Pathogen
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Game Modes

Infect Game Mode is the heart of it. Pandemic Game Mode takes your virus around a living world map. Endless Game Mode asks how long you can last. Plus the Codex, controls, settings and sound.

Level 5Pandemic Game Mode unlock
Level 7Endless Game Mode unlock
8continents
38playable cities
189people to infect to take the whole world
263real cities drawn as dots on the world map
6responses per city
115 / 85 / 55political / medical / social responses

The main mode

Infect Game Mode

Infect a host and fight organ by organ from the nose to the brain. Infect Game Mode is the only one that earns XP and adds generations to your virus's lineage, and how far you get here opens the rest of the game.

The title screen
The title screen

Infect a Host

Main mode

The big green button on the main menu: infect a host and push through its organs, one boss at a time. It is the only Game Mode that earns XP and makes generations.

Details
  • Main menu button tagged “Collect: XP”
  • XP per run: 1 per 3 kills, 8 per room cleared, 150 for a victory
  • 8 organs in order: Nasal Passage, Lungs, Bloodstream, Lymph Node, Gut, Liver, Bone Marrow, Brain
  • Each finished run becomes one generation of your lineage
  • A victory means beating the Brain's boss: the host is fully infected
  • Loaded run modifiers are used up by the run (as in every Game Mode)

Choose your point of entry

Level 3 · Gen 2

Once your lineage has reached deeper organs, a run can start in any organ it has reached instead of the nose.

Details
  • Opens with the “Start in deeper areas” milestone (Level 3 · Gen 2)
  • Shows Areas 1–8: reached ones show their organ and boss, the rest read “Not reached yet”
  • Area 1 (Nasal Passage) is the normal start
  • Backing out costs nothing: modifiers are only used once the run starts

Head Start draft

Deeper starts

Starting past the first organ opens a draft to make up for the organs you skipped: pick 6 traits from a pool of 20.

Details
  • Always 6 picks from 20, however deep you start
  • The same trait can show up twice; picking both stacks it
  • Deeper starts roll rarer traits
  • “Pick for me” fills your picks (rarer traits and synergies first); once full it becomes “Re-roll”
  • Cards flag the SYNERGY a trait would complete with what you hold
  • Pandemic Game Mode runs get the same draft, matched to your deepest organ

INFECTED! Landing on a host

Run start

Every run opens on an “INFECTED” title that slams in over a green pulse while the game picks the host you've infected.

Details
  • Hosts are usually people; about 1 run in 5 lands on an animal instead
  • Infecting an animal adds it to the Codex
  • Once host traits are introduced, a reveal card shows your host and its traits before the run begins
  • In Pandemic Game Mode the hosts are locals with names from that city, and the animals are the city's own wildlife

Welcome to a new organ

First visit

The first time any of your viruses reaches an organ, a welcome card lists everything it unlocked.

Details
  • Which new gear tier can now drop
  • How far gear combining now reaches
  • Which named set that organ's boss drops
  • A new starting point: future runs can begin there with a 6-trait head start

Leaving an organ

Confirm

Before you descend, the game asks you to confirm, because there's no coming back.

Details
  • Counts how many rooms are still unexplored
  • Warns that anything left on the floor is lost
  • Warns when a tumor is still alive: it will metastasize to the next organ at its current stage
  • Choose Stay or Move on

Pause menu

Run · Settings

Pausing opens two tabs: Run, with everything about the run you're in, and Settings.

Details
  • Status strip: organ, kills, extra lives, your host's name and age, and any host condition
  • Traits: every trait taken, with stacks, plus a Synergies tab
  • Resources: nucleotides, materials, RNA, modifiers found and gear found this run
  • Modifiers: what's loaded, each upside and drawback, and any combo
  • New this run: the briefing card of every first encounter
  • Challenges: daily, weekly and milestone progress (collect rewards from the main menu)
  • This room: its tier and every boon and drawback it carries
  • Settings tab: sound, vibration, language and controller, without leaving the run

Abandon run

No penalty

You can quit a run from the pause menu at any time and keep what you collected.

Details
  • “Your virus is cleared. Everything you collected so far is kept.”
  • Abandoning doesn't end a generation: it plays again next run with the same mutation
  • No new mutation is chosen after an abandoned run

Run summary: results

Run end

The first page of every run's summary: how it went and what it earned.

Details
  • HOST INFECTED, or how your virus died
  • Rooms cleared (sets survived in Endless Game Mode)
  • Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine collected
  • New Codex entries discovered
  • Materials and gear found, with the best piece's level and rarity
  • XP gained, your virus's new level and any skill points
  • Your generation's permanent legacy bonus and its kill count

Run summary: gear found

Run end

Every piece of gear the run found, ready to compare, equip or dismantle on the spot.

Details
  • Sorted by rarity and level
  • Tap a piece for its stats, abilities, uniques and set
  • Compared with what you wear in that slot: stronger, weaker or an empty slot
  • Equip straight from the summary
  • Pick pieces (or Pick all) and dismantle them for nucleotides

Your next generation

Lineage

After a finished Infect run you choose the mutation your next generation is born with.

