Info about Rise of the Merchants:

Official game description:
Rise of the Merchants is a medieval simulation game - combining city-building, economics, politics, and trade, set in a persistent online world. Start with a small settlement in your county, develop it into an influential city, and establish a trade network that extends far beyond its borders. Produce sought-after goods, dispatch trade caravans, build production facilities, and trade with NPCs and other players.
Yet there is no single path to success: overcome challenges through economic acumen, political influence, clever planning, or cunning strategy and live with the consequences of your decisions.
**Develop your settlement into a mighty trading city:**
Construct over 50 different buildings and production facilities for your growing population. Upgrade your structures into impressive urban landmarks and expand your economic influence across the entire game world. Choose from various building materials, colors, and upgrade levels to give your settlement a unique character. The user interface ensures a quick start with few clicks and a clear overview. New systems are introduced gradually, allowing "Rise of the Merchants" to start off accessible while unfolding increasing economic, political, and social depth as your city grows.
**Produce, plan, and trade:**
Build complex production chains, process raw materials into high-quality goods, and meet the growing needs of your population. Dispatch trade caravans to neighboring settlements and trade with both NPCs and other players. Factor in distances, terrain, and the threat of bandit raids to keep your trade routes safe and profitable. NPC traders ensure reliable markets even when player activity fluctuates, while the dynamic player-driven economy opens up new opportunities for specialization, cooperation, and competition.
**Make your settlers the heart of your strategy:**
Each settler brings unique skills, traits, and needs that influence your city's production, trade, security, and social life. Strategically utilize their talents, foster their development, and get to know their strengths, concerns, and personal stories to unlock their full potential. Unexpected stories can emerge from your decisions: a settler you help today might later provide the decisive advantage thanks to a special skill. However, illness, conflict, or poor choices can just as quickly put valuable workers at risk. Outcomes aren't scripted—they emerge from the interplay between your settlers, your decisions, and the living world around you.
**Choose your path to wealth and influence:**
The game's chapters present specific tasks but do not dictate how you should solve them. Leverage economic strength, political connections, skillful negotiation, or intrigue to achieve your goals. Win the favor of the nobility, assume key roles in the civic and city councils, and use your political influence to unlock new possibilities. Alternatively, resort to sabotage and other cunning tactics in optional PvP to hinder your rivals. Carefully weighed risks and matchmaking systems let you decide just how much you are willing to put on the line.
**Write your story in a world that never stands still:**
Build and develop your city independently, while trade, competition, and the decisions made by you and your fellow players shape the persistent online world. Regularly changing seasons present you with exciting new challenges.

Release date: Oct 29, 2026

Categories: City Builder, Economic Simulation, Trading Simulation, Management Simulation, Medieval Setting, Multiplayer, Persistent World

Feature scans:
- Steam Deck: score 75; verdict: Broken — frequent crashes; summary: The audit found limited but significant feedback: one reviewer reports multiple bugs and several crashes on the first day, which meets the criteria for a broken experience. Two other reviewers request offline mode and separation of single-player and multiplayer, indicating server dependency that can affect Steam Deck portability. No explicit Proton Experimental or launcher-navigation issue was present in the evidence.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 1.5h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence directly reports individual play sessions of about 1 hour, 70 minutes, 2 hours, and sometimes an entire evening. These support a practical sessionLength estimate of roughly 1.5 hours, though it can extend longer. No review states that the game was completed, that a story was finished, or that endgame content was reached, so gameCompletion, storyCompletion, and endgame are left null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Players often describe a heavy or overwhelming onboarding with tutorial and pacing frustrations, but some report that working through the start and learning the systems makes the game rewarding. Others find it addictive immediately, so sentiment is mixed.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: After working through the initial heaviness and learning the game systems
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Heavy, overwhelming start; Interface and pacing frustrations; Tutorial that forces suboptimal play; Poorly explained or unhelpful tutorial; Slow animations; Online or multiplayer requirements that can block solo play
  - Unlock drivers: Working through the initial heaviness; Spending time learning the systems; Helpful tutorial guiding the first steps
  - Conditions: Willingness to work through the heavy start; Time spent learning the game systems; Tutorial clarity and helpfulness; Tutorial correctly recognizing prior builds; Multiplayer being optional rather than mandatory; Server availability and maintenance windows; Early-game quest demands from the Count
- Player Archetypes:
  - Solo-First Offline Player (buy)
    - Motivation: To play the game solo without being blocked or constrained by online and multiplayer systems.
