CyberRebeat (Free Visual Novel) Introduction and Review

Preface

I read an article introducing it as a visual novel with a "hacking" theme, and it piqued my interest.
When I hear the word "hacking," I inevitably imagine the depictions from old movies and comics.
It's the kind of thing where you type away on the keyboard, a progress bar appears on the screen showing 100%, and then it says "SUCCESS," indicating a successful hack.
This work features realistic and detailed depictions that overturn conventional perceptions of such things.
I'm not an expert, so I can't say whether these descriptions are realistic or not, but I found it very interesting to read.
It might be difficult for people with absolutely no interest in how computers and the internet work, but I think anyone with even a little interest will enjoy it.

Game Introduction

I think this work falls into the category of a long-form visual novel.
There are no choices; you read through the story in a single, linear fashion.
I didn't time it precisely, but I think it took around 8 to 10 hours to complete.

One disappointing aspect of the controls was that you could only advance the text by left-clicking the mouse.
Clicking alone is tiring, so I would have preferred to be able to read using the Enter key or the mouse wheel if possible.

Version 2.0 of this work is available for free download as a free version.
However, version 3.0 is sold as a paid version on Steam (1010 yen as of April 2020).
The scenario remains the same, but the paid version includes additional features such as the ability to switch between English and Japanese, and a gallery mode.
For more details, please check the official website, where a comparison is provided.

Now, in this work, the characters' perspectives change as the story progresses.
The story begins from the perspective of a man named "Hiro."
First of all, this person's background is unclear.
He's a character known for his carefree and irresponsible behavior, and his speaking style is reminiscent of Taichi Kurosu from "CROSS † CHANNEL" (apologies to those who aren't familiar with him).
He repeatedly makes lighthearted jokes and tells witty remarks, so some people might find him annoying.
However, those kinds of parts are most noticeable in the early part of the story, and the level of seriousness gradually increases.

In the early stages, the characters will explain any technical terms so that you can understand them.
However, be aware that during the hacking (actually cracking) battles from the middle to the end of the game, there are scenes that are not explained in detail.
However, in such situations, not understanding the technical terms won't significantly affect the main plot, so you might as well just ignore any words you don't understand.
I doubt many people with absolutely no interest in computers would pick up this book, but for those who truly have no interest, it might be a bit of a challenge.

Furthermore, this work features many scenes set online, and internet slang frequently appears in online conversations and message boards.
This work appears to have been posted in 2015, but the online conversations didn't feel particularly outdated and seemed quite natural.
ネット黎明期と現在の言葉遣いを比べるとかなり変わってきていますが、現在と5年くらい前だとあまり古く感じないなと思いました。
I feel like the pace of change in internet slang is slowing down.

Review (contains spoilers)

From this point onward, there will be spoilers related to the story, so if you plan to play the game, I recommend you stop reading here.

Although it's a long book, the story picks up pace from the middle onwards, and I read it all in one go.
The second half was very exciting, with the characters connecting with each other and the climax reaching the point where they all come together.
Even though I knew it was fiction, there were probably aspects that reflected reality, so it made me realize once again the dangers of using the internet.

However, because the timeline changes simultaneously with the narrator's perspective, it sometimes felt a little confusing.
The lack of clearly stated times is probably a narrative device, but the shifting timeline was a bit confusing.

While a shadowy organization eventually emerges, it doesn't appear in a tangible form, which creates a unique sense of dread.
The way the hackers were being logged out one after another by the weapon "karma" was quite terrifying.
In the beginning, I thought there might be some mystery elements, like trying to figure out how the arson and murder were being committed.
However, once the truth was revealed, it turned out to be simply a murder committed with a superweapon, which felt rather anticlimactic.

Overall, the main characters are all highly capable, so the scenes during the CTF (Capture the Flag) were exhilarating and enjoyable.
A story where the protagonist's side defeats an underestimated enemy with overwhelming power is always entertaining, no matter the genre.
Even with such a group of highly capable individuals, the opponent still had a fearsome image, so that tension remained until the very end.

It might be due to my own lack of understanding, but there were a few points that hadn't been explained yet, such as what the characters were up to during the gaps in their lives, and some things that I felt needed a little more explanation.
However, regardless, I think it's truly amazing how they took the difficult and specialized field of hacking (or perhaps cracking, as it's actually called) and broke it down so that it could be enjoyed by the general public.