Details
  • Choose 1 of 3 strains: boons, curses or a mix
  • Picking the same strain again stacks it (“INHERITED ×N · AMPLIFIED”) and shows what it was before
  • Some mutations turn the lineage into another virus
  • Pandemic and Endless Game Mode runs skip this page

Total Infection

Victory

Beat the Brain in Infect Game Mode and the ending plays: every organ lights up in turn along a spreading line of infection.

Details
  • The 8 organs light up one by one
  • “TOTAL INFECTION · You have fully infected the host”
  • “The immune system has nothing left to send. The host is yours.”
  • Stats: organs taken (8/8), rooms cleared, cells destroyed
  • Continue leads to the usual run summary

Your special buttons

First runs

On a new save the special buttons arrive one at a time, so there's less to learn at once.

Details
  • Shift (your signature ability) appears after your first finished run
  • The Ultimate appears after your second
  • A notice points out each new button the first time

Between runs

Menus, lineage and challenges

The screens around the runs: the title, a main menu that grows with you, your family tree, and challenges that pay out every day.

Title screen

Title

The game opens inside a capillary: blood cells stream past, immune cells patrol, and your virus hangs backlit with its first progeny circling it.

  • The heart beats lub-dub and the whole stream surges with it
  • The PATHOGEN logo's O is a virion, and the infection spreads out from it across the letters
  • Tagline: “Infect. Mutate. Spread.”
  • Begin Infection starts the game; tap anywhere to skip the intro
2 more
  • Your virus wears its equipped skin
  • A chip shows your virus, generation number and generation name

A menu that grows with you

Unlock schedule

A new player sees only Infect a Host; every other feature appears as it opens, one “coming soon” teaser at a time, with a NEW tag until you visit it.

  • Skills and Codex: finish a run
  • Gear: finish a run (and have gear, or finish two)
  • Petri Lab: Level 2
  • Challenges and Store: Level 3
3 more
  • Pandemic Game Mode: Level 5 (any virus)
  • Endless Game Mode: Level 7 (for the selected virus)
  • Run Modifiers: Level 8

New feature unlocked

Pop-ups

Pandemic Game Mode, Endless Game Mode and Run Modifiers each announce themselves with a NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED card the first time they open.

  • Each card says what the feature does, what's special about it and where to find it
  • Pandemic Game Mode: the only place RNA drops
  • Endless Game Mode: the only place Ribozyme Cores drop, needed to enhance gear past +2
  • Run Modifiers: craft them, then load up to 3 before a run

Resources and the drops guide

Quality of life

Everything you've collected sits in one chip, and tapping any resource anywhere opens a guide to what it is and where it drops.

  • Shows A, T, C and G, RNA (once Pandemic Game Mode opens) and any materials you own
  • Nucleotide piles are about 35% A, 30% T, 22% C and only about 13% G
  • Covers RNA, Polymerase Shards, Chaperones, Ribozyme Cores, gear, Vesicle Chests, Mutation Orbs, CRISPR, elemental power-ups and Dormant Virions
  • Links open the matching Codex entry (not during a run)
  • A “NEW MATERIAL NEEDED” card the first time you need RNA or Ribozyme Cores names the Game Mode that drops them

Family Tree

Lineage

Your lineage as a tree: one lane per virus, generations running left to right, each with its look, number and mutation.

  • Locked viruses show the level they open at: Retrovirus at 4, Halovirus at 8, Filovirus at 12
  • Legend: host taken, turned into another virus, playing next, mutation (thicker = stacked)
  • Tap a generation for its virus, strain and the traits it picked
  • Header counts generations and hosts taken
  • Tap a virus for its story

Inherited

Lineage

Every generation passes a little of itself down. The Inherited panel lists each bonus your lineage has built up and how close it is to its cap.

  • Opened from the Family Tree header
  • Each bonus has a cap, marked (max) once reached
  • Inherited bonuses apply in Infect Game Mode runs

Challenges

Level 3

Four tabs: Rewards, Daily, Weekly and Milestones. Finishing challenges pays nucleotides, materials, gear, XP and skill points.

  • Opens on Rewards when something is waiting, otherwise on Daily
  • Rewards wait until you collect them; Collect all takes them in one go
  • Also viewable from the pause menu (collected from the main menu)
  • A banner pops up wherever you are when a challenge is completed

Daily challenges

3 a day

One Easy, one Normal and one Hard challenge every day, refreshed at local midnight.

  • Drawn from pools of 16 Easy, 16 Normal and 14 Hard
  • Easy examples: Morning Infection (60 kills), Sightseeing, Ambusher
  • Normal examples: Boss of the Day, Clean Hands, Puzzle of the Day
  • Hard examples: Go Deep, Bring Down a Killer, Ghost Day, Escalation
  • A countdown shows when the next dailies arrive

Weekly challenges

3 a week

One Normal, one Hard and one Elite challenge every week, refreshed on Mondays.

  • Drawn from pools of 12 Normal, 12 Hard and 10 Elite
  • Normal examples: Weekly Outbreak (1,000 kills), Workshop Week, Trophy Week
  • Hard examples: Boss Week, Siege Week, Mutation Week
  • Elite examples: Deep Dive, Massacre, Weekly Victory, Myth Hunt

Milestones

11 groups

Long-term goals in chains of steps, filtered by group.

