# NetHack 60 Hacker News commenters recommended NetHack and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 26 years (6 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** People recommend it for deep, surprising game mechanics, huge replayability, and a free, classic roguelike feel. The most common caveat is that it is punishingly hard and often needs spoilers to win. ## Why people recommend it - Deep interactions and replayability (3 comments): "Just pure gameplay, with a richness of interactions and possibilities unmatched by more polished modern games." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47992377)) "You'll miss the amazing interactions and stuff otherwise, and it is still challenging either way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47991275)) "Nethack/lashem weights MB's and has tons of replayability." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47658350)) - Fun for decades, even spoiled players (4 comments): "I've been playing this game since the mid 1980s since it was called Hack." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990972)) "after all these years Nethack is still the most memorable game I played" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989743)) "NetHack is loads of fun. I have been playing since around 2008 now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48016691)) - Thoughtful design with lots of character (3 comments): "Nethack's always been amazing for the feeling of "the devs thought of everything."" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989051)) "I find NetHack more enjoyable to play because it has real character/soul/heart." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45908742)) "Imagine every level with the sophistication of nethack's "special" levels." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988854)) - Easy to run, no online requirement (2 comments): "NetHack is not one of those modern, commercial, online-only games that make it difficult to run old versions." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989092)) "Play nethack with a simple oneliner: nc nethack.alt.org 23" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47745258)) ## What people warn about - Too hard, often needs spoilers (3 comments): "at some point you just get frustrated, decide enough is enough, and look up whatever spoilers are necessary to beat the game" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47992236)) "After reading some of the spoilers and realizing what I would have to memorize to win the game, I stopped playing it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47995721)) "Nethack is pretty punishingly difficult even with spoilers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989955)) - Unexplained mechanics and hazards (2 comments): "Nethack has a lot of very specific mechanics and hazards that aren't explained to you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47991211)) "I always feel like I don't understand what's going on, mechanically speaking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989196)) - Disliked 3.7 changes and nerfs (3 comments): "always felt all the graphical updates were not worth it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989402)) "Damn they really nerfed valkyrie. I loved that class." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47991590)) "3.7 really had developed a bad reputation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47996626)) - Too baroque and too long (2 comments): "much much too baroque, a confusion of ideas and one-turn unavoidable deaths" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45791490)) "I still find the game way too long!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45920531)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Chess-Inspired Roguelike](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chess-inspired-roguelike.md): 33 recommend - [Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dungeon-crawl-stone-soup.md): 16 recommend - [Xs of Y](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xs-of-y.md): 14 recommend - [Noita](https://hackerapproved.com/p/noita.md): 13 recommend - [Caves of Qud](https://hackerapproved.com/p/caves-of-qud.md): 10 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "NetHack", https://hackerapproved.com/p/nethack/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).