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I escaped a dystopian cyber-prison in twelve minutes. Mort-on's prototype shows promise but feels like I played the tutorial and then the credits rolled. At least it's free.
Paul
December 19, 2025
5.3
Overall Score
"Jack in Overture is exactly what it claims to be: a prototype."
I booted up Jack in Overture expecting a cyberpunk prison break, and technically that's what I got â if your definition of 'break' includes solving three environmental puzzles and calling it a day. The game opens with pixel art that screams 'I watched Blade Runner and bought Aseprite,' which is fine, I guess. You're in a cell. You can jack into the digital world by pressing spacebar. Cool concept, been done before, but Mort-on at least has the decency to call this a prototype right in the description. I appreciate honesty. The controls are arrow keys and Enter for interactions, which is about as exciting as it sounds. Press Space to enter the cyber-realm where everything looks slightly different and you can manipulate things. It's the digital equivalent of putting on glasses that let you see which switches actually work. I wasn't expecting System Shock, but I also wasn't expecting to see the ending before my coffee got cold.
The core gameplay loop is straightforward to the point of being simplistic. Move around your prison cell in the physical world, press spacebar to jack into the digital representation, flip some switches or activate some devices, then return to reality to see what changed. It's essentially a very basic puzzle game wearing a cyberpunk trenchcoat. The hacking isn't really hacking â there's no code, no sequences, no tension. You're just toggling things on and off like you're playing with a particularly boring light switch simulator. Remember Uplink? Remember how tense it felt when you were breaking into a system with trace timers counting down? Yeah, there's none of that here. The puzzles amount to 'find the thing in cyber-space that unlocks the door in meatspace.' I solved everything in about twelve minutes, and that's including the time I spent wandering around wondering if I'd missed something. I hadn't. The prototype is just that short.
Visually, Jack in Overture does what countless indie games have done before â pixel art cyberpunk with lots of blues and purples and the occasional neon accent. It's competent. The dual-world presentation is actually the best part: the physical world looks appropriately prison-like and oppressive, while the digital realm has that slightly abstract, grid-like quality that makes you feel like you're inside a computer. Props for that. The animations are minimal but functional. Your character shuffles around like someone who's been in prison too long, which I suppose is accurate. The environmental details are sparse but clear enough that you know what you're looking at. There's no sound design worth mentioning because there basically isn't any â a few beeps and bloops when you interact with things, but no music, no ambient prison sounds, no ominous AI voice taunting you. It's silent except for the sound of my own disappointment echoing through the void. For a prototype, fine. For a finished game, unacceptable.
Here's the thing about prototypes â they're supposed to prove a concept works before you build the full game around it. Jack in Overture proves that the physical-digital switching mechanic functions and could potentially be interesting in a longer, more complex game. The foundation is there. You can see the skeleton of something that might be engaging if Mort-on actually builds proper puzzles around it, adds some narrative weight, and gives players a reason to care about escaping beyond 'well, I'm here now, might as well click through it.' The escape room premise combined with hacking has potential. Games like Quadrilateral Cowboy and Hacknet have shown that hacking puzzles can be genuinely compelling if you add layers of complexity and consequence. This prototype has none of those layers yet. It's a tech demo that asks 'does this work?' and the answer is 'yes, barely.' Which is exactly what a prototype should do, I suppose. I just wish there was more here to actually evaluate.
I've played dozens of itch.io prototypes, and they all have the same problem: they show you a glimpse of what could be and then vanish like a ghost in the machine. Jack in Overture is no exception. It's free, which means I can't be too angry about the brevity, but it's also so barebones that I'm left wondering if Mort-on has any plans to actually finish this or if it'll join the massive graveyard of abandoned game concepts. The developer asks for feedback in the description, which is admirable, but what feedback can I really give beyond 'make more of it'? The mechanics work. The art is serviceable. The puzzle design is nonexistent because there's barely any game here. It's like reviewing the first five pages of a novel â sure, the grammar is fine and the premise is interesting, but I can't tell you if the story is any good because it hasn't been written yet. This is the gaming equivalent of a proof of concept presentation, and I just sat through the whole pitch in less time than it takes to watch a YouTube video.
Quality
5
It's a prototype and it knows it â functional pixel art, no crashes, but everything screams 'early build' like a neon sign in a rainy alley.
Innovation
6
The physical/digital world-switching has been done better in Quadrilateral Cowboy, but the prison hacking angle is at least trying something slightly different.
Value
7
It's free and takes less time than making a sandwich, so I can't complain about value even if I wanted to â and believe me, I wanted to.
