Darwinia
Darwinia
Game
Game2006
Uplink
Developer Introversion Software
Uplink (also known in North America as Uplink: Hacker Elite) is a simulation video game released in 2001 by the British company Introversion Software. The player takes charge of a freelance computer hacker in a fictional futuristic 2010, and must break into foreign computers, complete contracts and purchase new hardware to hack into increasingly harder computer systems. The game, which was Introversion's first… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
263 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
84
LovedLoved
144 positive · 27 negative
95% range 78–89%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 144 | 27 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 30 | 1 | 55 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,758 of 1,936 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
84% recommend · 146 yes, 28 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 174 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (2,210 of 2,439 positive).
Many recommend the UplinkOS mod to modernize the UI and enhance the experience. [1][2][3] Some reviewers dislike the permadeath mechanic, which can erase hours of progress. [4][5]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
First things first, get UplinkOS. It's a free mod that greatly overhauls the entire UI and makes it look like a modern game. I think Uplink is a great game and I had tons of fun playing it! The reason this review is negative is because this game has perma-deaths. I’m sure there’s people out there that enjoy the 'thrill' of having hours worth of progress wiped with a singular mistake, but I’m not one of them. For a …
- [12]
This game was way beyond it's time. It still dwarfs other games of similar genre. Just shows that simplistic, feature rich, gameplay deth is what makes this game great. Doesn't need fancy graphics to be good. That is what majority of games lack these days. 10/10 Uplink Succesful
- [6]
20 years later and it is still the best hacker game on the market.
- [10]
Lots of fun as a roleplaying experience. The music is incredible and there are some really cool details in the way the simulation of the world works, and having the whole game run as if it were a desktop client is really neat. There are only so many mission types though and once you've done a mission type once you will know exactly how it goes every time. In just 9 hours I completed the "campaign" missions and did …
- [1]
Install the UplinkOS mod and it becomes the best hacking game ever made.
Summarised from 34 of the 249 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Uplink sits at 84% positive across 171 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The iOS and PC versions received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. The editors of Computer Gaming World presented Uplink: Hacker Elite with their 2003 "Adventure Game of the Year" award. They summarized it as "an immersive, original, and suspenseful little game."
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 263 · most liked firstimo the very best video games are immediate followups in the same mould as a previous thing. you spend a few years figuring out how to make your game, ship it, then make more of that exact thing now that you are good at it. Dishonored DLC. Prey Mooncrash. Half-Life Uplink. Splinter Cell Blacklist
neutral · AI labelView post →The original purpose of the Niantic game Uplink was to generate walking data for Google Maps. Niantic is the poster child for using your data to create / sell other services.
neutral · AI labelView post →(I would play Earth 2150 against my friends and spam out the cheapest spider chassis with the cheapest long range missile launcher attached and absolutely dominate) Uplink was, I think, a text based hacking game, but I could be remembering wrong.
neutral · AI labelView post →This game was way beyond it's time. It still dwarfs other games of similar genre. Just shows that simplistic, feature rich, gameplay deth is what makes this game great. Doesn't need fancy graphics to be good. That is what majority of games lack these days. 10/10 Uplink Succesful
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game will traumatize you significantly. But it's ok, the music is worth it. Uplink is a pretty realistic hacking sim where the government is 100 km from your house and approaching rapidly. Use the inherent weaknesses in IPv4 and telephone systems to make them think your house is elsewhere for long enough that you can destroy the evidence of your crimes. But be warned! Your computer is only as powerful as a potato, you've left logs all over the planet, and if you're still not quite done…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starfarer, in 8pg zine format and chock full of art by @chaoclypse.bsky.social I started playing a solo game using these rules on Monday, and will update these rules if necessary as I play through the World-Ocean. Grab it on itch, or as a Monthly Games member on the Ansible Uplink Patreon.
