Hacker Simulator

In the Hacker Simulator game, you play a hacker who builds an online reputation by taking on contracts. The game was developed by the independent studio Save All Studio and released on Steam in October 2021. It is a first-person simulation: you sit at your own computer, buy hacking programs, upgrade your hardware, crack WiFi networks and break into protected systems to complete each job. The developers say openly that Hacker Simulator is not a realistic one-to-one simulation of hacking; its mechanics are only inspired by real methods such as brute-force attacks, exploits and phishing, simplified so that they stay fun to play. Along the way you learn to use an in-game version of the well-known Aircrack-ng suite of wireless tools. There are many different tasks you might encounter while playing the Hacker Simulator game, and many of them involve typing commands and reading their output carefully.

Staying anonymous is an important part of the game. You connect through different WiFi networks to hide your tracks, and some networks are secured or monitored, so careless actions carry a risk. The tools you need are sold on an in-game website called BackStore, which you should visit regularly as your skills and budget grow.

Hacker Simulator is a paid game, but a separate free trial is available on Steam. It includes the tutorial and the first contracts, so you can try the mechanics before buying the full version.

The game is a single-player title with Steam Family Sharing support. It is available in eleven languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese, and the settings menu lets you adjust graphics, audio and controls, with separate volume sliders for in-game and main menu music. On Steam, user reviews rate it Mostly Positive.

The hardware requirements are moderate for a 3D game: a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or later, an Intel Core i5-2500 class processor, 8 GB of RAM and a graphics card on the level of GeForce GTX 780 or Radeon R7 260X. It is a game rather than a security training tool, and all hacking takes place inside its fictional world.

It offers a simplified, game-style take on hacking methods such as brute-force attacks, exploits, phishing and WiFi cracking.

Features:

• Contracts that build your hacker reputation
• Simplified brute-force, exploit and phishing mechanics
• WiFi cracking with an in-game Aircrack-ng suite
• Computer upgrades and tools bought on the in-game BackStore
• Free trial with the tutorial and first contracts