Gameplay
5
Arrow keys and space bar to jack in â riveting stuff, and the puzzles are basic 'flip this switch' affairs that my cat could solve.
Audio/Visual
6
The pixel art cyberpunk aesthetic is competent but generic; I've seen this exact visual style in forty other itch.io games, though the dual-world presentation is decent.
Replayability
3
Once you've hacked your way out in ten minutes, there's absolutely zero reason to return unless you forgot how switches work.
What Didn't Annoy Me
The physical-digital world switching actually works and creates some neat visual contrast that could be expanded into proper puzzle design
It's free, which is the only reason I'm not more annoyed about finishing it before my character even had time to develop a personality
The pixel art is competent enough that it doesn't actively hurt my eyes, which puts it ahead of half the prototypes on itch.io
Mort-on had the honesty to call this a prototype instead of pretending it's a full game, and I genuinely respect that transparency
The core escape room concept combined with hacking has potential if someone actually builds a real game around it
What Made Me Sigh
The entire experience is over in twelve minutes, which is barely enough time to understand what the game is trying to be before it ends
There's no sound design, no music, no audio atmosphere â just the hollow silence of a project that needed more time in development
The puzzles are embarrassingly simple, basically 'press switch to open door' repeated three times with cyberpunk window dressing
Zero replayability once you've seen the single solution to each of the handful of brain-dead puzzles
The hacking isn't actually hacking â it's just toggling things on and off, which is about as cyberpunk as using a light switch
Final Verdict
Jack in Overture is exactly what it claims to be: a prototype. It's a functional demonstration that the physical-digital world-switching mechanic could work in a real game, but that real game doesn't exist yet. What's here is competent but painfully brief, with puzzle design so basic that calling it 'design' feels generous. The cyberpunk aesthetic is serviceable pixel art that I've seen a hundred times before, and the complete absence of audio makes the whole experience feel hollow. Here's the hard truth: this isn't a game you play for enjoyment; it's a proof of concept you click through out of curiosity. If Mort-on actually builds a full game around this foundation â with complex puzzles, narrative stakes, proper sound design, and more than twelve minutes of content â it could be interesting. But right now? It's a skeleton wearing a cyberpunk costume, asking if you think the bones are arranged correctly. The answer is yes, the bones are fine. Now put some meat on them.
Jack in Overture
Tags
I escaped a dystopian cyber-prison in twelve minutes. Mort-on's prototype shows promise but feels like I played the tutorial and then the credits rolled. At least it's free.
Paul
December 19, 2025
5.3
Overall Score
"Jack in Overture is exactly what it claims to be: a prototype."
I booted up Jack in Overture expecting a cyberpunk prison break, and technically that's what I got â if your definition of 'break' includes solving three environmental puzzles and calling it a day. The game opens with pixel art that screams 'I watched Blade Runner and bought Aseprite,' which is fine, I guess. You're in a cell. You can jack into the digital world by pressing spacebar. Cool concept, been done before, but Mort-on at least has the decency to call this a prototype right in the description. I appreciate honesty. The controls are arrow keys and Enter for interactions, which is about as exciting as it sounds. Press Space to enter the cyber-realm where everything looks slightly different and you can manipulate things. It's the digital equivalent of putting on glasses that let you see which switches actually work. I wasn't expecting System Shock, but I also wasn't expecting to see the ending before my coffee got cold.
The core gameplay loop is straightforward to the point of being simplistic. Move around your prison cell in the physical world, press spacebar to jack into the digital representation, flip some switches or activate some devices, then return to reality to see what changed. It's essentially a very basic puzzle game wearing a cyberpunk trenchcoat. The hacking isn't really hacking â there's no code, no sequences, no tension. You're just toggling things on and off like you're playing with a particularly boring light switch simulator. Remember Uplink? Remember how tense it felt when you were breaking into a system with trace timers counting down? Yeah, there's none of that here. The puzzles amount to 'find the thing in cyber-space that unlocks the door in meatspace.' I solved everything in about twelve minutes, and that's including the time I spent wandering around wondering if I'd missed something. I hadn't. The prototype is just that short.
Visually, Jack in Overture does what countless indie games have done before â pixel art cyberpunk with lots of blues and purples and the occasional neon accent. It's competent. The dual-world presentation is actually the best part: the physical world looks appropriately prison-like and oppressive, while the digital realm has that slightly abstract, grid-like quality that makes you feel like you're inside a computer. Props for that. The animations are minimal but functional. Your character shuffles around like someone who's been in prison too long, which I suppose is accurate. The environmental details are sparse but clear enough that you know what you're looking at. There's no sound design worth mentioning because there basically isn't any â a few beeps and bloops when you interact with things, but no music, no ambient prison sounds, no ominous AI voice taunting you. It's silent except for the sound of my own disappointment echoing through the void. For a prototype, fine. For a finished game, unacceptable.
