IndieSimulationStrategy
Banished
Give it 10 hours
Gets good by 10h then rated almost like by veterans
Fully opens up by 35h rated like by long-time players
Started playing 21% of owners
Steam reviews 90% positive of 43,383
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 3 reviews are negative (30%); after 35h it's 1 in 25 (4%).
- Fully opens up by hour 35.
- The game has no story achievements, so drop-off points can't be measured.
- Only 21% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 43,488 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 44.9h for positive, 11h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (20.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
This game has no story achievements, so we can't tell where players quit.
All achievements (36)
story milestone ending side
- Smiles all Around Maintain high happiness for 10 years in a town with at least 100 citizens. 100%
- Healthy Maintain high health for 10 years in a town with at least 100 citizens. 94%
- Builder Build a town that has at least one of every possible structure. 70%
- Settlement Reach a population of 300 citizens. 65%
- Trader Use trading posts to trade 50,000 units of goods in a single town. 61%
- Foodie In a single year, produce at least 2000 food each from hunters, gatherers, fisherman, pastures, fields, and orchards. 52%
- Built from Stone Build a town with 100 stone houses. 43%
- Jack of all Trades Build a town of over 200 people that has someone working in every profession for at least 5 years. 43%
- Farmer Acquire 3 livestock types, 8 crop seed types, and 8 orchard seed types. 38%
- Golden Gate Build a bridge that is at least 50 units long. 36%
- Master Trader Use trading posts to trade 100,000 units of goods in a single town. 35%
- Lumberjack Produce 50,000 logs within a 100 year period. 32%
- Stonework Produce 10,000 stone within a 100 year period. 32%
- Ready for Anything Simultaneously store 2000 fuel, 2000 wood, 500 stone, 500 iron, 200 tools, 200 coats, and 30000 food. 31%
- Immigrants Allow 200 nomads into a single town. 30%
- Highwaymen Build a town with 2000 stone paved road tiles. 29%
- Blacksmith Equip a population of over 200 adults with steel tools for 4 years. 29%
- Village Reach a population of 600 citizens. 28%
- Stylish Cloth a population of over 200 with warm coats for 4 years. 27%
- Food Variety Grow and harvest 8 different plants and 8 different orchard tree types in a single year. 26%
- Educated Have a fully educated population with 200 adults for 4 years. 23%
- Established Build a town that has a population of 300 after 100 years. 22%
- Livestock Build a town that contains 60 cattle, 75 sheep, and 180 chickens. 22%
- Miner Maintain 2 mines with 30 workers each for 3 years. 21%
- Smelter Produce 10,000 iron within a 100 year period. 18%
- Exports Stock the trading post with at least 500 ale, 300 steel tools, and 200 warm coats. 17%
- Town Reach a population of 900 citizens. 16%
- Tombstone Fill graveyards with at least 400 graves. 13%
- Mason Maintain 2 quarries with 30 workers each for 3 years. 13%
- Master Builder Build a town with 3 churches, 5 boarding houses, 4 markets, 5 hospitals, 2 trading posts, 6 taverns, and a town hall. 12%
- Firefighter Build 20 wells in a single town. 12%
- Mountain Men Using a harsh climate and a small mountainous map, maintain a population of 50 people for 20 years. 12%
- Isolationist Reach 300 citizens without building a trading post. 9.6%
- Uneducated Reach a population of 300 citizens without building schools. 9.1%
- One with Nature Reach 400 citizens without building crops fields, orchards, or pastures. 7.7%
- Tenure Build a town that has a population of 500 after 200 years. 6.2%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.