The concept of JCB Pioneer: Mars, in isolation, is potentially interesting. The Switch version, however, presents so many obstacles to gameplay that I feel comfortable calling it unplayable. The release of games like this and ARK: Survival Evolved draw into question the existence of Nintendo’s quality control. Products like this are an embarrassment to Nintendo’s digital offerings.
JCB Pioneer: Mars
Atomicom · Sep 1, 2017
About
JCB Pioneer: Mars drops you onto the surface of The Red Planet. Your mission: To survive and prepare Mars for future human colonization.
Trailers & screenshots
Scores by platform
Critic reviews
- JCB Pioneer: Mars is slow-paced and won’t be for everyone. There’s a lack of real excitement – this is more about the long game as you build up a base – very, very slowly.
- 3.0In spite of a fairly interesting and unique set piece, JCB Pioneer: Mars never quite manages to take advantage of its Martian background. Detrimentally slow pacing, performance issues, and a shallow gameplay loop, all work to break down what should be a memorable survival title into just another piece of shovelware coasting by on a solid premise.
- 5.0Its vast explorable planet felt lifeless and empty, there was an abundance of bugs and glitches, and its core gameplay loop soon felt tedious and grindy. Building our future on the red planet did feel satisfying and we are sure that enthusiasts will get a real kick out of all the licensed vehicles on show, but there's just too many drawbacks here to make things worthwhile at the time of writing.
Related games
Rate this game
Ratings open after this game is released.