We Love It's Guide to…
Play an evil overlord in a generated fantasy world, manipulating villagers and unleashing spells, monsters, and plagues to cause chaos.
Released 24 Apr 2023
Spread Relationship Rumors
Create Custom Plagues
Breed Purpose-Built Monsters
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!
Developed by Maccima Games LLC · Published by Squeaky Wheel Studio Inc









Ruinarch is a sandbox simulation set in procedurally generated fantasy worlds. You play an evil overlord who watches villages and their inhabitants, then meddles in their lives rather than helping them prosper.
You can manipulate villagers with curses, rumors, and afflictions such as vampirism and lycanthropy, or use direct attacks like monsters and destructive spells. Structures can help gather information, spread plagues, and capture villagers for conversion into cultists.
Choose among three overlord archetypes with different playstyles, and experiment with combinations of powers and elemental effects. Villagers and settlements react to events, allowing schemes and attacks to set off conflicts, hunts, and other chain reactions.
Players who enjoy Ruinarch often praise its villain-focused sandbox, the range of ways to meddle with villagers, and the unpredictable stories that can emerge when communities react. A recurring criticism is that the game feels unfinished or underdeveloped, with some reviewers also describing its systems as repetitive or its subtler schemes as lacking satisfying payoffs. Many reviewers also complain about a perceived lack of continued development.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 28 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Website | Official website |