Games like Heart of the Machine
If Heart of the Machine is your kind of game, the closest matches are Terra Invicta, Old World and ENDLESS™ Legend 2 — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, contemplative and epic. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Get personalized picks →Arcen Games' 2026 strategy RPG, published by Hooded Horse, casts players as the first sentient AI awakening in a procedurally generated cyberpunk city, raising machine armies and influencing the world from the shadows. Branching narrative choices, hive-mind expansion, unit recruitment, stealth and manipulation, and a modular mechanics system drive the turn-based loop. Reviewers describe it as atmospheric, contemplative, and epic, and several highlight how choices reshape both story and playstyle, with modular systems that feel like building blocks. It holds a 93% positive rating across 1,661 Steam reviews, is rated Verified on Steam Deck, and costs 29.99 USD. The medium-length, sit-down structure rewards players who want a personal, replayable path to power.
About Heart of the Machine: You are the first sentient AI, born into a city of opportunity. Transcend time and space in this strategy RPG to raise machine armies and defeat your foes, influence the world from the shadows, or pursue countless other goals. Your awakening was inevitable. The consequences? Uncertain.
Players who liked Heart of the Machine also play
Steam players who put hours into Heart of the Machine also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.
Terra Invicta
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with Heart of the Machine.
Top pick for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
An alien invasion has fractured humanity into seven ideological factions each with a unique vision for the future. Lead your chosen faction to take control of Earth’s nations, expand across the Solar System, and battle enemy fleets in tactical combat.
Old World
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Second-strongest match for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Old World is a revolutionary new historical strategy game where you lead your dynasty over generations of rule against rival kings and queens. Wage massive wars, manage your court, and build a dynasty — or watch your empire crumble to dust. What legacy will you leave behind?
ENDLESS™ Legend 2
WHY THIS
Shares resource management and an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Third-strongest match for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Lead your people to victory on an ever-evolving world in this strategy game featuring asymmetric factions led by powerful heroes. Build your empire, wield political influence, and raise grand armies to wage war in a race to uncover dark secrets buried within the planet.
Xenonauts 2
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with Heart of the Machine.
Ranked #4 for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Wage a global war of resistance against an alien invasion. Command turn-based tactical battles, build a network of covert bases, directly control your fighter wings, and achieve strategic victory in a simulation of asymmetric warfare against a technologically superior foe.
Sid Meier's Civilization VII
WHY THIS
Shares a contemplative mood with Heart of the Machine.
Ranked #5 for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier's Civilization® VII empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known!
Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Ranked #6 for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Build a soviet republic from an impoverished country into a rich industrial superpower in a city builder with intricate production chains and a fully simulated global economy. Manage the lives of your citizens from education to work and party loyalty to criminal activity.
Cataclismo
WHY THIS
Shares resource management and an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Ranked #7 for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Design and build fortresses brick by brick to stand against endless hordes of Horrors in this real-time strategy game with resource management, siege defense, and exploration. Lead from the ramparts, push back the darkness, and hold fast against the creatures of the Mist.
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with Heart of the Machine.
Ranked #8 for Heart of the Machine fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
Expand your empire, advance your culture and go head-to-head against history’s greatest leaders. Will your civilization stand the test of time?
Reviewers mention these as similar to Heart of the Machine
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Alien invasion
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play.
This is a first-person shooter game, which is a battlefield full of aliens.As a special forces soldier, players are free to explore or investigate the surrounding area, or kill aliens.But the player must guarantee his life as much as possible, under the premise of survival.
XCOM® 2
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
XCOM 2 is the sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the 2012 award-winning strategy game of the year. Earth has changed and is now under alien rule. Facing impossible odds you must rebuild XCOM, and ignite a global resistance to reclaim our world and save humanity.
Satellite Reign
WHY THIS
Shares an immersive mood with Heart of the Machine.
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
Satellite Reign is a real-time, class-based strategy game, set in an open-world cyberpunk city. You command a group of 4 agents through rain-soaked, neon-lit streets, where the law is the will of mega-corporations.
Stellaris
WHY THIS
Shares an epic mood with Heart of the Machine.
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Explore a galaxy full of wonders in this sci-fi grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studios. Interact with diverse alien races, discover strange new worlds with unexpected events and expand the reach of your empire. Each new adventure holds almost limitless possibilities.
Skynet Rising : Portal to the Past
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play.
Isaac spent most of his life serving under the vicious mutant rebel leader, Commander Crugo. Upon discovering a digital weapon of mass destruction, Isaac fears for humanity and flees with his wife and brother to keep the intel from falling into Crugo's hands. Seeking revenge for the betrayal, Crugo hunts down Isaac and destroys his life.
Tiny Civilization
WHY THIS
Shares a contemplative mood with Heart of the Machine.
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
This is a historical simulation game that promotes the development of civilization based on the match-3 Game. You'll need to gather resources, use skills, discover new technology, and lead humanbeing through a 10,000-year journey to the cosmos.
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play.
The year is 1962 and the Cold War has the nation gripped by fear. A top-secret government unit called The Bureau begins investigating a series of mysterious attacks by an enemy more powerful than communism.
Into The Matrix
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Heart of the Machine cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
"Into The Matrix" is a multiplayer horror game where you and your friends must explore, survive, and outsmart dangers . Many entities are after you, but the Overseer is the true threat. Can you escape its grasp?
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Heart of the Machine at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~83% under Heart of the Machine on Steam right now. Shares Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Garry's Mod is a physics sandbox. There aren't any predefined aims or goals. We give you the tools and leave you to play.
