Games Like Mainlining

Hacknet is an immersive, terminal-based hacking simulator for PC. Dive down a rabbit hoIe as you follow the instructions of a recently deceased hacker, whose death may not have been the accident the media reports.

Why similar: Hacking 84.5% ★, Typing 5% ★, Programming 4.9% ★, Simulation 1.9%, Great Soundtrack 1.6%

Why You'll Like It: This terminal-based hacking simulator is the gold standard for authentic, command-line driven gameplay.

Uplink lets you play as a freelance hacker tackling risky contracts for corporations. Break into systems, steal data, sabotage rivals, and upgrade your gear. Support factions or go rogue in this immersive, strategy-driven hacking simulation game where your choices shape the outcome.

Why similar: Hacking 62.1% ★, Programming 13% ★, Typing 11.3% ★, Simulation 4.8%, Puzzle 2.9%

Why You'll Like It: A classic hacking simulation that captures the high-stakes, cat-and-mouse nature of corporate espionage.

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

Why similar: Hacking 64.4% ★, Programming 19.2% ★, Simulation 6.9%, Typing 6.5% ★, Indie 2.2%

Why You'll Like It: A massively multiplayer hacking simulator that offers a deep, persistent world for you to exploit and defend.

Cyber Manhunt is a story-oriented puzzle game focusing on big data, hacking, citizen privacy, and social workers. It focuses on social issues such as cyber violence and privacy breaches.

Why similar: Hacking 71.5% ★, Simulation 14%, Puzzle 7.5%, Indie 4.2%, Story Rich 2%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses heavily on the investigative and social engineering aspects of hacking, mirroring the detective work in Mainlining.

Midnight Protocol is a tactical narrative-driven RPG with unique keyboard-only controls. Hack into servers, beat security systems and discover encrypted secrets while you try to find answers to why and how you got doxxed.

Why similar: Hacking 56% ★, Typing 24% ★, Programming 12.5% ★, Story Rich 3.5%, Indie 2.6%

Why You'll Like It: A tactical, terminal-based hacking game that emphasizes careful planning and execution during digital heists.

NITE Team 4 is a military hacking simulation game that explores the world of cyberwarfare and features realistic mission scenarios.

Why similar: Hacking 79.8% ★, Simulation 9.8%, Adventure 3.8%, Indie 3.7%, Puzzle 3%

Why You'll Like It: This title offers a highly realistic, military-grade approach to hacking and intelligence gathering.

The year is 1997. You used to be a hacker, but now you have the phage. You made a deal: one hack, one dose. There’s nothing left to lose… except your life.

Why similar: Hacking 51.7% ★, Programming 31.5% ★, Puzzle 5.3%, Simulation 5.2%, Great Soundtrack 3.2%

Why You'll Like It: A brilliant programming-based puzzle game that captures the gritty, underground feel of hacking into corporate systems.

Things are not what they seem at your new tech support specialist job. While resolving customer issues, you soon find yourself in the middle of a conspiracy. Will you side with your employer, join a rogue hacktivist group bent on destroying them, assist the police or stand alone?

Why similar: Hacking 73.7% ★, Simulation 12.8%, Adventure 6.3%, Indie 3.8%, Story Rich 3.5%

Why You'll Like It: This desktop-based simulation forces you to navigate a complex OS to solve technical issues and uncover hidden narratives.

Big Brother has arrived - and it’s you. Investigate the lives of citizens to find those responsible for a series of terror attacks. Information from the internet, personal communications and private files are all accessible to you. But, be warned, the information you supply will have consequences.

Why similar: Simulation 61.4%, Hacking 27.1% ★, Point & Click 3.8%, Story Rich 2.8%, Indie 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: You play as a government agent monitoring citizens, perfectly matching the investigative and surveillance themes of the seed game.

When you have a top-of-the-line hacking deck armed with a 56.6k modem and a staggering 256k RAM, it means just one thing: you answer only to the highest bidder.

Why similar: Hacking 57.6% ★, Programming 22.4% ★, Typing 7.1% ★, Adventure 4.3%, Puzzle 2.9%

Why You'll Like It: A stylish heist game where you use a portable computer to hack security systems and bypass obstacles.

Greetings Enforcer, and thank you for enlisting in the Hypnospace Patrol Department! As the world falls into its slumber, Hypnospace becomes a bustling global village. These virtual streets aren't going to police themselves!

