Comparison

NEONNET vs Hack Ex

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NEONNET

Engage in a cyberpunk roguelike strategy game on a hostile grid. Issue commands, scan for risks, and choose your tactical approach to hacking, combat, and extraction. Designed for brief, focused sessions, it offers deliberate pacing and a readable interface for strategic decision-making.

Highlights
  • Grid exploration with threat scanning
  • Turn-based tactical combat
  • Hacking and software upgrades
  • Quest system with story threads
  • Market economy for trading and upgrades
  • Save and resume functionality
Features
Read full description

A good card, a lucky roll and a smart move can turn a rough room into a great story. NEONNET is a cyberpunk roguelike deck builder that mixes tactical card battles, dice and dungeon exploration with a retro terminal's charm. You are an operator working through a troubled network, choosing who to trust and what to do with the records you recover. Expect hostile robots, useful contacts, credit caches and the occasional room name that deserves an eye roll. ROLL, EXPLORE, REPEAT - Roll a movement die, study the map and choose your route. - Explore a board of 36 rooms with robots, rewards, story encounters and services. - Enter STARX3 for compact 3 x 3 rooms connected by short, two-tile passages. - Spend your saved movement roll across legal grid steps, with remaining steps carried between taps. - Keep an eye on health and Credits while your next hand waits below the dungeon. - Switch between STARX2 and STARX3 while continuing the same adventure. BUILD A DECK THAT SUITS YOU - Choose from Packet Striker, Signal Intruder, Firewall Runner and Daemon Tinker starter styles. - Play attack, hacking, defense, draw and daemon cards. - Check each card's dice requirement before committing. - Weigh the cost of a card that returns through the discard pile against one that exhausts for the run. - Pick card rewards or take Credits when the room offers a choice. - Inspect your hand, draw pile, discard pile and exhausted cards in Deck. - Browse the Card Library for effects, dice rules and ways to find cards. PICK YOUR BATTLES - Face room guards with card tactics, basic attacks or hacks. - Choose a safe retreat when an encounter is better left behind. - Visit the clinic for healing and room services. - Take guaranteed salvage when you need a dependable reward. - Try the optional Coin Door, where you can bank the pot or push your luck. - Think through the next turn at your own pace. A STORY WITH PEOPLE TO REMEMBER - Set your motive and starting contact before your adventure begins. - Recover a blackout record and decide how its story should end. - Meet Patchwife, Mirror and Lattice, each with different interests in the network. - Make choices about service, evidence and who receives the recovered record. - Follow objectives and revisit your decisions in the Journal. - Continue through three story chapters as your run develops. RETRO STYLE, PRACTICAL CONTROLS - Enjoy pixel characters, robot artwork and a terminal-inspired atmosphere. - Watch gameplay dice throw, bounce and settle on the result of your action. - Read the roll and outcome in a compact result popup. - Open the log for the full story behind a short notification. - Bring up the command terminal to type your next action. - Use the separate Dice Tray for practice throws without spending a gameplay turn. - Adjust music, haptics and motion to suit the way you play. MAKE THE NEXT RUN YOURS - Create your operator through Identity, Look, Deck, Story and Review. - Pick your appearance and check your choices before starting. - Save named adventures and return to unfinished business. - Keep earlier grid adventures available alongside newer board runs. - Find reference screens, settings and extra tools in More. NEONNET is a good fit for players who enjoy turn-based strategy, dungeon crawlers, card games and fictional hacking adventures. There is time to inspect a room, change your plan and enjoy the small victories: a guard outplayed, a useful card found or a risky pot banked at exactly the right moment. Optional purchases unlock extras including autosave and save export through the Floppy Save Kit. Pick a deck, roll for the next room and outsmart the network.

About

Hack Ex

Engage in a virtual hacking simulation game where you adopt an alias to hack other players' devices and defend your own. Build your reputation by cracking virtual bank accounts, deploying viruses for income, and manipulating digital logs. Remember to erase your tracks to truly master the art of virtual hacking.

Highlights
  • Virtual hacking simulation
  • Hack and defend player devices
  • Crack virtual bank accounts
  • Deploy viruses for income
  • Manipulate digital logs
  • Upgrade virtual devices and utilities
Features
Read full description

Become the ultimate hacker under your alias in this virtual hacking game. Hack other players' devices and defend yours to build a reputation in the hacking world. Crack players' virtual bank accounts, upload viruses to generate money, manipulate their logs and more. And remember to clear your digital footprint... that’s what being the ultimate hacker is about, after all. * This is not real hacking. It's only a game. Features: - Quick to learn. No real hacking knowledge required. - Upgrade your virtual device to improve processing speed. - Upgrade your utility apps to better your defenses and attack with more success. - Hack into players’ virtual bank accounts and transfer their funds to your account. - Upload viruses on other players’ devices to earn you money and spy on their activity. - Hide your activity from your in-game logs or manipulate others. - Add your friends to your in-game Contacts and transfer funds to them. Note: This game requires an internet connection.

Screenshots

NEONNET4 screens
Hack Ex1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: NEONNET at every 4 days against Hack Ex's every 3 months. NEONNET also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Hack Ex's advantage is ratings volume (2.5K vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. NEONNET sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Hack Ex sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NEONNET holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hack Ex has 2.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of NEONNET's written reviews are positive against 81% of Hack Ex's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NEONNET ships an update every 4 days, Hack Ex every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NEONNET versus Hack Ex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNEONNETHack Ex
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.6 (2.5K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better81.5% of reviews
Number of ratings12.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB24 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperVerosocial StudioCNC Apps, LLC

Customer experience

NEONNET

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Hack Ex

All ratings2,521 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.6%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews708 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral7.2%
Negative11.3%

Bugs and requests

NEONNET

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Hack Ex

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Ads not working properly to reduce processing times
  • Inconsistent display of processing progress
  • Crashes and login issues
  • Inability to delete accounts or change email

Requested features

6 requests
  • More network and device upgrades
  • Ability to team up with friends
  • Different types of viruses and malware
  • Leaderboards and social features
  • Ability to pay or threaten other players
Show 1 more
  • Shorter and more balanced processing times

In-app purchases

2 purchases

NEONNET

One-time2
  • Level Up$0.99
  • Buy Credits - 500$0.99
10 purchases

Hack Ex

One-time10
  • 200 Overclocks$0.99
  • 6000 Cryptocoins$1.99
  • Generate New IP$1.99
Show 7 more
  • 10000 Cryptocoins$1.99
  • 1100 Overclocks$4.99
  • 16000 Cryptocoins$4.99
  • 34000 Cryptocoins$9.99
  • 2400 Overclocks$9.99
  • 72000 Cryptocoins$19.99
  • 5000 Overclocks$19.99

Questions

Is NEONNET free?
NEONNET is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hack Ex free?
Hack Ex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NEONNET or Hack Ex?
NEONNET is rated higher. NEONNET averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Hack Ex averages 4.6 from 2.5K ratings.
Do NEONNET or Hack Ex have ads?
Neither NEONNET nor Hack Ex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NEONNET or Hack Ex?
NEONNET ships an update every 4 days, and Hack Ex every 3 months. Most recently, NEONNET was updated on October 27, 2026 and Hack Ex on October 26, 2026.

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