  • Groups: Combat, Enemies, Bosses, Immune System, Rivals, Map, Hazards, Pickups, Traits, Gear, Progression
  • Chains show STEP n/N and move on to the next step once collected
  • Some count across all runs, some in a single run
  • Organ milestones (beating each boss, reaching each organ) pay 32 bonus skill points in all, front-loaded for early progress

Challenge rewards

5 tiers

What a challenge pays depends on its difficulty.

  • Easy: 36+ nucleotides, 6 shards, 6 XP
  • Normal: 105+ nucleotides, 15 shards, 2 chaperones, 15 XP
  • Hard: 270+ nucleotides, 36 shards, 7 chaperones, a Rare gear piece, 40 XP
  • Elite: 630+ nucleotides, 72 shards, 14 chaperones, an Epic gear piece, 1 skill point, 100 XP
2 more
  • Legendary: 1,440+ nucleotides, 150 shards, 29 chaperones, a Legendary gear piece, 2 skill points, 220 XP
  • Gear rewards never exceed the tier your furthest organ allows

Story mode

Pandemic Game Mode

Pick a city on the world map and infect its people one run at a time, while its politicians, doctors and citizens fight back. Take whole cities, then whole continents, then the world.

Pandemic Game Mode, zoomed into Europe
Pandemic Game Mode, zoomed into Europe

Pandemic Game Mode

Level 5

The story mode: infect the world city by city for rewards you can't get anywhere else.

Details
  • Opens at Level 5 with any virus
  • Main menu button tagged “Collect: RNA”: the only Game Mode where RNA strands drop
  • RNA pays for every third Petri Lab level, unlocks the advanced upgrades and pays for skill tree respecs
  • 8 continents, 38 cities, 189 people to infect in all
  • Runs here never grant XP or generations, and carry no inherited strain

Opening the world

Level & Gen

Continents open as your best virus levels up and grows its lineage in Infect Game Mode; every city opens with its continent.

Details
  • North America: Level 2
  • Europe: Level 4 · Gen 3
  • Asia: Level 6 · Gen 6
  • Middle East: Level 7 · Gen 8
  • South America: Level 8 · Gen 10
  • Africa: Level 10 · Gen 14
  • Oceania: Level 12 · Gen 18
  • Antarctica: Level 15 · Gen 24
  • Locked places say what they need, e.g. “Opens at Level 6 · Gen 6 in Infect Game Mode”

Infecting a city

Core loop

Each successful run infects one person in the city; once enough people are infected, the city falls.

Details
  • Cities need 3 to 8 people
  • A failed run infects nobody, but its rewards are kept
  • Fallen cities can be played again (“Infect again”) and still pay the per-person reward
  • When a city is one person from falling, its Start infection button breathes
  • Starting a run in a city adds it to the Codex

A Pandemic run

1–3 organs

Each run drops you into a random organ for one to three organs and ends when the last one's boss falls.

Details
  • 1 organ 60% of the time, 2 organs 30%, 3 organs 10%; a response can add one, never past 3
  • The starting organ is random
  • Difficulty, payouts and gear drops follow the deepest organ you've reached in Infect Game Mode, whichever organ you're in
  • Starts with a head start draft (6 of 20 traits) matched to your deepest organ
  • About 1 kill in 40 drops RNA, plus most Killer T cells and bosses, puzzles and tumor fights
  • A banner lists the city's responses in force at the start of every organ

One continent at a time

Commitment

Starting a city commits you to its continent: every other continent waits until every city there has fallen.

Details
  • “You're in the middle of infecting … Take every city there first.”
  • On the map the current continent wears a biohazard, blocked ones a lock and fallen ones a seal
  • Any continent can still be zoomed in on and read

Global resistance

Difficulty

Every city and continent you take makes the rest of the world fight harder.

Details
  • +6% per city taken and +12% per continent taken, from ×1.00
  • Immune cell health is multiplied by it; their damage rises at 70% of that rate
  • Shown as “Global resistance ×N.NN” beside a fever thermometer that fills by ×2.5
  • Every city panel repeats it: “Each run: 1–3 random organs · resistance ×N.NN”

Responses

6 per city

Every city answers your spread with six responses that change every run you play there; continents and the world answer too.

Details
  • Standing policy: always in place
  • Three political or medical responses at 25%, 50% and 75% of the city's infection gauge
  • A social response (how its people react) at 60%
  • An aftermath once the city falls, in force for every later run there
  • Continents: 3 responses as a quarter, half and three quarters of their cities fall
  • World: 3 responses once 1, 3 and 5 continents have fallen
  • They stack: a run in a fallen city carries its 6, its continent's 3 and the world's
  • 255 responses in all: 228 from cities, 24 from continents, 3 from the world
  • Upcoming responses stay hidden: the panel shows only their kind and when they switch on

Response speed

×0.7–×1.4

Each place reacts at its own pace, bringing its 25/50/75% tiers and its social response forward or holding them back.

