Virus: The Outbreak

Genre: Simulation

Players: 1

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Review:

Virus: The Outbreak is a Simulation-style game released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2020 and ported to mobile devices in 2022. This game has players controlling the Global Health Organization’s response to a developing international pandemic, trying to halt its spread, prevent unnecessary deaths, and research and distribute a vaccine.

Before going on, I should note that I know that many will find this game to be distasteful, being released at the height of a real-world epidemic that has resulted in the deaths of millions to exploit a global catastrophe to spur on sales. Others may see this as timely, getting people thinking about health and safety at a time when those things are of utmost importance. For my part, I don’t intend to let either of those viewpoints influence my review of this game. I’m only concerned with whether or not this is a good game. I will leave it to you to decide whether you feel it is tasteless and exploitative or sensible and beneficial.

The presentation in this game is mostly very good, featuring narrated video clips that combine computer-generated imagery with live-action footage. The gameplay itself takes place on a computerized rendering of our world map, with nice little animations throughout to reinforce this game’s simulated atmosphere. The gameplay isn’t backed by music, but this doesn’t detract too much from the experience, keeping everything serious in tone.

Really, the main issue I have with this presentation is that it suffers from some nasty performance issues, despite that there’s not anything I see being especially strenuous going on with this presentation. Zooming in and out of the map can cause noticeable slowdown, and going into and out of menus can cause the game to freeze up for a brief moment. This is a pretty severe flaw in a game that’s all about selecting things in menus.

Unfortunately, the gameplay here doesn’t help either. Virus: The Outbreak is a complicated game, with a multitude of different mechanics and resources for players to keep track of, and while the game does try to prime players in how to play it through a lengthy tutorial, I was still left feeling clueless how to do some very basic things. If you’re low on supplies, how do you increase them? Why do initiatives I try to enact say they have a 60%-75% success rate if they’re only going to tell me they failed due to the lack of met requirements? How do I even determine what my best course of action is at any given time? Also, for lack of a better place to mention it, I’ll also add that this game lacks any sort of touchscreen support, even though it seems like it would benefit from having that option.

Due to Virus: The Outbreak’s seemingly impenetrable complexity and frustrating performance issues, I found this game very hard to get into, and while I’m sure that some out there will revel in such a detailed and varied selection of options, I suspect that most players will find this to be far too intimidating an experience to want to try to learn its ins and outs, especially when other games like Plague Inc: Evolved and Pandemic offer a similar gameplay experience but are far more digestible. As a result, it’s hard for me to recommend this game, even to those who don’t find the concept of a pandemic Simulation game to be distasteful in the wake of a real-world pandemic.

tl;dr – Virus: The Outbreak is a Simulation-style game where players take the role of the Global Health Organization in the midst of an international pandemic, directing response and recovery efforts and trying to head off a global catastrophe. Unfortunately, this game is overly-complicated and suffers from some frustrating performance issues that make even navigating the game’s menus (you know, the main thing you do in this game) a tedious chore. Some may find this game’s wealth of options enticing, but most players interested in this sort of game have multiple options they’re likely to find more accessible and enjoyable.

Grade: C-

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