Games Like MachiaVillain

A satirical spy-fi lair builder where YOU are the criminal mastermind! Construct your base, train your minions, defend your operations from the Forces of Justice, and achieve global domination!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 45.6% ★, Base Building 16.5%, Strategy 11.7%, Simulation 7.7%, Management 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: You play as a villainous mastermind building a secret lair, managing minions, and defending against do-gooders in a stylized, humorous setting.

War for the Overworld is an unholy union of Dungeon Management and Strategy that rewards all those villainous thoughts you’ve been having. Craft your own perilous dungeon and defend it against pesky heroes who keep exploring it and taking your stuff.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 35% ★, Base Building 18.6%, Management 13%, Simulation 10.3%, Sandbox 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: This is the spiritual successor to the Dungeon Keeper series, offering the most authentic dungeon-building experience similar to the foundation of MachiaVillain.

Ruinarch is an evil god simulator and sandbox game where you mess with people’s lives for hilarious results! Make them vampires, werewolves or bard haters and cackle as the drama unfolds. Once you’re done, unleash a malicious buffet of spells and custom plagues to wipe them out and start anew!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 43.2% ★, Base Building 13.6%, God Game 8.5% ★, Management 8.3%, Simulation 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: This god-game allows you to actively ruin the lives of villagers, perfectly capturing the malicious spirit of being the antagonist.

KeeperRL is a retro dungeon simulator with roguelike and RPG elements. Take the role of an evil keeper and build a formidable dungeon. Recruit sinister minions, equip and train them to explore the world and fight the forces of good.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 46.6% ★, Base Building 14.3%, Management 9.4%, Simulation 8.6%, Strategy 8.5%

Why You'll Like It: A deep, roguelike dungeon-building game where you manage a dark fortress and command minions to conquer the world.

Only the world’s most ruthless Warden can contain the world’s most ruthless inmates. Design and develop your personalized penitentiary in Prison Architect.

Why similar: Base Building 20.6%, Management 14.2%, Simulation 13.1%, Strategy 12.8%, Building 11%

Why You'll Like It: The core building and management mechanics of this game served as a primary inspiration for the architectural gameplay in MachiaVillain.

At last, the Dungeon Lord has successfully united the forces of evil and established his dark empire. Time for the next step in his most diabolical quest: expansion!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 45.1% ★, Base Building 14.4%, Strategy 10.5%, Management 9%, God Game 8% ★

Why You'll Like It: This title balances underground dungeon management with surface-level RTS combat, mirroring the dual-layer gameplay of the seed game.

Hell Architect is a game about building and managing your own hell. You take on a role of a hell manager and are tasked with developing the underworld in a way that would make Lucifer himself fall off his chair.

Why similar: Base Building 20.8%, Management 14.1%, God Game 11.8% ★, Strategy 11.5%, Building 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: You are tasked with designing and managing a hellish landscape, focusing on the dark, humorous construction of torture-filled environments.

Dwelvers is a unique real-time strategy Dungeon Keeper-like with resource management, logistics, battles, magic spells, trading, crimes against humanity, labyrinths, and so much more. Are you able to eradicate the pesky humans once and for all? Of course you are. The Dark Mother wills it.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 41.3% ★, Base Building 13.6%, Management 9.1%, Strategy 6.7%, Building 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: A detailed dungeon-building simulation that focuses on resource management and the logistics of maintaining an underground lair.

A horror cooking simulator where the secret ingredient is crime. Improve your shops, buy new tools, expand your menu, and above all, make your customers happy.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 62.6% ★, Management 15.2%, Simulation 8.3%, Resource Management 7.2%, Economy 6.1%

Why You'll Like It: This management game features a dark, villainous protagonist running a shop where the 'ingredients' are sourced from unfortunate victims.

Everybody wants to rule the world! Achieve global power with EVIL GENIUS, the one and only complete world domination simulator. All the everyday tasks of the deliciously wicked mastermind are available to experience and master from building your ultra-secret base to developing spectacular super-weapons to carry out your nefarious master...

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 49.6% ★, Base Building 18.8%, Strategy 11.8%, Real-Time with Pause 6.2% ★, Simulation 4.6%

Why You'll Like It: The original classic that defined the villain-protagonist base-building genre with its iconic 60s spy-fi aesthetic.