Details
  • Very fast response: ×1.25 and up (Vancouver, Berlin, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Dubai, Sydney, Auckland, South Pole Station)
  • Fast response: ×1.05–×1.2 (London, Riyadh, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Perth, McMurdo Station)
  • Steady response: ×0.9–×1.0 (New York, Los Angeles, Madrid, Istanbul, Lima, Cairo, Nairobi, Esperanza Base)
  • Slow response: ×0.8–×0.85 (Mexico City, Nuuk, El Paso, Venice, Mumbai, Novosibirsk, Tehran, Vostok Station)
  • Very slow response: ×0.7–×0.75 (Moscow, Baghdad, São Paulo, Manaus, Lagos, Antananarivo, Port Moresby)
  • Example: Beijing (×1.4) switches its tiers on at 18%, 36% and 54%
  • The aftermath always needs the city taken, whatever its speed
  • Each city pin wears a speed badge: red for fast, orange for steady, green for slow

Political, medical and social

Response kinds

Politicians can help or hurt the virus, doctors mostly hurt it, and the people react in their own way.

Details
  • Political: 115 responses (88 good for the virus, 27 bad), e.g. Celebrity Denial in Los Angeles
  • Medical: 85 responses (4 good, 81 bad), e.g. Nightingale Hospitals in London
  • Social: 55 responses (41 good, 14 bad), e.g. Carnival Goes Ahead in São Paulo
  • Each kind has its own colour stripe and icon on its card

Response categories

MAP · CELLS · BOSS · TWIST · STATS

Every response card carries a tag saying which part of the run it changes.

Details
  • MAP (47): the organ itself, e.g. a Refuge in every organ, +3 rooms per organ, mucus flooding every organ
  • CELLS (75): the immune cells, e.g. hunter squads at 20/45/65 Detection, armored cells, Killer T packs sent at 70 Detection
  • BOSS (41): the boss fight, e.g. three shield phases, elite bodyguards, two bosses sharing the arena
  • TWIST (71): a rule of its own, e.g. weather, a host that never takes medicine, a dash that teleports through walls
  • STATS (21): a plain bonus or penalty, e.g. +30% damage or 1 HP/s regeneration

Good or bad for the virus

133 good · 122 bad

Each response is either good for the virus (green, with a heart) or bad (orange, with a warning sign).

Details
  • 133 responses help the virus and 122 hurt it
  • A response that leans on a mechanic you haven't unlocked yet is greyed out with “Unlocks with …”
  • New responses wear a NEW tag until you've read them

Pandemic rewards

Only here

Every person, city, continent and the world itself pays out, and each continent gives a gear set found nowhere else.

Details
  • Each person infected: +1 RNA strand, +4 Polymerase Shards
  • Each city that falls: +3 RNA strands, +3 Chaperone Proteins, +1 Ribozyme Core and an Epic gear piece (item level 10, +4 per city taken)
  • Each continent: its full 5-piece Legendary set and +8 RNA strands (item level 20, +6 per continent taken)
  • The whole world: the 5-piece Prismatic Pandemic Crown set (item level 80) and +25 RNA strands
  • A footer chip shows which pieces of the continent's set you already own

The world map

Map

A living map: tap a continent to zoom in, tap a city to see how it's responding, then infect it.

Details
  • 263 real cities glow as tiny dots; infection veins grow from each infected city to its nearest neighbours (2 at a quarter, 6 when full, 8 once fallen)
  • Route arcs join the cities in the order they fell; outbreak rings pulse
  • The night side starts where it really is right now, with city lights, then sweeps round the world every five minutes beside a UTC clock
  • Antarctica is shown from above the South Pole, under aurora ribbons
  • Drifting ocean swells, a twinkling star field and a latitude grid that zooms with the map
  • Header: a spinning globe, WORLD INFECTED % (tap to switch to the continent), global resistance and a fever thermometer
  • Nothing red ever appears on a continent nobody has infected

City panel

Map

Everything about a city on one card: who lives there, how fast it reacts, and what it's doing to you.

Details
  • Name, country and a skyline strip with population, response speed and any weather in force
  • A 0–100% timeline with a diamond at every response's threshold and a skull for the aftermath; tap one to jump to it
  • “next: X% (N more people)”
  • Sections: IN PLACE NOW, ACROSS the continent, WORLDWIDE and AS THE INFECTION SPREADS
  • Start infection, or Infect again once it has fallen

BREAKING news ticker

Map

A marquee along the bottom of the map lists every response in force, newest first.

Details
  • World responses first, then cities still being infected, then fallen ones
  • Up to 40 headlines; unread ones in yellow
  • Tap to pause it, tap the paused headline to open its city
  • A briefing sting plays when there's unread news
  • “No outbreaks reported yet” before your first infection

City pins

Map

Each city's pin shows its progress at a glance.

Details
  • A ring split into one segment per person, turning red as they're infected
  • A speed badge, a crown once the city has fallen, and a yellow dot for unread responses
  • A state chip: FALLEN, LOCKED, SPREADING, or the next response's threshold

Pandemic run summary

Run end

The run ends on the city's continent: its people flip red one by one, new responses flip in, and fallen cities get stamped.