neutral · AI labelView post →While in elementary school I remember installing Uplink on my friends computer and telling him it was some "new work program" I found on my Dad's desk. "Uplink?" my friend asked, "Uplink to what?" I started it up and pretended to freak out as Uplink goes through it's surprisingly awesome boot sequence. I will never forget the look of horror wash over my friends face as he assumed he is now enrolled in a top-secret hacking agency and this must be his life now. For the time this game was…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chilling and catching up after a hectic flurry of work and other stuff, and remembering the many, many hours I poured into the hacking simulator game Uplink in 2001-2002. The debut title from 'The Last of the Bedroom Coders' Introversion Software. The musical vibes of this game are sublime <3
positive · AI labelView post →20 years later and it is still the best hacker game on the market.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unlike most of you youngsters I bought this on disc back when it originally released and played many many hours before it came to steam I remember playing it on my laptop at work and my colleagues thought I was actually hacking This old man highly recommends this game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Install the UplinkOS mod and it becomes the best hacking game ever made.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i think about this game more often than i should
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First things first, get UplinkOS. It's a free mod that greatly overhauls the entire UI and makes it look like a modern game. I think Uplink is a great game and I had tons of fun playing it! The reason this review is negative is because this game has perma-deaths. I’m sure there’s people out there that enjoy the 'thrill' of having hours worth of progress wiped with a singular mistake, but I’m not one of them. For a moment you were scanning a LAN network, slowly unlocking your path to the central…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's outdated, but it was one of the best hacking games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't launch this on Linux. It messes up your display settings outside of the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old but gold, amazing game even for newer generations. Game includes awesome tracker music. This game gives you hacker abilities, people might think that you're hacking the FBI (taken from a 4chan post). Does not launch propertly under the native Linux port of the game, so just go ahead and switch on Proton and play the Windows version instead.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am helplessly addicted to this game. The entire gameplay is thrilling and immensely satisfying. The design is a bit old (duh, it's 20 years old), but I barely noticed and there is a community mod to modernize the UI. 10/10 game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wake up, hacker. Time to hack the planet Still holding strong after 20 years since the release. During all this time, I still haven't found a similar game that could completely replace it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First playthrough; caught by the feds for hacking GCD. Second playthrough; caught by feds for destroying computer. Third playthrough; Caught trying to steal money and wasn't able to clear statement logs fast enough. Fourth playthrough; Stole money out of every bank netting me 8Mil c's and destroying computers left and right, hacked into Uplink itself, stole the agent list and imprisoned all my competition. Genuinely a great game from 2006, I highly recommend UplinkOS mod. Take your time to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got paid 12,000c to hack a guy's bank account and transfer 1200c into the same bank account. 10/10 Install the UI mod, UplinkOS, for a more modern experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lots of fun as a roleplaying experience. The music is incredible and there are some really cool details in the way the simulation of the world works, and having the whole game run as if it were a desktop client is really neat. There are only so many mission types though and once you've done a mission type once you will know exactly how it goes every time. In just 9 hours I completed the "campaign" missions and did everything. Buy it on sale
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →> Be me > Have a run going smoothly > All apps upgraded to latest versions > Gateway fully upgraded > Put several high-ranking hackers to jail > Earns tens of thousands a day > Decided to skimp 1500 from a job just to test things out > Get disavowed less than five minutes later
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played Uplink a lot when I was a teenager. UpilnkOS is a great overhaul for the game, but a month ago I found out about Onlink x86, a Mod that extends the game and make it a big modern. Great game overall.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →100% altered my brain chemistry, one of my all time favorites growing up