    - Playstyle: Plays solo sessions and avoids or minimizes multiplayer interaction, trading, and PvP.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Anno
  - Chill Management Learner (buy)
    - Motivation: To relax and enjoy a accessible management game with gradual learning and low stress.
    - Playstyle: Plays leisurely, follows tutorials, and learns systems at their own pace without pushing for hardcore competition.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Competitive PvP Ladder Player (buy)
    - Motivation: To compete on the ranked ladder and engage with multiplayer/PvP systems.
    - Playstyle: Builds toward PvP and ranked play, using optional structures strategically while still enjoying the base management loop.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Trading and Logistics Genre Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: To enjoy merchant progression, trading/logistics management, and replayable genre systems.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on building and optimizing trading or logistics operations, with repeated play for content and replayability.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Rich medieval trading simulation (weight 0.76): The game offers a deep trading and logistics experience set in an authentic medieval world. Players enjoy building merchant empires, optimizing trade routes, and engaging in political intrigues.
- Polished and detailed presentation (weight 0.67): Reviewers appreciate the attention to detail, from graphics and soundtrack to authentic names and dialogues. The game is visually appealing and runs smoothly.
- Satisfying progression and depth (weight 0.67): The game offers a rewarding sense of progression, with earned advancement and increasing complexity. Players enjoy the strategic thinking and long-term planning required.
- Engaging multiplayer and community (weight 0.62): The optional multiplayer adds an interesting dimension, with player interactions, trading, and cooperation enhancing the experience. The community is friendly and helpful.
- Positive overall impressions (weight 0.56): Players widely describe the game as very good, recommendable, and full of charm. Even those new to the title find it surprisingly enjoyable.
- Highly addictive gameplay loop (weight 0.5): Many reviewers highlight the game's addictive quality and the strong urge to play just one more round. The experience is described as great, fun, and easy to sink hours into.
- Fresh and engaging mechanics (weight 0.49): The mix of trading, politics, and combat feels fresh and engaging. The production cycle system and economic optimization are well thought out.
- Helpful tutorial (weight 0.39): The tutorial is praised for being well-calibrated, comprehensive, and easy to follow, helping newcomers understand the basics without frustration. It can also be skipped if desired.
- Relaxing yet challenging (weight 0.39): The game can be played at your own pace, making it relaxing, but still offers challenging optimization and strategic decisions. It appeals to both casual and hardcore players.
- Impressive for early access (weight 0.37): Reviewers are surprised by the amount of content, depth, and polish already present in the early access version. The game is seen as mature and well-developed for its stage.
- Active and responsive developers (weight 0.35): The developers are highly active on Discord and respond to feedback and reviews promptly. They are seen as helpful, competent, and dedicated to improving the game.
- Promising future development (weight 0.34): Players are excited to see how the game will grow and evolve, noting the strong foundation and potential. The passion behind the project is encouraging.
- Accessible and easy to learn (weight 0.24): Despite its depth, the game is easy to get into, with a formula that can be understood quickly. It is suitable for both beginners and experienced players.
- Great value for money (weight 0.2): Many reviewers feel the game is well worth the price, offering extensive content and enjoyment. The online play is also considered worthwhile for the cost.

Common complaints:
- Forced Online Single-Player (weight 0.81): The game requires a constant internet connection and lacks any offline or single-player mode, even though multiplayer interactions are minimal. This prevents play during server outages and on platforms like Steam Deck.
- Bugs and Crashes (weight 0.58): The game suffers from frequent bugs, crashes, and performance issues including lag, low FPS, and launch failures. An update even made the game unable to start.
