Bottom Line? It’s a fun and zany game with a quirky art style (feels similar to Don’t Starve) but it can be cumbersome. Also, the randomization can hurt: I had to start several games over from minute 1 when there wasn’t enough free space to start building my haunted house. Also… the ability to have multiple stories would be nice. Haunted basements, anyone? Attics?
MachiaVillain
Wild Factor · May 16, 2018
About
Machiavillain is an evil mansion management and strategy game, inspired by Dungeon Keeper, Prison Architect and all the horror movie clichés! Build your own manor, raise your monsters, set up your traps, and exterminate your victims. But to gain reputation you'll have to slay by the horror movie rules!
Trailers & screenshots
Scores by platform
Critic reviews
- 6.0MachiaVillain 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.
- 6.6I was excited to design my murder mansion full of secret trap doors. I love zombies and vampires and wanted to do right by my minions. It was the opaque rules that kept me at arm’s length. The ideas in this game are enough to make me want to tolerate a lot, but not this much. Ultimately, MachiaVillain needs a lot of cleaning up, explanations and balance fixes. Then maybe we can all come together to have a bloody good time.
- MachiaVillain has some pacing issues, but you’ll be able to enjoy it a lot if you put enough time into it. This is the best Dungeon Keeper type of game available in a long time, an interesting take in monster movie clichés with a peculiar sense of humor and a ton of charm, even if its art department looks a bit cheap at times. Hey, at least you don’t need to spend over four digits in microtransaction money in order to build a torture room in this game!
- 7.0Fans of construction and management sims will feel right at home with all it has to offer, but may not be too keen with its lack of relative depth when compared with titans like Prison Architect and Oxygen Not Included. Not me, though. I had and am still having a hard time putting MachiaVillain down. There's something to be said about the combination of blood and guts mixed with management that's keeping me going.
- This is the sort of game that can easily be played for hours on end and feel like only minutes have passed. It’s especially fun as a means to act out as a dastardly character with whimsical aspects thrown in. If the developer makes some tweaks and introduces a more robust tutorial or at least integrate the external wiki in-game then it’ll prove an even better experience. All in all, MachiaVillain takes a bit of dedication to get into, but it’s worth the effort.
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