Info about Yolo Space Hacker:

Official game description:
YOLO SPACE HACKER 2 FINALLY AVAILABLE ON STEAM!! !!
===================================================
Take it to the next level
After discovering the basic tools of a pentester in YSH 1, then analyzing files and network traces in Forensic, it's time to tackle the web.
Yolo Space Hacker 2 opens up a whole new playground: an entire planet to pwn.
On the agenda:
*   A fully 3D universe, more immersive than ever
*   Infiltration, exploration... and even parachute jumping
*   Sniper rifles, drones, flags galore
*   Even more tools to test, understand, and exploit
*   Sweepo
Reserved for the most determined:
→ a map, chests, clues to locate and unlock an Overbike
We look forward to your feedback.
🌍 Hack the planet.
About the Game
==============
Join the Y0L0 Space Hacker Agency, an ethical hacker organisation.  
Your first mission: hack into a space station and unravel its mystery.
What Happened On Bikini-72?
---------------------------
\- Explore a 3d Adventure Game  
\- Solve puzzles based on real security breaches  
\- Crack passwords  
\- Intercept and temper with web requests  
\- Get passed servers security  
\- All of this in a secure environment to learn and improve your skills
Real hacking tools
------------------
Use the hacker tools integrated into the game: a terminal, a web proxy, nmap to scan the network, dirb for brute-force attacks on websites, password lists to force authentication, John to crack passwords, reverse shells, privilege escalation techniques...  
Once the flaw is found, run a Reverse Shell and get Admin.
Where to start?
---------------
\- You know nothing about cybersecurity? That's fine, we're set to tell you everything you need to know!  
We have prepared a comprehensive Cyber-security tutorial for beginners.  
Complete missions, to learn step by step the various techniques used by hackers. You'll probably have to use your brain a little bit, but you'll never get stuck.  
\- You already know the basics of Linux machines and a bit of programming? That's great, it's going to get really interesting!

Release date: Dec 24, 2020

Categories: Hacking Gameplay, Educational Game, Puzzle Solving, CTF-style Challenges and Missions, First-Person Exploration, Command Line Interface, Terminal-based Gameplay, Stealth Gameplay