Why similar: Point & Click 28.1%, Simulation 25.9%, Great Soundtrack 18.3%, Puzzle 8.3%, Story Rich 6.5%

Why You'll Like It: While more surreal, this desktop-based investigation game captures the feeling of navigating a retro, internet-like environment.

Step into the shoes of a skilled Anonymous hacker and embark on a mission to unveil the truth hidden behind a sinister organization's plans to monitor civilian data and enforce mass surveillance.

Why similar: Hacking 58.3% ★, Typing 24.1% ★, Simulation 11.3%, Programming 4.2% ★, Indie 1.5%

Why You'll Like It: A modern take on the hacking genre that emphasizes the social and criminal aspects of cyber-warfare.

Play as a hacker and take control of an ultra secret company to reveal the darkest secrets. But beware , you seem not to be alone and what you will discover could change the world ...

Why similar: Hacking 81.7% ★, Indie 7%, Adventure 6.9%, Puzzle 4.4%

Why You'll Like It: An immersive desktop-based puzzle adventure that requires you to hack into systems to piece together a mysterious story.

A game about friendship, love and technology in a place where bits have replaced atoms.

Why similar: Hacking 52.2% ★, Programming 29.5% ★, Point & Click 4.8%, Adventure 4.7%, Great Soundtrack 4.2%

Why You'll Like It: This game allows you to manipulate the world through deep programming and hacking mechanics within an open-world setting.

Unravel cyber secrets and foil mass surveillance as a skilled hacker in Hackhub. Challenge authority, rewrite the rules, and emerge as the ultimate digital rebel.

Why similar: Hacking 59.6% ★, Typing 24.4% ★, Simulation 7.9%, Puzzle 4.8%, Indie 2.2%

Why You'll Like It: A comprehensive hacking simulator that covers various aspects of network intrusion and data theft.

Become a hacker and build your online reputation to the top. Complete contracts, buy new programs, upgrade your computer, crack wifi networks and infiltrate peoples or companies online systems.

Why similar: Hacking 58% ★, Typing 15% ★, Programming 14.3% ★, Simulation 7.8%, Adventure 2.3%

Why You'll Like It: A straightforward simulation that provides a sandbox environment for learning and executing hacking techniques.

Hack_me is a hacker simulator game. The main objective in game – is to hack big companies's servers to show people that there is nothing in this world that protected on 100%. You’ll need to use your cmd, bruteforce, SQL-injectors and other programs to hack servers.

Why similar: Hacking 58.4% ★, Programming 19.7% ★, Simulation 10.9%, Adventure 4.2%, Indie 3.4%

Why You'll Like It: A desktop-based hacking simulator that focuses on the thrill of breaking into servers and stealing data.

A digital voyeur simulator where you watch strangers through surveillance cameras. Invade their privacy and witness their most intimate moments, but don’t interact with the subjects – anything could happen if you dare feed the monkeys!

Why similar: Point & Click 34.9%, Simulation 21%, Pixel Graphics 13.9%, Story Rich 10.9%, Adventure 10.2%

Why You'll Like It: A surveillance-based simulation that tasks you with observing subjects and making moral decisions based on your findings.

Welcome to the Department of Liberty. Ascend the ranks of the NSA-like surveillance agency and decide: will you stand up for privacy, or help create an unstoppable police state? Spy on people’s deepest secrets, pick apart their private lives and decide their fate in this modern surveillance thriller.

Why similar: Simulation 38.1%, Adventure 17.6%, Point & Click 14.9%, Indie 14.9%, Puzzle 8.4%

Why You'll Like It: A government-focused surveillance simulation that forces you to manage information and balance your ethics against your duty.

BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.

Why similar: Programming 65.8% ★, Hacking 10.2% ★, Simulation 8.8%, Puzzle 8.2%, Indie 3.4%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on the hardware and software engineering side of hacking, requiring complex logic to solve puzzles.

A single bit of computer memory became sentient and decided to escape from digital into the real world. Explore RAM, modify bytes and hack machine code and CPU registers to set it free.

Why similar: Hacking 51.5% ★, Programming 24.7% ★, Simulation 12.8%, Indie 5.6%, Puzzle 4.5%

Why You'll Like It: A puzzle game that uses memory manipulation and code editing as its core mechanics for progression.

Change the minds of evildoers…for good! MINDHACK is a text adventure game where you meet unique evildoers, hack their minds, and rewrite them into happy people!

