This is a weird way to start a review, but I would recommend checking out what is a really impressive, if jank and possibly abandonware, tech demo to anyone who is investing in any novel capture the flag challenge platforms. After finishing the game but not quite 100%-ing the rest of the optional challenges, I still stand by this assertion, because despite all the rough edges, I think this engine is a really innovative way to present a security CTF, and would like to see more CTFs adopt this kind of environment.
For anyone interested in looking at Yolo Space Hacker 1, I would skip that one, this is the package that brings together everything novel that the team has built, and it will cover again what you would have missed from the first game. The first Yolo Space Hacker did have some interesting exercises with reverse engineering that this sequel does not cover, but you wouldn't be missing anything about the story. (You were doing a trial run to join the crew by infiltrating a space station using an almost visual-novel-like interface... You passed! Now you get to infiltrate another company with more challenges related to forensics skills!)
The tricky thing is that it's kind of tough to give an unqualified recommendation for this game, as if you were a serious security CTF enthusiast, the introduction is very gentle so it might not scratch your challenge itch. And if you were an absolute beginner, the reality is that it would be more cost effective if you just buckled up and studied either books or any of the freely available wargames challenges like Bandit, TryHackMe, etc.
Heck, it's even kind of a still buggy mess with current shortcomings such as:
- QWERTY movement configuration that doesn't load until you reopen and resave the config menu
- memory leaks that accumulate until performance suddenly crawls
- gameplay features that get introduced for one section of the game and then become completely forgotten shortly after
- the opening of the game makes better use of the 3D environment than the latter half of the game, to the point where you spend most of your time staring at terminals and website debuggers more than actually caring about the environment beyond walking from one linear challenge to the next.
- some pages that show up that are still in their original French
- and awkward trigger edge cases that don't happen as described (particularly when you do challenges out of order by accident)
But the reason why I'm weirdly happy putting $20 into this project is that this is the package that I've been wanting to see in an exploration-based hacking game. It's kind of like Watch Dogs 2 but low budget yet they actually built out the interfaces for what it would actually be like to interface with the real open-source tools this game includes. Instead of a one-click hack button press, you literally access a web page or terminal after you use your drone to remote interface with the in-game device to hack (though unfortunately like many tech demos, the levels quickly forget this mechanic exists). It's like the SANS Holiday Hack Cybersecurity Challenge but these developers actually built out entire 3D maps to traverse, instead of just a flat 2D map. And most notably the world actually reacts when you hack systems virtualized in the game. It's a wildly impractical environmental setup from both a development cost and player resources perspective, but I still love that something like this exists now.
Is it a cost-effective training tool or game from an hours/$ perspective? Maybe not, but if you're a weirdo like me that likes to check out promising tech demos, this is something really unique to behold in all of its impractical but endearing majesty. Now if they could only partner with a training platform that has way more $$$ to develop challenge scenarios...