Feature scans:
- Proton/Linux: score 90; verdict: Broken / Unsupported; summary: The reviews contain several explicit statements that the game does not support Linux as a gaming platform, does not work well on Linux, and that Linux users should play something else. Most other Linux references describe the game's embedded Linux VM and command-line tutorial rather than Linux/Proton compatibility. No evidence was found of successful Linux/Proton launch or workaround reports.
- Steam Deck: score 85; verdict: Broken on Steam Deck/Linux; summary: Reviews do not provide Steam Deck-specific testing, but they repeatedly report poor Linux support and a QEMU-based Linux VM that can be killed by resizing the game window. Because Steam Deck runs SteamOS/Linux, these are direct compatibility and stability barriers. The title also starts multiple real virtual machines, adding resource and battery overhead. Despite strong Linux teaching content, the Deck experience is not out-of-the-box and should be treated as broken for this platform.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 15.0h
  - Story completion: 5.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 9.0h
  - Reasoning: The French review breaks down a 5-hour campaign, a 5-hour hidden section, and 9-hour achievement hunting. A separate report of 8.8 hours to finish the first campaign supports story completion in the 5-8.8 hour range, recorded at 5 hours for the campaign portion. English estimates of 10-15 hours to finish the game, plus at least 15 hours for newcomers, support game completion around 15 hours. The explicit 9-hour achievement-hunting segment supports endgame around 9 hours. No clear typical session length is reported, so it is null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Reviewers describe an immediately enjoyable gamified hacking tutorial that stays engaging, with flag hunting adding extra enjoyment. It is beginner-friendly and works as revision for experienced players, with no notable early friction.
  - Stance: Fun immediately
  - Anchor: Searching for flags
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: N/A
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: Beginners can start with no prior knowledge.; Experienced players can use it as a revision tool.; Early missions are guided, then players must proceed independently.; The main tutorial is around 2 hours; the forensic tutorial is also about 2 hours.; Flag hunting is a secondary progression path and a source of extra enjoyment.
- Player Archetypes:
  - Guided Cybersecurity Newcomer (buy)
    - Motivation: To learn practical cybersecurity and ethical hacking basics through a guided, beginner-friendly experience.
    - Playstyle: Follows structured CTF-style missions, reads in-game documentation, and uses hints to avoid getting stuck.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: newbie; complete beginner
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Experienced Cybersecurity Practitioner (buy)
    - Motivation: To revisit and reinforce security concepts in an enjoyable hacking-sim sandbox and evaluate its training value.
    - Playstyle: Moves quickly through familiar material, checks advanced mode to avoid spoilers, and assesses the game as a revision or teaching tool.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: hacking simulator fan
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Cybersecurity Awareness Educator or Parent (buy)
    - Motivation: To introduce children or teenagers to information security and ethical hacking in an accessible, safe way.
    - Playstyle: Uses the game as a teaching and awareness tool rather than a personal challenge, and recommends it for young learners.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Strong cybersecurity foundation (weight 0.8): Many reviewers recommend it for learning cybersecurity basics, noting it allows practice without going too deep and is ideal for those unsure where to begin.
- Teaches real hacking techniques (weight 0.49): Reviewers consider it one of the best hacking games, teaching authentic hacking techniques and tools in an enjoyable way.
- Well-crafted documentation (weight 0.49): The documentation is frequently praised as complete, well-made, and helpful for beginners, with the hacker guide being especially well explained.
- Excellent for CTF beginners (weight 0.45): Players consistently highlight the game as a perfect entry point to CTF challenges, offering just enough guidance and documentation to start without getting lost.
- Fun and educational experience (weight 0.44): The game is repeatedly described as fun and educational, with players learning many things while having a good time.
- Ethical hacking education promoted (weight 0.42): The game intelligently and pedagogically opens the door to ethical hacking, teaching basics from nearly zero and promoting ethical practices.
- Beginner-friendly yet accessible (weight 0.38): Users find the game very guided and approachable for beginners, while still offering fun for IT professionals in advanced mode. It is simple for experts but very accessible.
- Covers pentesting basics thoroughly (weight 0.38): It allows understanding of pentesting fundamentals, both technical and OSINT, through simple missions and didactic methodology.
- Engaging storyline and scenario (weight 0.37): The game features a cool, captivating scenario and a good story that enhances the overall experience.
- Active Discord community support (weight 0.25): The Discord server is active and provides quick help when players get stuck, which is very important for asking questions.
- Pleasant and relaxing gameplay (weight 0.25): Many find the game very fun and relaxing to play, providing great pleasure.
- Nice platform for learning hacking (weight 0.24): It is a nice platform for learning hacking, interesting for cybersecurity education and suitable for beginners to experts.
- Progressive and well-designed challenges (weight 0.19): Challenges are well-designed and progressive, starting easy and ramping up difficulty quickly.
- Step-by-step explanations (weight 0.18): Everything is explained step by step if needed, making it easy for newcomers to follow along.
- Good graphics (weight 0.18): Graphics are noted as very nice, adding to the overall pleasant experience.
- Useful for training and education (weight 0.18): The game is considered useful for training and highly educational, especially for practicing hacking skills.
- Awesome and fascinating game (weight 0.17): Players describe it as an awesome and fascinating game overall.

Common complaints:
- Clunky interface and UI (weight 0.73): Players find the UI janky and not intuitive, with cluttered tools, limited window management, and a multi-window layout that is impractical without a large screen.
- Technical issues and crashes (weight 0.38): The game sometimes freezes, crashes after closing browser windows, and has a broken devtools window. Performance is poor on low-end configurations, with long loading times.
- Lack of guidance for advanced topics (weight 0.37): The game provides insufficient guidance for slightly less than beginners and does not cover some concepts well, such as basic HTML, TCP/IP, and proxy use.
- Too easy for experienced players (weight 0.31): Players with existing security knowledge can complete the game very quickly, as it is very basic and offers no appeal beyond learning to use tools.
- Binary challenges poorly implemented (weight 0.28): Binary exploitation and reversing challenges seem poorly implemented, with unclear levels and blurry continuation.
- Linux compatibility problems (weight 0.25): On Linux, resizing the main window kills the embedded VM. The VM setup can fail, requiring manual VirtualBox installation, and some players report the VM did not work at all.
- Weak story and characters (weight 0.24): The story is barebones for most of the game, the ending is weak, and players never felt much attachment to the characters.
- Clunky movement and camera (weight 0.23): In the Forensic DLC, movement and camera controls are clunky, requiring holding down the mouse button to look around, making 3D environment traversal rough.
- Browser window issues (weight 0.22): The embedded browser breaks the convention of the URL being part of the tab, cannot be broken out into its own window, and has no clear way to return to the main home page if closed.
- Barebones story and weak ending (weight 0.18): The story is barebones for most of the game and the ending is pretty weak, leaving players wanting more.
- Puzzles not engaging (weight 0.17): Puzzles are no longer engaging, and the playful side of a video game is not really present.
- Flag list spoils recon (weight 0.17): The full flag list from the start spoils enumeration and reconnaissance, and more than half of the flags are very simple.
- Incomplete content (weight 0.17): A bunch of CTFs are missing and need to be added via mods. The story-tutorial part leaves an unfinished feeling due to little content and difficulty.
- Web section lacks coverage (weight 0.17): The web section lacks XSS and CSRF coverage, and the exploit-db clone is too light and spoils vulnerabilities.
- Player stuck at last level (weight 0.17): A player is stuck at the last level where files code_part1.txt and code_part2.txt are read-only and cannot be modified, with no apparent solution.
- Missing base game access (weight 0.1): Some players only see DLC options (Bikini and Forensic) and cannot access the base game, leading to unplayability.
- GPL license violation (weight 0.1): The game bundles QEMU, which is GPLv2 licensed, but the game itself is not GPL'ed, constituting a license violation and abuse of open-source software.
- Russian server access blocked (weight 0.09): Players from Russia cannot access the game server.
- Chinese players need VPN (weight 0.09): Chinese players need a VPN because Google services are blocked by the GFW.

