Vice NDRCVR — pronounced "Undercover" despite the vowel-free stylization — is a game about hacking databases in a retro futurist version of the 1980s. Like Miami Vice meets Hackers with gameplay that should feel familiar to anyone who has played games like Hypnospace Outlaw, Stories Untold, or Telling Lies. It imagines a world where the internet, as we know it, was already in widespread use in the Reagan era. It also imagines the kinds of crimes hackers might commit online and how a hacker cop might stop them.

As the 15-minute demo I played at PAX East began, a short neon-soaked cutscene set up the story of a woman named Vida, one such hacker cop who is tasked with sneaking into a high rise called the Bayside Plaza and sifting through a bunch of icons on a boxy CRT.

RELATED: Alone In The Dark's Playable Teaser Sets Up The Horror Series' Return

There's a brief section in blocky 3D once you get to the desk hosting the computer you need. You can look around at the objects on your curved formica desk, where there is a walkie-talkie and a strange mouse with a massive roller ball in the center. But this section is limited. Once you begin interacting with the computer, it's all tinkering around in databases from there on out.

Once you're in the computer, there are a surprising number of systems to get familiar with. The game has an interface that looks close enough to a Windows set-up, but isn't exactly the same as a modern computer interface (or, from my limited memory of using a CRT desktop in the late '90s, interfaces from earlier decades, either).

Even figuring out how to connect to the World Net takes some figuring out. Luckily, Matt Dahlgren, senior brand manager at Skybound Games, which is publishing Vice NDRCVR for first-time developer Ancient Machine Studios, was on hand during the demo to offer guidance as I got to grips with the old school interface.

Once I was connected to the World Net, I had a chat app, where Vida could talk to another cop on the outside. Bits of story play out here, though I don't get to see them pay off over the course of the short demo. Vida has a dialogue option that reads, "Alex, we should talk about the other night." Alex replies, "Wow, you pick your moments. Besides there's nothing to say. You made yourself pretty clear. Now can you please focus on the mission." The suggestion of a story outside the database has me intrigued to see more.

The bulk of the gameplay involves trolling through a database that contains mugshots, and basic information, like date of birth, address, gang affiliation, and alias, for each of the people listed. At first, I just needed to search by name, but eventually the game asked me to search by pictures, too. This gets tricky when the picture Alex provides is a candid that doesn't match any of the mugshots. Over the course of the short demo, I get to learn a few different apps, and I suspect the game will keep introducing new wrinkles as you get deeper into your hacker work.

Though there's no release date yet, Vice NDRCVR is set to hit modern PCs some time in 2023. Get your dial up started now.

NEXT: Hell Of An Office Preview - Neon White Collar Worker