Several strategy games have you conquering the world through military power, diplomacy, or even viral weapons…but what about conquering it through fear itself? That’s the main premise behind The Fabulous Fear Machine, the new narartive-driven strategy game from AMC Games and developers Fictiorama Studios. Still curious about exactly how one spreads enough fear to take over the world? Well, then you’re in luck, because it was announced at Gamescom 2022 that a demo for the game is available on Steam right now for all to check out. But if you need a quicker look at how things work here, then there’s always the new new gameplay trailer as well, which you can check out below.

Presented with a ’50s pulp comic style a la EC Comics, the game casts you as one of the new Masters of the Machine and sees you utilizing your Agents and resources to take down whatever it takes to get rid of any enemies standing between you and your goal. This includes using over eighty Legends ranging from cryptids to urban legends and conspiracy theories, plating the seeds of them, seeing how people react to them, and making sure they get to evolve into something that truly frightens people. Of course, people can always fight back against your Legends, so you’ll have to adapt to new tricks on the fly, especially as missions become grand as fear is spread across the region and pressure increases. The Fabulous Fear Machine is listed as “Coming Soon” for PC, and should be one for horror and strategy fans to get excited for.