Mainlining similar games & best alternatives

Mainlining - Trailer
Mainlining - mainlining_1.avif
Mainlining - mainlining_2.avif
Mainlining - mainlining_3.avif
Mainlining - mainlining_4.avif
Mainlining - mainlining_5.avif
Mainlining - mainlining_6.avif

Mainlining

PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch • 2017

Should you play it?

After MI7 has been hacked, your primary goal is to bring a cyber-criminal network to justice. Played entirely from your computer's desktop, Mainlining is a thrilling point and click hacking adventure that features a gripping narrative which will have you hooked from the very first case.

What works

  • Engaging investigative gameplay
  • Strong narrative and characters
  • Unique pixel art style
  • Immersive hacking simulation
  • Challenging but accessible puzzles

Things to keep in mind

  • Short game length
  • Limited replay value
  • Some ui and bug issues
  • Linear progression
  • Lack of deep social interaction

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Lost Wiki: Kozlovka

  • Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

  • Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping

  • CaseCracker3

  • 98xx

  • Orwell: Ignorance is Strength

Less social

Games that feels like Mainlining but with less teamwork and cooperation

  • Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator

  • Cyber Manhunt

  • CaseCracker

  • CaseCracker2

  • Trust Me, I Nailed It

  • Kingsway

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Mainlining. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Mainlining. These titles are not in What to play next.

Mainlining: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Expression, Fellowship, Cooperation, Competition. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Cooperation. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence, Survival.

Last update: 21/08/2026