Details
  • Headlines: PERSON INFECTED, INFECTION FAILED, <CITY> HAS FALLEN, <CONTINENT> INFECTED or THE WORLD IS INFECTED
  • “N of M people infected”
  • NOW IN FORCE and CITY FALLEN cards for every response that just switched on
  • A FALLEN stamp when the city falls; the continent's set pieces appear one by one when it does
  • Reward chips, and a strip of icons for what changes next run
  • Back to the world map to pick the next city

Locals and wildlife

Hosts

Hosts in each city are locals with names from that city, and the animals on its streets are the ones that really live there.

Details
  • 8 local first names per city (6 at Vostok, Esperanza and the South Pole)
  • 7 animals live only around Pandemic cities: Dromedary Camel (Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai), Kangaroo (Perth), Macaque (Mumbai, Singapore), Capuchin Monkey (Manaus), Llama (Lima), Ring-Tailed Lemur (Antananarivo), Reindeer (Nuuk)
  • Penguins and seals at McMurdo and Esperanza; no animals at Vostok or the South Pole
  • Some responses add animals (Nairobi's cows, chickens and pigs) or clear them away (Beijing)

Pandemic Game Mode

The eight continents

Each continent has its own cities, its own three continent-wide responses and its own five-piece gear set, found nowhere else. The Middle East, carved out of Asia, counts as one.

North America

Level 2

The first continent to open: six cities from New York to Nuuk, 22 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 2
  • Population 600 million
  • Cities: New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Vancouver, Nuuk, El Paso
  • 22 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Liberty Strain (Legendary)
  • 2 cities fallen · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Federal Emergency Declared. An Immune Siege in every organ: 32 s long, squads of +2
  • 3 cities fallen · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Protests Against Mandates. Half of all doses are skipped; vaccine protection is halved
  • 5 cities fallen · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Operation Warp Speed. Boss attacks 15% faster; boss shields 50% thicker

Europe

Level 4 · Gen 3

Five cities from London to Moscow, 21 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 4 · Gen 3
  • Population 745 million
  • Cities: London, Madrid, Venice, Berlin, Moscow
  • 21 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Old World Plague (Legendary)
  • 2 cities fallen · Political · BOSS · bad for the virus: Schengen Borders Close. Key guardians are one stage older with 20% more HP
  • 3 cities fallen · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Summer Holiday Travel. Run modifiers drop twice as often; +20% nucleotides
  • 4 cities fallen · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: EU Vaccine Pact. Memory B cells join every wave pool; vaccinated cells take only 25% damage

Asia

Level 6 · Gen 6

Five cities from Tokyo to Singapore, 25 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 6 · Gen 6
  • Population 4.37 billion
  • Cities: Tokyo, Mumbai, Beijing, Novosibirsk, Singapore
  • 25 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Silk Road Vector (Legendary)
  • 2 cities fallen · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: SARS Lessons Remembered. Detection cools only after 10 s and rises passively twice as fast
  • 3 cities fallen · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Lunar New Year Exodus. Reinforcement waves arrive 5 s apart instead of 1; +1 projectile
  • 4 cities fallen · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Regional Mask Mandates. Cells spawn with armor worth 10% of their HP; −10% damage

Middle East

Level 7 · Gen 8

Five cities from Istanbul to Dubai, 25 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 7 · Gen 8
  • Population 385 million
  • Cities: Istanbul, Tehran, Baghdad, Riyadh, Dubai
  • 25 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Incense Caravan (Legendary)
  • 2 cities fallen · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Fever Checks at Every Border. Every elite is Enraged: below half HP it moves 30% faster and hits 40% harder
  • 3 cities fallen · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Eid Holiday Travel. Reinforcement waves are 30% of the first wave instead of 60%
  • 4 cities fallen · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Shared Reference Labs. Mutation orbs offer only 2 traits

South America

Level 8 · Gen 10

Four cities from São Paulo to Manaus, 21 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 8 · Gen 10
  • Population 440 million
  • Cities: São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima, Manaus
  • 21 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Rainforest Canopy (Legendary)
  • 1 city fallen · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Leaders Downplay It. The Immune Alert is frozen for the first 3 minutes of every run
  • 2 cities fallen · Social · STATS · good for the virus: Carnival Season. +30% fire rate
  • 3 cities fallen · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Regional Vaccine Factories. Bosses enrage below 65% HP and stay exposed half as long

Africa

Level 10 · Gen 14

Five cities from Cairo to Antananarivo, 26 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 10 · Gen 14
  • Population 1.49 billion
  • Cities: Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town, Antananarivo
  • 26 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Cradle Genome (Legendary)
  • 2 cities fallen · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Africa CDC Coordinates. Doses 50% more often; dose effects linger 20 s after the swarm dies
  • 3 cities fallen · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Young Population. Rare host genomes are 5x as common on the street (stronger hosts)
  • 4 cities fallen · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Vaccine Nationalism Abroad. No vaccine vials in any wave pool; Killer T cells have 30% less HP

Oceania

Level 12 · Gen 18

Four cities from Sydney to Port Moresby, 22 people to infect.