Here's the thing about prototypes â they're supposed to prove a concept works before you build the full game around it. Jack in Overture proves that the physical-digital switching mechanic functions and could potentially be interesting in a longer, more complex game. The foundation is there. You can see the skeleton of something that might be engaging if Mort-on actually builds proper puzzles around it, adds some narrative weight, and gives players a reason to care about escaping beyond 'well, I'm here now, might as well click through it.' The escape room premise combined with hacking has potential. Games like Quadrilateral Cowboy and Hacknet have shown that hacking puzzles can be genuinely compelling if you add layers of complexity and consequence. This prototype has none of those layers yet. It's a tech demo that asks 'does this work?' and the answer is 'yes, barely.' Which is exactly what a prototype should do, I suppose. I just wish there was more here to actually evaluate.
I've played dozens of itch.io prototypes, and they all have the same problem: they show you a glimpse of what could be and then vanish like a ghost in the machine. Jack in Overture is no exception. It's free, which means I can't be too angry about the brevity, but it's also so barebones that I'm left wondering if Mort-on has any plans to actually finish this or if it'll join the massive graveyard of abandoned game concepts. The developer asks for feedback in the description, which is admirable, but what feedback can I really give beyond 'make more of it'? The mechanics work. The art is serviceable. The puzzle design is nonexistent because there's barely any game here. It's like reviewing the first five pages of a novel â sure, the grammar is fine and the premise is interesting, but I can't tell you if the story is any good because it hasn't been written yet. This is the gaming equivalent of a proof of concept presentation, and I just sat through the whole pitch in less time than it takes to watch a YouTube video.
Quality
5
It's a prototype and it knows it â functional pixel art, no crashes, but everything screams 'early build' like a neon sign in a rainy alley.
Innovation
6
The physical/digital world-switching has been done better in Quadrilateral Cowboy, but the prison hacking angle is at least trying something slightly different.
Value
7
It's free and takes less time than making a sandwich, so I can't complain about value even if I wanted to â and believe me, I wanted to.
Gameplay
5
Arrow keys and space bar to jack in â riveting stuff, and the puzzles are basic 'flip this switch' affairs that my cat could solve.
Audio/Visual
6
The pixel art cyberpunk aesthetic is competent but generic; I've seen this exact visual style in forty other itch.io games, though the dual-world presentation is decent.
Replayability
3
Once you've hacked your way out in ten minutes, there's absolutely zero reason to return unless you forgot how switches work.
What Didn't Annoy Me
The physical-digital world switching actually works and creates some neat visual contrast that could be expanded into proper puzzle design
It's free, which is the only reason I'm not more annoyed about finishing it before my character even had time to develop a personality
The pixel art is competent enough that it doesn't actively hurt my eyes, which puts it ahead of half the prototypes on itch.io
Mort-on had the honesty to call this a prototype instead of pretending it's a full game, and I genuinely respect that transparency
The core escape room concept combined with hacking has potential if someone actually builds a real game around it
What Made Me Sigh
The entire experience is over in twelve minutes, which is barely enough time to understand what the game is trying to be before it ends
There's no sound design, no music, no audio atmosphere â just the hollow silence of a project that needed more time in development
The puzzles are embarrassingly simple, basically 'press switch to open door' repeated three times with cyberpunk window dressing
Zero replayability once you've seen the single solution to each of the handful of brain-dead puzzles
The hacking isn't actually hacking â it's just toggling things on and off, which is about as cyberpunk as using a light switch
Final Verdict
Jack in Overture is exactly what it claims to be: a prototype. It's a functional demonstration that the physical-digital world-switching mechanic could work in a real game, but that real game doesn't exist yet. What's here is competent but painfully brief, with puzzle design so basic that calling it 'design' feels generous. The cyberpunk aesthetic is serviceable pixel art that I've seen a hundred times before, and the complete absence of audio makes the whole experience feel hollow. Here's the hard truth: this isn't a game you play for enjoyment; it's a proof of concept you click through out of curiosity. If Mort-on actually builds a full game around this foundation â with complex puzzles, narrative stakes, proper sound design, and more than twelve minutes of content â it could be interesting. But right now? It's a skeleton wearing a cyberpunk costume, asking if you think the bones are arranged correctly. The answer is yes, the bones are fine. Now put some meat on them.
Jack in Overture
Tags