With most city builders, you know exactly what you’re in for. Starting with a mostly empty map you build up the society, culture, structure, and technology of an entirely new civilization, and endeavor to make it as robust as possible. What if you already started alongside a fully functioning world, though? That’s part of Heart of the Machine‘s premise, as you control the world’s first AI. With an improved demo out now and early access release date looming, this is one 4X game you don’t want to miss.
Developed by Arcen Games and published by Manor Lords, Against the Storm, and Xenonauts 2’s Hooded Horse, Heart of the Machine is one of the most interesting 4X games I’ve ever seen. Taking control of the world’s first sentient AI, you don’t forge an empire or build a city from scratch, because it’s already there. You’re beholden to no one, and the future is in your hands.
Maybe you’ll become a benevolent machine overlord, raise an army of robots to rule by force, or do something firmly between those two options. Society needs to be saved from itself, and it’s up to you to decide how to do it. Unlike most city building games, though, the world has already hit a technological, cultural, and societal peak, with myriad factions and peoples already in existence. So you need to explore and decide not just what your goal for this world is, but how exactly you’re going to achieve it.
Before Heart of the Machine’s early access drops, we’ve got a massively updated demo to play in the meantime. According to publisher Hooded Horse, the demo’s prologue has been rewritten and now features multiple paths to choose from, with new quests and events also sprinkled throughout – you can establish a shell corporation or adopt a pet, depending on how you feel. There are new hacking, debate, and morale systems that you can use to solve problems as well, if you want to take a more pacifist route. Otherwise, Heart of the Machine’s combat and building systems have been revamped instead.
Heart of the Machine will launch in Steam Early Access on Friday January 31, 2025. You can play the new version of the demo right now. Otherwise, you can also wishlist the game on Steam here.
If you want more while waiting on Heart of the Machine we’ve also got all the best RPGs and strategy games you can play today.
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