- Poor Tutorial Experience (weight 0.56): The tutorial is inefficient, fails to explain core mechanics, and forces suboptimal decisions. Players feel unsupported and confused about what to do next.
- Cumbersome UI Navigation (weight 0.48): The interface requires excessive busy work and screen switching, especially for convoy management and settlement needs. The UI is not cohesive, hides important information, and is difficult to navigate.
- Steep Learning Curve (weight 0.38): The game is confusing and poorly explained, with a steep learning curve that requires multiple restarts. Many mechanics and efficient strategies are not taught, forcing players to research externally.
- Dull and Slow Gameplay (weight 0.37): The gameplay is considered boring, slow, and repetitive with monotonous tasks. Progression feels grindy and mid-game content is weak.
- Server Reliability Concerns (weight 0.32): Servers are unavailable, developers recommend using a VPN, and high latency is common. Players fear the game will disappear if official servers shut down.
- Convoy System Frustrations (weight 0.3): Convoys randomly add routes without asking and sometimes lose or fail to deliver quest items. Managing convoys requires unnecessary steps and is frustrating.
- Trade System Imbalance (weight 0.3): The trade system is underdeveloped and punishes players: self-sufficiency leads to saturated warehouses and blocked progression, while buying at max quantity causes losses. Prices easily lead to a vicious cycle of losses.
- Low Content and Polish (weight 0.24): Content is sparse after a couple of days, and the game feels unfinished and unpolished. It is not ready for prime time.
- Steep Initial Difficulty (weight 0.2): The game is difficult and not easy to pick up, with high complexity at the start. Players can lose all money and be forced to restart.
- Poor Animation and Transitions (weight 0.19): Animations and transitions are slow and cannot be skipped, including village entry and bandit encounters. This makes repeated actions tedious.
- Storage Space Limitations (weight 0.17): Warehouse storage is too small, especially in counties with few active players, and 340 space is insufficient even at 70 inhabitants. This severely limits trading and progression.
- Quest Design Problems (weight 0.17): Random quests can be impossible to complete, especially early on, and force very hard tasks that tank reputation. The Count gives many item collection quests that cannot be finished in the early game.
- Lack of Reference Information (weight 0.16): The game lacks reference information explaining what each button does, and some processes require explanation with players searching through menus.
- Village Management Difficulty (weight 0.16): Managing both village chief and merchant roles leads to doing both poorly, and village management can easily fall into deficit. The correct strategy is unclear.
- Starting Location Inequality (weight 0.15): Starting town placement creates large inequality: remote dead-end locations are much worse than those near the central city. Refreshing starting locations has a cooldown.
- Real-Time No Pause (weight 0.12): There is no pause function, and all operations run in real time. Players cannot halt gameplay to plan or take breaks.
- No Game Speed Control (weight 0.11): Players cannot change game speed, leading to waiting for caravans to arrive. This slows down gameplay unnecessarily.
- Poor AI Art and Dialogue (weight 0.11): The game features bad AI-generated art and meaningless dialogue, reducing immersion and quality.

Gameplay feedback:
- Online multiplayer and interaction (weight 0.97): Many players highlight the multiplayer component, including global play, trading with friends, chatting, and direct competition. Some note that multiplayer interaction is optional and can be avoided.
- Trading is core gameplay (weight 0.77): Trading goods between locations, seeking favorable deals, and optimizing trade routes form the heart of the experience. Players describe it as a trading simulation where buying and selling drives progression.
- Settlement building and management (weight 0.55): Players develop a starting village into a city, managing resources, citizens' needs, and reputation. Building and economic management are central to survival and growth.
- Turn-based economic strategy (weight 0.35): The game is characterized as a turn-based economic management and strategy game with medieval trading simulation elements. It combines management, strategy, and social mechanics.
- Convoy and route management (weight 0.35): Players organize convoys, assign routes, and manage transport with movement and carrying capacity limits. Route planning and logistics are key activities.
