Choose Hacknet
Choose Hacknet if you want the Adjustable Text Size, Camera Comfort, and Playable without Timed Input side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 23% cheaper on the Steam Store. 7,537 Steam reviews back the pick.
Hacknet vs How To Hack In?
Hacknet and How To Hack In? both land in Indie, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Simulation on Steam. Hacknet (2015) is 8 years older than How To Hack In? (2023). How To Hack In? scores higher on Steam reviews (95.2% positive) than Hacknet (94.2% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose How To Hack In?
Choose How To Hack In? if you want an Early Access experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. How To Hack In? launched in 2023.
Both Hacknet and How To Hack In? sit in Indie and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (94.2% vs 95.2% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Hacknet |  How To Hack In? | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2023 |
| Genres | Indie, Simulation | Indie, Simulation, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 12.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 94.2% positive (7,537 reviews) | 95.2% positive (21 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Team Fractal Alligator | Red Buffalo Interactive |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Simulation on Steam.
- Hacknet (2015) is 8 years older than How To Hack In? (2023).
- How To Hack In? scores higher on Steam reviews (95.2% positive) than Hacknet (94.2% positive).
- Hacknet is currently ~23% cheaper on Steam than How To Hack In? (9.99 USD vs. 12.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Hacknet is Deck Unsupported, How To Hack In? is Deck Playable.
Hacknet vs How To Hack In? — FAQ
- Should I play Hacknet or How To Hack In? first?
- If you want chronology, Hacknet (2015) came out before How To Hack In? (2023). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Hacknet and How To Hack In? similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.