868-HACK is 868-BACK with Finji

Here comes a brand new hacking game, where players will take more risks than ever.

Grand Rapids, Michigan - February 12th: FINJI, the award-winning development studio and publisher of Night in The Woods, Chicory or Tunic and indie artist Michael Brough (868-HACK) have today announced their collaboration on 868-BACK, a computer-hacking strategy roguelike game. Players will be able to try the game’s first demo at the Steam Next Fest later this month.

Inspired by roguelike dungeon crawlers, 868-BACK challenges the player to get out of the server alive while fighting Megacorps. Navigating servers as if they were dungeons and using illicit software as tools, they’ll learn to take risks to increase their wealth and clout to take on more and more difficult mega-corporation servers.

868-BACK immerses the players in a mission to dismantle capitalism while they use hacking spells to win a fight, clear the sector of enemies, and face more nasty situations before being disconnected (again!) by the richest corporations on earth. Players go through 8 servers, choosing paths that lead to different endings in unique runs made up of 19 days.

Each server is a new experience, allowing the player to start fresh by gaining new powers to dismantle the sector's defenses and rob capitalism of their most valuable assets. Balancing risk and reward and managing resources are the key aspects to succeed in every encounter. But they have to achieve this against the clock before they are disconnected and booted from the server for good.

Finji Fans can learn more about this newly signed project on the dedicated website, wishlist 868-BACK on Steam, and find more details about FINJI’s other projects like Usual June, here.

About Michael Brough

Michael Brough is widely considered to be one of the best living game designers today. He has been making small indie games for over 20 years and has influenced years of contemporary designers with his work. He even has a game genre named after him- the Broughlike. His work has been nominated for numerous awards, including Excellence in Design at the Independent Games Festival (IGF). His extensive catalogue of work includes games like 868-HACK, Zaga-33, Vesper 5, Imbroglio, and Corrypt. He is currently working on 868-BACK with his wife and partner, Tara Macalister (yakfox).

About YakFox

YAKFOX (Tara Macalister) is a musician from Aotearoa (New Zealand), living in Portugal with her husband and partner Michael Brough.  She spent over a decade as a research mathematician, before taking a break in 2024 to learn electronic music production at a local DJ school.  She is currently producing the soundtrack for Brough's game 868-BACK.

With her background in western classical and folk music, combined with a strong interest in blues, funk and a wide range of electronic music, especially dub and trip-hop, each piece of music she creates is a spontaneous fusion of styles.  She likes to add an organic element and increased personality to her primarily-electronic music, by including vocals or recorded violin or body percussion.  For 868-BACK, she is enjoying the challenge of creating music in several distinct styles to portray the world of the game.

About FINJI

FINJI is an award-winning game studio founded by Adam and Rebekah Saltsman in 2006. FINJI is currently working Usual June, and you may know them from past titles including Overland and Canabalt. Previous publishing projects include TUNIC, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Night in the Woods, and Wilmot's Warehouse. FINJI is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but works with collaborators from around the world. Follow FINJI on social media at @finjico.