Patron

About Patron

Patron is a single player open world role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by Overseer Games and was released on August 9, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Patron is a survival city builder with a unique social dynamics system. Gather and produce resources, build your fledgling village into a prosperous city and navigate the intricate social tensions before they reach boiling point.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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Reviews

76%Audience ScoreBased on 1,106 reviews

gameplay50 positive mentions

optimization8 negative mentions

Patron features beautiful graphics and seasonal changes, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience.
The game has a deep tech tree and various production chains, providing a satisfying sense of progression.
The developers are responsive and actively update the game based on player feedback, showing commitment to improvement.

The game suffers from performance issues, particularly with frame rates dropping significantly in larger towns.
There is a lack of tutorials and information dashboards, making it difficult for new players to understand mechanics and resource management.
The universal storage system can make logistics too simplistic, reducing the challenge of resource management.

gameplay
194 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26% positive mentions, 65% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions
The gameplay of "Patron" is often compared to "Banished," featuring familiar mechanics but with some added depth through research and social dynamics. While many players appreciate the game's relaxing pace and the straightforward mechanics, others criticize it for being repetitive, lacking depth, and having poorly explained systems, leading to a reliance on trial and error. Overall, the game offers a solid foundation for city-building enthusiasts, but it may feel incomplete or bland without further updates and refinements.
- “The gameplay loop is fun and interesting, but I did not find the social dynamics to be intricate as they advertised.”
- “Patron is a fun medieval city builder that takes the ashes of what Banished was and fully realizes its gameplay and mechanics in a great new engine.”
- “The mechanics are well-tuned, and it feels like managing resources makes sense in the way that when you add a new production building or adjust worker number/upgrade an existing one, it makes a real impact on the functionality and number of goods produced.”
- “There are countless mechanics in the game that are all important to learn, but aside from a very basic tutorial, the game simply doesn't explain anything that well, so prepare for a lot of trial and error.”
- “Unfortunately, the mechanic is quite anemic as trade is unimportant and impractical.”
- “The gameplay is as simple and straightforward as possible, which is why it is available to beginners of the genre, which I am.”
graphics
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54% positive mentions, 41% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions
The graphics of Patron are generally praised for their beauty and aesthetic appeal, featuring detailed environments and a charming art style that enhances the gameplay experience. However, some players have reported performance issues, particularly during seasonal changes, which can lead to stuttering and lag even on high-end systems. Overall, while the visuals are considered good and atmospheric, there are calls for better optimization and more variety in graphical effects.
- “Patron is beautiful in terms of graphics and seasonal changes and never had a crashing issue on my old gaming PC (500+ population).”
- “A good strategy with very beautiful graphics and thoughtful gameplay.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous.”
- “Cranking up the settings on my graphics card doesn't seem to help.”
- “At 140 population, with the graphics settings on low, with many of the graphics settings turned off, the game became unplayable when the first snow began falling.”
- “The graphics are a bit rough looking for a 2021 title, the interface is clunky and resource balancing is out of the window.”
music
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57% positive mentions, 30% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its relaxing and atmospheric qualities that enhance the gameplay experience. While some find it repetitive and occasionally annoying, others praise it for its medieval vibes and ability to create a soothing ambiance. Overall, the soundtrack is generally considered pleasant and fitting for the game's setting, though a desire for more variety is noted by some players.
- “The music is relaxing and pleasant to listen to for hours on end.”
- “Pros: music is great, very relaxing and blends nicely with the game.”
- “The music, graphics, and the complexity of the game are all top notch.”
- “The music is repetitive, and I thank the devs for giving me separate music and sound effects sliders, so I can mute it.”
- “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.”
optimization
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11% positive mentions, 66% neutral mentions, 23% negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly in later stages of gameplay, leading to lag and crashes. While some users with high-end systems experience smooth performance, the overall consensus indicates that the game suffers from poor graphics optimization and lacks necessary quality of life improvements. Many players express hope for future updates to address these optimization concerns, as the game's potential is overshadowed by its current performance limitations.
- “It still takes a lot of work, especially optimization, but I see a lot of potential in this game.”
- “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.”
- “Recommended due to new interesting mechanics in the genre, great ambiance and visuals, runs smoothly.”
- “This game looks like it's 15 years old, and has lots of performance issues on my one-year-old gaming laptop.”
