Hacking is one of those things that I think many of us would secretly like to try. The problem with this is that hacking is also a fairly illegal past time and thus probably not a great candidate for a career change. That being said there have been quite a few games about this theme, some of which have been more realistic than others. That being said you shouldn’t need a programming degree to have fun so this theme can be taken in other ways and still be a great game. My random chatter apart from this idea leads us on Recmpile, the title we will discuss today.

Recompilereleased only for PC, PS5. series Xbox S/X and Game Pass a few days ago, and it comes from the very talented souls at Phigames. This title asks hacking types to do something slightly different than usual. Rather interestingly, in this case, you are not the hacker. You are the program.

In a story that explores themes such as the sense of the machine and the nature of choice Recompile it will place you in the role of a semi-sentient rogue piece of code. You’ll find yourself trapped in the Mainframe, a vast, digital wasteland controlled by the Hypervisor, a homicidal AI that wants to wipe out trespassers.

Recompile has multiple endings based on the choices you, the player, make in the game. You can repair systems, recover lost data, and hack or destroy enemies. all the while learning about it Superintendent and discovering the truth behind the original purpose of the Mainframe.

Recompile will see you facing off against some giant enemies using a range of futuristic weapons and super-powered abilities. They even give you your own jet pack! When you’re not killing things, you’ll find yourself hacking through environmental circuits, logic gates, and more. This all takes place in a non-linear world with Metroidvania-style progression, so don’t expect an easy ride.

If this all sounds like something you want to get involved with, you can do so right away. A computer copy of Recompile will set you back a fairly reasonable £15.49, ($19.99 or €19.99), a console version, on the other hand, will be £19.99, ($24.99/€.) This could might well be a great addition to hacker toolkits if that’s the sort of thing that floats your proverbial boat.