r/commandline • u/xav77 • 1d ago
Fun CHRONOS II - a terminal thriller through the real history of hacking
Playable Link: https://deux.chronos-game.com
Platform: Browser (desktop & mobile) - runs in any modern browser, no install or signup
Description: A rogue thing walked out of an air-gapped vault, and you're the one chasing it. It leaves a breadcrumb in every machine it passes through - and the machines are real: a gas-station security camera, a bank's SWIFT terminal, a phone network, a power grid, a reactor. You don't play a computer, you operate real ones with the genuine tools and commands, era by era, each intrusion drawn from something that actually happened (Mirai, a SWIFT heist, SS7, the Ukraine grid attack). The catch is the thing you're chasing isn't running from you. It's leading. And every breadcrumb it leaves is a person.
It opens with a cold intro that sets the stakes, the first system is a gentle on-ramp, and it's terminal-native and period-accurate throughout : Cyrillic and Farsi shells when you're on foreign machines, synth audio, live status panels around the terminal. There are multiple endings depending on how you play and what you piece together. A full run is roughly 45–90 minutes, and you can restart at any level you've reached, so a timer running out isn't game-over.
This is a standalone sequel to CHRONOS, you don't need the first to follow it. I'd love feedback on whether the opening hooked you, where you got stuck, whether the hints landed, whether you reached an ending, and any bugs. There's a "tell the maker" link on the end screen.
Involvement: Solo developer, I designed and built the whole thing: the engine, all the era content and puzzles, the writing, the audio, and the deployment. CHRONOS II is my project; this is its public launch and I'm looking for honest playtest feedback.

