One of my favorite survival city builders just got a brand new building mode and a huge discount

Medieval city
(Image credit: Overseer Games)

Not every medieval survival city builder will let you export thousands and thousands of cherry-flavored cookies to become a wealthy biscuit tycoon, but that's what I did when I played Patron a couple years ago.

And don't let all the cookies lead you to believe this is some cute and cuddly city builder—it's not. Before I started baking, my only export was piles and piles of dead, frozen peasants. It's no joke, and surviving the harsh conditions in Patron—not to mention keeping everyone alive long enough to create a thriving cookie industry—is a big challenge. It's also a fun one!

So, yeah, I'm recommending Patron to anyone who enjoys city builders, and this is a great time to jump in and start playing. Not only is the game on the brink of celebrating two years since launch, it's just added an entirely new mode. 

If you're finding the sandbox experience of Patron a little too difficult, or you just want to have all the everything unlocked when you start, a new creative mode has been added. All the research trees, building types, and even all the resources are unlocked and infinite at the very start of the game. It's a builder's paradise with no restrictions on how you craft and grow your city.

And to sweeten the pot, Patron is 70% off on Steam until July 28. That's a mere $6 for a great medieval survival city builder. Take my advice: keep your peasants warm and your cookies baking.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

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