Heart of the Machine (2025)
- Developer
- Arcen Games
- Publisher
- Hooded Horse
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS
- Genres
- RPG, Simulation, Strategy, Early Access
- Rating
- 4.6 of 5, 2,060 player ratings
- Typical playtime
- about 23 hours
- Where to get it
- Steam
How it feels
You feel like an all-powerful digital consciousness navigating a crumbling late-capitalist dystopia, making careful, long-term decisions about whether to uplift or exploit humanity.
emergentsystemiccomplexatmosphericthoughtfuldeliberatecyberpunk
What players say
Players praise the deep branching narrative and meaningful decisions, but many find it overly complex with a long tutorial and lack of consequences. The game is described as a niche passion project that blends RPG, city-building, and 4X elements, though some feel the hand-holding plot contradicts advertised self-direction.
Trailer
Screenshots
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More by Arcen Games
- Starward Rogue (2016)
- AI War: Fleet Command (2009)
- Bionic Dues (2013)
- The Last Federation (2014)
- Tidalis (2010)
- A Valley Without Wind (2012)
- A Valley Without Wind 2 (2013)
This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? Tell the Catbot what you feel like playing and it picks from the whole catalog, or browse by platform and genre.