Pandora: First Contact

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Pandora: First Contact is a single player and multiplayer strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Proxy Studios and was released on May 30, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Pandora: First Contact is a sci-fi strategy game where you lead a human colonization team on an alien planet. Manage resources, research technologies, and build infrastructure to ensure your colony's survival while dealing with the planet's dangerous and mysterious lifeforms. Can you turn this hostile world into a thriving human settlement?

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63%

Audience ScoreBased on 506 reviews

graphics32 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

The game offers a unique randomized tech tree that keeps each playthrough fresh and interesting.
Unit customization allows players to tailor their armies to specific strategies, enhancing gameplay depth.
The game features a challenging AI that provides a competitive experience, making it engaging for players.

The AI can be erratic, often declaring war for no apparent reason, which can lead to frustrating gameplay.
Diplomacy is simplistic and lacks depth, making it difficult to form meaningful alliances.
The game can feel unbalanced, with certain factions or strategies dominating others, leading to repetitive gameplay.

graphics
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the visuals as polished and aesthetically pleasing, while others criticize them as outdated or bland compared to contemporary titles. Many users note that while the graphics are an improvement over older games like Alpha Centauri, they still fall short of modern standards, with some mentioning technical issues and a lack of detail. Overall, the graphics are considered decent but not groundbreaking, serving primarily to enhance the game's atmosphere rather than define it.
- “The graphics are nice and crisp, the gameplay does not lack much either.”
- “Graphically, it's on par with competitors like Civ: BE or Endless Legend - while I don't necessarily play 4X for the graphics, these are well-done and I particularly like the look of many alien units (a leviathan underwater looks impressive, and rightly so!).”
- “Make a long story short - Pandora is a great game with an awesome soundtrack, remarkable graphics, and challenging AI opponents.”
- “I've seen better graphics on games twice as old.”
- “The graphics and visuals are bland, and the music is awful.”
- “The graphics are just worse, much worse; some tiles I can't even see what they're supposed to be.”
gameplay
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
6%
Gameplay in the game is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of strategic mechanics reminiscent of classic 4X titles like Alpha Centauri and Civilization, but often criticized for its simplicity and lack of depth. While some players appreciate the innovative combat and economic systems, others find the AI broken and the overall experience stale or poorly executed. Despite decent graphics and a solid tutorial, many reviews suggest that the gameplay lacks polish and variety, leading to a less engaging experience than expected.
- “In terms of gameplay, there are several ways to accomplish tasks strategically, and you can play in a few different ways.”
- “The game is a fighting-centric 4x game right out of the gate, and unlike Civ or Beyond Earth, the aliens will give you a serious beat down for a good portion of the game - you can even take control of them and continue relying on them as attack units up through the late game.”
- “Good 4x gameplay with some nice innovations, excellent UI, but the late game is absolutely worthless.”
- “The gameplay was stale 10 years ago and is mind-numbing now.”
- “Gameplay is poorly thought out and despite having better graphics than the decades older Alpha Centauri, it's overall worse.”
- “The narrow scope and linear progression limit gameplay options and make unit customization a chore rather than the fun and interesting experience it should be.”
story
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
67%
8%
The game's story is often compared unfavorably to "Alpha Centauri," lacking its depth and complexity, though it features rich lore and interesting backstories for factions. While some players appreciate the unique narrative elements and character backstories, others criticize the execution, noting inconsistencies and a lack of meaningful consequences in gameplay. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, with potential that feels underutilized and overshadowed by gameplay mechanics.
- “The story/lore/background information for each faction is rich and interesting.”
- “Like AC, Pandora includes unit customization, terraforming, randomized tech trees, and factions with distinct leaders and philosophies alongside a rich backstory and a detailed compendium.”
- “The basic story is that you are a leader of a corporation/faction/band of hippies, and because Earth has been screwed over, you are to colonize a new planet and eliminate the competition.”
- “Compared directly to Alpha Centauri, it misses the deep story progress, but it is a better graphic version.”
- “The game is a truncated version of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and by truncated I mean with the general premise but without the depth of story, technology tree (this game has more of a technology grass), or variation in customizable vehicles.”
- “The story is ham-fisted, rooted deeply in the politics of the ecological left, taking itself deadly serious without a hint of irony or humor.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
28%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric and engaging qualities, likening it to the soundtrack of Alpha Centauri. While some players find the music to be great and fitting for the game's mood, others feel it becomes repetitive and lacks variety. Overall, the soundtrack is generally appreciated, though there are calls for a larger selection of tracks to enhance the experience further.
- “The music, sound effects, art style, the factions, the alien life, all flow together fairly well.”
- “Make a long story short - Pandora is a great game with an awesome soundtrack, remarkable graphics, and challenging AI opponents.”