A sci-fi colony sim driven by an intelligent AI storyteller. Generates stories by simulating psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, interpersonal relationships, art, medicine, trade, and more.

Why similar: Base Building 32.2%, Management 15.9%, Strategy 14.5%, Simulation 12.5%, Sandbox 9.9%

Why You'll Like It: While broader in scope, its deep colony management and potential for dark, emergent storytelling make it a perfect fit for fans of management sims.

Start your own cult in a land of false prophets, venturing out into diverse and mysterious regions to build a loyal community of woodland Followers and spread your Word to become the one true cult.

Why similar: Base Building 66.9%, Building 20.4%, Indie 7.6%, 2D 2.6%, Singleplayer 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: You manage a cult of followers while balancing base-building and dark, supernatural combat, echoing the villain-protagonist theme.

Scare, terrify and thrill guests as you build the haunted house of your nightmares. Design and customize your creations with incredible detail to scare your guests, or risk losing it all in this tower defense/management/tycoon hybrid.

Why similar: Base Building 22.9%, Management 15.8%, Strategy 14.4%, Simulation 12.2%, Building 11%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses specifically on building and managing horror-themed attractions, directly aligning with the horror-movie tropes found in the seed game.

Build and manage a medieval graveyard while facing ethical dilemmas and making questionable decisions. Welcome to Graveyard Keeper, the most inaccurate medieval cemetery sim of the year.

Why similar: Management 29.8%, Simulation 25%, Sandbox 17.7%, Building 15.3%, Indie 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: This morbid management sim features dark humor and crafting mechanics that feel right at home with the horror-movie aesthetic of MachiaVillain.

The Fabulous Fear Machine is a narrative-driven strategy game with a pulp horror style. As the Machine's new Master, you must sow fear and expand your influence by creating Legends, harvesting resources, manipulating events, and spying on your enemies.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 40.5% ★, Strategy 16.7%, Simulation 15.5%, Management 11.2%, Indie 7.5%

Why You'll Like It: A strategy-simulation game where you spread fear and influence, perfectly matching the dark, horror-themed narrative style.

Build your dungeon, command demons, set traps, and slay invading adventurers with powerful spells.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 49.3% ★, Base Building 9.9%, Strategy 9.7%, God Game 9.5% ★, Management 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: A strategy game that puts you in the role of a dungeon master, focusing on real-time tactics and old-school villainy.

Build and manage your own castle settlement in a land reclaimed by wilderness. With detailed management, survival strategy, and a moddable sandbox world, Going Medieval challenges you to build the mightiest colony this side of the apocalypse.

Why similar: Base Building 27%, Management 18.6%, Strategy 17%, Simulation 14.1%, Sandbox 11.4%

Why You'll Like It: Provides a robust 3D base-building and colony management experience with a focus on survival and architectural design.

Build your own dungeon and attract heroes from all over the realm! Grow your business by exploiting every facet of your visitors' dungeon exploration experience. Will you be able to keep your evil dungeon business going?

Why similar: Management 17.5%, Base Building 15.8%, Strategy 14.2%, Simulation 12.4%, God Game 11.2% ★

Why You'll Like It: A management-focused dungeon builder where you must optimize your lair to survive against waves of heroes.

Become a mad scientist! Conduct crazy experiments, mix mutagens, breed abominable creatures, and attach monstrous body parts to them. Manage your inventory, expand your lab, and make sure your hideout is safe. Send your creations into the city to obtain salvage and test subjects!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 43.5% ★, Simulation 15.3%, Strategy 12.9%, Management 10.5%, Sandbox 10.1%

Why You'll Like It: You play as a mad scientist conducting experiments, which captures the monster-raising and villainous research aspects of MachiaVillain.

Rise up in a search for immortality in this strategy sim and management game based on Chinese mythology. Rebuild your sect and train new disciples through the path of cultivation. Research magic and gather mystical artifacts, face ancient dangers and other sects in your path to spiritual ascension.

Why similar: Simulation 28.9%, Strategy 19.3%, Base Building 17.6%, Sandbox 15.7%, Management 9.6%

Why You'll Like It: A complex management game based on Chinese mythology that allows for deep, often ruthless control over your sect's development.

Basement is a strategy game, where you start doing illegal business to fund the development of your dream video game. It won't be easy, so get ready to deal with other gangs, cops, crazy junkies, mysterious investor and even ghosts from the past.

