Pandemic: The Board Game

About

Pandemic: The Board Game is a digital adaptation of the popular cooperative board game. Players work together as a team of disease-fighting specialists, traveling around the world to treat infections, share knowledge, and discover cures for four deadly diseases. With each passing turn, the clock is ticking and new infections occur, making coordination and strategic planning crucial to prevent the spread of pandemic.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Co-Op Team up with friends to complete levels or missions together
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

58%

Audience ScoreBased on 492 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

stability19 negative mentions

Great adaptation of a superb board game, maintaining the core mechanics and providing a fun experience.
Challenging gameplay that requires strategic thinking, making victories feel rewarding.
Good way to learn the game mechanics for those new to Pandemic, with a solid tutorial.

Lacks online multiplayer, which significantly diminishes the cooperative experience that the board game offers.
User interface is clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and gameplay frustrating at times.
Game is prone to bugs and crashes, impacting the overall enjoyment and reliability of the experience.

music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
73%
14%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the tense and fitting background score that adapts to gameplay situations, while others find it annoying and poorly implemented, leading to a desire to mute it entirely. Recent updates have improved sound options, allowing for better control over music volume, but issues with music progression and overlapping tracks persist. Overall, while the music has its moments, it often detracts from the gaming experience for many players.
- “The main game is given tense music, very tense music.”
- “The change between the knife-edge of the main music and the relaxing victory theme serves as an extra pat on the back.”
- “Great musical background, great sound effects.”
- “Aside from the game getting pulled just before I could get my hands on one of the DLCs, the biggest drawback is the music.”
- “Finally and most glaringly, not only is the music awful, the option for reducing the volume of the music apparently does nothing: the music is considered a sound effect and its volume must be lowered with the game's other sound effects.”
- “Decent port of the board game, but the game music had to be turned off right from the get-go as it gets annoying real fast.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
68%
14%
The gameplay of the digital adaptation is generally well-received, with mechanics faithfully translated from the board game, making it accessible for both veterans and newcomers. However, some players find the event card mechanic intrusive and note that the game can sometimes feel luck-based, particularly when dealing with epidemics. While the interface and occasional bugs detract from the experience, the overall gameplay remains engaging and offers a solid introduction to the board game, especially with the potential for added challenges through DLCs.
- “The game's mechanics are perfectly translated to the digital format, making it easy to play and understand for both fans of the board game and newcomers.”
- “Where Pandemic shines is that it's a well-made and faithful execution of the board game mechanics.”
- “The 4 action per turn system allows for quick gameplay, but due to the depth of choice, it does provide depth of choice.”
- “The event card mechanic is very intrusive, asking to confirm/deny its use every time.”
- “There isn't much strategy behind the gameplay, just reactions to luck, sometimes highlighting the bad design when the epidemic targets a city that you have fully cleared, but the epidemic puts 3 on it and then the infect cities stage immediately after that draws the card again and triggers a pandemic even though you may have been playing flawlessly.”
- “The gameplay in itself is not that well polished either.”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
95%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players find it enjoyable despite these issues, many express frustration over the game's inconsistent performance and lack of reliable multiplayer options. Overall, the game is described as a buggy experience that often becomes unplayable.
- “The game runs great on my machine and is fun to play.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which makes for a smooth gaming experience.”
- “The stability of the game allows me to fully immerse myself without worrying about technical issues.”
- “Game won't load - very buggy.”
- “To be clear, both solo and 'multiplayer' in this game are buggy in game-breaking ways.”
- “Let's say it straight - the game is very buggy.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the clean and visually appealing design, smooth performance, and effective communication of game elements. However, some users report issues such as crashes, poor quality visuals, and clunky mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the aesthetic quality is often highlighted, technical problems and inconsistencies in gameplay can undermine the graphical experience.
- “The game's graphics are well-done and provide a clean and clear representation of the board game's components.”
- “The graphical presentation is top notch.”
- “With Steam Remote Play, you are now able to have online multiplayer, and the visuals of the game are gorgeous.”
- “Takes about 6 tries before I can actually play the game, because it crashes when I press play. The graphics are terrible, the mechanics are nothing like the actual board game, and after about 30 games, I've only beaten it once.”
- “Graphics are poor and it feels clunky.”
- “The movement gets weird, the sound effects go on extremely low volume, the camera unsolicitedly zooms in, and it doesn't skip animations after clicking to skip. However, it's only on the aesthetic level.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
Overall, the game's optimization has seen improvements following recent bug fixes, resulting in smooth performance and appealing graphics, particularly on higher difficulty settings. However, some users still report experiencing low performance issues.
- “If you are into optimization-type strategy games, you might enjoy it on higher difficulties.”
- “Graphics are lovely and it runs smoothly.”
- “Very good game performance after removing most of the bugs recently.”
- “Performance is very low.”
- “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
- “There are frequent stutters and long loading times that disrupt the overall experience.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Players highlight the game's significant improvements and challenging nature, contributing to its high replayability. The enjoyment derived from different methods of play further enhances its value, making it a highly recommended experience for repeated sessions.
- “Highly challenging, maximum replayability value, totally recommended.”
- “Both methods are fun and the game has good replay value.”
- “Took me a while to figure out how to win, but once I did, I found it enjoyable and replayable.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn criticism for tying certain achievements to DLCs, with frequent in-game advertisements for these expansions. Players feel frustrated that essential game components, such as event cards, are locked behind additional purchases, which detracts from the overall experience of owning the base game.
- “Some achievements are tied to the DLCs, complete with repeated ads for said DLCs in the game.”
- “At least let those who own the base game still be able to purchase the expansions, especially since the game itself is still advertising the expansions, which is extra annoying.”
- “I understand having in-app purchases for expansions, but not having basic game components like event cards doesn't seem in line with what I've come to expect from Steam games.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The story revolves around a collaborative quest where players take on the roles of diverse characters, each with unique abilities, to combat a virus threatening the map. The narrative emphasizes teamwork and strategy as players work together against the game's challenges.
- “You have a wide variety of characters with abilities that are useful in your mission.”
- “This board game is a collaborative quest against the computer to eradicate viruses across the map.”
- “Beating it is another story.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game enjoyable and faithful to the board game, but note that achieving 100% completion requires significant grinding, particularly due to the achievement for 100 wins, which can feel tedious.
- “The achievement for 100 wins is why I think this is a grindy game to get to 100%.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the irony of players complaining about the lack of multiplayer features, while overlooking the fact that it can be played multiplayer through Steam Link or third-party clients. This adds a layer of comedic commentary on player expectations versus reality.
- “It's really funny to see all these people complaining about how the game is not multiplayer, but they forget to mention that you can play this multiplayer with Steam Link or a third-party client.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers note that the sound effects and animations effectively enhance the game's atmosphere, creating an immersive experience that complements the overall design.
- “The sound effects and animations perfectly complement the atmosphere.”
- “The immersive environment draws you in and makes you feel part of the world.”
- “The haunting soundtrack enhances the overall mood, creating a truly captivating atmosphere.”