14 DAY TRIAL // 
Is the dagger subroutine more important than the cloak? Is sniffing all nodes worth it? Should I leech cash or is it better to steal as much as possible at a time? Is it bad to become a black hat when the world is crumbling? Being a hacker involves a lot of dilemmas. There are no simple answers but there are well-laid plans. And there are situations where improvisation becomes crucial, as well as making decisions without full information. ICE and tracing are big threats, but social pressure and future shock are even bigger potential problems in Midnight Protocol.
The title is developed by LuGus Studios and published by Iceberg Interactive. I played it on Steam on the PC. It is centered around hacking mechanics and a cyberpunkish atmosphere, with some solid story moments.
Players become Data, a capable hacker who has had the misfortune of being detained by the police after identifying data was made public by a rival. There is not enough evidence to actually convict so the main character is out after one year, ready to find answers about the situation and, of course, stumbling into a wider conspiracy.
The player interacts with a variety of characters, ranging from friend to foe, to get access to jobs, get more information, find sources of money. The ultimate aim is to piece together what happened and why. This involves dealing with some major twists and plenty of interesting revelations about the universe of the game. The writing is solid and engaging, opting for efficiency over verbosity.
The mechanics of Midnight Protocol are centered on nodes and actions. Data has to break into computer systems to get information or make money. He gets missions from data brokers, friends, and mysterious entities. Once inside, the hacker has to move between nodes to reach his objectives, while dealing with tracing and potential countermeasures. Everything is turn-based, with two moves available most of the time. This makes it easy to consider options and plan before acting.
Gamers can cloak to avoid detection or use attack programs to push through obstacles. Sniffers can detect ICE, specialized programs can help with encryption and money transfer, but the player needs to balance their need for precious computing power. As the difficulty level increases it’s easy to make a move without considering all outcomes or to neglect the crucial task of avoiding tracing. The good news is that the rollback command can be used at any time to restart a mission, which limits frustration.
Before actually penetrating a network players can manage their deck of programs and acquire new ones on the black market. There are also e-mails to write (use tab instead of tapping random keys) and information to mine from an intranet.
The hacking action is well-implemented in Midnight Protocol. But the game also insists that gamers control everything using just their keyboard. Press a key to access a relevant section of the interface. Type out the name of commands when hacking. Specify exactly which node to target. It certainly made me feel more like a computer expert who can do almost anything. But it is pretty easy to type “sniffler” rather than “sniffer” and it takes time to learn the more efficient shortcut system. An option to use the keyboard and mouse for certain actions would have made things easier.
The game also introduces big narrative twists that will generate contrasting opinions among players. One of them fits the cyberpunk theme well, but empties the meaning of some of the missions players complete. Another is very metaphysical in nature and almost made me abandon the game entirely.
Midnight Protocol only exists inside a computer, with a stylish interface and a futuristic view of information systems. There’s a coldness and efficiency to the presentation that matches the themes of the experience well. And the game does a lot of good work when it comes to visually representing networks, their dangers, and the tools used to breach them. The interface works well, despite the insistence of only using the keyboard. The only letdown in the presentation department is the mostly generic cyber-themed music, which could have used more variety and more impact.
The Good
- Hacking mechanics
- Narrative moments
- Cyberpunk inspired presentation
The Bad
- Keyboard only
- Some commands need more context
- Limited soundtrack
Conclusion
Plenty of players will have issues with the decision to only control the game using the keyboard. It feels annoying at first but adds to the immersion and it’s relatively easy to learn. The development team at LuGus knows how to blend mechanics and story in cool ways and Midnight Protocol is the kind of hacker-centered experience that no other medium can deliver.
Review code provided by the publisher.