Why similar: Base Building 21.7%, Management 16.6%, Strategy 14.5%, Simulation 12.4%, Building 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: A management game about running an illicit criminal enterprise from your basement, emphasizing the 'villainous' business aspect.

Harness your Demigod powers to lead a group from rags to riches in this 3D Fantasy Kingdom Management Sim with RPG elements. Command from the sky or take control in 3rd Person to BUILD, BATTLE, and RULE. Navigate a world of interesting Nobles, earn their respect, and decide their Fates.

Why similar: Base Building 26.4%, Management 16.8%, Strategy 16.1%, Sandbox 12%, Building 11.5%

Why You'll Like It: A god-game that lets you influence the lives of your subjects, offering moral choices that can lead to a villainous playthrough.

LEAD the CULT OF CTHULHU. Decide the fate of your followers, perform eldritch rituals, and master the art of city-building in a world where the line between sanity and madness blurs. Can you endure the horrors you unleash?

Why similar: Base Building 22.6%, Management 17.6%, Strategy 14.7%, Simulation 12.5%, Sandbox 12.5%

Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that tasks you with managing a cult in a Lovecraftian setting, perfect for those who enjoy dark, thematic management.

Evil Labs is a game about building and managing your own Evil Laboratory. Research and develop diseases, infect people, sell the cure and get rich!

Why similar: Strategy 26.6%, Simulation 26.5%, Base Building 24.5%, Indie 11.3%, Building 10%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the management of a secret laboratory where you create viruses and manage resources to achieve your nefarious goals.

Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation game. Deep inside an alien space rock your industrious crew will need to master science, overcome strange new lifeforms, and harness incredible space tech to survive, and possibly, thrive.

Why similar: Base Building 36.6%, Management 12.1%, Building 10.9%, Resource Management 10.7%, Strategy 9.2%

Why You'll Like It: While sci-fi themed, its intricate base-building and resource-management systems will appeal to anyone who enjoys the complexity of MachiaVillain.

Play as a Rogue Artificial Intelligence, in the sequel to the hit Flash game "I'm an Insane Rogue AI", played more than 4 million times! Your Prime Directive is simple: design a facility & manage human Test Subjects for the Dept of Science. But be careful: they NEVER stop being suspicious of you...

Why similar: Base Building 22.2%, Management 15%, God Game 14% ★, Simulation 13.7%, Strategy 13%

Why You'll Like It: You play as an artificial intelligence, managing your facility and deciding the fate of humanity, embodying the ultimate villain role.

Lead your hive to victory in 'Buggos', an RTS Auto Battler! Customize your swarm with 120+ evolutions and conquer humanity. Strategy meets bug chaos!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 29% ★, Base Building 18.1%, Strategy 13%, Management 12.3%, Simulation 11.1%

Why You'll Like It: A strategy game where you manage a swarm of insects, focusing on base-building and expansion through a villainous, hive-mind perspective.

Design and build arenas for your guests to fight in, keep them happy, your workers paid and make a profit!

Why similar: Management 20.1%, Simulation 20.1%, Strategy 19.7%, Sandbox 9.5%, Building 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: Allows you to build and manage a deadly arena, capturing the 'trapping victims' gameplay loop found in MachiaVillain.

Your Excellency, in this short systems-management survival game, we prepare for the awakening of our Lord. He hungers for human sacrifice. Sinners try to hide their dark secrets, but all must be purged...

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 61.2% ★, Management 15.5%, Strategy 12%, Building 9.8%, 2D 1.5%

Why You'll Like It: A dark, management-heavy simulation where you lead a cult and must make difficult sacrifices to appease your deity.

Be evil. Build your dungeon and grow your empire in this roguelite dungeon builder. Hire monsters, set traps, battle heroes, and conquer the overworld with an ever expanding legion of evil.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 50.6% ★, Base Building 15.9%, Strategy 10.7%, Management 9.5%, God Game 7.8% ★

Deck of Haunts invites you to become a malevolent Haunted House. Lure humans into your cursed halls, manipulate their fears, and drain their essence to grow your power. Use strategy to build your mansion and expand your dark influence, turning your home into a terrifying, inescapable nightmare.

