Bitburner

Bitburner (2021) is a text adventure where you play a programmer in a cyberpunk world trying to get rich. Play involves hacking computers by typing code before writing scripts to automate almost anything in the game for you. It stands out for the vast number of ways you can solve game problems using coding and automation, serving as an extensive introduction to programming as a real-life skill.

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You play by typing commands into a computer with the aim of gaining access to its systems by creating malicious files and then stealing money. You do this by following the tutorials or using previous programming experience. In this way, you work to create an empire of hacked computers that can manipulate servers to grow your bank account exponentially.

As you complete certain tasks to prove yourself as a programmer, a mysterious storyline unravels, unlocking more of the game world. You can join criminal factions, make billions in the stock market, and discover hidden puzzles that require more in-depth programming knowledge to complete. You can even buy permanent upgrades for your player, but installing them resets the game world back to the start, leaving you with only your upgrades and any scripts you've written.

The result feels as close to real-life hacking and programming as you can get. Your scripts run even when you're not playing the game, making Bitburner feel all the more immersive. The difficulty of writing scripts is overwhelming at times, but with perseverance, you learn new skills and have fun while doing so.

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Our examiner, Joe Eaton, first checked Bitburner 9 weeks ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 9 weeks ago.