The Lonely Hacker

About

"The Lonely Hacker" is a simulation game that allows players to experience the life of a hacker. With a good storyline and excellent game mechanics, players can engage in hacking activities and feel the thrill of the digital underworld. However, be prepared for some grinding as you progress through the game. The game describes itself as a chance to feel like a hacker, and it delivers on that promise.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,208 reviews

story31 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

The game has a unique and interesting concept that simulates hacking realistically.
The developer is responsive and actively updates the game, adding new features and content.
The game is ad-free and offers a fun experience without microtransactions.

Many features are still under construction, leading to a lack of content and repetitive gameplay.
The user interface is clunky and can be confusing, making navigation difficult.
Some players experience bugs that hinder progress, such as missions not completing or features not functioning.

story
233 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
83%
3%
The game's story aspect is currently minimal, with many players expressing a desire for a more structured narrative rather than just a series of repetitive missions. While the missions are engaging and provide a sense of realism in hacking, players often find themselves running out of content quickly, leading to boredom. Many reviewers are eagerly awaiting updates that will introduce new missions and a more cohesive storyline to enhance the overall gaming experience.
- “I absolutely love this game but continuously am running into a crucial issue on mission se-06.”
- “I love this game simply because it is educational and funny at the same time. It uses real tools and hacking methods; there are also many devices to hack and many networks to crack. I loved the tools, and there is also DDoS attack and ransomware, and this is not all; there are many features that will be added soon.”
- “I suggest that a regular update is needed and more missions, and maybe even a storyline (not tutorials), but overall it's amazing.”
- “The storyline is also pretty much non-existent.”
- “You can forever crack WiFi and run randoms and such, but without story or missions, it gets repetitive.”
- “The reason for the lack of five stars is the absence of a plot line, which I believe will create a more in-depth gaming experience.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
46%
13%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive nature and lack of long-term motivation, despite some appreciating the core mechanics and regular updates from the developer. While the graphics and sound design are praised, several users express a desire for more depth, variety, and optimization in gameplay to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant improvements to reach its full potential.
- “However, the dev has remained committed and continues to roll out new content regularly with each new update further fleshing out the gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is compelling and fun.”
- “This game is an awesome game for an indie game as it features a quite realistic gameplay experience and is completely worth the money.”
- “Gameplay's very repetitive right now, no long-term motivation.”
- “I think the developer did a great job with aesthetics but the gameplay is highly repetitive and rewards are almost meaningless within the game.”
- “After a few hours of gameplay it got boring and repetitive.”
monetization
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
3%
32%
The game is praised for its complete lack of ads and microtransactions, providing a smooth and enjoyable experience for players. Many users appreciate the absence of in-game purchases, highlighting it as a significant positive aspect that enhances gameplay. However, there are concerns about the game's development status, with some users noting it feels like "abandonware" on certain platforms.
- “I love how this game is completely free and has no microtransactions.”
- “This game has no ads and no microtransactions.”
- “Lovely game (no ads and no pay-to-win) I recommend buying!”
- “This is a bad app please don't download it; it was great when seen on the Play Store, but when you download it, it contains more ads.”
- “Many ads come here.”
- “Why without any ads and in-app purchases?”
graphics
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
48%
9%
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the aesthetic style and realistic environments, while others criticize the interface and display issues, particularly on older devices. Some users express a desire for improvements and updates to enhance the visual experience, indicating that while the graphics are generally well-received, there is significant room for refinement. The game's visuals are noted as a strong point, but inconsistencies and glitches detract from the overall experience for some players.
- “I love the style and overall tone of the game, as well as the graphics.”
- “Graphics and visuals in the game are stunning, delivering realistic environments and character animations.”
- “The graphics are great, (depending on how you set them) the gameplay is good, and the amount of effort put into it really shows, plus, weekly updates!”
- “The graphics don't seem to fit on my display (first gen pixel), with buttons and text cutting off.”
- “Still glitchy graphics with an old Macintosh vibe, but hopefully it's still in development.”
