Uplink similar games & best alternatives

Uplink - Trailer
Uplink - uplink_1.avif
Uplink - uplink_2.avif
Uplink - uplink_3.avif
Uplink - uplink_4.avif
Uplink - uplink_5.avif
Uplink - uplink_6.avif

Uplink

Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac • 2006

Should you play it?

Uplink lets you play as a freelance hacker tackling risky contracts for corporations. Break into systems, steal data, sabotage rivals, and upgrade your gear. Support factions or go rogue in this immersive, strategy-driven hacking simulation game where your choices shape the outcome.

What works

  • Immersive hacking fantasy
  • High player autonomy and creativity
  • Challenging and strategic gameplay
  • Strong replayability with mods
  • Engaging soundtrack and atmosphere

Things to keep in mind

  • Dated graphics and interface
  • Steep learning curve
  • Permadeath can be frustrating
  • Limited social interaction
  • Some repetitive tasks

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Duskers

  • SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition

  • One Way Heroics

  • Creeper World: Anniversary Edition

  • Kingsway

  • Quasimorph

More leadership-focused

Games that feels like Uplink but with more leadership over others

  • Xenopurge

  • Spinnortality | cyberpunk management sim

  • Chaos Galaxy 2

  • Distant Worlds: Universe

  • Approaching Infinity

  • Shortest Trip to Earth

Less status-driven

Games that feels like Uplink but with less focus on status and recognition

  • Midnight Protocol

  • Magic Research 2

  • Rift Wizard

  • Sword of the Stars: The Pit

  • Creeper World 2: Anniversary Edition

  • Rogue's Tale

Choose your own criteria ->

From the same developer

From the same developer, ranked by motivational fit.

  • The Last Starship

  • Prison Architect

  • Darwinia

  • DEFCON

  • Scanner Sombre

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Uplink. 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 Uplink. These titles are not in What to play next.

Uplink: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Violence, Survival, Fellowship, Intimacy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Status, Competition. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Expression.

Last update: 21/08/2026