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MachiaVillain

MachiaVillain has a decent amount going for it, there's little doubt there. The concept is fun and one that isn't explored enough, with the added twist of a Cabin in the Woods vibe only helping matters. Once you get into it, the gameplay is engaging, particularly building. It does turns into a bit of a slog as you advance through the ranks though. A lot is also buried beneath the large amount of micromanagement.
MachiaVillain Game Cover
59%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
stability, grinding
53% User Score Based on 385 reviews
Critic Score 66%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCMac OSWindows
MachiaVillain Game Cover

About

MachiaVillain is a single player strategy game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by Wild Factor and was released on May 16, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

"MachiaVillain is a single-player fantasy strategy game with great mechanics and amazing visuals, but can be very grinding and buggy. As a villain, build and manage a haunted house, lure unsuspecting locals to their death, and increase your evil level, all while adhering to the strict policies of the League of MachiaVillain Villains."

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53%
Audience ScoreBased on 385 reviews
gameplay22 positive mentions
stability46 negative mentions

  • The game has a unique and fun concept of managing a horror-themed mansion where players can build traps and lure victims.
  • The art style is charming and fits well with the dark humor of the game, creating an engaging atmosphere.
  • The gameplay offers a mix of strategy and resource management, appealing to fans of similar games like Rimworld and Dungeon Keeper.
  • The game is plagued with numerous bugs that can break saves and disrupt gameplay, making it frustrating to play.
  • There is a significant grind for resources, which can lead to repetitive gameplay and slow progression.
  • The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to manage tasks and navigate the game effectively.
  • gameplay
    79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Machiavillain is characterized by a solid concept and engaging mechanics, drawing inspiration from popular titles like RimWorld and Don't Starve. However, it suffers from significant bugs, frustrating mechanics, and a lack of depth, leading to a repetitive experience that can quickly become stale. While the game has charm and potential, many players feel it requires substantial updates and improvements to fully realize its promise.

    • “The gameplay is quite fun and I have already spent several afternoons getting into all the horror action.”
    • “The bottom line is that this game delivers a hell of a lot of fun, gameplay keeps my attention and does not get stale, and watching your deathtraps go off is hilarious.”
    • “Unique design style, in-depth gameplay, funny narrative, and a huge variety of monsters.”
    • “Some mechanics flat out don't work as intended.”
    • “The gameplay is slow, hassle-filled and isn't much fun.”
    • “It's a shame because the game oozes charm with the setting and art style and is dragged down with shallow gameplay and frustrating ends to a mansion you spent hours building.”
  • graphics
    54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising its unique art style and charming animations that contribute to a quirky horror atmosphere. However, players also note technical limitations, such as a lack of resolution options and occasional graphical glitches that detract from the overall experience. While the aesthetic is generally well-received, some find the graphics underwhelming and not reflective of modern gaming standards.

    • “The art style is wonderful, however the lighting needs to be increased so I can see resources to mine.”
    • “I bought the game mostly because of how cool its aesthetic looked, and it definitely doesn't disappoint in that aspect.”
    • “Unique graphics and animations that really create a great horror atmosphere.”
    • “If you own a gaming PC with a 3D accelerator, apparently you wasted your money on that graphics card because this is just in 2D.”
    • “It's also let down by a minor technical foible: there's no option to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
    • “The graphics feel pretty underwhelming.”
  • stability
    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly hinder gameplay and create a frustrating experience. Many users note that it feels unfinished and lacks proper support or updates, leading to a perception of abandonment by the developers. While some players see potential in the game, the overwhelming consensus is that its current state is too unstable and unpolished to recommend.

    • “I suppose it's possible I'm exceptionally lucky and got the one magical copy of the game that was bug-free.”
    • “Game is buggy and no longer supported or receiving updates.”
    • “The actual game is sparse on content and so buggy as to be nearly unplayable.”
    • “This game is a buggy mess with problems like walls persisting after being destroyed, trapping your minions, vampires catching fire indoors, and trees growing inside your rooms.”
  • humor
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever blend of dark comedy, campy references, and quirky visuals, appealing particularly to horror movie fans. Players appreciate the tongue-in-cheek narrative and the amusing interactions with the game's mechanics, although some note that the humor can lose its impact over time. Overall, the game successfully combines fun gameplay with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.

    • “The humor is spot on, the art clicks together with the tone, and while there's a lot of minion management, it's done in such a way that it slowly ramps up till you feel comfortable with it.”
    • “It has no lack of dark humor and horror movie references and even uses horror movie tropes as central game mechanics.”
    • “The bottom line is that this game delivers a hell of a lot of fun, gameplay keeps my attention and does not get stale, and watching your deathtraps go off is hilarious.”
    • “The jokes are not funny and often fall flat, making the humor aspect feel forced.”
    • “The humor in the game is unintuitive and confusing, leaving players more puzzled than amused.”
    • “The comedic elements are poorly balanced, with many jokes feeling out of place or poorly timed.”
  • grinding
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that the game features a mix of enjoyable mechanics and cute art, but many players find the grinding aspect to be excessive and repetitive, particularly in resource collection and management. While some appreciate the challenge and fun in the grinding process, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, especially in the early to mid-game stages. Overall, the consensus suggests that while grinding is a significant element, it can be tolerable if players are engaged and having fun.