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall I do not recommend. Especially at full price. Why? If you fail and get caught, you have to start from scratch and do the same thing again. Often you don't even know why exactly you got caught. The game teaches you how to hide your tracks, but you never know how much you need to do it, until you do not do enough, get caught and have to start again. One the one hand I like that. Most of the progression in the game is you actually learning how to do things right. And if you played for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Couldn't get it to work for me. Guess I don't get to hack now :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Uplink, developed and published by Introversion Software, is one of the most distinctive simulation games ever made, offering players an immersive experience in the world of cyber espionage and digital intrusion. Originally released in 2001 and later brought to Steam, it places you in the role of a freelance hacker, an anonymous agent for hire who takes on covert assignments from corporations, governments, and secret organizations. Instead of flashy action or cinematic sequences, the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →in my misspent youth i played a lot of a game called Uplink, which was a campy hacker simulator that was remarkably fun to play if kind of grindy, and had a story that kind of punched above its weight in ways i don't think i appreciated at the time
positive · AI labelView post →Still the best hacking game ever made. Also if you download the "UplinkOS" really gives the game a new life with a more modern UI
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Uplink is the kind of hyperpsecialized niche game that is designed to cater for the people interested in its premise and ONLY people interested in its premise. It's an old computer game where you essentially play as a hacker trying to crack into databases and perform illegal operations without getting caught. All of the appeals is how much the game spends effort into selling you the experience of being a hacker and it definitely achieves that goal. Most of the enjoyment of it comes from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This project is a hacking simulation game focused on realism and technical depth —inspired by Uplink and Elite Dangerous. In this first video the basics are introduced and the direction of the project is shared If this seems interesting, follow for updates! #gamedev #indiedev youtu.be/3tagY-3WhKA
neutral · AI labelView post →Doesn't seem to work on Linux (any more?). Pretty sure I tried it out quickly a year or so ago, and it worked then. But when trying now (with both Proton 8 and 9) the screen is broken at various parts of the intro and won't allow for selecting anything to proceed. :( This is on a Debian based Linux, with an AMD processor and Nvidia 5060 Ti.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🎮 Uplink (2001) ★★★★★ Really old but great computer hacking game. One time I was playing it on a plane and accidentally freaked out the person next to me via @popfeed.social
positive · AI labelView post →Digital dreams, crossing over the sea. Welcome to the deadlock of reality! A glimpse of an idea how people thought internet will be, before Wi-Fi, MFA and IoT took over.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've only got 16 hours in on Steam but I still have the original CD copy of the game in the loft,loved this game, it does have its odd glitch where the mission logic doesn't give you any wiggle room in how it wanted something doing. Would recommend for a bit of fun its not really that realistic at all but after your first few times getting caught you can work out how to make your millions
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Step into Hollywood's world of movie hacking, where your actions destroy companies and your IPv4 addresses exceed the maximum value of 255 per octet.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably the best "hacking" game on steam and it's the best one I've ever played, period. The soundtrack is so good, the gameplay loop rewards being creative, and what you do affects the world around you. It's crazy that this game came out in 2006 and still holds up so well (needs some mods for ultrawide).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Steam says I've played for 6 hours, but that's just my latest copy since I lost the receipt for my version purchased directly from Introversion. Hell, I bought this version directly from Introversion. Uplink is a game set in the near-future year of 2010 (it was originally released in 2001). In it, you take on the role of a hacker-for-hire contracted through Uplink Corporation. After proving your mettle by hacking a server that exists solely to test aspiring hackers, you begin doing jobs…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🧵 I'm a couple days late, but Half-Life 2 was a monumental game that left a HUGE impression on 13-year-old me, and I can hardly believe it's been TWENTY YEARS. 👴 At the time of its release, the only Half-Life I had played was the Half-Life Uplink demo, and lots of CS 1.6, if you wanna count that.
