Net.Attack() Early Access Review
Net.Attack() is a hacking-themed Survivorslike with rewarding coding mechanics.
ByteRockers’ Games has released Net.Attack(), a Survivorslike, in Early Access on Steam. The game plays much like Vampire Survivors, except it adds engrossing coding mechanics that let you tinker with and customize your weapons. At around 6 months before full release, the game is well worth checking out at the current $7.99 price point if you’re a fan of the genre.
From the game’s Steam page:
Unleash your inner hacker skills and code your way to victory in a game where complex algorithms and intuitive gameplay collide. Net.Attack() is a dynamic Top-Down Survivors-like Roguelite where you create your own abilities using programming.
On the surface, Net.Attack() plays a lot like Vampire Survivors. You spawn in a level and gather as much experience and items as you can, as increasingly dense waves of enemies attack. Gather enough experience points, and you earn a chance to pick from three upgradable perks when you level up. There’s an added area control mechanic where you must hold locations to gain currency, but the really interesting thing about the game is how the weapon system works.
Instead of picking up weapons that you gradually upgrade, you build algorithms out of functions that you can buy at any time you pause the game by opening the coding screen. You have several Root nodes, which you can link to function and conditional nodes that you can place anywhere on the screen, much like the cable patching system in The Signal State. Attacks, multipliers, healing, status effects, and more are triggered by these functions, in the order you chain them. Certain functions or conditionals will have more than one output, allowing you to create multi-branch algorithms. It’s especially fun because you can make the enemies you hit become the source of the next attack, creating massive chain reactions that can almost feel game-breaking. However, there’s a balance you must strike between speed and power—the more nodes in your chain, the longer the cooldown before it can trigger again.
I’m mixed on the game’s graphics. I love the stylized look of the circuit board themed cyberspace levels and the coding UIs. However, the player and all enemies are represented by diamond-bordered icons that just float around the playfield, and I feel like it’s a little bit of a cop out. The attacks and other visual effects that happen when you play are slick, making the simple look of the sprites even more glaring.
It looks like ByteRockers has plenty of new stuff planned on the road to the game’s 1.0 release, and I’m excited to see how the game grows. I’ll be checking back in on this one frequently, and I recommend you check it out!
Net.Attack() is available now on Steam Early Access.
Played on: Steam Deck