    • “If you are looking for an easy game that tells you what to do, in which minions think for themselves, with no grinding and little to no micromanagement, this game might not be for you.”
    • “The timing feels very off...like you get humans very often, and you need to for food, but you get very very little done in the meantime...very grindy.”
    • “Halfway between 'Don't Starve' and 'Evil Genius'...but this game is so repetitive and grindy that I'm just about ready to give up.”
    • “The game is grindy... like we haven't got enough content, so to get the content you want will take 3 hours of grinding... you have to collect a ton of materials just to make the bench that makes the other materials, which you then need another ton of materials to turn into the new material that you need for the thing you actually wanted.”
  • story
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story begins with an intriguing premise and humorous elements, but ultimately lacks depth and progression beyond the initial introduction. Players find the narrative basic and largely redundant, with no overarching goals or missions, reducing it to a sandbox experience. While the art style and humor are praised, the absence of a compelling storyline or character development leaves many wanting more.

    • “What makes it stand out is the art style and the story behind it.”
    • “There is a lot of good tongue-in-cheek humor that is in the story and even in the flavor texts.”
    • “The story in Machiavillain is basic and largely redundant, but suffice it to say, you were once a minion and now you have a shot at being the big man, the head honcho, top cat, the leader of it all.”
    • “There are different ranks you progress through by meeting criteria, but there isn't any type of storyline other than the intro at this time.”
    • “The visualization of the text is very poor when narrating the story; some contrast could improve readability against the background and not end up hurting the eyes when trying to read it.”
  • music
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while many players appreciate its thematic fit and enjoyable quality, some find it repetitive and limited, leading to annoyance over extended play. The soundtrack is often described as engaging and well-suited to the game's atmosphere, but a few users note that it lacks variety and can become tiresome after prolonged sessions. Overall, the music enhances the experience for some, while others feel it detracts from the gameplay.

    • “A management game, it's funny, you look after your little monsters and can control them individually, build the mansion, fight monsters on the map, have to pay attention to how much food you have, etc. It also has very nice music and kind of feels like a mix of Don't Starve and Oxygen Not Included styles, especially because of the electricity system.”
    • “The music doesn't get old; it fits the game perfectly.”
    • “Everything feels just right: the art style, the theme, the music, it just fits.”
    • “Sound: 3/10 - lots of squelching noises and repeating music, and a strange narrator.”
    • “The background music seems to never change, despite the changelog for version 1.0 claiming 10 new songs were added.”
    • “The music gets annoying very quickly too, it’s just a bit wacky and spooky, okay for an intro but to listen to for hours, no thanks.”
  • monetization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, disappointing players who had high hopes for its potential. While some gameplay mechanics allow for creative strategies, the overall sentiment suggests that the developers prioritize profit over player experience, leading to a grindy and unsatisfying progression system.

    • “The game had promise, now it's just a cash grab.”
    • “It sounds great and every player who experienced Dungeon Keeper wants Machiavillain to be successful, but the reality is that this is very close to another cash grab game.”
    • “But the developers aren't, they're bad; that 90% is just another cash grab.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with some users finding it limited and not worth the price, while others highlight its significant replay value.

    • “It has tons of replay value.”
    • “Not worth the price and fairly limited replayability.”
    • “Low replay value.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's unique graphics and animations effectively contribute to a compelling horror atmosphere, immersing players in a chilling and unsettling experience.

    • “The unique graphics and animations truly create an incredible horror atmosphere.”
    • “The immersive sound design enhances the eerie ambiance, making every moment feel tense and suspenseful.”
    • “The haunting visuals and chilling music combine to create an unforgettable atmosphere that keeps you on edge.”
  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game has received criticism for its poor optimization, particularly for a top-down management style, indicating that it requires significant improvements to enhance performance and user experience. Despite its enjoyable gameplay, many users feel that optimization issues detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “It would be great; it just needs to be optimized a little.”
    • “As fun as this game is, it's horribly optimized for a top-down management type game.”
  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users express that while the game has a fun concept, it may lead to emotional disappointment, suggesting that purchasing it at a significant discount could mitigate potential regret.

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20h Median play time
20h Average play time
7-30h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

MachiaVillain is a strategy game with horror and fantasy themes.

MachiaVillain is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 20 hours playing MachiaVillain.

MachiaVillain was released on May 16, 2018.

MachiaVillain was developed by Wild Factor.

MachiaVillain has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

MachiaVillain is a single player game.

Similar games include Going Medieval, Clockwork Empires, Life is Feudal: Forest Village, Castle Story, Stonehearth and others.