For a long time, at the end of the day, I would head upstairs with the old Steam Deck and play a few rounds of Balatro before bed. More recently, however, I’ve been signing off the day with a few rounds of a new game: 868-Back.
This roguelike sequel by Michael Brough builds on a game that I have never played before – 868-Hack – so I can’t make a comparison to the original game. Sorry about that. What I can tell you is that the new 868-Back is an excellent video game. It’s tough, it’s clever, and I can’t stop playing it.
It might not look all that scary based on the screenshots, but trust me when I tell you that you’ll need to think on your feet if you’re going to progress.
In fact, you’ll need to use every advantage available to you, including some programs that don’t always sound exciting on paper. However, the toolbox you’re given is much more interesting than it first appears. I nearly always come undone because I’ve not thought things through or I haven’t used all the tricks at my disposal – using the tooltips is vital as you learn the game’s subtleties.
The whole thing is draped in a hacker theme which, as someone who lived through their teen years in the ‘90s, I quite appreciated. Cultural terminology permeates the UI and the whole thing is on point from a thematic perspective. It’s all about taking on the mega-corps, stealing data, and wearing hoodies, and I’m totally here for the vibe.
The game itself is both blindingly simple and yet somehow constantly fraught with complexity. You must move your smiley avatar from A to B, defeating anything that crosses your path. It’s like a twisted game of Pac-Man, but turn-based and a lot meaner.
Combat is simple and Rogue-like for the most part, as you only have to face your opponent and press the correct direction to attack it. The nuance comes from your positioning, taking advantage of your many programs, and using the environment to create bottlenecks.
There are loads of in-game items that let you drag, push, hurt or otherwise confuse your opponents as you commit to a turn-based dance around each level. Once you hit the exit, the puzzle resets and off you go again. The intensity only builds…
I’ve been sitting up and playing a few rounds on most nights, and even though 868-Back is ruthlessly kicking my backside in that time, I’m intrigued by the clever mechanics and constantly drawn back by the promise of the quick runs and a stern cerebral challenge. It definitely won’t be for everyone, but turn-based strategy fans looking to test the ol’ grey matter will find a worthy challenge here.
868-Back is out now on PC (Lin, Mac, Win), and I played the game via access kindly provided by the game’s publisher.