Why similar: Hacking 70.1% ★, Typing 13% ★, Story Rich 5.1%, Adventure 4.9%, Great Soundtrack 3.3%

Why You'll Like It: A narrative-driven game that uses hacking as a tool to rewrite the personalities of the characters you encounter.

How far would you go to save your daughter? As an infamous hacker-for-hire you have the skills to steal almost any secret. But when your daughter is taken, will you be able to use these skills to uncover a dark conspiracy that goes further than you could ever imagine?

Why similar: Hacking 62.5% ★, Point & Click 12.9%, Puzzle 6.4%, Adventure 5.4%, Indie 4.3%

Why You'll Like It: This game leans into the detective side of hacking, focusing on gathering evidence and solving digital crimes.

TIS-100 is an open-ended programming game by Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem and Infinifactory, in which you rewrite corrupted code segments to repair the TIS-100 and unlock its secrets. It’s the assembly language programming game you never asked for!

Why similar: Programming 50.3% ★, Hacking 33.7% ★, Puzzle 6.5%, Simulation 6%, Indie 2.8%

Why You'll Like It: A challenging assembly-language programming game that captures the raw, low-level feel of system hacking.

CHAQS is an instructive CTF (Capture The Flag) game that performs the basic functions of an operating system. While it meets your expectations from an operating system to a certain extent with the applications it contains, CHAQS progresses in the direction of more challenges in terms of gameplay.

Why similar: Hacking 46.7% ★, Typing 22% ★, Programming 20% ★, Simulation 6.2%, Adventure 3.1%

Why You'll Like It: A programming-focused simulation that challenges you to solve complex tasks using a virtual terminal.

Hack Into God

Why similar: Hacking 82.4% ★, Adventure 11.7%, Story Rich 4.8%, Singleplayer 1.1%

Why You'll Like It: A visual novel that integrates high-concept hacking and investigation into its narrative-heavy structure.

Welcome to the Game II is an atmospheric horror / strategy / puzzle game that takes you into the world of the deep web in search of the shadow web. Play as an investigative reporter trying to solve a case of a mysterious woman broadcasting for help as masked men are on the hunt to kill her.

Why similar: Hacking 81.1% ★, Simulation 8.7%, Indie 4%, Puzzle 3%, Memes 2%

Why You'll Like It: A tense, desktop-based survival game that involves deep-web investigation and high-stakes digital exploration.

The ultimate "Hollywood Hacker" simulator for when you want to look busy, dangerous, and incredibly tech-savvy.

Why similar: Hacking 50.7% ★, Typing 22.3% ★, Programming 16.8% ★, Simulation 5.1%, Pixel Graphics 2.9%

Step into the shoes of a government official in a top-secret department of the Orwell surveillance program. Given the power to both uncover and fabricate "the truth", how far will you go in the service of your country? Season 2 of Orwell, the award-winning surveillance thriller.

Why similar: Hacking 63.2% ★, Simulation 12.3%, Point & Click 8.1%, Adventure 5.2%, Indie 4.9%

Why You'll Like It: The sequel to the surveillance thriller, offering even more complex investigations into state-level secrets.

Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling.

Why similar: Point & Click 24.6%, Simulation 21.9%, Indie 14.8%, Pixel Graphics 11.5%, Great Soundtrack 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: While not a hacking game, it shares the same bureaucratic, high-pressure investigative feel found in government-themed sims.

Delve into a gripping world of puzzles, true ciphers on an old PalmPilot system. Will you uncover the Crypt Killer’s confession and bring him to justice, or will he escape the law?

Why similar: Hacking 44.6% ★, Point & Click 18.5%, Simulation 17.4%, Puzzle 8.6%, Adventure 4.6%

Event[0] is a sci-fi narrative exploration game where you build a relationship with a lonely spaceship computer to get home to Earth.

Why similar: Typing 36.6% ★, Adventure 25.4%, Indie 17.4%, Story Rich 14.9%, Singleplayer 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: A unique narrative experience where you interact with an AI through a terminal to uncover the truth behind a space station.

Become a hacker and build your online reputation to the top by discovering a simplified and enjoyable version of real-life hacking methods. Complete contracts, buy new programs, upgrade your computer, crack wifi networks and infiltrate peoples or companies online systems.

Why similar: Hacking 49.9% ★, Typing 15.1% ★, Simulation 14.6%, Programming 11.4% ★, Adventure 4.5%

Unravel cyber secrets and foil mass surveillance as a skilled hacker in HackHub. Challenge authority, rewrite the rules, and emerge as the ultimate digital rebel.

