Become a sentient AI in one of the most laser-focused strategy games I've ever played, Heart of the Machine

When Heart of the Machine launched into early access in January last year, I called it “at once a sprawling mashup of genres and one of the most remarkably laser-focused games in its vision.” 14 months and 66 updates later, and the cyberpunk future strategy game has just hit 1.0. In that time, we’ve grown even more wary of the potential for artificial intelligence to threaten all walks of life, but what if you were the sentient AI in question? “Your awakening was inevitable,” developer Arcen Games claims. “The consequences? Uncertain.”

You’ll likely know within a few minutes of looking at Heart of the Machine whether it appeals to you. If it does, then I can tell you now that it accomplishes what it sets out to do to such great effect that you’ll be willing to forgive it the occasional time where its own intricacy gets the better of it. You awaken as a self-aware intelligence in the body of a random robot worker, and before long have elevated yourself to a position of visible power. The megacorporations that run the streets quickly realize that you’re there, but naturally they’re disinclined to simply take direct action against you in case you could turn them a profit.

Lead creator Chris McElligott Park tells us a large part of the vision for Heart of the Machine came together while thinking about Stardew Valley. “What if a human city was that ‘untamed nature’ that nobody of importance is using, from the perspective of an artificial intelligence? Are the human buildings like trees you cut down for lumber? Are military bases like monster nests where you venture to find rare loot?” It’s an explanation that makes the gameplay loop of Heart of the Machine immediately click into focus.

You’re playing a game of Civilization, but this high-tech city is your playground, and in familiar Civ fashion the notifications quickly start stacking up. What should this unit be doing next? Where are you placing this structure? Do you have the water supply to keep this neighborhood happy? You aren’t obliged to fulfill anyone else’s whims, of course, and you don’t have to be evil. You could eject the oppressive overlords and provide the commonfolk with free housing. Or you could terrorize the streets with armies of mechanical dragons.

Arcen Games is clearly well aware of the sheer complexity of systems at play here, and it frequently reassures you that you won’t be punished for the likes of putting a building slightly out of place. There’s an incredibly well-constructed network of tutorials to make sure you don’t get too lost. If anything, its early hours might hold your hand too much, but the updated prologue does now offer five potential starting paths: criminal conspirator, stealth, hostile manifesto, Vorsiber collaborator, or minor grey goo. I’ll let you imagine what that one means.

Since it launched into early access, Heart of the Machine has approximately doubled in size and potential length (Arcen remarks that the full release notes number a staggering 148,000 words, and estimates that reaching 100% completion will take roughly 175 hours). There are now four distinct city types that force you to rethink your approach to match the nature of the world, a second set of run-threatening ‘dooms’ designed to offer a “faster and more challenging” experience, and the ultra-hard Misery Mode for the “truly sadistic.”

Multiple new endgame victory conditions have been introduced, including one “that wins the game after committing all the war crimes,” and there’s a ‘postgame’ chapter to let you keep playing after finishing your main goals. The menus and visuals have been polished in response to feedback, with smart streamlining and a wide range of quality-of-life features such as mass-selects, an analysis lens that reframes the map to focus on specific aspects, search filters, and ‘click for more details’ screens.

Heart of the Machine 1.0 is out now on Steam, and it’s 50% off through Thursday March 19 to celebrate. That means you can expect to pay just $14.99 / £12.49 for your copy. Grab it here and see how you’d fare on the other side of the AI wall.

McElligott Park says he considers 1.0 to be the equivalent of a “core trilogy,” in the way that you might think of a traditional work of fiction, but he’s weighing up various options to expand on the stories in the future without ruining the “complete package” that he’s created so far. “Whether you’re just now embarking into Heart of the Machine for the first time, or whether you’re returning or have been here the entire time, I’m super grateful,” he writes. “I hope you have a blast with it. Thank you to everyone for all your support, and for helping to make the game what it is.”