''Contagion'' is a

survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

video game, developed and published for PC by American independent studio Monochrome. It is the

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...

to '' Zombie Panic! Source''. The game was mostly self-funded of its development, but with the support of others via a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign, it was able to be released on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

as an

Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

title. ''Contagion'' released on October 25, 2013 as a Steam Early Access title and was published as full release on April 11, 2014.

Gameplay

''Contagion'' is a multiplayer focused game with three different game modes; Hunted, Escape, and Extraction. There is also a beta game mode called Flatline. Hunted, which supports up to 16 players, is a free-for-all "deathmatch" game mode in which players fight each other, while A.I.-controlled zombies wander the level and serve as an environmental hazard. When a player is killed, they respawn as a zombie and can participate alongside the A.I.-controlled zombies in attacking the surviving players. The goal of the game is to be the last living player. Escape is a cooperative game mode in which a team of up to 8 players is tasked with progressing through a level, fighting through zombies while completing various mission objectives in a linear order with the ultimate goal of escaping the map. Extraction is another cooperative game mode in which the goal is to explore a location and rescue a number of A.I.-controlled non-player character survivors. When reaching an area with survivors to save, the players will have to fend off a horde with the resources found in that area; and after a few minutes, you can extract those survivors at the border of the location, where the survivors will drop the weapons and ammo they're carrying on themselves. If all the survivors of the current area die, the players will fail. In both game modes, when a player is killed they respawn as a zombie and are tasked with helping the A.I.-controlled zombies hunt down the remaining human players; you can also turn into a zombie if a zombie attack infects the player (Though this and player zombie respawn can be turned off) . Player-controlled zombies are faster and more maneuverable than A.I.-controlled zombie enemies and therefore present a greater threat to human players. Both Escape and Extraction can be played off-line by a single player, although they are geared towards multi-player gameplay. Flatline is a multiplayer-geared wave based survival mode. The player starts in a singular location, where new parts of the map open every few waves. At the end of a wave, players who died the previous round are resurrected and all players have the option to visit a shop/safehouse and get better weapons/equipment. Panic Objective and Panic Classic emulate the previous game of the "franchise", '' Zombie Panic Source''. ''Contagion'' is distinguished from other similar games in the genre in that it features " Romero Zombies" (zombies akin to those seen in the ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...

'' series of films by director George A. Romero). Resources such as weapons and ammunition are scarce, encouraging more precise and methodical gameplay. Unlike other games in the genre, ''Contagion'' does not feature zombies with special abilities, with the exception of a rare riot cop zombie wearing

body armor Body armour, personal armour (also spelled ''armor''), armoured suit (''armored'') or coat of armour, among others, is armour for human body, a person's body: protective clothing or close-fitting hands-free shields designed to absorb or deflect ...

that can survive significantly more damage than a regular zombie.

Reception

References

External links

* * {{Kickstarter, monochromellc/contagion 2013 video games 2014 video games First-person shooters First-person shooter multiplayer online games 2010s horror video games Multiplayer online games Multiplayer video games Source (game engine) mods Indie games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games Video games about zombies Video games with Steam Workshop support

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links