Project Pastorate

Project Pastorate’s world is one full of character, but the execution of its story could have used some fine-tuning. Those looking for something different can certainly find it here, but don’t be surprised if you end up checking the Velvet Book for notes on more than one occasion.

49%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, stability

72% User Score Based on 18 reviews

Critic Score 50%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Project Pastorate is a single player casual simulation game with horror, drama, thriller and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by PsyRob and was released on May 31, 2018. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Project Pastorate is a visual novel set in the land of crime and sin that needs to be cleansed. Such tasks are taken up by the Devoters, the special service whose main purpose is to preserve the safety of the country, and the Pastor — leader of this post-apocalyptic community.

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72%

Audience ScoreBased on 18 reviews

story14 positive mentions

grinding1 negative mentions

Unique and atmospheric hand-drawn art style with memorable backgrounds and fitting music that enhances the dystopian setting.
Engaging and intriguing story with dark themes, strong world-building, well-written dialogue, and interesting characters.
Innovative card-based combat system that some players find fun and adds a layer of strategy, along with optional riddles that add depth.

Combat mechanics are often seen as counter-intuitive, repetitive, and difficult, leading to frustration and reliance on trial and error.
Limited interactivity and choices in the gameplay with little impact on the story; pacing issues with some slow scene transitions.
Technical annoyances including clunky or minimal UI, lack of menus and tutorial, occasional bugs, and lack of polish or optimization.

story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
The story is generally praised for its strong world-building, solid plot, and engaging, mature themes, often described as entertaining and well-paced. However, some find it somewhat underdeveloped or dragging, with limited player influence and a presentation that could be more polished. Overall, it succeeds as a story-driven experience, especially appealed to fans of visual novels and episodic storytelling.
- “The story is absolutely fantastic, I really loved it!”
- “This is one serious, grown-up, well-tailored, heavy-weight story that needs to be heard.”
- “Main story: the story is the main thing of this game and it succeeds in it.”
- “I was even hoping I'd get to the end of this dragging story, but I just lost all patience with it.”
- “The story has a lot of potential and many parallels to the real world, but the presentation could have been a lot better.”
- “The story starts off well enough and shows that there's something much bigger going on in the background, but it doesn't take the time to go deeper, explore the plot twists, or show us more of the world.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The gameplay combines visual novel elements with turn-based card combat, but many players found the mechanics unclear, unintuitive, and lacking adequate tutorials. While the card battle system has potential and some enjoy the combat, its randomness and repetitive encounters reduce overall engagement. Despite gameplay shortcomings, the game offers a unique experience with promising foundations worth further development.
- “Gameplay mechanics: fighting mechanics are pretty good, enemy places an attack card like 'throw knife' or 'throw rocks'.”
- “Gameplay mechanics: fighting mechanics are pretty good, enemy places an attack card like 'throw knife' or 'throw rocks'.”
- “[h1]gameplay: 7/10[/h1]”
- “I am fine with dark themes and villainous characters, but the writing was lazy (being offensive as possible to signpost who the bad guys were) and the gameplay mechanics were never explained and made very little sense, not intuitive at all.”
- “The game is essentially a visual novel with a turn-based card game combat, yet it's both below par; a compelling narrative still needs an exciting style if not gameplay for it to work.”
- “Weak gameplay, which consists of small non-interactive text segments and a repetitive combat system.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The game's graphics feature a unique, hand-drawn art style that effectively blends medieval, Soviet, and modern aesthetics to create a compelling religious dystopia setting. While visually appealing and well-executed, some repetitive enemy portraits and a desire for sharper, more detailed visuals were noted. Overall, the graphics receive positive marks for atmosphere and style, though there is room for greater variety and detail.
- “I like the art style and the 'religious dystopia' setting the devs are aiming for is something I find appealing.”
- “The graphics are unique and I enjoyed all the various scenes.”
- “Then it becomes repetitive with the same artwork portrait of the same enemies as there are only two types of enemies and they use almost similar cards throughout.”
- “I personally would prefer more sharp and detailed graphics but this game succeeds to create pretty good backgrounds.”
- “Graphic details: graphics are like hand drawn and pretty good.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
33%
25%
The music generally fits the mood and enhances battles with stirring, epic tracks, and players appreciate the option to adjust music volume separately from sound effects. However, some find the soundtrack generic and suggest turning it off to better experience the atmosphere. Overall, the music receives positive remarks for its suitability and customization.
- “Thankfully, the background music during the card battle is sufficiently stirring enough to try and play through all card battles until the brawler achievement is unlocked.”
- “Music: epic battle music starts to play during the battles and mysterious relaxed music plays during the conversations.”
- “Really enjoyed being able to change the music (which is great, by the way) to fit the scene.”
- “The soundtrack is very generic in my opinion, and if you really want to feel the atmosphere I would recommend turning the music off.”
- “Music and art are okay too.”
- “Sound and music rating: 7.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive portrayal of crime, corruption, and tension, enhanced by detailed backgrounds and effective sound design. While the soundtrack is considered generic by some, the atmospheric sounds and environmental details strongly contribute to a compelling and memorable experience. Overall, the atmosphere is regarded as a standout aspect of the game.
- “The backgrounds are particularly well done and memorable, full of atmosphere and character.”
- “While playing this game you can feel the feeling of crime and corruption as well as fear and anger.”
- “I personally also liked the sound design, especially the atmospheric sounds for the backgrounds that you hear while playing.”
- “Second is soundtrack, it is very generic in my opinion, and if you really want to feel the atmosphere I would recommend turning the music off.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's replayability is limited, as the story is memorable and linear, offering little opportunity for different outcomes or player influence.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is widely regarded as tedious and boring, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is heavily reliant on vulgarity, which some find excessive but occasionally leads to unintentional laughs, contributing to a distinct and edgy tone.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates strong stability, with users reporting no noticeable bugs or glitches during their experience.

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50%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Project Pastorate
Project Pastorate’s world is one full of character, but the execution of its story could have used some fine-tuning. Those looking for something different can certainly find it here, but don’t be surprised if you end up checking the Velvet Book for notes on more than one occasion.
Gamersheroes.com
50%

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2h Median play time

2h Average play time

2-2h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Project Pastorate is a casual simulation game with horror, drama, thriller and post-apocalyptic themes.

Project Pastorate is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 2 hours playing Project Pastorate.

Project Pastorate was released on May 31, 2018.

Project Pastorate was developed by PsyRob.

Project Pastorate has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked Project Pastorate for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Project Pastorate is a single player game.

Similar games include Song of Farca, The Detail, Interrogation: You will be deceived, Tokyo Dark, Lacuna and others.

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