Uplink

About

Uplink is a single-player Science Fiction Strategy game with a good story and ingenious gameplay. As an Uplink Agent, you'll perform jobs for major corporations, such as hacking, stealing data, and sabotaging other systems, while upgrading your computer systems and buying new software. With increased experience, you'll access more dangerous and profitable missions, including influencing the stock market and constructing deadly viruses. Speculate, modify records, and participate in constructing the most deadly virus in this Marvelous soundtrack accompanied game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,616 reviews

story88 positive mentions

grinding52 negative mentions

Uplink offers a fun and immersive hacking experience that captures the essence of Hollywood-style hacking.
The game has a steep learning curve that rewards players with a sense of accomplishment as they progress.
The UplinkOS mod significantly enhances the user interface, making the game more accessible and visually appealing.

The game can become repetitive, with missions often feeling similar and lacking variety.
The user interface is outdated and can be frustrating to navigate, especially on modern displays.
Getting caught while hacking results in permanent loss of progress, which can be discouraging for players.

story
594 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
80%
5%
The game's story is described as a simple yet engaging narrative involving a hacker's journey through various missions, with a central plot about a corporation developing a virus to disrupt the internet. While players can choose to engage with the storyline or focus on sandbox-style gameplay, many find the missions repetitive and lacking in variety, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the story offers multiple endings and a sense of intrigue that can motivate players to explore further, making it a notable aspect of the game.
- “Surprisingly good story for a game that seems mainly focused on mechanics.”
- “The narrative, subtly revealed through missions, adds layers of engagement, making each hack a step in a grander story.”
- “The storyline is amazing, finished the story on both good and evil.”
- “Sadly this is all undercut by the game's poorly explained core mechanics and highly repetitive missions.”
- “The game play itself is interesting but presented poorly, giving little drive for the player to proceed through the story.”
- “It's all the same thing over and over again; once you do one mission type, that's it.”
gameplay
232 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
The gameplay of this hacking simulation game is characterized by a mix of addictive mechanics and a steep learning curve, offering a blend of strategic planning and trial-and-error challenges. While the core gameplay loop is engaging and immersive, many players find the mechanics clunky and poorly explained, leading to frustration, especially with the permadeath feature and repetitive missions. Overall, despite its dated presentation, the game provides a unique experience that rewards creativity and offers a satisfying sense of accomplishment for those willing to navigate its complexities.
- “The soundtrack is so good, the gameplay loop rewards being creative, and what you do affects the world around you.”
- “The gameplay is satisfying and surprisingly skillful, and completing a task really makes you feel accomplished.”
- “The game fuses high tension gameplay and a well executed theme into a blast of a time for anyone even remotely interested in 'hacking'.”
- “Sadly, this is all undercut by the game's poorly explained core mechanics and highly repetitive missions.”
- “My biggest gripe with the game is that its core gameplay loop is rather repetitive and thoughtless.”
- “A permadeath mechanic ruins what would otherwise be a fun, incredibly deep, incredibly intricate simulation of Hollywood-style hacking.”
music
158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
41%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its immersive and nostalgic qualities, effectively enhancing the hacking experience with a fitting cyberpunk atmosphere. Many players describe the soundtrack as catchy and memorable, often listening to it outside of gameplay, although some note that certain tracks can be overly loud or repetitive. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's appeal, despite some minor criticisms regarding volume control and occasional repetitiveness.
- “The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and fits the genre of the game very well.”
- “The music helps elevate the gameplay and soothe the player during high-stress time-sensitive situations.”
- “From destroying and stealing sensitive data, recording voice patterns, deciphering algorithms, decrypting files, compromising LAN networks, completely crippling complex and high-top secure systems, Uplink creates a level of immersion and atmosphere that is rarely seen in any other of the genre, much due to its soundtrack that nails at setting the right mood.”
- “The music was annoying, too 80s, too loud - you can't adjust the volume, only turn it on and off.”
- “Also, it can suffer from a bit of repetitiveness so it's not great for long play sessions and can really benefit from having a podcast, audiobook, or some music in the background.”
- “Fantastic game, just wish I could turn the music off.”
graphics
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
76%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally considered dated, with many users noting that they lack modern polish but contribute to a nostalgic, retro aesthetic reminiscent of early hacking culture. While the original visuals may not appeal to everyone, the Uplink OS mod is highly recommended for those seeking a graphical overhaul that modernizes the experience. Overall, the simplicity of the graphics is seen as a strength, allowing players to focus on gameplay rather than flashy visuals.
- “The graphical style may not have aged well, but that's what gives it that charm.”
- “Its graphics, simple yet purposeful, perfectly complement the game's essence.”
- “This game is proof that flashy graphics aren't necessary for a rich, immersive experience.”