- “The graphics in the UI are very low.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The music in the game is generally praised for its cool and immersive soundtracks that complement the gameplay, though some players express dissatisfaction with the inability to turn off the music permanently or play their own tracks. While the melodies are described as incredible, the audio quality is criticized for being mono, and there are requests for more variety and customization options in the music selection. Overall, the music enhances the hacking theme but could benefit from improvements in functionality and diversity.
- “The music melodies are incredible.”
- “From the game designs and music to the hacking sim, all perfect.”
- “The music, gameplay, and user interface is just on point.”
- “But the one thing that bugs me is when you turn off the music, it just never stays off, so I can never listen to my own music while playing the game.”
- “Audio songs keep turning back on after I've turned them off, it seems.”
- “Please add an option for custom songs to use in-game.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be repetitive and tedious, often requiring them to complete similar missions for minimal rewards. While some enjoy the overall experience, many express frustration with the need to grind for resources and the lack of engaging content, leading to a sense of stagnation despite the game's enjoyable elements.
- “I took one star away because it can get a bit repetitive and grindy to advance to the next stage in your skill/toolset.”
- “Too grindy and repetitive, doing the same things over and over again, for minimum rewards.”
- “Not enough content and grindiness seems built-in, eg. menus that require you to select then enter rather than selecting automatically opening them.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of educational and entertaining elements, with players appreciating the comedic aspects of the reviews and the simplified portrayal of hacking methods. However, some users feel that the humor may not resonate with everyone, indicating a divide in perception regarding its comedic value. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable and funny, with anticipation for future updates.
- “I love this game simply because it is educational and funny at the same time. It uses real tools and hacking methods, and there are many devices to hack and networks to crack. I loved the tools, and there is also DDoS attack and ransomware. This is not all; there are many features that will be added soon. So my friends, install this game; it's very good! I am excited for the exploit customizer and the corporate hacking missions.”
- “Simply a great game with real hacking methods but simplified. It's great and funny! I hope that the developer updates the game at least once a week. Good job!”
- “I also find some of the reviews funny; I don't get what's so 'hard' about this game.”
- “It's seriously not funny.”
- “The jokes fall flat and feel forced.”
- “I expected more clever humor, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Overall, users report that while recent updates have improved content and reduced bugs, there are still significant concerns regarding optimization and performance issues that need to be addressed.
- “The updates are consistent with more content, far fewer bugs, and optimization... good stuff.”
- “Need more gameplay content, features, and optimization.”
- “Could you please fix the optimization?”
- “Bad performance.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, unresponsive buttons, and frequent freezes that hinder gameplay. While some players see potential in the game, many express frustration over its unfinished state and lack of engaging content beyond the tutorial phase. Overall, the game's stability issues significantly detract from the user experience.
- “It's unfinished (buttons are buggy, spellchecker needed, many buttons that don't function), lots of reading for quite repetitive play, DDoS attacks are just annoying as you wait and wait (why would I wait 5 minutes for just $100? when I can take all the servers and accounts for $3-4k in 5 minutes?), no freedom to do anything after the tutorial, the game is just a tutorial... not sure why it was released at this stage. It 'looks' to have potential but really nothing I see now makes me want to stay.”
- “Doesn't work, get to the menu and it freezes.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users note that while the game features immersive music and appealing visuals, it lacks significant replayability due to a limited amount of content. After completing the short missions, players find little incentive to continue, as the primary activity involves repetitive tasks like traveling to new countries without substantial new challenges.
- “The music is cool and immersive, and the look and feel of the game is great. However, there isn't much replayability; once you complete the short set of missions, there's not much to do beyond traveling to new countries to upgrade your botnet.”
- “The game offers a unique experience with each playthrough, thanks to its dynamic missions and evolving challenges that keep you coming back for more.”
- “With multiple paths to explore and different strategies to employ, the replayability factor is high, making each session feel fresh and engaging.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that the game evokes a strong sense of immersion, making them feel like skilled hackers, which adds to the emotional engagement and enjoyment of the experience.