Why similar: Base Building 32%, Strategy 18.8%, God Game 18.6% ★, Building 18.1%, Simulation 12.5%

Cartel Tycoon is a survival business sim inspired by the ‘80s and '90s narco trade. Expand and conquer, fight off rival thugs and evade the authorities. Earn people's loyalty and strive to overcome the doomed fate of a power-hungry drug lord.

Why similar: Base Building 18.7%, Management 15.1%, Strategy 12.5%, Simulation 11%, Building 9.8%

Become a Ghost Keeper and lead your fearsome minions against the living. Use diverse scare tactics, manage demonic creatures and harness dozens of skills. Oh, and don’t let the Brotherhood catch you! The ultimate scaring experience begins…

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 78.4% ★, Strategy 16.7%, Management 3.3%, Resource Management 1.5%, Singleplayer 0.1%

Build, scavenge, craft, and perform occult rituals to survive in a demon-infested, post-apocalyptic colony simulation. Will you survive Judgment day?

Why similar: Base Building 26.2%, Real-Time with Pause 16.5% ★, Strategy 11.6%, Simulation 10%, Management 8.7%

The Dungeon Lord is back – and this time he’s serious! In Dungeons 2, fulfil the Dungeon Lord’s insatiable quest for vengeance by recruiting fearsome new monsters from all corners of the underworld in order to undertake his evil bidding.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 47.5% ★, Strategy 19.2%, Management 13.4%, Simulation 7%, Base Building 6.4%

A brutal godlike village sim that melds the god game, management, and tower defense genres! Fight off hoards of monsters at night, and expand your village in the day time. Inspired by games like Black and White, Rimworld, and Dwarf Fortress but not quite like any of them.

Why similar: Base Building 27.8%, Strategy 21.8%, God Game 15.8% ★, Simulation 14.2%, Sandbox 7.6%

Become a villain in this retro-inspired board game. Draft terrain tiles, recruit monsters, build your dungeon, and become the OVERBOSS!

Why similar: Base Building 36.9%, Strategy 19.6%, Simulation 15.8%, Building 13.5%, Resource Management 12.4%

Assume the role of a mighty (and mighty evil) Dungeon Lord and create your own diabolical demesnes underground. 10 different classes of heroes dare to enter your dungeon where 15 different monsters lurk in the dark.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 44.8% ★, Strategy 33.4%, Base Building 8%, Management 7.9%, Simulation 5.9%

The Dweller is a puzzle game where you play as the MONSTER! It's time to get rid of all those pesky archaeologists snooping around in your lair. SCARE them, CRUSH them, DEVOUR them! ELIMINATE THE INTRUDERS!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 54.9% ★, Strategy 18.1%, Simulation 16.9%, Indie 10.1%

Build your dungeon & protect it with a labyrinth of dark corridors, a web of deadly traps, an arsenal of powerful spells, and an army of bloodthirsty demons

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 53.1% ★, Strategy 23.7%, God Game 22% ★, Singleplayer 1.2%

Conquer and destroy the dirty Humans by sending swarms of bugs to crush their home worlds. Evolve your Buggos into stronger, faster, more murderous creatures that can rip the Human defenses to shreds! No one can stop your evolutionary powers. You are the evil Buggo Hivemind!!!

Why similar: Strategy 28.8%, Base Building 28.8%, Simulation 21.5%, Management 11.4%, Building 8.7%

Develop a prestigious university of mages. Build rooms, train your students, fight orcs, slay the bureaucrats, manage your budget... a director's life is not a quiet one.

Why similar: Base Building 28%, Management 18.8%, Simulation 16.8%, Strategy 12%, Economy 10.4%

Manage Hell. Manipulate the Overworld. Build the resurrection business of your dreams! In Sintopia, you’re tasked with managing the bureaucratic administration of Hell: “re-educate” the sinful, generate profit, play god and expand your hellish empire. All part of a day’s work at Hell Incorporated.

Why similar: Base Building 22.3%, Management 17.2%, God Game 14.6% ★, Strategy 13.3%, Simulation 13%

Become a real medieval feudal lord: start with a small village and build it up into an enormous impenetrable castle. You will have to repel enemy raids: hide behind thick walls, lure your enemies into strategically placed traps, and even lead your loyal peasants into battle.

