NETSHELL
Hack the System. Uncover the Truth.
About the Game
Enter the Underground
It's 1996. The internet is the wild west. Corporations hide secrets in poorly secured servers, and a hacker collective called Black Ice is watching from the shadows.
[1996.09.12 03:14:08] Encrypted channel active.
Someone found you. Someone who calls themselves Zero.
They lead Black Ice - a collective that believes the
network is a library, and they are its archivists.
"We don't hack for profit. We preserve. We document.
We expose what corps want buried in forgotten servers."
The feds are getting smarter. Corporations are hiding
something big. And Zero needs someone with your skills.
> "Dig deep. Document everything. Trust no corp.
> Trust no fed. Welcome to Black Ice."
The cursor blinks. Your first mission is waiting.
Features
What Makes Netshell Different
AI-Powered NPCs
NPCs that think, remember, and react. Have real conversations with hackers, sysadmins, and mysterious contacts who actually understand what you're doing.
Authentic UNIX Simulation
Real terminal commands. Real file systems. Real tools. If you know UNIX, you know Netshell. If you don't, you'll learn.
Simulated Networks
Navigate through interconnected servers, corporate intranets, and hidden networks. Every system is unique with its own security, users, and secrets.
Deep Narrative
A story of corporate espionage, underground networks, and personal redemption. Your choices matter. Your methods matter.
90s Authentic Aesthetic
CDE/Motif desktop environment. IRC chats. Dial-up modems. ASCII art. Experience the internet before it was sanitized.
Real Hacking Techniques
No magic hacking minigames. Use real reconnaissance, exploitation, and post-exploitation techniques adapted for the game world.
Living 90s History
Starting in 1996, experience the dot-com bubble, millennium bug panic, and corporate fraud scandals - reimagined with conspiracies and secrets only hackers can uncover.
Preview
Screenshots
Development
Dev Log
Follow our development journey. Technical deep-dives, AI experiments, and behind-the-scenes updates.
Research
Technical Papers
Deep dives into the technology behind Netshell. AI architectures, simulation systems, and game design explorations.
Multi-Pass NPC Generation Pipeline
How we use multiple LLM passes to generate contextually aware NPC responses.
Building a Virtual UNIX Filesystem
Implementing a realistic VFS for game simulation with permissions and ownership.
Narrative-Driven Mission Systems
Designing flexible mission structures that respond to player agency.
Join the Community
Connect with other hackers, give feedback on development, and help shape the future of Netshell.
Join Netshell Discord