HomeNewsHeart Of The Machine
The robotic overlords of strategy-RPG Heart Of The Machine have graced us with a release dateVery generous of them
Very generous of them
Image credit:Arcen Games / Hooded Horse
Image credit:Arcen Games / Hooded Horse
We don’t know yet if the AI revolution of our reality will go full Skynet or simply end with the robots unceremoniously dumping us like a sad Joaquin Phoenix. But at least video games can help us speculate.Heart Of The Machineis a cyberpunk 4X strategy game that will let players choose how a newly awakened AI sentience might behave once set loose upon a big future city. Developers Arcen Games call it a “turn-based sci-fi 4X RPG”, which is a lot of genres fighting for supremacy in one small phrase. It was announced last year, but today it gets a release date and an updated demo.
Heart of the Machine - Release Date Announcement | Sci-Fi Turn-Based 4X RPGWatch on YouTube
Heart of the Machine - Release Date Announcement | Sci-Fi Turn-Based 4X RPG
It’s due out January 31st, say the devs, and will be an early access release. The game takes place in a grim future civilisation where “despite its technological advances and dreams of a bright future, centuries of rot have taken hold”. Sounds familiar. From the video, it does look very 4X-ish, with a lot of detailed menus and building sidebars. The city will feature “genetics labs, factories, nuclear silos, military complexes, and much more”, we’re told. You can build robot manufacturing plants to make android fighters, and tap into the city’s electricity grid to power your processor-heavy scheming. Although it all depends what sort of AI big boss you want to be, say the creators.
To that end, it looks like there’ll be some classic moralistic decision-making. One prompt in the above trailer shows a robot meeting a bunch of slum cats. You get the choice to befriend the cats (correct choice) or liquidate them for “samples” (evil, bad, unforgivable choice - do not pick, do not harm the cats, I am warning you). There will also be different factions who can serve as allies or rivals, like the “corrupt corporate executives that run the city” who you might tap for cash or vow to destroy.
There are military options to achieve your goals too, including “a varied array of combat androids for when things get violent”. You can catch a quick glimpse of the phrase “slurry spiders” in the trailer, for example (as someone who grew up near a farm with a slurry pit, this is a truly terrifying concept). But there’ll also be more hacky and manipulative ways to go about getting what you want, say the devs.
But why am I even repeating all this stuff? You can just go playthe demo on Steamif you’re interested. It has been playable since an earlier Steam Next Fest. But it’s now been updated to include a rewritten prologue, rejigged combat, and some new quests and events, including one in which you can “adopt a pet”. Please do not liquidate it for samples.
Also, don’t confuse this game with the other robo-led urban sprawlerTechnotopia, a city-building card game in which you also play as the AI “mayor” of a big art deco futuropolis. They are different robots. Please don’t upset the machines.