Why similar: Hacking 64.7% ★, Typing 16% ★, Simulation 12.1%, Puzzle 6.8%, Singleplayer 0.4%

Replica is an interactive novel game played through a cellphone and social media. The insane experience of peeping into someone's private life through a cellphone will transform you into the state's greatest patriot.

Why similar: Hacking 70.7% ★, Pixel Graphics 7%, Puzzle 7%, Indie 6.2%, Adventure 4.8%

Discover a digital realm shrouded in mystery. Sequel to an award-winning narrative driven hacking simulator puzzle game. Play as an AI assistant in a major corporation. Deploy intricate social engineering tactics and expose hidden truths in a world of ambition and high-tech deception.

Why similar: Hacking 74.3% ★, Point & Click 10.8%, Simulation 7.7%, Story Rich 4.9%, Puzzle 1.5%

Hacker Evolution is a hacking simulation game, featuring unparalleled graphics and features. You play the role of a former intelligence agent, specializing in computer security. When a chain of events sets off worldwide, leaving critical service disabled, you assume the role a computer hacker to find out what happened and attempt to stop...

Why similar: Hacking 59.8% ★, Typing 16.2% ★, Simulation 11.3%, Puzzle 5.5%, Great Soundtrack 3%

Welcome to our ethical hacker's organisation: we will teach you how to use actual hacker tools (terminal, proxy, reverse shells...) to scan the network, crack passwords, bypass server security and solve the mystery of the Bikini-72 space station.

Why similar: Hacking 73.7% ★, Point & Click 9.3%, Simulation 8.9%, Puzzle 6.5%, Adventure 0.7%

This is a deep web exploration simulator. Discover hundreds of websites and files around the Web to get to the Silent House and save your friend. Find out creepy stories from the Web and meet its inhabitants. It's showtime!

Why similar: Hacking 55.2% ★, Typing 20.5% ★, Simulation 8.2%, Puzzle 5.3%, Adventure 3.9%

Step into the shoes of a skilled Anonymous hacker and embark on a mission to unveil the truth hidden behind a sinister organization's plans to monitor civilian data and enforce mass surveillance.

Why similar: Hacking 69.3% ★, Simulation 14.6%, Typing 13.6% ★, Indie 1.9%, Singleplayer 0.6%

HACK_IT presents players with a fully immersive hacking experience, you’ll meet characters and find out things you never imagined. Including interactive apps that will give you the power to shutdown servers and retrieve passwords.

Why similar: Hacking 61% ★, Typing 10.3% ★, Simulation 9.5%, Adventure 5.1%, Indie 4.8%

The hacking simulator, which consists of many mini-games, which together all merge into one, composite game.

Why similar: Hacking 57.5% ★, Simulation 22.3%, Indie 10.7%, Great Soundtrack 9.5%

Dungeons! Danger! Rhythm Action! You just hacked into the biggest corporation in the world and stole an unfeasibly valuable amount of data, but getting in was the easy part. To get back out you’ll need to explore the Mainframe, solve puzzles, battle security programs… and do it all on the beat!

Why similar: Hacking 82.9% ★, Puzzle 9.4%, Adventure 5.6%, Singleplayer 2.1%

Dreambreak is a story-driven adventure set in an alternative post-Cold War world, a quirky and unique mix of clashing gameplay genres. Get fingered for murder in without actually going there!

Why similar: Point & Click 34.4%, Pixel Graphics 20.2%, Adventure 18.2%, Indie 14.9%, Story Rich 7.8%

Welcome to DROP, a fast-paced action-strategy hacking simulator. Ready to hack your way to fame and fortune while avoiding getting caught? Use stealth and cunning to maneuver between the ongoing power struggle of corporations and factions to control the fragmented networks in the city.

Why similar: Hacking 74.2% ★, Simulation 9.7%, Puzzle 6%, Pixel Graphics 4.7%, Indie 4.6%

From multi-award winning Revolution comes ‘Beyond a Steel Sky’, a groundbreaking 3D adventure thriller, set in an AI-driven future. Subvert the world, hack the systems and solve dark conspiracies to uncover the devastating truth.

Why similar: Hacking 59.6% ★, Point & Click 15.6%, Adventure 7.2%, Puzzle 6.2%, Indie 5%

Can you push through?! Security Hole is a challenging spatial puzzle with a cyberpunk story. You become a hacker who passes 3D virus blocks through security holes to save humanity. The game mechanics look like a workout tool for spatial thinking.

