Build the maze
Open ground is yours to shape — tower placement carves the paths the tribes must walk. They will always find a way through; make it a long one.
Machinesvs.Monsters
Roguelite tower defense. Land on a hostile planet, build mazes of industrial firepower, and hold your Command Center against escalating native waves. Lose, learn, upgrade the fleet, redeploy.
Batavia’s survey says the site is viable. The site disagrees.
Wishlist on Steam
Early Access on Steam · March 2027
Deployment Brief
The survey cleared the investment threshold. The board approved deployment.
You are a Batavia deployment commander — first boots on every site. Your job: land the Command Center, keep it alive while it works, and manage the local fauna, which official copy classifies as native assets and your crews classify as monsters. Both are right. One of them is honest.
A Roguelite Siege, One Planet at a Time
Machines vs. Monsters is tower defense rebuilt as a roguelite run. A planet is not a level — it is a campaign-length siege you are not expected to survive on the first attempt. Waves escalate past any fixed defense; every defeat pays out stardust; every redeployment starts sharper, richer, and better equipped.
Field Footage
Capabilities
The ground fights back
Terrain grows outward between waves: ridgelines, fissures, ore deposits, and breach points that open new fronts mid-run. No two deployments play the same map.
Industrial firepower, certified on demand
Railguns, plasma torches, spark coils — and heavier machinery certified for deployment as your account justifies it: seismic bores, orbital uplinks, drone foundries, and worse.
In-run choices, roguelite style
Wave rewards deal you cards — take the new tower line, the economy engine, or the raw stats — and reshape each run mid-siege.
Clear the target, then keep going
Beating the siege isn’t the end: endless mode asks how far past the contract you’re willing to push a working defense.
The crews own the sky
Between runs, spend stardust in a constellation tree your crews named — permanent upgrades, new machinery, new ways to start the next deployment.
The Constellation Sky
Screenshots
Dev diary
The Steam page is live
Machines vs. Monsters has a Steam page. What the game is, what comes next, and where this diary fits in.
Roadmap
The road to Early Access
- December 2026Free demo, on Steam and in your browser
- Feb 22 to Mar 1, 2027Steam Next Fest
- March 2027Early Access on Steam
A Universe That Keeps Its Receipts
There is no dying Earth, no ancient secret, no excuse. Batavia colonizes because it is profitable, and the paperwork is immaculate. The tribes’ side of the story is recorded only in your crews’ field notes — observations the official register pointedly never engages.
Every visual in the game is drawn in code — dark industrial hulls, bioluminescent tribes, planets rendered in living light. No two machines, monsters, or worlds share a silhouette by accident.
Questions
What is Machines vs. Monsters?
A roguelite tower defense. Build a maze of industrial weapons, hold your Command Center against escalating alien waves, then lose, upgrade, and redeploy stronger.
When does it come out?
Early Access on Steam, March 2027. A free demo comes out in December 2026.
What can I play it on?
Windows PC, on Steam. Steam Deck has not been tested yet.
Keyboard and mouse or controller?
Keyboard and mouse.
How much will it cost?
The price has not been announced yet.
Is there co-op?
Online co-op for 2 to 4 players is in testing. It is not on the Steam page yet; this answer changes when it is.
Which languages?
15 interface languages: English, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
Can I stream it or make videos?
Yes. Streams and videos are welcome, monetized or not, demo included. No key or permission needed.