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"Patron is a single-player, historical open-world survival city builder game with phenomenal graphics, delightful music, and a spectacular atmosphere. The game excels in its intricate social dynamics, where each citizen has unique needs, desires, and issues, creating a complex society to manage. However, Patron can be quite grinding and buggy, requiring patience from players."

Patron screenshot
Patron screenshot
Patron screenshot
Patron screenshot
Patron screenshot
Patron screenshot

74%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,631 reviews
gameplay76 positive mentions
story14 negative mentions

  • Nice and relaxing city builder with charming graphics.
  • Offers a deep tech tree and various production chains, enhancing gameplay complexity.
  • Engaging social dynamics with different citizen classes and their needs.
  • Performance issues and lag, especially with larger populations.
  • UI is cluttered and not user-friendly, making it hard to manage resources and buildings.
  • Lacks a compelling story or campaign, leading to repetitive gameplay.
  • gameplay
    281 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Patron" is often compared to "Banished," featuring a familiar city-building and resource management structure that is both straightforward and accessible for beginners. While the game introduces some unique mechanics, such as a research tree and social dynamics, many players find the overall experience repetitive and lacking in depth, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped or poorly explained. Despite its engaging graphics and potential for strategic play, the gameplay can become monotonous over time, leading to mixed reviews regarding its long-term appeal.

    • “The core gameplay is both challenging and rewarding.”
    • “The game's mechanics are intuitive, but the depth of strategy required ensures that every playthrough feels fresh and challenging.”
    • “The fascinating process of building and developing a city, beautiful graphics, and interesting mechanics make this game exciting.”
    • “The game seemed to work okay at first, but after 20 or so hours of gameplay, it seems like all the workers do is walk in circles, even on a different map.”
    • “The gameplay is as simple and straightforward as possible, which is why it is available to beginners of the genre, which I am.”
    • “Gameplay is a rather uninspiring Banished clone.”
  • graphics
    215 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the beautiful and detailed environments that enhance the overall atmosphere. However, some users criticize the optimization and performance issues, noting that the visuals can be inconsistent and occasionally detract from gameplay. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered appealing, there are calls for improvements in clarity and performance, especially as the game progresses.

    • “The visuals are beautiful, with detailed environments that evolve as your city grows.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous.”
    • “Beautiful graphics, a great soundtrack, and a nice balance of challenge and manageable.”
    • “Charming, but got terrible 3D visuals/graphics.”
    • “Sadly, the game runs poorly even with all of the graphics turned down and capped at 30 fps, running in a 1920x1080 window.”
    • “The graphics are a bit rough looking for a 2021 title, the interface is clunky and resource balancing is out of the window.”
  • music
    96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its soothing and atmospheric qualities that enhance the gameplay experience. While some find it repetitive or annoying, others describe it as beautiful and fitting for the game's aesthetic, contributing to a relaxing environment. Overall, the soundtrack is generally seen as a positive aspect, though it could benefit from more variety.

    • “The music in the background creates a soothing atmosphere while checking all the citizens' needs are properly met.”
    • “The blend of resource management and strategy is addictive, and the atmospheric soundtrack is a delight.”
    • “The music is pleasant and relaxing, the motives are very suitable for the setting of the game and the leisurely, meditative gameplay.”
    • “Oh and I almost forgot: no honest review would be complete without mentioning that this has possibly the worst game soundtrack I have ever had the displeasure of listening to.”
    • “The music is very loud and very annoying.”
    • “Some games with few game noises and mostly just a soundtrack can get grating over time if you recognize the repeats in the track/playlist.”
  • story
    93 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players describing it as linear, shallow, and lacking meaningful engagement. Quests primarily revolve around repetitive resource-gathering tasks with no significant consequences or rewards, leading to a sense of monotony. Additionally, the presentation of the story through poorly executed voice-overs and pop-up notifications detracts from the overall experience, leaving players feeling disconnected from any narrative.

    • “The gorgeous pixel art, captivating story, and immersive gameplay kept me hooked for hours.”
    • “I like the addition of a research tree, and a small storyline.”
    • “The 'story' is non-existent, just a bunch of easily achievable 'give up this many resources' quests which have no positive or negative consequences - for example, the king doesn't get angry if you take too long (there's no time limit), and you don't get a reward if you achieve the quest either.”
    • “Story mode seems like an afterthought... not very engaging (but I didn't get far).”
    • “The game has a system of story events that change the events in your city ever so slightly, as well as adding technology researching, trading, and more!”
  • optimization
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is a significant concern among users, with many reporting severe performance issues, especially as population sizes increase. While some players with high-end systems experience smooth gameplay, the majority find the game laggy and unplayable after extended sessions. Despite developers' efforts to address optimization in updates, many reviewers recommend waiting for further improvements before purchasing.