- “The flow and strategic depth are definitely there, and the musical score is splendidly executed throughout.”
- “The music is oppressive.”
- “The graphics and visuals are bland, and the music is awful.”
- “Ost could be larger, music is fine but there aren't many tracks.”
replayability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
58%
18%
Overall, the game's replayability is generally viewed as low, with many players citing a lack of depth, customization, and engaging content after the initial playthrough. While some users note that recent updates and potential future DLC could enhance replay value, the consensus leans towards disappointment in the game's ability to sustain long-term interest. A few players find it moderately replayable, particularly due to unique tech trees, but many express that it falls short compared to similar titles.
- “It's decently replayable; it just had a major patch to address some balance changes that will make the AI better, and the developers seem to still be engaged in the game, so I'm crossing my fingers for a second major DLC similar to Nashira to be released sometime.”
- “This allows replayability as no two games will have the same tech trees.”
- “Very good, lots of replayability but can be a bit of a grind sometimes: like all civ games.”
- “However, while interesting, this game appears to lack depth and replay value.”
- “What kills it for me and why I had to downvote the game is the lack of replayability.”
- “Unfortunately, without more changes to increase replayability, I can't really recommend the game.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its polished graphics, well-designed menus, and evocative music, reminiscent of classic titles like Alpha Centauri. While it successfully captures a similar ambiance, some reviews note that gameplay issues detract from the overall experience. Despite mixed opinions on the plot and alien design, atmospheric cutscenes contribute positively to the game's immersive quality.
- “Speaking of the setting, this is pretty clearly a homage to SM:AC, and it does a fair job of evoking the atmosphere of that game without slavishly copying every element of it.”
- “The atmosphere and graphics are impressive, complemented by atmospheric cutscenes.”
- “Decent graphics and atmosphere but gameplay lets it down.”
- “No atmosphere, no design, terrible science random system, aliens... well, they are just raging.”
- “Very polished - nice graphics, menus, music, with the same Alpha Centauri atmosphere.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the cumbersome diplomacy menu and the repetitive nature of combat. While the resource pooling system is praised for its efficiency, the overall experience can become frustrating, especially when dealing with the overwhelming alien threats and limited micro-management options.
- “Every turn you have to deal with several items of diplomacy, and the menu for it sucks, making it tedious and awful.”
- “It has a bit of a learning curve, the onslaught of aliens can be tedious if you don't play as Imperium or Solar.”
- “Annoying and tedious, which are not adjectives I like to apply to my leisure activities.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The optimization of the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate its smooth performance and low system requirements, others criticize it for being poorly optimized and experiencing multiplayer issues. Overall, it appears that the game runs well on various systems, but lacks content and memorable features compared to its competitors.
- “It is really well done without many issues, runs smoothly and it is actually fun and has good depth to it.”
- “The gameplay is solid, the game itself runs smoothly on my not-optimal laptop, and the download is ridiculously thin compared to other games.”
- “It also runs extremely smooth and shows that some developers still care for optimization, which I value most in games.”
- “Sadly, it lacks a lot of content, is poorly optimized, multiplayer doesn't work anymore, and its look definitely hasn't aged well.”
- “As for personality, Pandora doesn't have any wonders or memorable personalities like Civ's Montezuma and Gandhi, just the brutal optimization game of managing your population and keeping up your military.”
- “Performance:”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as inconsistent; while some players appreciate the clever and funny story writing, others find the serious tone and political themes lacking irony or comedic relief. Additionally, the limited scope of the game, such as having only two cities, is noted as unintentionally humorous, but overall, many players feel that gameplay issues overshadow any comedic elements.
- “This is funny because they only have 2 cities, one of which was just founded.”
- “Great art and very intelligent/funny story writing.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that the game is nearly bug-free, indicating a high level of stability and reliability during gameplay.
- “The game is almost bug-free, providing a smooth and enjoyable experience.”
- “I rarely encounter any issues, which makes the gameplay feel very stable.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive, allowing for uninterrupted play.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that the emotional aspect of the game is heightened by the strategic necessity of protecting cities from spies, creating a sense of tension and urgency as they must actively manage military units to safeguard their territory.

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10h Median play time

16h Average play time

8-30h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Pandora: First Contact is a strategy game with science fiction theme.

Pandora: First Contact is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 16 hours playing Pandora: First Contact.

Pandora: First Contact was released on May 30, 2014.

Pandora: First Contact was developed by Proxy Studios.

Pandora: First Contact has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its atmosphere.

Pandora: First Contact is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, Endless Space, Galactic Civilizations III, HUMANKIND, StarDrive 2 and others.

Pandora: First Contact

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