NetHack is a single-player roguelike video game originally released in 1987 with ASCII graphics.
Released: 28 July 1987
Version: 3.4.3 (8 December 2003)
License: GNU/GPL
Developer : The NetHack DevTeam
It is a descendant of an earlier game called Hack (1985), which is a descendant of Rogue (1980). Comparing it with Rogue, Engadget’s Justin Olivetti wrote that took its exploration aspect and “made it far richer with an encyclopedia of objects, a larger vocabulary, a wealth of pop culture mentions, and a puzzler’s attitude.” In 2000, Salon described it as “one of the finest gaming experiences the computing world has to offer.” and in 2015, USGamer called it “one of the most intricate and challenge video games ever made.”
Before playing a game, players are asked to name their character then choose its race, role, gender, and alignment, or allow the game to assign the attributes randomly. There are traditional fantasy roles such asknight, barbarian, wizard, rogue, valkyrie, priest, monk, and samurai, but there are also unusual ones, including archaeologist, tourist, and caveman. The player character’s role and alignment dictate which deitythe character serves in the game and “how other monsters react toward you”.
After the player character is created, the main objective is introduced. To win the game, the player must retrieve the Amulet of Yendor, found at the lowest level of the dungeon, and offer it to their deity. Successful completion of this task rewards the player with the gift of immortality, and the player is said to “ascend”, attaining the status of demigod. In addition, a number of sub-quests must be completed, including one class-specific quest.
The player’s character is, unless manually specified otherwise, accompanied by a pet animal, typically a kitten or little dog, although knights begin with a saddled pony. Pets grow from fighting, and they can be changed by various means. Most of the other monsters may also be tamed using magic or tempting food.
NetHack’s dungeon spans about 50 primary levels, of which most are randomly generated when the player character first encounters them. A typical level contains a way “up” and a way “down” (these may be stairways, ladders, trapdoors etc.), along with several “rooms” joined by corridors. The “rooms” are randomly generated rectangles (as opposed to the linear corridors) and may contain features such as altars, shops, fountains, traps, thrones, pools of water, and sinks based upon the randomly generated features of the room. Some “special” levels are of fixed design in every game session.
NetHack features a variety of items: weapons (either ranged or melee), armor to protect the player; scrolls and spellbooks to read, potions to quaff, wands, rings, amulets, and an assortment of tools such as keys and lamps.
Also as in many other roguelike games, all items in NetHack are either “blessed”, “uncursed”, or “cursed”.The majority of items are found uncursed, but the blessed or cursed status of an item is unknown until it is identified or detected through other means.
As in other rogue-like games, NetHack features permadeath: expired characters cannot be revived without having made backup copies of the actual save files. Although NetHack can be completed by new or intermediate players without any artificial limitations, experienced players can attempt “conducts” for an additional challenge. These are voluntary restrictions on actions taken, such as using no wishes, following a vegetarian or even vegan diet, or even killing no monsters. While conducts are generally tracked by the game and are displayed at death or ascension, unofficial conducts, are practised within the community.
Minimum System Requirements: Your Computer can run this game :)
NetHack Screenshots
NetHack Videos
External Links:
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