Gameplay feedback:
- Educational cybersecurity game (weight 0.93): The game is widely described as an educational tool for learning cybersecurity and ethical hacking basics. It provides an accessible introduction to security concepts and practices.
- Hands-on hacking with real tools (weight 0.89): Players use actual hacking tools, Linux commands, and real virtual machines to solve challenges. The game simulates a realistic environment with real operating systems, web servers, and databases.
- CTF-style challenges and missions (weight 0.86): The gameplay is structured around Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges and missions where players discover flags. It offers a practical, puzzle-solving approach to learning.
- Beginner-friendly guidance and tutorials (weight 0.73): The game includes beginner modes, guided tutorials, and in-game documentation to help new players learn. A hacker guide and step-by-step lessons make it accessible.
- Story mode and campaign (weight 0.59): The game features a story mode that introduces the hacking world and a campaign with flags to collect. The narrative helps contextualize the learning experience.
- Advanced mode and forensic DLC (weight 0.39): An advanced mode is available to avoid spoilers, and a forensic DLC adds additional content. Bonus mission modules like Mission Bikini expand the gameplay.
- Pentesting fundamentals covered (weight 0.37): The game teaches the basics of penetration testing, including technical and OSINT aspects. It is often described as an introduction to pentests through simple missions.
- Didactic course-like structure (weight 0.24): Rather than a traditional game, it is a didactic course on ethical hacking and cybersecurity basics. It teaches standard Linux commands and ethical hacking fundamentals in a playful way.

Performance notes:
- Poor overall performance (weight 0.11): Players report very poor performance in the game. This general complaint likely encompasses other specific issues like slow loading and freezes.
- Very slow tool loading (weight 0.11): On low-end configurations, opening the bruteforcer or terminal takes about three minutes. This severely impacts usability.
- Linux incompatibility from resizing (weight 0.11): Resizing the main window causes the game to kill the VM, making it unplayable on Linux. This is a critical platform-specific issue.
- Frequent game freezes (weight 0.11): The game freezes at times, forcing players to restart. This disrupts gameplay and indicates stability problems.
- Crash after closing browser (weight 0.11): The game crashed after closing some browser windows and trying to return to the main page. This suggests a memory or state management bug.
- Freeze at first mission (weight 0.11): The game freezes at the start of the first mission despite having enough RAM. This blocks progress early on and puzzles players.

