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'90s internet simulator 'Hypnospace Outlaw' launches on March 12

Moderate the web during its wild west days.

The wild west era of the internet is coming back, and you're tasked with moderating all of the madness. That's the premise of alternate-reality 1990s internet simulator Hypnospace Outlaw, the latest title from Dropsy creator Jay Tholen. The anticipated game finally has a launch date, set for March 12th. The game will be available through Steam and GOG on March 12th for $19.99.

Hypnospace Outlaw places you in the role of a volunteer moderator who has to keep the blossoming internet, known as Hypnospace in the game world, under control. This isn't the formulaic modern web, though. Instead, you'll be overseeing a world closer to that of Geocities, a bunch of deeply personal and customized web pages. Those sites occasionally violate the rules of the web, and you'll have to crack down on the policy violators.

At its core, Hypnospace Outlaw is a puzzle game. Each rule-breaking incident requires moderators to solve a unique, text-based challenge to address the problem. But the appeal of the game, beyond the challenge, stems from nostalgia. If you miss the days of low-res images and animations, blippy-sounding music and archaic HTML designs, Hypnospace Outlaw is your chance to relive -- or first experience -- the internet as it starts to bloom.