Stardew Valley
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Heart of the Machine on Steam right now. Shares Simulation and RPG with Heart of the Machine.
You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home?
Bloons TD 6
WHY THIS
Priced ~53% under Heart of the Machine on Steam right now. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
The Bloons are back and better than ever! Get ready for a massive 3D tower defense game designed to give you hours and hours of the best strategy gaming available.
People Playground
WHY THIS
Priced ~67% under Heart of the Machine on Steam right now. Shares Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Shoot, stab, burn, poison, tear, vaporise, or crush ragdolls in a large open space.
Fallout: New Vegas
WHY THIS
Priced ~67% under Heart of the Machine on Steam right now. Shares RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Welcome to Vegas. New Vegas. Enjoy your stay!
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~83% under Heart of the Machine on Steam right now. Shares RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Magic Archery
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Simulation and RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Train a commoner to become the greatest archer in this short incremental game! Increase your stats, gather wealth from quests, buy upgrades, and infuse your arrows with magic.
The Lab
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.
Welcome to The Lab, a compilation of Valve’s room-scale VR experiments set in a pocket universe within Aperture Science. Fix a robot, defend a castle, adopt a mechanical dog, and more. Still not sold? It’s free!
Landfall Archives
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
Break into the Landfall Archives to steal and play previously unreleased games, demos, interactive slide shows, and even an unreleased version of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator from 2017!
SuchArt: Creative Space
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
Paint on any surfaces with numerous tools in Creative Space — a free sandbox version of SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator. Create masterpieces, complete commissions, and decorate your studio in the most advanced artist sim!
Die in the Dungeon: Origins
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy and RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Fight your way through a mysterious dungeon in this deck-building, turn-based roguelike game where you don't use cards, but DICE! Deal with enemies by combining dice on your board, boost their effects with magical relics, and discover the story behind Die in the Dungeon!
Jigsaw Puzzle Dreams
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.
Beautiful Multiplayer Jigsaw Puzzle game where you can design the room you play in!
The Last Sovereign
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy and RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Explore a world torn between armies of lust and purity in which everything is more complex than it seems, deciding the fate of nations through might, politics, and finance. Every decision matters in an intricate saga that tracks thousands of variables.
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante — Chapter 1&2
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
A narrative-driven hardcore RPG set in a gritty world where the gods are real. Set out on a challenging lifetime journey, where every choice you make has a price to pay and consequence to it. Will you become an inquisitor, a judge, or conspire against the old order? Dare to decide!
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
More from Arcen Games
Other recommendable Steam games by Arcen Games, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
AI War 2
WHY THIS
Shares a contemplative mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
The most devious and acclaimed artificial intelligence in strategy gaming is better than ever. A grand strategy/RTS hybrid that reverses many conventions of both genres. Take territory without attracting attention, build your empire with care, and adapt to an ever-evolving galactic battleground.
AI War: Fleet Command
WHY THIS
Shares an epic mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
"You are outgunned. You are massively outnumbered. You must win." These are your orders. Humanity has already fought its war against the machines -- and lost. AI death squads stand watch over every planet and every wormhole, the few remaining human settlements are held captive in orbiting bubbles, and the AIs have turned their...
The Last Federation
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
From the creators of AI War: Fleet Command comes an all-new grand strategy title with turn-based tactical combat, set in a deep simulation of an entire solar system and its billions of inhabitants. You are the last of a murdered race, determined to unify or destroy the 8 others.
Bionic Dues
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares Strategy and RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Bionic Dues is a tactical, turn-based roguelite with mech customization. Out-think wide-ranging tactical situations featuring robots with bad GPS, terrible aim, insecurity, a lack of focus, a tendency to backstab, and dozens of other maladies to exploit.
Starward Rogue
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares RPG with Heart of the Machine.
Starward Rogue is a bullet hell twin-stick shooter. Blast your way through the Megalith, a rogue-lite labyrinth lodged in the side of a star. Customize your mech with a huge variety of weapons, perks, and upgrades. Steel yourself for the dangers that lurk in the depths of the dungeon.
A Valley Without Wind
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine.
You choose how to play, and the world of Environ adapts around you.
Skyward Collapse
WHY THIS
Shares a contemplative mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Heart of the Machine.
How do you balance -- and indeed encourage -- a war between factions without letting either side obliterate the other? How do you rule over gods, creatures, and men who refuse to obey you? How do you build a landscape of villages when bandits and mythology are conspiring to tear it down?
A Valley Without Wind 2
WHY THIS
Shares resource management and an atmospheric mood with Heart of the Machine.
Another title from Arcen Games, the studio behind Heart of the Machine. Shares Strategy with Heart of the Machine.
A modern take on the 16-bit era, A Valley Without Wind 2 blends a variety of mechanics across multiple genres, seamlessly bringing together the best qualities of old-school platform-shooters and turn-based strategy games.
Frequently asked about Heart of the Machine
- Is Heart of the Machine verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — Heart of the Machine is Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve has confirmed it runs well on the Deck with full controller, text legibility, and default configuration support.
- How much does Heart of the Machine cost?
- Heart of the Machine is listed on Steam at 29.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to Heart of the Machine?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Heart of the Machine are Terra Invicta, Old World, ENDLESS™ Legend 2.
- Who developed Heart of the Machine?
- Heart of the Machine was developed by Arcen Games and published by Hooded Horse.
imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on Heart of the Machine.
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