Recommendations:
- Ideal for learning hacking basics (weight 0.65): Many reviewers highlight the game as ideal for beginners in hacking, offering a playful way to learn basic concepts and progress to advanced challenges. It is also recommended for those starting ethical hacking or pentesting.
- Excellent for cybersecurity beginners (weight 0.55): Reviews consistently recommend the game for newcomers to cybersecurity, providing a strong foundation and guided introduction. It is praised as a good starting point for those wanting to learn but unsure where to begin.
- Strongly recommended for beginners (weight 0.54): Multiple reviews explicitly recommend the game for beginners, citing strong guidance and a safe sandbox environment. It is seen as a valuable tool for novices to learn without risk.
- Highly recommended overall (weight 0.52): Many reviews give a strong recommendation without specifying a particular audience, indicating general satisfaction. Some say it's a must-buy or the one game they'd keep.
- Great for practicing CTF and pentesting (weight 0.49): The game is recommended for those interested in CTF challenges and as a foundation for penetration testing or red team skills. It provides practical experience with real hacker tools.
- Worth the price for beginners (weight 0.35): Several reviewers find the price justified, especially for beginners, and consider it well worth the money despite its short length. Some recommend buying it if the concept sounds interesting.
- Recommended for computer enthusiasts (weight 0.3): The game appeals to computer enthusiasts and those interested in coding and network security, offering a fun way to explore these topics. It is also suggested for people who like escape games and Mr. Robot.
- Good for guided discovery (weight 0.3): The game is praised for providing a guided, practical introduction to cybersecurity, making it perfect for discovering the world in practice. It also offers a good complement for orienting studies in computer security.
- Good for developing Linux skills (weight 0.25): Reviewers note that the game helps improve Linux command line skills and is useful for those wanting to learn Unix basics in a hacking context. Some mention it requires basic Linux knowledge.
- Requires basic IT/Linux knowledge (weight 0.17): A few reviews caution that the game may be challenging for those without basic IT or Linux skills, and one reviewer does not recommend it for people lacking Linux knowledge. Another mentions expecting hardship without IT skills.
- Not for experienced cybersecurity professionals (weight 0.17): A reviewer advises against playing if you already know the cybersecurity topic, as the game may not offer new learning. It is also noted as a revision tool for experienced users, but not for deep learning.
- Alternative resources better for learning (weight 0.16): One review suggests that doing weekly CTF challenges on ctftime.org and reading writeups is better for learning than playing this game. Another recommends joining platforms like TryHackMe or Hack the Box for skill development.
- Issue: license violation (weight 0.09): One reviewer gave a thumbs down due to a license violation, indicating a legal or ethical concern with the game. This is a specific negative point that may affect purchase decisions.
- Rough experience for polish seekers (weight 0.09): A reviewer gives a conditional recommendation, noting a rough experience for those seeking a polished gaming experience. This suggests the game may lack polish but still has value for its educational content.
- Support the developers (weight 0.09): A reviewer recommends trying the game and supporting the developers, showing appreciation for their work. This reflects positively on the game's value and community.
- Requires self-reliance and research (weight 0.09): One reviewer recommends the game for players who can look something up and figure things out from reading posts and forums, indicating that it may require external research. This suggests a less hand-holding experience.
- Best hacking game compared to others (weight 0.09): One reviewer strongly implies it is the best hacking game compared to Nite Team 4, Hacknet, and Hacker Evolution. This suggests high quality relative to similar titles.
- Linux users should find alternative (weight 0.09): One reviewer advises finding another game to run if you're already on Linux, implying compatibility or performance issues on that platform. This is a specific technical drawback.
- Good for children (weight 0.09): One review recommends buying the game for children, suggesting it is suitable for younger audiences. This is an unusual use case but indicates accessibility.
- Quit playing due to unspecified reasons (weight 0.08): A reviewer states they are quitting the game, but no specific reason is given. This may indicate dissatisfaction but lacks actionable detail.

