The Fabulous Fear Machine Critic Reviews

The Fabulous Fear Machine features a unique pulp art style and some straightforward ideas that make it a wonderfully addictive strategy title.

The Fabulous Fear Machine from developer Fictiorama Studios is a test of skill as much as it is a test of patience. It’s a complicated game that is RISK-like and presents a wickedly good time in classic horror comic book form.

This is a nice surprise, that makes you think while also absorbing you with its interesting concept as a virtual board game.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with The Fabulous Fear Machine. Aesthetics and charm kept me enthralled and invested, even if the mechanics didn’t put up a challenge. The game is short enough so that players don’t have to grind for hours to see everything it has to offer. It’s perfect as something that can be started and completed within a weekend, and I highly recommend the journey.

The Fabulous Fear Machine must have been hatched by some really sadistic people, because it is one of the creepiest games you will find around, despite being a simplified 4X with a board game structure. The concept of spreading fake news to fuel panic is portrayed with a lot of sarcasm and a graphic depiction that recalls the old horror comic books of the 1950s. Like all games of this type, it becomes repetitive in the long run despite attempts to add new features to each mission, but the particularly engaging story will motivate you to continue.

Fictiorama Games have blended a wonderfully unique cocktail of pulp-horror aesthetics and charming yet brutal depictions of violent myths and legends. The strategy gameplay can become a little one-note and there are some teething issues even Dracula may cower at, but spreading the tale of Tall Man or inciting a conspiracy of UFOs never failed to entertain my sadistic mind.

The Fabulous Fear Machine is a pulp horror strategy game that will let you use fear itself as a weapon to conquer the world, but at what price?

If you’ve got a mean streak and have always wanted a safe environment in which to find out what it feels like to have people unquestionably devote themselves to you and your cause, well, firstly, you should be on a watch list somewhere, and secondly, you should absolutely check out The Fabulous Fear Machine.

As a whole, The Fabulous Fear Machine is a very interesting and rather unique strategy game. Its setup as the player as a villain is always a nice hook, but its engaging gameplay and wonderful aesthetic and writing push it into an extremely worthwhile place. It’s not the instant cult classic that it could have been, but there is a gem to be found within its dank corners.

This pulpy provocation has more than enough ideas to take root in your own monkey brain.

The Fabulous Fear Machine is a metaphor, but not really. The propaganda machine that shapes society is very real, and it's used to tell us what to believe, what to buy, who to hate, and how to behave, all to benefit and enrich those of us who deserve it the least. The titular Fear Machine is based in power dynamics, class consciousness, and the susceptibility of society at large, but after playing, I’m not sure if Fictiorama Studios understood how its own machine actually works.

The Fabulous Fear Machine explores the role of fear and how it is necessary to convey certain messages, all within a meticulously crafted and polished pulp aesthetic.