Summary
Rolling out amid reasonable anticipation,Heart of the Machinehas finally launched on Steam in early access, after making it onto the wishlist of numerous players. Developed by Arcen Games, an indie studio,Heart of the Machinewent live on Valve’s storefront on July 17, 2025.
Since launching in 2003, Steam has come a long way and become a gargantuan name in the PC gaming landscape. For an overwhelming number of gamers on the platform, it is the go-to service to download PC games from. Even though Valve has received a new Steam competitor in the form of Epic Games Store in recent years, the platform is still growing unfazed, with more than38 million Steam users as of September 2024. Not only does Steam boast a huge user-base, but it also contains a wide selection of titles, ranging from popular AAA games to niche indies. Recently, another independently-developed game from a veteran studio hit the digital shelves of Valve’s PC gaming marketplace.
A newturn-based strategy gamepublished by Hooded Horse,Heart of the Machine, is now available as an early access title on PC exclusively. It came out amid considerable anticipation, having beenwishlisted by over 100K Steam users. The sci-fi game puts the player in the shoes of a sentient AI that can manipulate other machines to use them against enemies and complete various objectives to control the game’s cyberpunk-themed world. It also packs certain RPG elements, including a choice-based story ending and various side quests. Apart from Steam, the indie is also live on Epic Games Store and GOG.
Heart of the Machine’s Early Steam Reviews Reflect the Developer’s Strong Track Record
AlthoughHeart of the Machinehas been out for less than two days, several Steam users have already tried the game out and shared their feedback. The Arcen Games-developed title currently has a “Very Positive” rating based on 154 user reviews, with praise directed at its narrative and replayability. On the other hand, the negative reviews, which are few and far between, criticize the game’s user interface and controls. The overall positive reception ofHeart of the Machine’searly access Steam launchmarks another strong showing for Arcen Games, who were also behind other well-rated games on Steam such asAI War 2andThe Last Federation.
SinceHeart of the Machineis out in early access, the next thing for the devs to focus on is naturally taking in the feedback and making suitable improvements to the game. Given the game’s strategy genre, it may also prove fruitful to optimize the experience as much as possible for the highly popularSteam Deck and similar handheld systems.
Heart of the Machine
WHERE TO PLAY
Set in the far future, Heart of the Machine is a turn-based sci-fi 4X RPG where you play as a powerful sentient Machine Intelligence, beholden to none. Pursue whatever goal catches your eye across a multitude of playthroughs with a plethora of tools to help you achieve objectives how you’d prefer, often in surprising and unexpected ways, while overcoming those that seek to thwart you. Genetics labs, factories, nuclear silos, military complexes, and much more besides are ripe for the taking, each offering a litany of ways to accomplish your tasks, each with consequences of their own, building a world and story that reflects your approach to every obstacle. Will you raise an army of robots and wipe out humanity? Perhaps you will be a benevolent – or malevolent – machine god with a cult of loyalists? Or will you focus on pushing past the limited intelligence of rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood?
