Order Automatica launches its grid-based demon chess today

Developer new beings and publisher better. publishing have released Order Automatica across PC, consoles, and mobile devices today. The dark tactical roguelite is available now on GOG and other storefronts, bringing its grid-based auto-battling to a full launch following its initial reveal at The MIX Fall Game Showcase in August 2025.

The auto-battler genre usually relies on massive boards and dozens of units. Order Automatica strips that down to a claustrophobic 3x3 square. You have nine slots to work with. Positioning is everything when space is this limited. A ranged unit hidden behind a tank might survive the first wave, but tile manipulation mechanics can easily ruin a static defense.

Combat plays out entirely on this ritual grid. You place units and manipulate tiles before the encounter begins, and then the automated battle resolves your choices without any further input. The developer describes it as chess with demons. It's a system where one clever setup triggers a board-clearing chain reaction, and a single mistake ends the entire run. You can't panic and pop a healing potion once the swords start swinging. The trailer shows units attacking across two opposing grids, with a combat log tracking every point of damage.

Curses and indulgences

Between fights, players select from a pool of Indulgences and Curses to build out their synergies. The game uses a tarot-style interface for these relics, forcing you to weigh risk against reward. You'll need to adapt to whatever the random number generator hands you. The documentation is somewhere between incomplete and optimistic, which feels appropriate for a game about occult rituals. You just have to place the pieces and hope the math works out in your favor.

A compendium tracks your unlocked units, items, and cell effects. The sheer volume of unlockables shown in the release trailer suggests a long tail of meta-progression. You aren't just trying to beat the current board. You're filling out a massive roster of demonic pieces to use in future runs. Every failed attempt at least contributes to the overall collection, making the inevitable early losses sting a little less.

Offline rituals

The PC release on GOG is completely DRM-free. It won't require the GOG Galaxy client to run, offering a fully offline installer for Windows users. That offline capability fits well with a game that feels like a solitary tabletop exercise. The pixel art relies heavily on deep reds and blacks, leaning into the occult theme without cluttering the screen. When you are tracking multiple passive abilities across a tiny board, visual clarity matters more than flashy animations.

While the new trailer focuses on the GOG storefront, the game is also hitting consoles and mobile platforms today. A game built around a tiny grid and automated resolution makes perfect sense for a phone screen. You can set up your demonic ritual on the train and watch the carnage unfold. I want to see whether the late-game synergies hold up once the grid gets crowded with high-level units, but the core loop looks solid.