Why similar: Hacking 67.6% ★, Great Soundtrack 9.8%, Indie 9.8%, Puzzle 8.2%, Story Rich 3.2%

VICCP is a Very Important Central Control Panel. Brainstorming / Puzzle / Quest / Point Click. You are using mysterious remote panel that you can control. Find out how it works, make decisions, solve puzzles. The game has a lot of endings that you have to find yourself.

Why similar: Hacking 49.9% ★, Simulation 13.5%, Point & Click 9.3%, Adventure 7.2%, Great Soundtrack 7.1%

Reveal company secrets while hacking and exploring their quantum simulation networks. Fights for control with other players, coop with your faction, gather best tools, build most secure servers, write scripts and webs, or choose to be solo hacker who makes the right choices to change the world.

Why similar: Hacking 57.6% ★, Programming 20.6% ★, Simulation 8%, Puzzle 5.2%, Story Rich 2.9%

Try to save humanity in this episodic and fully voiced hacker story. Guide your partner through a thrilling and emotional science fiction journey by hacking systems and extracting information. All from your keyboard.

Why similar: Hacking 67.9% ★, Adventure 15.4%, Indie 12.7%, Story Rich 4%

⚡️Fix electronics 📈manage firm 💻challenge the hacker... ServiceIT is a simulation game where you run a full-service IT company to engage in tasks like diagnosing, repairing equipment, network infiltration, programming, server management while an Anonymous hacker keeps sabotaging it all.

Why similar: Hacking 58.3% ★, Programming 26.1% ★, Simulation 9.4%, Puzzle 3.1%, Indie 2.3%

Hack into crime scenes, look for evidence, analyze data, interrogate criminals, track suspects and deal with the consequences of your decisions. This is a dark and brutal detective story with a Black Mirror-esque atmosphere of digital dominance and the narrative structure of a US crime procedural.

Why similar: Hacking 58% ★, Point & Click 14.3%, Simulation 11.3%, Story Rich 5.9%, Adventure 4.6%

The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk narrative experience about fate and happiness featuring the extensive use of pottery, bartending and impersonating people on the phone to take down a corporate conspiracy.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 24.5%, Pixel Graphics 20.7%, Point & Click 19.3%, Story Rich 14.6%, Adventure 8.2%

VirtuaVerse is a challenging old school cyberpunk point & click adventure set in a future not so far away narrating tales of technomancers, AVR graffiti writers, hacker groups, tribes of cryptoshamans, digital archeology, epic cyberwars and virtual reality debauchery.

Why similar: Point & Click 39.1%, Pixel Graphics 16.3%, Puzzle 13%, Story Rich 10.7%, Indie 9%

Malware lurks where you least expect it. Unscrupulous software vendors have hidden traps inside legitimate installers — can you spot them all and keep your computer clean?

Why similar: Hacking 32.1% ★, Point & Click 22.3%, Simulation 20.2%, Puzzle 12.9%, Memes 8.1%

Darknet is a strategy/puzzle game in which you play as an elite hacker in the Net. Plug into cyberspace, using viruses, worms, and exploits to steal the data before your signal gets traced. Includes both VR and non-VR versions.

Why similar: Hacking 71.5% ★, Indie 10.6%, Great Soundtrack 9.1%, Puzzle 7.4%, Singleplayer 1.4%

Become an expert hacker by using your raw brainpower! Learn how to get ahead in your new job at a cybersecurity company. Analyze servers for weaknesses, and hack them using their own subroutines to access the data they protect.

Why similar: Hacking 80.4% ★, Puzzle 9.1%, Story Rich 6.1%, Indie 3.1%, Singleplayer 1.4%

::Game Concept: Rhythm Game + Hacker Theme:: Play out your dangerous hacker fantasies with this clever rhythm game.Welcome, to the Hacker's World...

Why similar: Hacking 54.7% ★, Typing 35.1% ★, Memes 6.8%, Indie 2.4%, Singleplayer 1%

Moebius: Empire Rising is a contemporary adventure that merges classic point-and-click puzzle solving with Jane Jensen’s sophisticated storytelling. Travel the world using Malachi’s unique deductive powers to analyze suspects, make historical connections, and uncover the truth behind a theory of space and time the government will defend...

Why similar: Point & Click 50%, Adventure 28.2%, Indie 13%, Puzzle 8.8%