Other player notes:
- Educational simulation with real tools (weight 0.59): The game uses virtual machines and real Linux environments, providing a realistic simulation that teaches cybersecurity through hands-on practice.
- Compared favorably to alternatives (weight 0.52): The game is often compared favorably to other hacking games like Nite Team 4, Hacknet, and Hacker Evolution, and is praised for teaching useful Linux tips.
- Short game length (weight 0.45): Many reviewers mention the game is short, with 100% completion taking under 10 hours and tutorials each around 2 hours.
- Free DLCs cover domains (weight 0.34): The game offers free DLCs that cover other cybersecurity domains, including a forensic DLC and a campaign.
- Beginner-friendly handholding (weight 0.3): Reviewers appreciate that the game provides a perfect amount of handholding for beginners, unlike many hardcore hacking games.
- Affordable price for hours (weight 0.28): Several reviewers highlight the game's reasonable price, with one noting around 30 hours of play for 20 euros as honest value.
- French language support (weight 0.27): The game and its documentation are available in French, making it accessible to French-speaking players.
- Future content desired (weight 0.2): Reviewers express a desire for more content in the future and hope for a sequel.
- Realistic and unique (weight 0.18): Reviewers describe the game as the most realistic hacking game available, made by a small French studio.
- Linux platform unsupported (weight 0.16): Despite spawning a Linux VM, the game itself does not support Linux as a gaming platform, which some find ironic.
- Active Discord community (weight 0.15): The game has an active Discord community where players can ask questions and get help.
- Made by French team (weight 0.15): The game is developed by a small French team, with two women handling music and graphics and one man for hacking expertise.
- Steam playtime tracking flaw (weight 0.13): Steam counts playtime as soon as the game is launched, even if left open, which can affect refund eligibility.
- English translation minor issues (weight 0.09): The English translation contains a few typos and some non-translated text, which slightly detracts from the experience.
- Requires effort for 100% (weight 0.09): Completing the game 100% requires significant effort, as noted by some reviewers.
- Suitable for children over 10 (weight 0.08): The game may be a bit complex for children under 10 but is otherwise accessible to younger audiences.
- Dual screen support added (weight 0.08): Dual screen support was added after being requested during beta, improving the user experience.
- Good cheatsheet guide (weight 0.08): The guide serves as a useful cheatsheet for players, enhancing the learning experience.
- Multiplayer would be welcome (weight 0.08): Some players would not be heartbroken if a multiplayer element were implemented, though it's not essential.
- Puzzle comparisons to Zachtronics (weight 0.08): The game is compared to Zachtronics games in the puzzle genre, indicating its logical and problem-solving nature.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.13): Players are frustrated by severe technical issues such as poor performance, game freezes, and a broken, constricting interface that hampers usability. They also face progression blockers like being stuck at difficult levels or unable to access read-only files, and external problems like server access restrictions and license violations. These issues make the game feel unplayable and lead to giving up.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.12): Players are enthusiastic because the game offers an immersive and fun way to learn real hacking techniques using actual tools, with excellent documentation and structured progression. It is praised as one of the best hacking games, providing valuable educational content for beginners and experts alike.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.12): Players feel satisfied as the game meets their expectations for a didactic and realistic introduction to cybersecurity, with well-explained tutorials and missions that crescendo in difficulty. They appreciate the sense of skill progression, the safe learning environment, and the balance of challenge without being fed answers.
- Disappointment (weight 0.08): Players are disappointed by the game's short length and lack of content, especially in story mode, which leaves them wanting more. Technical issues like VM problems, a blurry interface, and poor performance on small screens further diminish the experience, making it feel unfinished.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the game because it combines fun and education, allowing them to learn hacking concepts and use real tools in an engaging atmosphere. The playful nature, flag hunting, and main missions provide a gentle and enjoyable learning experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Players appreciate the game for effectively teaching cybersecurity basics with a well-written hacking guide and realistic tools. The developers' CTF challenges and the demand for real IT skills contribute to a valuable learning experience.
- Love (weight 0.04): Players love the game for its authentic techniques and tools, including a real Linux shell and virtual machines, which provide a realistic hacking experience. Progressing through missions and learning to code and use ethical hacking methods is highly rewarding.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Players are excited by the game's use of real VMs and the prospect of replaying the campaign and trying the forensic DLC. They look forward to more adventures, coding content, and the joy of finally understanding concepts after months of research.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the developers' work on graphics, design, and technical aspects, considering the game an ode to cybersecurity that is realistic and nearly perfect. It stands as the closest to their dream hacker simulation experience.
- Eagerness (weight 0.03): Players are eager for future missions and want to continue the game, anticipating what the developers will create next and waiting for additional content to be added.
- Impressed (weight 0.02): Players are impressed by the creation of a lab with virtual machines and real Linux, which sets the game apart from typical hacking games that are like glorified cookie clickers. The scenario, graphics, and technical tools are awesome.
- Fun (weight 0.02): Players find the game fun due to the CTF-style challenges with a cool scenario and background sound, offering a realistic hacking simulator experience with authentic tools and scenarios.
- Pleasure (weight 0.02): Players derive pleasure from discovering hacking through the game, playing the educational content, and exploring the game further to learn more.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players are engaged by the well-built game overall, with a well-structured progression and documentation that keeps the hacking tutorial from getting boring.
- Gratitude (weight 0.02): Players feel gratitude for the team's work on a game that helped them enter programming and understand previously obscure security concepts, especially with documentation available in French.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Players are interested in learning computer science basics and cybersecurity hacking through the game's well-documented guide, which provides a solid foundation.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Players hope the game is going in a good direction and may eventually hit the sweet spot, expecting remaining challenges to be surprising.
- Mild annoyance (weight 0.01): Players feel mild annoyance due to small flaws in the graphical interfaces and window management, such as unintuitive buttons and a visually cluttered proxy tool.
- Mild frustration (weight 0.01): Players experience mild frustration from waiting several minutes for tools like the bruteforcer or terminal to open, and from ergonomics that are not top, especially on a 16-inch laptop for proxy missions and request editing.
- Amazement (weight 0.01): Players are amazed by the rapid learning compared to other platforms and by access to a real Linux shell and real tools, which enhance the educational experience.}