The Story Timeline Order of .hack Games

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.hack is a franchise of role-playing games (RPGs) set in a virtual world. In general, .hack video games are set in a virtual, fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called "The World".

It is noteworthy that .hack games are single player RPGs set in a fictional, MMORPG world. For this reason, even though these are single player games, player can have the feeling of inhabiting a virtual MMORPG world. Due to this uniqueness, .hack games captivated many players who either enjoy single player RPG experiences or MMORPG experiences, or both.

What Are .hack Games Like?

In general, .hack video games are story-driven, single player RPGs in which players control a game character insde a fictional MMORPG, called "The World". In these games, the main character can talk to multiple NPCs, fight monsters, earn experience, and progress through the storyline.

The uniqueness of .hack games resides in the fact that these games simulate a fictional MMORPG. Paradoxally, .hack games are single player video games that simulate a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. For this reason, even though these are single player games, players can easily have the feeling of playing an MMO during the gameplay. Despite this unique characteristic, .hack games are story-driven single player RPGs.

The .hack video games often feature in-depth information which contains insight into the .hack's fictional MMO The World, multiple NPCs, dungeons, monsters, cutscenes. .hack video games are played in third-person camera perspective, and these games feature real-time with pause combat in which actions take place in real-time but players can pause the combat to select skills.

It is worthwhile to mention that, unlike some other story-driven RPGs, .hack games are generally mostly set in dungeon environments. For this reason, .hack games are sometimes called dungeon crawlers. Despite being set mostly in dungeons, .hack games also feature hub areas, similar to the ones found in many MMORPGs, in which players can walk around and acquire supplies for their adventures.

Considering that .hack games are single player RPGs set in a fictional MMORPG environment, these games can be an interesting choice for players who enjoy the feeling of MMORPGs but are looking for a single player experience. For this reason, .hack games can captivate an audience which is used to a different sub-genre: players who prefer MMORPGs and don't usually play single player RPGs can play .hack games and enjoy a single player RPG with an MMORPG feeling, and players who prefer single player RPGs and don't usually play MMORPGs can play .hack games and enjoy a MMORPG-like single player RPG.

Is There an Order to Play the .hack Games?

While the .hack video games can be played and enjoyed in any order, it is suggested to play these games in chronological story order, because .hack games are story-driven RPGs. Players that decide to play these games out of the chronological story order could miss story information that was presented in previous, unplayed games of this series of games. Not only that, but .hack games are often considered to be a multimedia franchise, in which the storyline is not only presented in video games, but also in other forms of media. However, even though all of this media contributes to a comprehensive story experience regarding the .hack games universe, it is possible to play all of the games without knowledge of the other media because these games generally feature in-game lore and information which immerse the player in the game world as well as provide important information regarding story events.

The Chronological Story Order of the .hack Video Games

This is the chronological story order of the .hack video games. This is the chronological order of the story events that take place in each of the different .hack video games. This is the suggested order in which to play these games to have the most comprehensive story experience possible.

.hack//Infection
.hack//Mutation
.hack//Outbreak
.hack//Quarantine
.hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth
.hack//G.U. Vol. 2//Reminisce
.hack//G.U. Vol. 3//Redemption
.hack//G.U. Vol. 4//Reconnection

.hack//frägment is considered a non-canon game, and for this reason it was not included in my chronological story order of the .hack video games, as it does not belong to the same continuity as the other games. For this reason, .hack//frägment could be played in any order in relation to the other .hack video games.

The Story Timeline Order of .hack Games

This is the story timeline order of .hack video games. These are the years in which each .hack video game is set. It is important to note that these years are not related to the year of release date of the games. Instead, these are the fictional years in which the story of each .hack game takes place. For this reason, these could be called "years of .hack games universe" or "years in .hack games time".

2010 .hack//Infection
2010 .hack//Mutation
2010 .hack//Outbreak
2010 .hack//Quarantine
2017 .hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth
2017 .hack//G.U. Vol. 2//Reminisce
2017 .hack//G.U. Vol. 3//Redemption
2017 .hack//G.U. Vol. 4//Reconnection

Are .hack and .hack//G.U. Games Related?

.hack video games and hack//G.U. games are related in the sense that they share a connection to the fictional MMORPG The World. However, even though these games share this similarity, it is important to mention that The World of .hack games and The World of .hack//G.U. games are technically not the same. It is reasonable to say that .hack games and .hack//G.U. games present a different version of the MMORPG The World. To be more precise, the MMORPG presented in .hack//G.U. is called The World R:2 and is not exactly the same as The World presented in the first .hack video games.

In general, while .hack and .hack//G.U. games are related in the sense that they are set in the fictional MMORPG The World, they are set in different time periods, and the version of The World in which they take place is different. For this reason, while these games share similarities and apparently set in the same continuity, it could be pointed out that it is possible to play and enjoy the story of .hack//G.U. games without prior knowledge of the story events of the previous .hack games. In the case of this point, it could also be mentioned that it is possible to view the .hack//G.U. games as a new arc in the .hack video games overall continuity. While it is indeed possible to play and enjoy .hack//G.U. games without prior knowledge of the previous .hack games, it is suggested to play these games in the chronological story order presented in this article for the most comprehensive story experience possible.

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