Space Pioneer

There’s a lot of potential within Space Pioneer that is unfortunately largely squandered by its repetitive nature.

Space Pioneer lands on the Nintendo Switch after its mobile debut and while its simple, intuitive and accessible gameplay are an asset, the game's feeling of repetitiveness and lack of sense of purpose makes it a rather lacklustre effort. Space Pioneer's local multiplayer turns out to be its most valuable component, welcoming players of all kinds without any time barriers.

At £8.99, it's not asking for much money, but it's certainly asking for too much of a player's time with the excessive and repetitive grinding.

When you think of a twin-stick shooter, you probably picture something exactly like Space Pioneer. It's solid yet typical of the genre.

Space Pioneer is fun in short bursts, but will a lack of originality keep it from escaping the gravity of mediocrity?

There isn’t really a lot to Space Pioneer. You run, you shoot, you upgrade, rinse and repeat. Despite not being either in-depth or complicated, I had a lot of fun with Space Pioneer. With an option to play on your own or with your friends, Space Pioneer is a nice little time waster when you’re looking for something to do for about half an hour to an hour at a time. With over 60 stages in the main game, and an unlockable endless mode, there is enough to keep you entertained for a while, even if it isn’t the style of game you’d sit down for a few hours to play.

While it is not an excellent game, but it meets my expectations, is enjoyed for a few hours and is quite entertaining. Sometimes it can be very repetitive.

Space Pioneer is another very addictive Nintendo Switch title which originated as a Free-to-Play Mobile game. The game has been fully adapted to the hybrid console, removing all the microtransactions, rebalancing the rewards and combat difficulty, adjusting the UI into something much more pleasing, and implementing dual-stick controls with the physical Joycons. Although there isn’t that much variety or diversity with the enemies and planets, the gameplay shakes things up with multiple quests, missions, and trophies, as well as requiring strategic thinking around what weapons, gear, and armour to use. Whether playing on your own or with friends or family locally, if you’re looking for a game you can play in short-bursts then Space Pioneer will certainly keep you entertained.

Space Pioneer offers an addictive arcade experience that feels incomplete. Although the upgrade system is surprisingly deep, the rest of the game suffers from being too shallow to set itself apart from the pack. As far as isometric, twin-stick shooters go, this one is just okay.

If you’re seeking out a little scif-fi arcade action, definitely check out Space Pioneer.