praised for their effectiveness in setting the mood—calm during downtime and intense during critical moments—some users noted that the limited variety can lead to repetitiveness. Overall, the soundtrack significantly contributes to the game's atmosphere, making it a standout feature.
- “Best soundtrack in a video game ever.”
- “The music provides a great background as you think about your next piece of code, too.”
- “Now the soundtrack is just so great I ended up buying the OST not only to support the creator even more but also to be able to listen to it all the time.”
- “The music is kind of repetitive; I mean it's great music, but there aren't that many different tracks.”
- “While when something important is happening, like hacking with hardline, the music picks up and becomes fast-paced.”
- “To bad you can't buy the soundtrack on Steam!”
grinding
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly during the lengthy tutorial and initial money-gathering phases, which can feel repetitive and frustrating. Many reviews highlight a steep learning curve and a lack of clarity in objectives, leading to a sense of aimlessness in grinding for resources. While some enjoy the farming mechanics and the potential for automation, the overall sentiment suggests that the grinding detracts from the game's promise of exploration and creativity.
- “A 3-hour tutorial with unclear objectives leads into the actual game, which was tedious when the click-and-drag to copy functionality was off by a line and copied out of your scratch half the time.”
- “It felt like I was grinding for no reason.”
- “I really want to like this game, but the initial money-gathering so you can start for real, along with the incredibly tedious hardline, which you have to enter in order to test scripts for breaking open NPC accounts, puts the promise of a game where you can write programs to explore the world on the other side of the sort of repetitive activity that we write programs in order to avoid.”
graphics
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
63%
10%
The graphics of the game are primarily text-based, utilizing ASCII art and a stylized graphical user interface with bright colors and a unique digital font, which many players find aesthetically pleasing. While the visuals are minimalistic, they effectively complement the game's intelligent gameplay and immersive hacking theme. Overall, the graphics are well-received for their context and design, despite the limitations of being a text-centric experience.
- “Just an incredibly aesthetically pleasing experience.”
- “The graphical user interface (GUI) is stylized with a unique digital font and bright attractive colors.”
- “Aesthetically, this game really nails it for me.”
- “It's a 100% text game; any 'graphics' in the game are all ASCII art, so get ready to type a lot!”
- “The game lets you create bots now that automatically send chat messages, and so now all that is in the main chat channels are robots advertising for scripts they made that don't really do anything cool considering everything is text-based (and you can't have anything graphical like you're used to in DOS. Just plain line-by-line text with no animations. You can't even really do ASCII art in the game.)”
- “Console-only hacking game with a soundtrack way better than it normally would be for a game of 'lesser graphics'.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
23%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its engaging and immersive qualities, enhanced by effective UI and sound design. Players appreciate the depth of lore presented in a "Dark Souls style," which encourages exploration and curiosity. The community aspect and the game's ability to foster a sense of discovery contribute to a compelling and addictive experience, making it a standout feature for many reviewers.
- “The atmosphere really clicks for me, where the lore is presented 'Dark Souls style', which takes some digging to reveal - and what it shows you makes you want to know more.”
- “Somehow the game has an incredible atmosphere!”
- “You'll find a constantly changing political atmosphere based entirely on deception.”
- “The atmosphere really clicks for me, where the lore is presented 'Dark Souls' style, which takes some digging to reveal - and what it shows you makes you want to know more.”
- “I felt compelled to post a review on this one because of the work that has been done on this and for the reason that this is indeed a wonderful indie game that knows how to absorb you into its mystery and atmosphere.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by a mix of clever computer science jokes and a self-aware tone, appealing to those who appreciate programming culture. However, some players find the community's laughter at others' misfortunes to be off-putting, and technical issues detract from the overall comedic experience. Overall, while the humor can be entertaining, it may not resonate with everyone.
- “A funny and active community full of lying, deceiving, subterfuge, and at the same time, genuine programming advice.”
- “The game so far is riddled with computer science jokes, and I love that it has a sense of humor about itself.”
- “Funny, innit?”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The game exhibits significant stability issues, with users reporting a buggy interface and semi-responsive terminal. While some players find that these bugs add to the game's character, others feel that the overall experience is hindered by these technical shortcomings. Linux compatibility is generally good, with only minor quirks noted on certain distributions.
- “Linux compatibility: Outside of a few Unity quirks, it runs great for me on Debian Sid.”
- “Linux compatibility: Outside of a few Unity quirks, it runs great for me on Debian Sid.”
- “Additionally, the interface is buggy.”
- “Even if you manage to overlook the sometimes buggy, semi-responsive terminal where players spend most of their time, the game still falls short.”
- “Like Hacknet, only much more abstract, much more difficult, much more buggy.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
30%
60%
The monetization aspect of the game is heavily criticized due to the prevalence of microtransactions and the presence of bots spamming advertisements in chat, detracting from the gameplay experience. Players find themselves grinding for in-game currency while navigating a landscape filled with scams and uninteresting NPCs, leading to frustration. Additionally, user-created features like a casino and a social network highlight the limitations of the game's official monetization strategy.
- “Well, there are developers who programmed a casino into the game, where you can gamble, and someone even created a social network within the game, similar to Facebook, but better because there are no advertisements or kids' pictures.”
- “The game lets you create bots now that automatically send chat messages, and so now all that is in the main chat channels are robots advertising for scripts they made that don't really do anything cool considering everything is text-based. You can't have anything graphical like you're used to in DOS, just plain line-by-line text with no animations. You can't even really do ASCII art in the game.”
- “Once I joined the online game, I sat around for hours trying random commands while being spammed by players advertising their scams before I learned about 'NPC' accounts, which are just the least interesting bit of the tutorial, but even less interesting, and you have to grind dozens of them to make money.”
- “Well, there are guys here who programmed a casino into the game, where you can gamble, and someone even made a social network within the game, just like Facebook, only better, because no advertising or kids' pictures.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game is not primarily focused on emotional storytelling, players report feeling a sense of accomplishment and empowerment as they navigate its challenges, particularly in mastering programming and hacking skills. The experience can evoke strong emotions, especially when players engage deeply with the game's mechanics and the underlying themes of trust and betrayal. Overall, the emotional impact is largely dependent on the player's willingness to immerse themselves in the game's world.
- “All this is to say if you like computers, programming/scripting, or just love puzzles or social engineering, hacking, or are simply someone who enjoys being smart, this is the game for you. This is not an action-filled game, nor is it primarily an emotional experience or story-driven on its own, but once you get in, you will find this game can have a lot of action and emotion if you are willing to give it that. Most of all, trust no one; everyone will literally stab you in the back for any and all your worth.”
- “I have also started writing my own scripts and it made me feel like I actually accomplished something, even if it's in a fictional game world.”
- “There are many aspects of hackmud that really confuse me, but once I finally figured out what to do, it made me feel like a hacker god when really I just did scripts.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is widely criticized for its lack of replayability, with multiple users noting that it does not offer enough incentive to play again. While some acknowledge its potential and quality, the consensus is that without replay value, it falls short of being fully enjoyable.
- “This game is a great piece, but it lacks replayability.”
- “I do not actually know how to rate this game; it is a great game with lots of potential, but at its current state, I cannot recommend it. I simply cannot enjoy it to the fullest, and the replayability isn't there for me.”
- “It has no replayability.”