Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Website: https://zachtronics.itch.io/exapunks
Price: $19.90 USD
Blurb: “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.”
With me reviewing Steam and GOG games for Linux, I thought it may be time to give Itch.io a chance. Thanks to @Alfredo for the copy. (Your handle is hidden in Telegram, BTW).
I love that the electronic version of your manual, has staples!
Before you start
Exapunks is not a pick up and play game. There are things you should know, and you get a nifty manual for that. I must admit, I was at a loss for what to do when the game started. However, I did realise that we were in William Gibson’s Neuromancer. You have a screen with “options” on the right of the screen, and your deck in the centre. You can click on “play cutcsene” inside your personal organizer to get started with the story. A peek in the game’s folder revealed lots of .exe and .dll-files.
Story
You are a burned out ex-hacker. You have the Phage. It costs $700 a day for your medicine. You can transcribe receipts for 10 cents each, or you can go on a mission and hack something for your fix. One hack, one dose. You seem to be part of the cyberpunk counter culture, more than Japanese signs, neon lighting, dark alleys, and lots of rain. The trash world magazine you are given by Ghast is actually the manual to the game and you have to read it. The Phage is a weird one though, actually turning your neurons into circuitry. All hail our robot overlords…
Gameplay
This is a puzzle game at heart with a hacking theme. When I first laid eyes on the game board, my thought went to “Sokoban”, or “SokoBAArn” from the year before last. You program your little “exa” (I may be wrong here, but I think it is a wordplay on “.exe”) to move or pick up things and the like. Your “exa” moves on a board with grid tiles. You can have more than one “exa”, and they each do their thing independently from the others. Basically, they execute your commands. Each isometric board represents a host. The name of which is written on the side. The twist from your standard sokoban game is how you get where you want to be, and you also get to do stuff on the way. You use psuedo-programming to get your exa’s to follow the list of commands that you need them to do. It is quite challenging, but very thoroughly enjoyable. Somehow the game also reminds me a bit of Uplink… Though it is about hacking, there are some missions where you need to achieve another outcome, like playing your movies longer than your opponent. Be prepared for around fifty missions.
Graphics
You play from your deck, the ‘Sawayama 27 turbolance’. The interface reminds me of GeOS or BeOS (oops, I am showing my age here). The actual game boards, or computers in the hacking phase, are all in isometric view and very well done. So well, in fact, that you are immersed almost immediately. (Or, it may just be me, with a soft spot for isometric games). The aesthetic is pleasing and the retro-futurism suits the game perfectly. That first register should have been an ‘R’ though. RTFM… The spidery exa icon on my desktop just looks cool, but I had to put my own short-cut there.
Sound
The soundtrack is great! I actually was sure I heard some of the Mr Robot soundtrack sounds in there. The little beeps n boops sound like they came straight from an 80’s arcade cabinet. The solving a level sound is wakka-wakka straight from 70’s pron. Made me laugh. The voice acting is okay, but it would have been better if it were 100% voice acted. That said, there are only a few characters in the game, Nivas, Ghast, Ember, and Isadora, who actually talk to you. If you would like a taste of the awesome soundtrack, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxaM3F1TcJA or https://zachtronics.bandcamp.com/album/exapunks-ost
Conclusion
Even though the game is repetitive, it does not feel that way, due to the story and difficulty level. I am new to the Zachtronics craze, but I do understand the appeal. Is it worth your time? Yes. Is it worth the money? Well, the jury is still out on that one.