- “It's a bit dated (and it shows), but the game still manages to evoke the Hollywood hacker tone and aesthetic throughout.”
- “It would be easy to dismiss these issues as 'part of the experience' but that's just a cheesy way of dodging 'it's a really old game, you will have to deal with terrible graphics.'”
- “Yes, it is quite an old game that has been around long before its release on Steam and the graphics are just plain non-existent, but the Linux command line interface brings old school hacking to the comfort of your home, without the adverse effects.”
grinding
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The game is widely regarded as grindy and repetitive, with many players finding the grinding aspect tedious and time-consuming, especially under pressure. While some enjoy the challenge and immersive gameplay, others feel that the poorly designed interface and mission requirements contribute to a frustrating experience. Overall, the enjoyment of the game seems to hinge on one's tolerance for grinding and the ability to engage with it in manageable chunks.
- “The game is grindy and very repetitive, and the punishment for getting caught is too severe for me to stick with it.”
- “An excellent concept implemented poorly by a tedious, soulless, meaningless click-fest.”
- “At the same time, its poorly designed interface and strange design choices make the game more tedious and repetitive than it could be.”
replayability
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
50%
6%
Overall, the game boasts high replayability, particularly enhanced by numerous mods and custom content that keep the experience fresh. While some players find the gameplay can become repetitive after mastering the mechanics, the variety of missions and different story endings provide enough incentive for multiple playthroughs. Despite some criticisms regarding the learning curve and UI, many consider it one of the most replayable hacking simulations available.
- “This easily has the highest replayability and variety of game mechanics of any hacking sim.”
- “Uplink is one of the most diverse, interesting, and replayable games I've ever seen.”
- “Endless replayability.”
- “However, this game can become a little repetitive as while there are many different mission types, within each category the missions are basically the same (hacking one bank is the same as hacking any other). However, the late game missions have more variety, which leaves some replayability.”
- “Gameplay-wise, once you know how to do it, and get personally experienced with it, you can get all the money you ever want within a few hours from starting, and there is little replay value until you leave long enough to forget how to play.”
- “Fun little game to try on the side, but it didn't have replayability, so when it has had its run, you can safely uninstall it and reclaim some lost hard drive.”
atmosphere
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
48%
7%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and tense qualities, enhanced by a compelling soundtrack that captures the essence of the hacking experience. Players feel a constant sense of urgency and danger, with the game's design effectively drawing them into a dark, cyberpunk world that emphasizes the risks of hacking. Despite its simple graphics, the overall ambiance and thematic depth create a captivating environment that resonates with fans of the genre.
- “We've seen a sporadic amount of hacking games over the years but nothing will come close to what Uplink created in terms of providing a seemingly realistic experience by interpretation, and a nail-biting atmosphere where one tiny error could see you lose everything.”
- “From destroying and stealing sensitive data, recording voice patterns, deciphering algorithms, decrypting files, compromising LAN networks, completely crippling complex and high-top secure systems, Uplink creates a level of immersion and atmosphere that is rarely seen in any other of the genre, much due to its soundtrack that nails at setting the right mood.”
- “The 'atmosphere' (or whatever passes for it in a game made up of menus) is perfect because the game never even admits to being a game.”
- “There's something about the atmosphere in the game that is so intense, and which raises your primal senses.”
- “Never has a game so captured the atmosphere, the mythos, the feel of the cracker realm.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and immersion, with players enjoying the funny easter eggs and amusing notes scattered throughout. Many find the comedic elements enhance the overall experience, making the hacking simulation not only engaging but also entertaining. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch that keeps players smiling and laughing as they navigate the game.
- “Some really funny and interesting notes and servers can give you as much joy as the effort to discover them.”
- “Absolutely funny and immersive, not too accurate though.”
- “It's simple and addictive and it's hilarious to watch outsiders try to figure out whether or not I'm playing a game.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with multiple users reporting frequent glitches, misaligned text, and overall buggy performance. Despite some players enjoying the concept, the persistent technical issues detract significantly from the experience.
- “Oh no it can't, because the only thing Introversion Software produces is buggy horseshit.”
- “Game kinda blows - constant glitches and text not lining up.”
- “Well to that I say, yes, it is buggy.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's optimization has been criticized, particularly for its lack of multiplayer support and inadequate performance on HD monitors, which is attributed to its age as a 13-year-old title. Despite these issues, players still recognize its quality in single-player mode.
- “This is probably due to the fact that it is a 13-year-old game and isn't properly optimized for HD monitors.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find "Hacknet" to be more emotionally engaging due to its modern design and immersive gameplay, which combines typing and interactive elements that enhance the feeling of being a real hacker.