- Reputation and citizen needs (weight 0.34): Players must satisfy citizens' needs, manage reputation, and handle shortages that can cause disease or villagers leaving. Drinking at the tavern and gift-giving also affect reputation.
- Slow-paced progression and repetition (weight 0.28): Reviewers describe the game as slow paced with repetitive task loops and gradual progression. Waiting for caravans and frequent manual trading runs contribute to the pacing.
- Chat and MMO elements (weight 0.28): An in-game chat room and world chat channel allow interaction, and the game includes light MMO elements with other players in different cities.
- Economic cycles and production (weight 0.26): Production cycles, sector specialization, and production development add economic depth. Players manage production buildings and reinvest funds.
- PvP and ranked ladder optional (weight 0.22): PvP requires building a specific structure and can be skipped since building is optional. A ranked ladder is available, and engagement can make the game relaxing or challenging.
- Storage and inventory limits (weight 0.2): Warehouse capacity and inventory slots constrain trading and resource management. Players must manage storage carefully.
- Random events and quests (weight 0.2): Countless random events and quests—including item collection and checkable routes—can help or hinder players. Outcomes depend on player abilities.
- Starting location strategy (weight 0.19): Choosing a starting town involves checking banned resources, neighbor resources, and local ware production. Placement affects strategic position, and refreshing involves a queue or cooldown.
- Interface and menu navigation (weight 0.18): Convoys and markets are managed through separate screens, and some find menu navigation cumbersome. The restart button is located in the in-game menu under Account then New Game.
- Political rank and intrigue (weight 0.18): Players rise in political ranks, spin intrigues, and handle political and combat elements. These add non-linear progression paths.
- Learning curve and depth (weight 0.16): The game has a learning curve but is not overly difficult, offering deep optimization options that can be ignored. It requires thinking and planning rather than mindless clicking.
- Financial management and loans (weight 0.15): Players manage workers, pay wages during payroll, and can take loans when short on funds. Losing all money forces a restart without experience.
- Demo and future content (weight 0.09): A free demo is available, and planned updates include seasonal challenges, new trade routes, and more goods.

Performance notes:
- Severe lag and low FPS (weight 0.32): Players report heavy lag during loading and gameplay, and FPS so low that the game becomes unplayable in some cases. Specific examples include the world map running at 4 FPS and FPS dropping below 10 even in the main menu.
- Poor optimization despite capable hardware (weight 0.27): Performance issues persist even on hardware that exceeds requirements and with current drivers, and lowering all graphics settings fails to improve performance. This indicates a fundamental optimization problem rather than a hardware limitation.
- High latency and disconnections (weight 0.13): Players experience high network latency and frequent disconnections, impacting online play. These connectivity issues are separate from local performance problems.
- Patch resolved initial stutters (weight 0.12): Initial stutters and delays were completely fixed by a patch, and the game now runs smoothly. This shows that some performance issues were successfully addressed.
- Runs well on low-end systems (weight 0.11): The game runs smoothly on an old work laptop with integrated graphics at low-mid settings, and launches fast after initial load. This indicates good scalability for some users.
- UI and route calculation lag (weight 0.07): The interface feels laggy and route calculations are delayed, adding friction to navigation. This is a distinct usability issue from raw FPS drops.
- Slow initial loading (weight 0.06): Initial loading takes a few minutes, which can be frustrating for players eager to start. However, after this initial load, the game launches quickly.

Recommendations:
- Favorable for economy simulation fans (weight 0.41): Multiple reviewers recommend the game to players who enjoy economic, trading, and global strategy simulations. It appeals especially to those who like planning, organizing, and building trade empires.
- Not recommended in current state (weight 0.23): Several reviewers say the game is not recommendable as it currently stands, citing incomplete Early Access issues and performance problems. Some suggest waiting for updates before purchasing.
- Multiplayer presence disappoints solo players (weight 0.17): Reviewers warn that players seeking a pure single-player experience should avoid the game. The forced online mode led at least one reviewer to refund immediately.