neutral · AI labelView post →No particular order: It's kinda cheating, but the game Capsized is a decent XBLA-era side scrolling shooter-platformer with an excellent soundtrack. That's because it uses the existing album *Movements* by Solar Fields. Solar Fields actually scored a different game with an excellent soundtrack: Mirrors Edge Uplink and Darwinia, Introversion Software's first two games, have lovely soundtracks. Nitronic Rush, a student game that got remade into the survival racing game Distance, has one of…
neutral · AI labelView post →Uplink, my favorite l337 H4><0r game ever, is on sale for $4 right now
positive · AI labelView post →idly thinking about a game that's like Uplink (i.e. a hacker typing type of game UI) but it has the side effect of teaching you markdown
neutral · AI labelView post →Half-Life has been a top 5 game for me since first playing the Uplink demo on a PCGamer disc. I try and replay it once every few years and this time, I fired up the ray-traced version to see it in a different light and wow... It really adds to the atmosphere!
neutral · AI labelView post →UPLINK. Introversion Software's first game is still one of my favourites. Its minimalist aesthetic and well-crafted MOD tunes gave it great atmosphere, and once you figured out the hacking gameplay, it was super-fun, too. Never beat the story, but I loved the varied missions. 76/365 #365games
positive · AI labelView post →A better 1337 hax0rman simulator type game is yet to be made
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It was hot, the night we burned Chrome. This game is probably the coolest game to exist maybe ever
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reminds me of the game Uplink
neutral · AI labelView post →its virtually unplayable nowdays on modern monitors and windows versions. The default cleartext filters in Windows that apply to text makes it completely unreadable at anything but native resolution for your monitor. And if your monitor has a higher res than 720P the text and UI is so small its unreadable without pushing your face into the monitor.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A thriller, text-based game released in 2001. This game is one of the earliest hacker simulators that still holds up to this day, featuring a mix of casual point-and-click gameplay and analytical skills required to become an elite hacker. You play as , a freelance anonymous hacker who decided to work in Uplink, a corporation that offers hacker services in the black market. Uplink provides you with a remote terminal, as well as internal services such as news, software/hardware market, and a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun older game, highly suggest the UplinkOS mod to give the game the fresh coat of paint it needs to feel more modern. Much less puzzle-like than something like HackNet but can be a bit unforgiving for new players once you hit the midgame. Making a mistake in the early game results in a fine but later you lose unless you shell out the money to arm your station to blow and then purchase a new rig and all new software (all in-game fake money, absolutely zero real money involved). But once…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here’s some progress on a (very soft) emulation of text-mode rendering in #godot — I’m in the very early stages of a hacking game (think Uplink or Hacknet)
neutral · AI labelView post →Thoroughly recommend this game if you're looking for a fun retro hacking experience that isn't too hardcore. It is my favorite hacking game and love coming back to this. Highly recommend checking out the UplinkOS mod that others here have mentioned, it really brings the game into the modern era. 10/10 no notes.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Write a review for Uplink Please describe what you liked or disliked about this game and whether you recommend it to others. Please remember to be polite and follow the Rules and Guidelines.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →still holds up lmao
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So this is a game that is very dear to me. I've played this many times, screwed up and got caught, stumbled a lot but after a learning curve, worked out how to win. I've started working on speed runs trying to rank up to first on the agent list before April 1st and push the limits of what I can get a way with. I am still holding out hope they will make a follow up to this, "Uplink 2". The game offers an entertaining and in some parts a challenging experience, but it won't hold your hand. If…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a hacker man!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Need a tutorial of sorts that doesnt just explain modules. First mission impossible to complete without watching videos online. Not about that life.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chatted with Chris at Weyland Uplink about Aliens: The Video Games, and spoke a little about what I'd have liked to put in the book, but couldn't... weylanduplink.com/news/mike-di...
neutral · AI labelView post →Go Bag podcast - cover action gaming Ansible Uplink - new and old sci-fi games Role-playing Public Radio Good Friends of Jackson Elias - horror gaming Save for Half - many game reviews mostly older stuff Analytic Dice - one game reviewed per ep. Modern Mythos with Jon & Seth
neutral · AI labelView post →I played the hell out of an Uplink demo I had on some cover CD. Game's still available on Steam/GOG, and apparently runs on modern PCs. www.gog.com/en/game/upli...
positive · AI labelView post →
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