From Press Release:
Grand Rapids, Michigan – April 29th: FINJI, the award-winning development studio and publisher of Night in The Woods, Chicory and Tunic, and indie artist Michael Brough (868-HACK) have today announced their collab 868-BACK, the computer-hacking strategy roguelike game, launches for PC on Steam, GOG, itch.io, and Humble on May 28th. To celebrate the news, a brand new trailer is available here.
Inspired by roguelike dungeon crawlers, 868-BACK challenges the player to hack computer servers while stealing data from the richest corporations on Earth. Navigating servers as if they were dungeons and using illicit software tools as weapons, they’ll learn to take risks to increase their wealth and clout to take on more and more difficult servers.
868-BACK immerses the players in a mission to dismantle capitalism while they use hacking spells to win a fight, clear the sector of enemies, and face more nasty situations before being disconnected (again!). Players are tasked to survive 36 servers, choosing paths that lead to different endings in unique runs made up of 3 weeks.
Each server is a new experience, allowing the player to start fresh by gaining new powers to dismantle the sector’s defenses and rob capitalism of their most valuable assets. Balancing risk and reward and managing resources are the key aspects to succeed in every encounter.
FINJI Fans can learn more about this project on the dedicated website, wishlist 868-BACK on Steam, and find more details about FINJI’s other projects, like Usual June, here.
About Michael Brough
Michael Brough is widely considered to be one of the best living game designers today. He has been making small indie games for over 20 years and has influenced years of contemporary designers with his work. He even has a game genre named after him- the Broughlike. His work has been nominated for numerous awards, including Excellence in Design at the Independent Games Festival (IGF). His extensive catalogue of work includes games like 868-HACK, Zaga-33, Vesper 5, Imbroglio, and Corrypt. He is currently working on 868-BACK with his wife and partner, Tara Macalister (yakfox).
About YakFox
YAKFOX (Tara Macalister) is a musician from Aotearoa (New Zealand), living in Portugal with her husband and partner Michael Brough. She spent over a decade as a research mathematician, before taking a break in 2024 to learn electronic music production at a local DJ school. She is currently producing the soundtrack for Brough’s game 868-BACK.
With her background in western classical and folk music, combined with a strong interest in blues, funk and a wide range of electronic music, especially dub and trip-hop, each piece of music she creates is a spontaneous fusion of styles. She likes to add an organic element and increased personality to her primarily-electronic music, by including vocals or recorded violin or body percussion. For 868-BACK, she is enjoying the challenge of creating music in several distinct styles to portray the world of the game.
About FINJI
FINJI is an award-winning game studio founded by Adam and Rebekah Saltsman in 2006. FINJI is currently working Usual June, and you may know them from past titles including Overland and Canabalt. Previous publishing projects include TUNIC, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Night in the Woods, and Wilmot’s Warehouse. FINJI is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but works with collaborators from around the world. Follow FINJI on social media at @finjico.
