Hacked: The Streamer

Hacked The Streamer might be a short game, but it’s an interesting FMV experience that certainly makes you question some of your choices.

Hacked: The Streamer is a valiant effort by a new team, but it unfortunately falls flat. The narrative is convoluted and uninteresting. Gameplay is minimal and borderline unnecessary. And the game deliberately hides its actors, the most important part of an FMV game, behind Discord calls and AI art. There are signs of an interesting premise, but the delivery is wholly lacking. That’s harsh criticism, I know, but that’s because I can see the glittering of a solid game beneath all the ugly rubble. May this be a learning experience, and may their next project be an improvement. I give Hacked: The Streamer the Thumb Culture Bronze Award.

The potential in this game is certainly there, as at the start it seemed to me like this was going to be a pretty interesting plot, but ultimately the execution turns out to be somewhat lacking. While you can indeed replay the game with different choices to experience all five endings—and suspicion can even be corrected immediately at the end, meaning you can essentially have seen all the endings right away—unfortunately, this does not offer a truly different gaming experience. The story and setting are and remain quite flat and do not really come to life, although the acting is quite decent and visually the game looks very slick in every respect. The interaction with objects adds absolutely nothing, given that you can already see which objects contribute to the story and which do not.

Overall, Hacked: The Streamer is a well-put-together title; the story is engaging and keeps you guessing as you go along. Its storyline taps into people’s real emotions around online bullying and the danger of putting yourself in the public eye, a sick mother who needs to be looked after, and the realisation that you cannot always control the outcome of a situation. If you enjoy FMV games, you will enjoy this one, though there aren’t many hours of content. What’s there though, can be rewarding if you manage to sort out who the hacker is.

An interesting premise and story that is worth playing makes Hacked: The Streamer a title that FMV players should definitely consider. However, not being easily able to track our choices makes it more of a chore to play through repeatedly, especially when hoping to see different outcomes.