- “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.”
- “Seemed to have plenty of systems in place to be a good game, but until they actually add graphics options and optimization, I can't recommend it.”
grinding
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 96% negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in micromanagement tasks like job allocation, building upgrades, and resource management. Many reviewers express frustration with the manual nature of farming and trading, suggesting that automation features would alleviate some of the monotony. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, the grind can detract from the overall experience, leading to a desire for more engaging dynamics and quality-of-life improvements.
- “The music is not tedious and actually relaxing.”
- “It's tedious micromanagement when Banished handled it better seven years earlier: a worker from the pool should be assigned to fill the job automatically.”
- “I do wish you could set up an automated trade on certain resources; having to manually search for and sell resources gets tedious.”
- “You have to continually adjust job allocation, which gets tedious.”
story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14% positive mentions, 72% neutral mentions, 14% negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and direction, with many players noting the absence of a traditional campaign or engaging narrative. While there are random events and tasks that add some flavor to the gameplay, the overall experience feels aimless and lacks compelling objectives or a cohesive storyline. Players express a desire for more structured missions and a clearer sense of purpose to enhance their engagement with the game.
- “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!”
- “I'm enjoying this game so far, but I hope that at some point the developers will add missions or colony defense or the ability to trade with multiple parties.”
- “I would like to see more events or possibly story objectives that challenge you in the game.”
- “No story.”
- “At the moment it's shockingly easy, has no purpose, no goals, no story.”
- “There is no plot in the game, but there are tasks that will need to be performed and there are random events.”
stability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 94% negative mentions
The stability of the game is a mixed bag, with many users reporting significant bugs and unfinished features, particularly in the UI and gameplay balance. While some players note that the game is playable without major crashes, the overall experience is marred by frequent glitches and a lack of polish, typical for an early access title. Regular updates are being released, suggesting ongoing efforts to address these issues.
- “Oh, and thus far bug-free.”
- “Unbelievably buggy.”
- “The game is buggy, but rarely gamebreakingly so.”
- “Feels like this is still pre-release: balance is ridiculous, UI is buggy.”
replayability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19% positive mentions, 62% neutral mentions, 19% negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low due to the absence of a campaign mode and limited map variety, with many players noting that gameplay tends to unfold similarly across different attempts. While some appreciate the handcrafted maps and the challenge of higher difficulty levels, the lack of procedural generation and additional content leaves many feeling that the game lacks sufficient depth for extended play. Despite some enjoyment during initial playthroughs, the consensus is that the game could benefit from more features to enhance its replay value.
- “Has lots of different areas or maps with difficulties to play which gives you more variety, more replayability and I like the graphics, visuals.”
- “It took me 57 hours playing both a dry and temperate map to complete all 85 achievements but definitely worth the time and effort with lots of replay value.”
- “I see a lot of replayability, and love the handmade maps.”
- “There is only one mode and no campaign; therefore very low replay value.”
- “There's not a ton of replayability there; at most you can try a more difficult map, but it'll still probably unfold the same way.”
- “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
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63% positive mentions, 37% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its calming and inviting qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics, soothing music, and thoughtful sound design. Players appreciate the attention to detail, such as the inclusion of ruins and statues, which contribute to a rich and immersive experience. Overall, the atmosphere is described as a harmonious blend of art and gameplay that enhances enjoyment.
- “Style of graphics, music, and other sounds create a peaceful, soothing atmosphere that is enjoyable.”
- “The whole atmosphere of the game is just inviting.”
- “Music, sounds, visuals, the overall atmosphere is a piece of art; so much care has been put into it.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33% positive mentions, 34% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions
The game currently lacks microtransactions and DLC, avoiding predatory monetization practices, but many users feel it is unfinished and resembles a cash grab rather than a polished product. If improvements are made, opinions on its monetization may change.
- “No microtransactions and DLC shenanigans (yet), no predatory monetization.”
- “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.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from its quirky AI pathfinding, which leads to amusingly illogical shortcuts, and the absurdity of being a poor landlord and fishmonger proving to be more profitable than traditional ventures like gold mining.
- “Hilariously being a terrible landlord and fishmonger is far more lucrative than running a gold mine and mint.”
- “The pathing is a bit funny too because the AI calculates 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 easily draw your paths, so the paths are ignored a lot of the time.”