  • Opens at Level 12 · Gen 18
  • Population 46 million
  • Cities: Sydney, Auckland, Port Moresby, Perth
  • 22 people to infect
4 more
  • Set: Reef Bloom (Legendary)
  • 1 city fallen · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Fortress Borders. Hunter squads are 50% bigger and bring an NK cell from organ 1
  • 2 cities fallen · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Lockdown Fatigue. Double damage for 1.2 s after every dash
  • 3 cities fallen · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Trans-Tasman Bubble Testing. A quarter of boss shots home in on you

Antarctica

Level 15 · Gen 24

The last continent: four research stations with 27 people to infect, seen from above the South Pole.

  • Opens at Level 15 · Gen 24
  • Population 4,400
  • Cities: McMurdo Station, Vostok Station, Esperanza Base, South Pole Station
  • 27 people to infect, the most of any continent
4 more
  • Set: Permafrost Relic (Legendary)
  • 1 station fallen · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Treaty Nations Suspend Flights. Reinforcement waves are 90% of the first wave instead of 60%
  • 2 stations fallen · Social · STATS · good for the virus: Stir-Crazy Crews. +35% fire rate
  • 3 stations fallen · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Military Medical Airdrop. The boss arrives with 2 bodyguards and a Killer T cell

Pandemic Game Mode

All 38 cities

Every playable city with its population, how many people it takes, how fast it reacts and all six of its responses. Percentages are the point on the city's infection gauge where each response switches on, after its response speed. Each city's Codex entry tells a real outbreak or event from its history.

New York

North America

Infect 3 people in New York to take it. Its standing policy, City That Never Sleeps, is good for the virus; once it falls, North Brother Island stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • United States · North America · population 19.5 million
  • 3 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×1.0)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: City That Never Sleeps. Crowds everywhere: +30% nucleotides
  • At 25% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Subway Mask Mandate. Every cell spawns with armor worth 15% of its HP; masked crowds bounce you on the street
  • At 50% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Albany Budget Gridlock. Doses come 60% less often and never grow stronger
  • At 60% infected · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Broadway Reopens. Every cleared fight scatters 8 extra nucleotides
  • At 75% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Javits Field Hospital. Every boss arrives with 3 elite bodyguards already hunting you
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: North Brother Island. Killer T packs are dispatched at 70 Detection and follow you through doors in 1 s
  • History (Codex): In 1907 cook Mary Mallon, 'Typhoid Mary', was found to be a healthy carrier of typhoid who had infected the families she worked for. She was quarantined on North Brother Island in the East River.

Los Angeles

North America

Infect 3 people in Los Angeles to take it. Its standing policy, Freeway Sprawl, is good for the virus; once it falls, Wildfire Smoke Season stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • United States · North America · population 12.9 million
  • 3 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×0.9)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Freeway Sprawl. Fight rooms are 30% bigger with the same number of cells
  • At 28% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Celebrity Denial. Detection starts cooling 1 s after the last sighting, not 5
  • At 56% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Dodger Stadium Testing. No plain cells: every immune cell is at least Uncommon
  • At 67% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Influencer Pool Parties. 1 in 4 nucleotide piles is a 4x jackpot
  • At 83% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: UCLA Vaccine Trials. Bosses shield three times, at 75/50/25% HP, instead of 66/33%
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Wildfire Smoke Season. Smog: a hazy circle of sight; cells see 25% less far; acid and clots last twice as long
  • History (Codex): In 1924 pneumonic plague broke out in a Mexican-American neighbourhood of Los Angeles, killing about 30 people: the last airborne plague outbreak in the United States.

Mexico City

North America

Infect 4 people in Mexico City to take it. Its standing policy, Metro Line 1 Rush Hour, is good for the virus; once it falls, Contingencia Ambiental stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Mexico · North America · population 21.8 million
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.8)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Metro Line 1 Rush Hour. Every fight room is a narrow metro tunnel: cells bunch up; +20% damage
  • At 31% infected · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Thin Air at 2,240 m. −15% max HP; healing from kills and hits is capped at half
  • At 63% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Día de Muertos. Start with 1 Dormant Virion; re-emerge from incubation with +15% HP
  • At 75% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Vecinos Vigilantes. Unaware cells patrol the whole room instead of their corner
  • At 94% infected · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Brigadas Sanitarias. Every room is Acidic (1 HP/s while hunted); room clears heal 40% less
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Contingencia Ambiental. A tumor in every organ, growing 50% faster; tumors pay double
  • History (Codex): In April 2009 the new H1N1 'swine flu' was identified in Mexico. Mexico City closed schools, restaurants and stadiums for days to slow what became the first pandemic of the century.

Vancouver

North America

Infect 4 people in Vancouver to take it. Its standing policy, Universal Healthcare, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Granville Island Market stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Canada · North America · population 2.6 million
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.25)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Universal Healthcare. Wounded cells regenerate 1.5% of their HP every second
  • At 20% infected · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Early Lockdown. Doors seal the instant you step into a fight room; near-empty streets
  • At 40% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Rainy-Season Gatherings. Rain: every shot flies 20% slower, yours and theirs; +30% nucleotides
  • At 48% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Contact Tracing App. Every kill wakes unaware cells within 260 pt
  • At 60% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Dr Henry's Calm Briefings. The Immune Alert climbs 40% slower and never passes level 6
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Granville Island Market. A second Upgrade Chamber in every organ
  • History (Codex): In 2003 SARS reached Canada. Vancouver isolated its first patient within hours and stopped the virus, while Toronto, a few days slower, suffered a large hospital outbreak.