- Chill and relaxing trading experience (weight 0.17): Many players describe the game as a solid, relaxing experience ideal for winding down. It offers plenty to learn without being overly difficult.
- Geared toward hardcore strategy players (weight 0.17): The game is recommended for hardcore strategy and management enthusiasts, not casual players. Newcomers are advised to bring patience or look elsewhere.
- Avoid buying for now (weight 0.16): Some reviewers explicitly advise against purchasing until performance and Early Access issues improve. Others flatly say to stay away.
- Mixed feelings on current price (weight 0.15): Opinions on value are split, with some calling it worth the money and others warning against buying at the current price. Prospective buyers should weigh these views carefully.
- Use tutorial and try demo (weight 0.12): Reviewers strongly recommend completing the tutorial before judging the game. Curious players are advised to try the free demo first.
- Appeals to Patrician and Guild fans (weight 0.12): The game is recommended to players who enjoy titles in the vein of Patrician, Fugger, The Guild, and Paradox strategy games. It scratches a similar trading-and-management itch.
- Trading with political and combat depth (weight 0.11): Reviewers recommend the game to players who enjoy trading combined with political and combat elements. It suits those who want more than pure economics.

Other player notes:
- Early Access but polished (weight 0.3): Reviewers note the game is in Early Access yet already feels very refined for that stage. Several players highlight that it is surprisingly polished and content-rich given its unfinished status.
- Compared to classic trading games (weight 0.27): The game is frequently compared to Patrizier, Die Fugger, Gilde, and Port Royale, evoking familiar feelings for fans of classic trading simulations. Some also see it as an evolution of 1990s strategy-builders.
- Unfinished but actively developed (weight 0.25): Some feedback points out the game is unfinished and still in ongoing development. This is often framed alongside the active development team and patches that steadily improve the game.
- Evolution of 1990s strategy-builders (weight 0.21): The game feels like an evolution of the strategy-builder games of the 1990s, appealing to fans of classic German business simulations. This nostalgic connection is a recurring theme.
- Demo and playtest availability (weight 0.18): A free demo and a pre-release playtest were available, giving players early access to try the game. Reviewers note that the full game differs significantly from the demo.
- Large amount of content (weight 0.16): The game already offers a large amount of content, which players find impressive for an Early Access title. It provides surprising depth and replay value.
- Small German indie studio (weight 0.15): Reviewers note the game is developed by a small indie team from Germany, and it appears to be the studio's first game. This context often accompanies praise for the game's ambition.
- Accessible Civilization alternative (weight 0.11): Compared to Civilization as a more approachable alternative, making it suitable for players new to the 4X genre. It also captures the addictive one-more-turn gameplay of classic 4X titles.
- Roadmap promises future content (weight 0.11): The roadmap for the first four months includes seasonal challenges, new trade routes, more goods, building customization, and coats of arms. Players hope 1.0 becomes a great game with seasonal content.
- VPN required for some players (weight 0.11): Developers recommend using a VPN to play, and some players report needing a VPN to access the game. This suggests regional availability or connectivity issues.
- Unique online player integration (weight 0.11): All other players are online players, which one reviewer finds unique for this genre. Online player activity and neighbor city development affect the game world.
- Steam Deck compatibility mixed (weight 0.11): The game is fully compatible with Steam Deck for some, but others report it cannot be played due to the online requirement. This reflects inconsistent experiences with handheld play.
- Refunded due to quality concerns (weight 0.06): One reviewer refunded the game, indicating dissatisfaction with its current state. This points to mixed experiences despite overall positive sentiment.
- Nostalgic late-2000s graphics (weight 0.06): Graphics are reminiscent of late-2000s aesthetics and games like Anno 1404. This appeals to players seeking a classic strategy-builder look.
- Favorable comparison to AAA titles (weight 0.06): Reviewers favorably compare the game to retextured AAA titles that ship with bugs, praising its stability and polish. This highlights the game's quality relative to larger-budget releases.
