Before I started playing Pioner, developer GFA Games explained that, for the sake of this initial multiplayer showcase, it had turned down the game’s difficulty. Now, I’m not saying I’m the most adept videogame player in the world, but, especially when it comes to shooters, it’s not often I embarrass myself. I play Doom on Ultra-Violence. I had a 2.2 kill-death ratio on Battlefield 3. I can just about handle Escape From Tarkov. But Pioner’s factory raid defeated me – and my two teammates! – over and over again. EFT is definitely an inspiration. But visually this is more reminiscent of Stalker 2 and Fallout. Either way, if you want a tough, uncompromising FPS and MMO hybrid, Pioner could be well worth your time.
While Pioner’s post-apocalyptic overworld, named Tartarus, spans more than 50 square kilometers, the FPS game is divided into smaller PvE, PvP, and social hubs. Weapons can be upgraded and modified. The riskier the challenge, the greater the reward. Like Tarkov, when you do jobs for in-game merchants, they become friendlier towards you, and more likely to give you a good deal.
Similarly, you can exchange gear with other players – but if you go to the Shadowlands, Pioner’s dedicated extraction shooter zone, you could lose everything. There’s a campaign, survival game mechanics like hunger and rest, and you can even go fishing. So far, Pioner almost feels like an MMO version of Stalker 2.
And it’s hard. As well as dozens of fodder enemies, you have mini and raid bosses, and of course the threat of other players. Aligning yourself with different factions and using raw materials to craft better guns can help you stay alive, but Pioner will still punish a brash, run-and-gun approach. Your character is bulky and slow. Retrieving items from your inventory takes attention and time. At its best, as well as Tarkov, it also feels a little like Hunt Showdown or Rust.
We’re still waiting on a release date, but you can already find and wishlist Pioner on Steam.
Otherwise, try some of the other best multiplayer games, or maybe the best games like Fallout you can get on PC.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.
