Hypnospace Outlaw

It's hard to believe these aren't real people's lives you're getting a glimpse into. You won't believe it'll make you cry, too. Really enjoyed it, and will stick with me for a long time.

I'm not old enough to feel the nostalgia that a lot of this game's playerbase seems to. I fell in love with the game because of the incredible living breathing universe that Tendershoot created for it. Everything can be described as charming: the well-thought-out, realistic characters; the creative, refreshingly idiosyncratic music that some of those characters create; or the fun little silly mechanics that have no bearing on the main story. There is an amazingly complex web of storytelling under the game’s simple premise. Even the smallest characters have depth and soul; acting independently and interacting with eachother constantly. It’s a beautifully written example of organized chaos, with each tangential thread leading to something else equally as interesting. In my mind, this is one of the greatest, most vibrant video game worlds ever created. Assuming you like reading, this game is a steal even at full price. Also RIP Dreamsettler. Would’ve probably been the greatest sequel since the New Testament.

Quite simply one of the greatest experiences on PC today. A literal time machine, a wonderful love letter to a bygone era where the internet was a bit more enjoyable. I am extremely bummed that the sequel has been cancelled.

man, what a unique game... throws me back to when internet was good, when it was a place you had to go to instead of a looming omnipresent entity in your daily life. back when people were expressing themselves on the internet instead of filtering and diluting themselves thru it. such an amazing experience, i devoured it in one sitting.

I just found out that the sequel to this game got cancelled. It's really unfortunate, because there isn't really any game out there like this one, and if there is I doubt it felt as real as this one. Anyways I enjoyed this game a lot

TLDR: This game unexpectedly became one of my favourites of all time. You should try it. I'm one of those who doesn't usually write reviews. But this game is a game I still think about despite completing it a week ago. I still think about the characters and how real they felt. I felt immersed in the world because of how real the people were presented. Teenagers who change what they like within weeks, older people struggling to figure out how to set up their pages (and/or believing any conspiracy theories thrown their way). The main storyline is great and it unravels in a really interesting way, but it's the little stories of the people that will continue to stick with me most. It is how well this game captures people in their online presence, because even though you only know limited information about each person, you still think you learn a lot about them. You still make judgements on who they are based on your own experiences and beliefs. Just like the real internet. And yet, it doesn't feel quite so depressing as the real internet can feel (at least these days). [spoiler] Even with how the story turns out, honestly. [/spoiler] It feels like a collection of flawed people (as we all are) who are all trying to find their place in the world, who cling onto the communities they find a home in. Which is what the internet was about, and what it still [B]kind of[/B] is about. We just have lost that humanness, I think. So, it is wild that video game characters in a fictional alternate reality somehow feel [b]more human[/b] than a lot of people in reality today.

played this game over and over again since i bought it, about once a year. finally 100%ed it. this thing has dug into my brain and i dont think it'll ever leave. the sequel being canceled was a huge personal blow and im still holding out hope that something more will come from this universe and these devs. 1 billion recommendations bwl

I was not a child of the 90s. I was born around the early 2000s. I won't get specific because I don't wanna dox myself. But whenever I look at this game, everything around it, everything IN it... I'm reminded of a time where everything seemed just that little bit more better. More innocent, when the internet wasn't a sludgy dumping ground for the corrupt, the morally bankrupt and the borderline evil. Back when everything seemed new. Back before the internet's main use to corporations and technology was the exploitation of the individuals for profit and exposure. Before tech-CEOs started obliterating the world just to feel a tiny bit better about themselves online, through herding stupid people and creating cults around themselves. Before parasitic streaming platforms being loaded to the gills with garbage "AI-Generated" content.. Before various platforms dedicating themselves to the art of obliterating the attention spans of the future generations by feeding them shortform slop content. Before it all. The past. But that's all it is; the past. Living vicariously in it means that you get stuck in it. And eventually, you'd have to move on. No more 'memberberries for you. In the end, it's a good thing because the internet nowadays is a wondrous thing despite being a hellhole of the worst people. Small communities like the ones in Hypnospace Outlaw still exist. It's all on you, the individual, to seek them out and find them. The game itself, when I'm not thinking about the overall thing of it, is a neat point, click and type puzzle-type game where you have to figure out the overarching plot of what's happening, how to enforce the rules, having to be on the upkeep constantly with specific troublesome figures (I see you, Zane. You little fecalizer.) and various other bits of conspiracy around the game. Remember to wave your mouse cursor around to speed up the loading times. The little stories everywhere in this game, from Chowder Man to Father Fungus to Coolfest '99 to the Freelands to every page being an extension of one's person experience (or lack thereof) with the Hypnospace page building programs and so on and so forth... Every tiny ounce of this game has something to dig into. Something I'd suggest you watch after playing the game is Flawed Peacock's nearly 14-hour investigation of this game which will break down EVERYTHING in far more detail than I ever can. That man is dedicated to the maximum. He's drank it right, for sure. I personally put off playing this game from the moment I first bought it many years ago until recently and it's given me a lot of... stuff to think about. Granted, you might just not think about it that way and just see it as a "ha ha funny old internet" game. That's fine by me. The game itself tells a surprisingly good story just on it's own. I won't spoil anything because I want you, yes, you, the person probably reading this, to experience the game on your own. In the end; I recommend playing this game, even if you weren't a part of the 90s when the Internet was new. This game's got so much gold. - Malen