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Hypnospace Outlaw is both ridiculous and brilliant, a game that simulates the '90s internet in a rather disturbing way and it's out now with Linux support.

Note: Key provided by GOG.

Originally crowdfunded on Kickstarter, from some of the minds that made Dropsy, it gathered a reasonable sum of $35,994 back in 2016. I remember seeing one of the earlier trailers for Hypnospace Outlaw and being so completely bemused by it.

Thankfully it's not just a weird, it's actually pretty good. You are a Hypnospace Enforcer, basically you're the internet police, the job I'm sure you've always wanted!

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While playing it, Hypnospace Outlaw brought up some interesting memories of my early years messing with computers. The attention to detail is quite alarming, they really went to great lengths to simulate so much of the early internet it's crazy. From terrible mouse effects to the wild website designs and under construction images, it has it all.

I will openly admit the game made me feel a little guilty! As I flagged images for "Content Infringement" and sent them off to HQ to have them rip the images away leaving an old school broken image placeholder, people certainly were upset with me for doing it.

The official bit included at no extra charge:

As part of your job as a Hypnospace Enforcer, you'll be watching out for copyright infringement, internet bullying and more, with reports and rewards coming direct from the Hypnospace Patrol Department to your inbox. In your spare time, you can customize your HypnOS desktop however you see fit, with a variety of downloads, wallpapers, screen savers and helper bots to keep you company.

  • Crawl through Cyberspace: Scour the darkest corners of the Web for scumbag users who violate Hypnospace law!
  • Dangers and delights: Download groovy GIFS and MIDI files, but watch out for adware, toolbars and hackers!
  • Treasure hunting: Do your job to earn Hypnocoins, or ignore your inbox and go hunting for hidden pages, downloads and secrets!
  • Relive your childhood: Equip obnoxious screensavers and skins for your desktop, and wiggle your mouse pointer around to make pages load faster!

Completely bizarre, weirdly nostalgic, slightly confusing and yet also highly engrossing. A point and click adventure sim like nothing else that's for sure! You can find it on GOG, itch.io and Steam.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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7 comments

Koopacabras Mar 13, 2019
*sigh* "future nostalgia", back then the world had a bright future, now we are doomed.
razing32 Mar 13, 2019
I only saw the net properly in the early 2000s and back then all I had was a dialup modem and all I cared about was games.
All i recall was looking up pictures for school essays.

Quoting: chancho_zombie*sigh* "future nostalgia", back then the world had a bright future, now we are doomed.

Pessimist much ? :P
Guppy Mar 14, 2019
Ah yes the 90s internet - tons of animated gifs, looping midi files and pages that were permanently "under construction"

"Anyone can put anything they want up for everyone else to see!"
"yes.. that accurately describes the problem"

Template websites and blogs* had helped reduce the visual torture aspect quite a bit, but 90% of what's stored online still qualifies as complete and utter garbage.




*) when exactly did we become so ego centric that we decided to drop "we" from weblog ?
wvstolzing Mar 14, 2019
Quoting: GuppyAh yes the 90s internet - tons of animated gifs, looping midi files and pages that were permanently "under construction"

Don't forget blinking text. That's my favorite.
F.Ultra Mar 14, 2019
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Quoting: razing32All i recall was looking up pictures for school essays.

Cannot honestly say that the pictures I downloaded back then was for school essays
JudasIscariot Mar 15, 2019
Quoting: wvstolzing
Quoting: GuppyAh yes the 90s internet - tons of animated gifs, looping midi files and pages that were permanently "under construction"

Don't forget blinking text. That's my favorite.

And the watermark that would follow you as you scrolled down the page.
wvstolzing Mar 15, 2019
Quoting: JudasIscariot
Quoting: wvstolzing
Quoting: GuppyAh yes the 90s internet - tons of animated gifs, looping midi files and pages that were permanently "under construction"

Don't forget blinking text. That's my favorite.

And the watermark that would follow you as you scrolled down the page.

That one brings back memories: I remember feeling proud when I figured out how to do that, back in high school.
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