Hackers and AI beware: Aluba Studio and Spiral Up Games are onto you, divulging all your tricks in the Early Access title, Cyber Manhunt 2: New World. In this sequel, you play as an AI assistant deployed to uncover truths, expose lies, and play Big Brother in every single way.
If this sounds slightly familiar, you may be aware that I covered the first game back in 2021 and was impressed with the concept. The sequel follows on from that to some degree with corporation espionage and that all-important C-word: control.
Most of the steps required in Cyber Manhunt 2: New World involve reverse engineering. You already know the answers or have an inkling as to the outcome, but you need to know the how or the why. In this case, it means sniffing out clues and diving deep into a target’s digital profile—much like in the original game and, no doubt, methods that real-life hackers use.
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World Early Access – Hackety Hack
That comment about a band member, political opinion, or a questionable search history will bite you on the bum, as the AI assistant that you play will identify keywords and track down enough information to build a case. Birth dates, places of work, hobbies and interests are all entry points for creating the bigger picture, and in Cyber Manhunt 2: New World, that means data.
…it’s immersive enough to feel like you’re a cyber detective
The first tutorial will introduce your tools and loosely guide you through the mechanics. I use the term ‘loosely’ as I had to restart a couple of times because I hit an invisible wall and couldn’t quite work out what to do next. There is a slim chance these were bugs, as this is based on an Early Access build, though I doubt it. Something must have been overlooked on my part, as it resolved a couple of attempts later.
The tools available to you include a web browser, email, social media platforms, phone services, and dedicated hacking and cracking options. Cyber Manhunt 2: New World doesn’t offer direct input—you can’t do a quick Google search—so instead, you’ll scroll through social platforms such as Toothbook (guess what that’s replicating?) and the dating app Imeet, or search through emails and drag and drop clues to investigate further.
Target-Lead
You’ll be assigned a target profile, and each clue uncovered will be displayed in a pop-up for you to use in your searches. Sometimes, you can drag a clue into the search engine, and a handful of searches will provide additional context. In other cases, you can’t manually input a search term and instead scroll through information.
many of these cases were inspired by real-life events!
When you’ve acquired enough data, you can enter it into the Titan database and crack user passwords to access accounts. You can’t simply withdraw information without legwork, so it takes a bit of time, but it’s immensely satisfying when you get a lead. Sure, it’s not like real hacking, not that I have any comparisons, yet it’s immersive enough to feel like you’re a cyber detective.
Now that you have evidence, it’s time to assemble your case. On the surface, Cyber Manhunt 2: New World reasoning system looks straightforward with its drag-and-drop UI, but I did find it fiddly. The difference between humans and AI is reasoning. With the latter, it’s pretty black and white and has no margin for error: you have to be accurate with your conclusions, so expect some tweaking to get it right.
TLDR
With four chapters in the Cyber Manhunt 2: New World Early Access build and spanning eight characters, there’s much on offer, even at this early stage. If you played the first game, you can expect more of the same but with much more visual polish and a cool, dramatic soundtrack. Perhaps even more surprising is that many of these cases were inspired by real-life events!
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World Early Access will be officially released on May 10th on Steam. Use the link below to check it out.