Nuuk

North America

Infect 4 people in Nuuk to take it. Its standing policy, Tiny Health Service, is good for the virus; once it falls, Sea Ice Breaks Up stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Greenland · North America · population 19,000
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.85)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Tiny Health Service. The host only seeks medicine at 95 Detection
  • At 29% infected · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Sea Fog. Fog: you see only a wide circle around you; cells see 30% less far
  • At 59% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Fishing Fleet Returns. A Lysis Chamber with 14 host cells in every organ; surviving it drops an RNA strand
  • At 71% infected · Social · CELLS · good for the virus: Kaffemik Gatherings. The whole first wave stands in one tight, unaware cluster
  • At 88% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Medevac to Copenhagen. Boss fights are guaranteed 40% longer, whatever your build
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Sea Ice Breaks Up. A drop shaft in every organ; landing leaves a vesicle beside you
  • History (Codex): In 1951 measles swept through Greenland's west-coast settlements. With almost no one immune, nearly everybody in some villages caught it at once.

El Paso

North America

Infect 4 people in El Paso to take it. Its standing policy, Paso del Norte, is good for the virus; once it falls, Chico's, L&J and Sun City Birria stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • United States · North America · population 870,000
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.85)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Paso del Norte. The pass between the mountains that named the city: shots pierce +1 cell
  • At 29% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: William Beaumont Army Medical Center. Fort Bliss medics: NK cells join every organ's wave pool
  • At 59% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Star on the Mountain. The star on the Franklin Mountains is lit: start every run with your Ultimate charged
  • At 71% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Chuco Town Lowriders. Lowriders cruise El Chuco, the city's own nickname: cells that touch you take 25 damage; take 10% less damage
  • At 88% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: UMC El Paso. Sun City trauma teams on call: every boss gains Lash, three telegraphed tendrils that whip out at you
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Chico's, L&J and Sun City Birria. Rolled tacos, the old cafe by Concordia Cemetery and the 4.9-star birria consomé: every host carries Well-Fed Cells (more nucleotides); auto-attacks heal 2% of their damage
  • History (Codex): On 28 January 1917 Carmelita Torres, a 17-year-old maid, refused the kerosene delousing bath against typhus that the US Public Health Service demanded of Mexican workers crossing the Santa Fe Street Bridge, the year after a gasoline delousing had set the city jail on fire and killed prisoners. The three-day Bath Riots followed, but the border disinfections went on for decades.

London

Europe

Infect 4 people in London to take it. Its standing policy, Packed Underground, is good for the virus; once it falls, Broad Street Pump Map stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • United Kingdom · Europe · population 9.6 million
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Fast response (×1.1)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Packed Underground. +24% fire rate
  • At 23% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Nightingale Hospitals. Boss shields are twice as thick
  • At 45% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Eat Out to Help Out. A Refuge in every organ; Refuges heal fully and drop Detection by 60
  • At 55% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Stiff Upper Lip. Hunters never give up the chase once they have seen you
  • At 68% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: COG-UK Sequencing. The immune system learns your shot type from Alert 0, at a 40% share
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · MAP · good for the virus: Broad Street Pump Map. The whole organ map is revealed from the start
  • History (Codex): In 1854 a cholera outbreak in Soho killed over 600 people. Doctor John Snow mapped the deaths around the Broad Street water pump and had its handle removed, founding modern epidemiology.

Madrid

Europe

Infect 4 people in Madrid to take it. Its standing policy, Tapas Culture, is good for the virus; once it falls, Movida Madrileña stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Spain · Europe · population 6.8 million
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×1.0)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Tapas Culture. Regenerate 1 HP/s
  • At 25% infected · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Health Pass. Every elite is Shielded; elites are 50% more common
  • At 50% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: General Strike. Hunter squads come at 55/80/100 Detection and are 40% smaller
  • At 60% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Late-Night Terraces. Night: a lantern of sight around you; cells see 40% less far; +30% nucleotides
  • At 75% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Carlos III Institute. Bosses attack 25% faster and their warnings are 25% shorter
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Movida Madrileña. Mutation orbs appear 40% more often and each offers 4 traits
  • History (Codex): In May 1918 influenza swept Madrid and even the king fell ill. Spain's press, free of wartime censorship, reported it openly, so the world called it the 'Spanish flu'.

Venice

Europe

Infect 3 people in Venice to take it. Its standing policy, Tourist Crowds, is good for the virus; once it falls, Plague Doctor's Beak stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Italy · Europe · population 260,000
  • 3 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.85)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Tourist Crowds. Pickups fly to you from across the room; +25% nucleotides
  • At 29% infected · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Quarantena. Doors stay sealed 4 s after the last cell dies; rooms hold 10% more cells
  • At 59% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Carnival Masks (the wrong kind). Immune cells' sight cones are half as wide
  • At 71% infected · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Gondola Gossip. Special rooms show on the map from the start; orbs 30% more often
  • At 88% infected · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Acqua Alta. Mucus floods every organ, three times as much; slows last 30% longer
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · good for the virus: Plague Doctor's Beak. Bosses lose their signature skill
  • History (Codex): Venice gave the world the word quarantine: ships had to wait 'quaranta giorni', forty days, before landing during the plague, and in 1423 it opened the first lazaretto, an island hospital for the sick.

