Updated on May 20th, 2026
In May of 2025, I began a subscription to the magazine Patch. After receiving several issues of the magazine now, I want to share my thoughts on the magazine along with my experience with their customer service.
What is Patch?
Patch is a monthly magazine all about indie games. Patch is based in the UK, and they ship worldwide. If you subscribe before the 25th of the month, you will receive the next month’s issue. As soon as Patch announced that they are now offering 3 levels of subscriptions, I immediately jumped at the opportunity and subscribed to the level 3 subscription.
What Is Included with the Subscription Levels?
Level 1: The level 1 subscription includes either the print or digital subscription of Patch. Each month costs £3.99 / $6 plus shipping if you choose the print version.
Level 2: The level 2 subscription includes both the print and digital subscription of Patch and a monthly newsletter with bonus content. The cost of level 2 is £6.99 / $10 a month plus shipping.
Level 3: The level 3 subscription includes both the print and digital subscription of Patch, the monthly newsletter with bonus content, a bonus gift with each issue, and access to a level 3 Discord space. The monthly cost is £9.99 / $14 plus shipping.
My Experience with Customer Service
When Patch announced their new subscription levels, I opted for level 3. The first magazine I would receive was for June 2025. I received an email that the magazine was shipped on June 3rd, but after more than 14 working days, I have not received it in the mail. On June 23rd, I reached out to customer service by email, explaining my issue. Patch customer service responded that same day and resent the magazine, which I received! Since then, I have not had any other issues with delivery, and the later issues came in a timely manner. From my experience, Patch customer service is fantastic. They respond quickly to emails, and they do what they can to fix the issue.
My Thoughts on Patch
My overall thoughts on Patch are that the physical magazines are high quality. I also like that each month has a specific theme. For June 2025, the magazine focused on nostalgia, with the game featured on the cover being Projected Dreams. The magazine included articles on Projected Dreams, games to heal your inner child, desktop pet games, and more. There is also a recipe to make pop pastries based on the game Gimmick 2. The bonus gift for level 3 is an art print made by Natasha, Patch’s creative director. The print is of Patch’s mascot, Dot, in a retro handheld console. The print is beautiful, and the colors make it seem like it glows.
For July 2025, the issue was all about Wholesome Games and the games featured in the Wholesome Direct for 2025. The magazine included a checklist for all the games in the Wholesome Direct, and the articles covered many of these games. There is also a doughnut recipe based on the game Shiba Sweet. The level 3 bonus gift for July is a sticker sheet of furniture and decor to place in the article on the game MakeRoom. In MakeRoom, you decorate your own rooms, and the bonus gift fits well with the theme of the game.
The August 2025 issue of Patch is about books and gaming. The game on the cover is Tiny Bookshop, and the articles covered Tiny Bookshop, Instants, Storyteller, visual novels, and more. There are also articles on books to read based on different games, a choose-your-own-adventure where you have to pick different paths to try and escape the library, and a fill-in-the-blank adventure based on the game The Plucky Squire. The level 3 bonus gift is a bookmark of Tiny Bookshop, which fits perfectly with the theme.
I also want to touch on the monthly newsletter that you receive with the level 2 and 3 subscriptions. Each month, you will receive an email newsletter that covers games the Patch team is playing and looking forward to, behind the scenes of the month’s issue, and more. The newsletter is a nice addition to the print and digital magazine.
All in all, I enjoy reading through the issues of Patch and discovering new games I want to play. The bonus gifts with the level 3 subscription have been great, and it is nice having access to the digital issues of the magazine as well.
I loved reading your review of this magazine, it looks great!
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you! It is a fun magazine! The articles are interesting, and I discover new games all the time.
I have not heard of Patch. I wonder if it is available in Malaysia. I should ask my friend. He is a gamer.
They do ship worldwide, and I just checked, and Malaysia is on the list of countries they ship to! Your friend might be interested in the magazine since he is a gamer!
This was really interesting to read, at a time when it feels like physical magazines are falling out of favour it’s nice to see a new one on the market!
Yes it is nice that there are still physical magazines out there, and I quite like Patch!