Why similar: Base Building 22.8%, Management 12.6%, Strategy 12.4%, Simulation 12.1%, Building 10.9%

A roguelite monster-management simulation inspired by the likes of the SCP Foundation, Cabin in the Woods, and Warehouse 13. Order your employees to perform work with the creatures and watch as it unfolds; harness greater energy, and expand the facility

Why similar: Management 46.8%, Simulation 22.2%, Strategy 19.1%, Indie 8.2%, 2D 2%

Lairchitect is a reverse dungeon crawler! Build your own lair and protect your precious soul core from heroes that try to raid your dungeon. Distracting heroes and using the right minions to defeat them is key in winning the game.

Why similar: Strategy 28.6%, Base Building 25.6%, Simulation 15.9%, Building 11.6%, Management 9.5%

Create and control the business empire of your dreams. This in-depth strategy game covers almost every aspect of business that could be encountered in the real world.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 35.2% ★, Management 16.8%, Simulation 16.4%, Strategy 15.1%, Economy 13.1%

The most blasphemous, diabolical and insane management game ever created. Aided by a lascivious nun in a grim prison, rig executions, conduct horrid experiments and do the unspeakable to cook up your cure-all: The Kindeman Remedy. Do not be afraid. This time, you're the monster.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 72.9% ★, Management 16.6%, Simulation 9.6%, Singleplayer 0.8%

Recruit Ninjas, Hire Workers, build your base, train your Ninjas and send them on Missions!

Why similar: Simulation 31.6%, Strategy 25.2%, Management 22.5%, Economy 10.7%, Indie 10%

Bad guys have all the fun. Discover your dark side as you build an evil underground kingdom and defend it against the forces of good.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 43.1% ★, Strategy 26.3%, God Game 20.9% ★, Base Building 8.6%, Singleplayer 1.2%

Design, build, and manage a high school with terrific teachers and fantastic facilities or simply let your students poop in the bushes? Academia : School Simulator is a management/tycoon game where you get to decide!

Why similar: Base Building 22.6%, Management 18.2%, Simulation 12.6%, Strategy 12.5%, Building 11%

Depraved is a city builder game with survival aspects, settled in the Wild West. Build towns and establish important outposts to supply your residents with food and other raw materials. Resist the seasons, dangerous animals, and bandits and conquer the Wild West.

Why similar: Base Building 24.2%, Management 18.7%, Strategy 13.6%, Building 13.5%, Economy 10.7%

Aid the Deities of Dread in their quest for vengeance and pave the way for their ascension. Gather grim materials, construct defences and expand the underworld to appease the rage of the gods in The Deadly Path, a unique building management and roguelike strategy game.

Why similar: Base Building 34.5%, Management 25.6%, Strategy 24.3%, Resource Management 13.9%, Singleplayer 1.7%

A campy, crazy pixelart zombie apocalypse arcade sim where you're the bad guy. Drop your virus and spread it across the globe while you unlock a whole horde of bizarre undead to do your bidding.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 56.5% ★, Strategy 18.3%, Simulation 15.6%, Indie 8.2%, Singleplayer 1.1%

Establish a home for your industrious mice under the oppressive paw of your cat overlords in this city builder featuring complex simulations, intricate production chains, and the age-old rivalry between cat and mouse.

Why similar: Base Building 21.7%, Management 14.9%, Strategy 14.1%, Simulation 12.5%, Building 10.5%

A byte-sized Dungeon Keeping roguelike: dig out your lair, populate it with monsters and protect the Wratch from heroes come for easy prestige.

Why similar: Base Building 43.7%, Strategy 27.8%, Simulation 23%, Top-Down 5.5%

Dungeon Warfare is a challenging tower defense strategy game where you become a dungeon lord to defend your dungeons with deadliest of traps and insidious contraptions against greedy adventurers and wanna-be heroes.

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 59.2% ★, Strategy 13.4%, Building 8.3%, Resource Management 6.9%, Indie 5.4%

Claim and defend the Tomb of Tyrants against greedy adventurers by matching tiles to build a deadly dungeon full of traps, minions, and more!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 60.1% ★, Strategy 26.2%, Indie 11.4%, 2D 1.5%, Singleplayer 0.9%

Swarm the City: Zombie Evolved is a villain protagonist real-time strategy game. You will play as the King of the Dead and rule the world once again by creating zombie legions and destroying human cities. As the King of the Dead, you can infect humans, turn them into zombies and rule the world!

Why similar: Villain Protagonist 58% ★, Management 11.9%, Strategy 10.4%, Simulation 8.4%, Resource Management 6.4%