The Fabulous Fear Machine Review: "A Gem To Be Found Within Its Dank Corners"

screenrant.com:

Sometimes it’s nice to play a bad guy. Whether it’s taking on the role of a villain by exploring the secrets of and being a thoroughly nasty piece of work, or being a not-so-benevolent creator in titles like series, there is something inherently fun about taking on the role of the antagonist now and again. Enter from developer Fictiorama Studios and AMC Games, which asks the player to bring about some very bad things in the world at large.

as a strategy game with a strong narrative focus, where the player takes on the role of a variety of different people who come across The Fear Machine. This Machine offers its users a chance to fulfill their life goals, but doing so in somewhat evil means. The player reaches their goals through fear and distrust, in an ambitious tactical experience that falls just shy of reaching the heights it could have achieved.

It’s fair to say that certainly has a unique feel. Falling somewhere between mobile hit and a more traditional strategy game, the title tasks players with seeding terror and conspiracy across the map in order to expand their goals. These fears tie into traditional tropes, such as conspiracy theories, urban legends, or stories of things that go bump in the night, and hit differently in different locations, meaning strategic placement is required.

These fears are chosen through things called Legend cards, with cities or towns having a set number of available spaces to expand the horror. However, for these fears to thrive and for the player to succeed, they’ll have to successfully use their agents in the field, exploring new locations, finding new items, and disrupting rival fear-mongers or utopias that will hinder the player’s nefarious schemes.

is quite complex, throwing lots