Uplink 2001

Released: October 1, 2001
Anniversary: Turned 25 on October 1
Genres: Simulator · Strategy · Indie
Platforms: Linux · Android · PC · iOS · Mac
Developer: Introversion Software
More info: Wikipedia IGDB

Where to buy

Digital: GOG $5.99-50% GMG Steam

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In a collection: Scanner Sombre Pack

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Physical: Search on Amazon

Affiliate links: GOG, Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, ININ Games and Amazon

Is it still worth playing?

You are a freelance hacker working for the Uplink Corporation in a 2010 as the hacker films imagined it, in this 2001 game for Windows, later on Linux, the Mac, iOS and Android. The hacking is the movies': tools bought and run against a target's security, a gateway machine to upgrade, money, software and skill amassed contract by contract, and an IRC client inside the game. Two viruses, Revelation and Faith, are being built by rival sides, and the story comes through the jobs, to an electronic ambient soundtrack made with trackers. It was not the first hacking simulator, but it set most of the genre's elements. Its studio paid for no advertising at all, and it spread by word of mouth. The contracts still make it a hacking game that feels like the films, one job at a time.