Hypnospace Outlaw

This game is a tad unique point and click. You're a Hypnospace Enforcer, basically a step below a Reddit moderator that cannot speak, tasked with "finding infractions" in what I can best describe as (quite creative) fictional Neocities websites within the fictional Hypnospace operating system (HypnOS). For this you get a few tools other HypnoSpace netizens do not possess: An index tag search (for browsing pages), reporting tools, and a brain to turn "malware" into enforcement tools. Initially you will be given direct cases to work with, such as harassment by a specific user. You will then search for this user and start discovering the plot - A teen will have created a mean page, hidden from the main index, bullying another teen. You need to locate it within the system and flag the content there to solve the case. This means checking other blogs that may share the page in schadenfreude, or simply browsing the username after the pages he has created and eventually finding it there. One will be a report of an external link being used for payment, so you'll have to look for pages trying to hide this service link, whether by paying some crypto or using your search tool correctly. All this had lead me to believe that HypnoSpace outlaw was a game about understanding a system, its tools, discovering hints around how to use these tools, improvising with hacking software you've found in the netscape to improve your own detection skills, then applying everything in an open ended solution method for oriented tasks. However, it did not take long whatsoever for it devolve into literally asking me to browse at random and to do pixelhunt puzzles with no smart solutions to it (even the ingame hint system will say that "using your search tool will not work for this" - no explanation why or how, just 'cause it decided so). It also does the sin of implying a "Norton" antivirus (that I had the purchase) is useful. My beef with this game is therefore tempting me with an interesting ruleset, then just breaking it whenever it felt like it. It's a shame, because again the game has really interesting art and a lot of writing. But it's not afraid to betray the player's expectation of what it is just to force specific, boring solutions that will force you to read a... "fictional" fanfic to figure the secret password (why a moderator needs to guess access for their own server they're moderating? f*ck you, that's why). In its desperate attempt at getting me to digest made up user content as a mandate rather than legitimate curiosity or option, I lost immersion and interest. Maybe you, reading this review, will now know that it will blatantly break its own rules just to do whatever it feels like at times - thus making you impervious to feeling betrayed (by already knowing it will do that upon sign up). If you're willing to place yourself into such a Hypnospace, instead of just browsing Neocities like a normal person and interacting with real people, treat this as a positive review.

Absolutely incredible and immersive game. It is brimming with creativity and nostalgia which always makes me wanna come back and explore as many pages as possible. I am on my third playthrough at the moment and my intention is to complete the Archive Project. I have found soo many new pages I have never seen in previous playthroughs. There are so many easter eggs, so many layers, so many hidden puzzles you can miss just by going through the main story. I will always appreciate how this game rewards you for being willing to investigate and get to know the characters more closely. I love how there are different ways you can save characters or go about getting to the main ending of the game. I recommend this game to anyone who loves nostalgia, older computer aesthetics, was not alive to experience this era of the internet, love puzzles and love something with such raw creativity and love. I could ramble about this game forever, honestly JUST PLAY IT! You won't regret it. (Definitely buying the soundtrack next. These songs go crazy hard.)

Of all the games to make me cry, I was not expecting it to be a fun little puzzle game about the internet in the 90s. Wow.

I was struggling a bit with myself on whether to recommend Hypnospace Outlaw, but I think I can if only for the incredible commitment to the aesthetics of the mid-to-late 90s internet. I was a bit too young to fully remember it, but I always liked the general aesthetic of webpages around that time, and this game very accurately shows that, if maybe in a slightly overexaggerated way. As an enforcer of the Hypnospace Patrol department, your job is to comb through the webpages to find violations through cases assigned to you. From copyright infringments to malicious software or illegal payment methods, find and stamp it and get hypnocoins as well as finish cases to drive the overall story forward. Coins can be used to buy stuff on the webpages of this Hypnospace internet world, such as wallpapers, or music and even virtual pets. It really feels like the lawlessness of late 90s internet summed up in one game, warts and all. If I had any problem with the game, it would probably be the second half, where cases get a bit more obscure and violations get harder to find without solving cryptic puzzles or digging through a ton of user profiles for the one link you need to continue. The way the story continues and then abruptly concludes without any sort of epilogue also left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and it takes away a bit from the zaniness and "chill" vibe the game had previously. And if you used computers in the late 90s, well, all the issues are present in this game too, from slow-loading webpages and weird viruses to bad interfaces. Clicking through webpages, and back to programs, it's all a bit unintuitive and clunky, and gets annoying quick after a couple hours and especially in the final stretch of the game, which was also very hard to solve without looking into a walkthrough. Even so, I have to commend Hypnospace Outlaw for just being a really unique and cool idea even if it stumbles a bit. A ton of effort was put into the different webpages, songs and "OS" of this game and even if you just explore for a while aside from the story, which you can do, there's a ton to discover, until you get bored at least. I would wait for a sale though as I think 20 dollars is a bit much for what you get, but for 15 dollars or less, I'd say go for it if the idea of this interests you!

this game has irreparably conditioned me to wiggle my mouse whenever a webpage doesn't load immediately 10/10

A very short puzzle/investigation game with a lot of charm and some good puzzles, but also several very awful, tedious, unfun puzzles. Not worth the list price, get it on steep discount if you must.

This is one of my favorite games ever made; it's so uniquely special and just such a wonderful world to enter every time. Sometimes I find myself choosing not to play it because I would be too distracted and the game deserves my full attention lol