    • “A variety of buildings, a variety of resources, good optimization.”
    • “If the developers keep the content coming (new maps? new buildings? creative mode?) and get to optimizing the performance, this game is gonna grant you dozens and hundreds of hours of fun, I think.”
    • “I have suffered 0 performance issues so far on the highest settings; this game is very basic graphically and its very small in data size.”
    • “Also, recently performance dropped significantly (less than 25 fps for a visually non-demanding game and a small population of ~200 citizens is unacceptable).”
    • “However, no matter how much I enjoy it, I would rather play Banished or other similar games due to performance issues - it's so laggy that at some point it becomes unplayable.”
    • “The game is not at all optimized, even with a fairly decent configuration in full HD (i7-10870H and RTX 3080), it is barely playable after 3 to 4 hours in game...”
  • grinding
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many tasks requiring excessive micromanagement and time investment. The slow progression, particularly in farming and resource management, detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to a sense of monotony and boredom. Despite some interesting mechanics, the repetitive nature of tasks and the lack of engaging late-game challenges contribute to a feeling of grind that many players find overwhelming.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The music is not tedious and actually relaxing.”
    • “The AI-generated character images and voices are jarring, and the quests become tedious; they’re always asking for something, like an endless checklist that saps the fun out of the game.”
    • “The problem for me is the actual physics and progression of the game are tedious and fraught with ongoing issues like every winter you run out of food, the 'king' constantly wants all of your resources and unless you've got the game speed on x10 then pretty much nothing happens, for hour after hour.”
    • “After you have collected the resources, built the buildings, and pleased the citizens, this is it: no additional challenge, no late-game difficulty, just a tedious, tiring, and boring grind to gain more citizens.”
  • stability
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting minimal bugs and smooth performance, while others highlight significant issues, particularly with the user interface and gameplay mechanics. Many users acknowledge that the game is still in early access, suggesting that while it has potential, it requires further optimization and bug fixes. Overall, players experience a range of stability, from nearly bug-free to frustratingly glitchy, especially as the game scales up in complexity.

    • “The UI is easy to use, and the game runs great.”
    • “Oh, and thus far, it's bug-free.”
    • “✅ Runs great with minimal bugs.”
    • “Unbelievably buggy.”
    • “Game is still buggy and not balanced.”
    • “While some of it is very much the same - it seems to have a lot of glitches - docks don't work well (if at all), despite having the same population I started to run out of food and supplies, etc. it just didn't seem as much fun.”
  • replayability
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag among users. While some appreciate the variety offered by different maps and challenges, many express concerns about the limited modes and lack of procedural generation, leading to a perception of low replay value. A few players find it enjoyable enough for multiple playthroughs, but the consensus leans towards a need for more content and balance to enhance replayability.

    • “Maps in Patron feature premade designs with varying resources and climates, which adds replayability and challenges.”
    • “I played Banished as well, but I enjoy this one more; it has more replayability, and I generally feel more invested in the future of the Patronites.”
    • “It took me 57 hours playing both a dry and temperate map to complete all 85 achievements, but it was definitely worth the time and effort, with lots of replay value.”
    • “But, I don't see any replay value here.”
    • “There is only one mode and no campaign; therefore very low replay value.”
    • “While the game seemed like a good concept and pretty well executed, it still feels like an early access game and sorely lacks features to make it a replayable game. Having finished the game in a few hours, it feels entitled to release a paid DLC for content that should be in the base game; maybe they should focus on making a complete game before DLCs.”
  • atmosphere
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its calming and immersive qualities, enhanced by soothing music, beautiful visuals, and thoughtful sound design. Players appreciate the meditative experience it offers, with elements like weather effects and atmospheric details contributing to a peaceful environment. Overall, the combination of graphics, sound, and ambiance creates an inviting and enjoyable atmosphere that enhances gameplay.

    • “The music in the background creates a soothing atmosphere while checking all the citizens' needs are properly met.”
    • “Very meditative city-builder strategy with a calm atmosphere and beautiful music.”
    • “Music, sounds, visuals, the overall atmosphere is a piece of art, so much care put into it.”
  • monetization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's monetization model currently lacks microtransactions and DLC, avoiding predatory practices; however, players feel it is unfinished and resembles a cash grab, failing to deliver on promised features and gameplay depth.

    • “This game is clearly unfinished and should not be out of early access. If more work is put into this game to allow it to be in a better state, I might change this review, but at the moment, this feels more like a cash grab copying Banished and failing to provide a better version.”
    • “The game's advertisement text suggests there will be emergent gameplay, a story, 'intricate social tensions', perhaps even light RTS elements, and so on, but none of these are present. All the story amounts to is repeated missions of 'gather 500 stone ... make 100 tools ...' with a single 2D drawing of your advisor telling you what to do.”
    • “No microtransactions and DLC shenanigans (yet), no predatory monetization.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is derived from its quirky mechanics, such as the amusingly inefficient AI pathing and the absurdity of being more successful as a landlord and fishmonger than in traditional roles like mining for gold. Players find the juxtaposition of roles and the game's grid-like navigation system to be both funny and entertaining.

    • “It seems funny that you have carriers, but then you also have unassigned workers who seem to function as carriers.”
    • “The pathing is a bit funny too because the AI will calculate the fastest path, but due to the grid-like nature of the game, it often means they take shortcuts at angles that you can't draw your paths (at least easily), so the paths are ignored a lot of times.”
    • “Hilariously, being a terrible landlord and fishmonger is far more lucrative than running a gold mine and mint...”
  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is undermined by a lack of meaningful engagement with its mechanics, as players feel that many features, such as buildings and edicts, are unnecessary and can be ignored without consequence. This diminishes the overall emotional investment in the game's world and systems.

Buy Patron

10h Median play time
16h Average play time
5-21h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 30 analyzed playthroughs

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