- Too few games of this kind (weight 0.06): Reviewers lament that too few games of this kind are released, making this title a welcome addition. This scarcity increases appreciation for the game's niche offering.
- Developers' tips criticized (weight 0.06): One reviewer considers the developers' tips to be a joke, suggesting poor in-game guidance. This contrasts with the generally positive view of developer communication.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.17): Players are frustrated by the forced online requirement that prevents offline and Steam Deck play, along with persistent technical issues like heavy lag, low FPS, crashes, and error 400 blocking convoys. The cumbersome interface, steep learning curve, and tedious manual trading and convoy management add to the annoyance.
- Disappointment (weight 0.11): Players find the game is essentially a delivery game not worth the price, with weak mid-game progression and a tutorial that fails to explain mechanics. The forced online connection, lack of single-player mode, and performance issues make it feel unfinished and untrustworthy.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players enjoy the fun trade simulation, multiplayer interaction, and logistics planning for profit. The tutorial makes the game easy to get into, and the slow-paced city builder and merchant-raising aspects are satisfying.
- Excitement (weight 0.06): The game's tactical depth, production cycle system, and fresh principle create a strong drive to optimize and play one more round. Players are captivated from the first minute and look forward to growing their settlement into a city.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.06): Players feel satisfied by seeing coins pour in at the end of a pay period, deep economic optimization, and rewarding progression through reinvestment. The game runs smoothly on integrated graphics, and the helpful tutorial and community support enhance the experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.05): Players appreciate the detailed graphics, soundtrack, and authentic medieval setting, as well as the developers' responsiveness to criticism and improvements. The passion behind the project, player freedom, and nice community are also valued.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.05): Enthusiasm stems from the successful mix of trading, politics, and combat, reminiscent of classic games like Die Fugger and Patrizier. The game offers challenge, variety, and a presentation that turns a short session into an entire evening.
- Hope (weight 0.03): Players hope the developers will fix Early Access problems and respond to reviews, believing the game could become interesting. They want the game to succeed and expect improvements, especially regarding low FPS.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): The graphics reminiscent of late-2000s aesthetics and games like Anno 1404 evoke nostalgia. The charm of trade games and the old Patrizier and Port Royale feeling remind players of classic German business simulations.
- Annoyance (weight 0.03): Players are annoyed by the tiring village entry animation, cumbersome screen switching, and zooming issues. Limited cargo capacity and impossible quests generated by the game, along with bandit attacks despite paid tribute, add to the irritation.
- Confusion (weight 0.03): Some mechanics remain very confusing, and the tutorial does not clarify whether to switch to production or continue trading. The correct strategy is unclear, and the multiplayer component's purpose is not understood.
- Immersion (weight 0.02): The one-more-round loop and trade route optimization make players lose track of time. The rich medieval universe and attention to detail create a deep immersion, making players not want to stop playing.
- Addiction (weight 0.02): The one-more-turn loop makes it hard to quit, and building a merchant empire and developing the village are compelling. The trading and economic strategy gameplay loop is highly addictive.
- Hopefulness (weight 0.02): Players are hopeful due to the active dev team and the game's potential. They have high hopes for the 1.0 release and seasonal content, and early impressions look very promising.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom arises from slow progression, dull gameplay, and repetitive monotonous tasks like waiting for caravans. The game is perceived as slow and boring.
- Relaxation (weight 0.02): Players find the game relaxing because they can go at their own pace without forced micro-management. It supports a casual playstyle and is perfect for chilling.
- Concern (weight 0.01): Concern is caused by starting town placement creating unfair advantages based on map position. Uncertainty about server maintenance and future availability also worries players.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.01): Dissatisfaction stems from being forced to manage both village chief and merchant roles and the tutorial forcing strange decisions. Too little storage space and sparse content also contribute.
- Confidence (weight 0.01): Confidence is inspired by developers being active and helpful on Discord, with patches not breaking anything. The team engaged with specific criticism and fixed several issues.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Players are engaged because they were hooked longer than expected. The game is very similar to Guild and draws the player in.}