In the world, the coronavirus COVID-19 is raging, and the best way to prevent it is a home regimen and a minimum of contact with others. And so that loneliness is not a burden, we offer you a selection of five excellent games about the epidemic – from historical to fictional, from believable to incredible. It seems that the developers knew everything in advance and prepared us in advance for threats of any level.
Crusaders Kings II: The Reaper’s Due
The Middle Ages are not only knights, Crusades and noisy revels. This is also the lack of sewers, healing by conspiracies and burning at the bonfires of those who tell stories about the so-called microbes. Crusaders Kings II’s global strategy has both.
The Reaper’s Due add-on introduced epidemic mechanics. Now you can die not only on the battlefield, but without leaving the castle – from typhoid, tuberculosis, plague or the hands of your own negligent doctor. Medicine at that time was experimental, so treating a runny nose with chopping off the limbs really helped … in five out of ten cases.
The absurdity of some elements of The Reaper’s Due did not prevent the credibility of others. Pandemics spread in waves and primarily affect the most developed regions. Diseases cause enormous damage to the economy and confuse plans. And he who wants to start a war during the plague risks losing his army even at the time of his gathering.
Dishonored
The world of Dishonored is an alternative to Victorian England. One part is completely absorbed in technological progress, while the other is stuck in the Middle Ages. Surprisingly, rat plague is largely the result of the development of technology. The game Arkane Studios clearly demonstrates how easily and suddenly biological weapons can get out of hand, after which the epidemic begins to take away both its own and others.
Initially, infected rats were used to destroy slums, only they forgot to warn that rich citizens should not be touched. The city was quarantined, during which part of the population spends the last pennies on diluted potions, and the other feasts.
Interestingly, users can directly influence the spread of the disease. Those who choose to flood the streets with blood will face the worst of the epidemic. The merciful players will see that gradually the plague will be defeated.
Vampyr
Vampyr events unfold in London 1918, during the most massive flu pandemic in human history. For a year and a half, “Spaniard” had 550 million people ill, more than 50 million of them died. And as if this was not enough, the developers staged another epidemic, and the main character was not lucky to be in the center of both.
Jonathan Reed – a doctor, a vampire and a gentleman – ran into two viruses at once. On the one hand, it bears responsibility to those who have suffered from the “Spanish woman”. On the other hand, he must study his new immortal essence and understand who, how and why floods the streets of London with monsters.
Is the vampire epidemic related to the human, or is it just a coincidence? Both options are equally interesting and believable. In real life, nothing prevents diseases from developing simultaneously, and where one weakens the immune system, the other can unfold.
In addition, Vampyr offers an unusual look at the canons of the genre. Zombie games have always taught us how to escape from infection, but it turns out there are those who, on duty, are required to meet with the epidemic face to face.
The last of us
For video games, epidemics primarily mean zombies. And no matter how hard you try, in nine cases out of ten you will still get the next walking dead. Even on this list, they are – mourners from Dishonored and rocks from Vampyr. Fortunately, basically their appearance is associated with magic or outright fiction, so there is nothing to fear. But there are exceptions.
The Last of Us setting does not use any voodoo spells or super secret viruses. Take the mutated cordyceps fungus, which is very popular in Chinese folk medicine: usually representatives of this species parasitize on insects and can even control their behavior, but in the game they can infect humans.
The epidemic in the universe of The Last of Us began suddenly and very soon destroyed the familiar world. The US government tried to restrain it with quarantine zones and shelling of the affected territories, but it did not bring any special results. 20 years after the outbreak, there is still no vaccine, and the only way to “cure” is by shooting.
Tom Clancy’s The Division
For Tom Clancy’s The Division, the epidemic is just a backdrop, setting rationale, and plot twist. The main thing in the game is endless skirmishes for knocking out loot, with which it will be possible to arrange even more skirmishes. Oddly enough, this is its plus: it attracts with its simplicity and realism.
The virus spread through banknotes on the day of the largest sales – “Black Friday”. By the time the null patient felt the first symptoms, millions were already infected. On the first day, the hospitals crowded, the next quarantine began, and a little later the production collapsed. Mankind has built such a large, complex and interdependent system that the discrediting of one element led to a general collapse.
The plot of The Division is exaggerated for the sharpness of the story, but still makes you think. This is the speed of spread of diseases through familiar things and actions, and the incredibly close interconnection of humanity in the era of globalization, when an outbreak of a virus in one country can bring down the economy of the whole world. Finally, it is the fact that no zombies are needed to make a pandemic scary and destructive.
Bonus – Plague Inc.
Talk about epidemics in video games and not mention Plague Inc. – it’s like saying “Kojima” and not adding “genius”.
Plague Inc. Is a pandemic simulator. It is necessary to create a disease in it, infect all of humanity with it, and then kill everyone. Such an original concept made the game famous on release, and now they remember about it with every outbreak of a new virus, which is especially important now. It even got to the point where the Chinese authorities banned.
Not all mechanics at Plague Inc. are realistic. For example, everyone understands that diseases do not mutate like in a game. This is more of a gameplay moment than an educational one. At the same time, the pathways of viruses and bacteria that she showed are very visible, and some of them can even be seen in recent news.
The epidemics shown in the games can be very scary. And this is for the best – maybe people will start to be more attentive to the WHO recommendations:
- wash your hands regularly – advice for all times, Jonathan Reed would give it to you a hundred years ago, and any modern doctor would give it;
- keep a distance in public places – strive for a positive ending, like Corvo Attano from Dishonored: avoid people and do not go to mourners;
- if possible, do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands – remember how the virus was transmitted to The Division: from a banknote to hands, from hands to the body;
- follow the rules of respiratory hygiene – be like Joel and cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough;
- in case of fever, coughing and difficulty breathing, seek medical help as soon as possible – and if you are in medieval Europe, then build a hospital and hire a court doctor.
