Chaos and Creativity Combine with the First Glimpse of Mother Machine

From the creators of the award-winning Curious Expedition 2, Mother Machine is a vibrant roguelike that just so happens to feature some mutant gremlins, as well as being able to provide some procedurally generated cooperative action. Today, the team at Maschinen-Mensch unveil a first glimpse. 

GREMLINS!

Created using Unreal Engine 5, Mother Machine is a chaotic multiplayer action platformer/RPG hybrid, in which the Maschinen-Mensch team have high hopes. Fuelled by the studio’s dedication to pushing the limits of procedurally-generated gameplay, Mother Machine is a one-to-four-player co-op action-platformer.

It comes with RPG elements, and whisks players off to cave networks of a derelict space colony. It’s here where players control one of many grotesquely adorable “chaos gremlins” who are endlessly sent to death, then revived by their malfunctioning robot mother in search of resources, technology, and the answers to the planet’s darkest mysteries.

Dev speak!

Speaking on the announcement, Maschinen-Mensch CEO Riad Djemli said:

“At Maschinen-Mensch, crafting games with innovative procedural gameplay is in our DNA. Following the success of Curious Expedition 1 and 2, our team has grown to over 20 very talented individuals. Now, we’re excited to bring our unique approach to the action-RPG genre with our new IP, Mother Machine. We can’t wait to share this new adventure with our community.”

Set thousands of years in the future, Mother Machine takes place on a distant planet once colonized by humans but since abandoned. Left behind by her creators, an Artificial Intelligence faced a problem: without a purpose, she needed to find a way to protect her digital mind from breaking under the burden of being forever alone. Her solution was to create a creature that she could take care of.

True rascals, with an affinity for mischief and chaos, these little gremlins were bioengineered by their mother to withstand and survive a harsh alien environment. 3D-printed from organic filament by their godlike Mother Machine, these creatures are tasked to collect and explore a vast cave network of a mysterious alien planet, brimming with biodiversity and peculiar life-forms — but the further the gremlins venture, the more they find out about the dark secrets of the planet’s history, and the true ambitions of their mechanical mother.

Key features

• Control a colorful chaos gremlin capable of seamlessly running, climbing and leaping through intricate procedurally-designed alien caves, where no one playthrough is the same
• Extend and deepen the active abilities of their gremlins with a vast range of mutations, altering gameplay to suit their preferred playstyle and desired difficulty
• Join games at any time with easy drop-in multiplayer for up to four players, increasing the levels of both chaos and competition
• Share the experience with friends of all skill levels, as the game’s balanced co-op mechanics allow expert players to join together with novices, making the mania more accessible
• Enjoy a silly, soulful world and an engaging narrative about the limits of technology, the nature of loneliness & the power of family
• Experience unique & personal moments created by emergent gameplay, endlessly replayable generative levels & satisfying progression

Mother Machine will release on PC, with plans to come to console too. We’re crossing fingers and hoping that covers both Xbox and PlayStation angles. 

For now, get a look at the game in the unveil trailer below and let us know your thoughts. We’re getting some Overlord vibes from this one…