Berlin

Europe

Infect 5 people in Berlin to take it. Its standing policy, Club Scene Stays Open, is good for the virus; once it falls, Charité Hospital stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Germany · Europe · population 3.9 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.3)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Club Scene Stays Open. Ultimate charges 30% faster; every dash leaves a damaging ring
  • At 19% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Mass Testing. Half of every first wave spawns already hunting you
  • At 38% infected · Political · BOSS · good for the virus: Federal Squabbles. Bosses call no reinforcements when they shield
  • At 46% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Rule Followers. Unaware cells stand at sentry posts; their cones sweep twice as fast
  • At 58% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Booster Campaign. Every dose is a Booster Shot; vaccinated cells take only 15% damage
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Charité Hospital. Doses can land during a boss fight; the boss heals 20% HP when one does
  • History (Codex): On 24 March 1882 Robert Koch announced in Berlin that he had found the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. The date is now World Tuberculosis Day.

Moscow

Europe

Infect 5 people in Moscow to take it. Its standing policy, Official Silence, is good for the virus; once it falls, Deep Metro Shelters stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Russia · Europe · population 13 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.75)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Official Silence. Killing an unaware cell raises no Detection and wakes nobody
  • At 33% infected · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Bitter Winter. Snow: you and your shots move 15% slower; cells see 30% less far
  • At 67% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Sputnik Doubts. Vaccine vials and Booster Shots protect no cell at all
  • At 80% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Counterfeit Pharmacies. Drug capsule pulses hurt cells 10% instead of healing them
  • At 100% infected · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Military Cordon. A Killer T pack hunts you from the first room, with armor worth 30% of its HP
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Deep Metro Shelters. +4 rooms per organ; every fight room 25% smaller
  • History (Codex): During the plague of 1771 tens of thousands died in Moscow, and the Plague Riot broke out when the authorities tried to stop crowds gathering at a holy icon.

Tokyo

Asia

Infect 5 people in Tokyo to take it. Its standing policy, Mask Etiquette, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Ageing Population stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Japan · Asia · population 37 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.35)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Mask Etiquette. Every cell spawns with a 20% shield; nearly everyone on the street is masked
  • At 19% infected · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Rush-Hour Trains. +1 projectile
  • At 37% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Olympics Go Ahead. Start every organ with Shift ready
  • At 44% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Collective Discipline. Hunter squads enter through the door nearest you
  • At 56% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Robot Disinfection. Boss attacks come 30% faster all fight long
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Ageing Population. Every host on the street carries Ageing Immune System
  • History (Codex): During the 1918–1920 flu pandemic Japan's government put up posters urging people to wear masks in crowds, the start of Japan's long mask-wearing habit.

Mumbai

Asia

Infect 5 people in Mumbai to take it. Its standing policy, Dharavi Lanes, is good for the virus; once it falls, Monsoon Floods stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • India · Asia · population 21 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.8)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Dharavi Lanes. Fight rooms are 30% smaller; +50% nucleotides
  • At 31% infected · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Generic Antivirals. Every dose is an antiviral, twice the size; up to 2 capsules per wave
  • At 63% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Election Rallies. A Crossroads in every organ, showing all five offers
  • At 75% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Ganesh Chaturthi Processions. Viral Snowball: each untouched room clear adds +5% damage (up to +50%)
  • At 94% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Oxygen Drives. Every boss gains Engulf, and Engulf pulls 60% harder
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Monsoon Floods. Monsoon: double mucus in every organ; the Bloodstream current pulls 60% harder
  • History (Codex): Plague reached Bombay in 1896 and killed tens of thousands. In 1897 Waldemar Haffkine developed the first plague vaccine in the city and tested it on himself.

Beijing

Asia

Infect 6 people in Beijing to take it. Its standing policy, Zero-Tolerance Policy, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Lockdown Lifted stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • China · Asia · population 21.9 million
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.4)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Zero-Tolerance Policy. Detection never cools below 30 and rises 20% faster; no animals on the street
  • At 18% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Great Firewall. The immune system never learns your shot type
  • At 36% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Chunyun Travel Rush. Organs have 3 more rooms; +30% nucleotides
  • At 43% infected · Social · MAP · bad for the virus: Community Grid Sealed. The sealed gene door always stands between you and the boss
  • At 54% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Hospital Built in a Week. Boss summons are doubled
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Lockdown Lifted. Doors never seal mid-fight: retreat and come back; the crowds double
  • History (Codex): During SARS in 2003 Beijing built Xiaotangshan Hospital, about a thousand beds, in roughly a week, and the outbreak there was over by the summer.

Novosibirsk

Asia

Infect 5 people in Novosibirsk to take it. Its standing policy, Trans-Siberian Railway, is good for the virus; once it falls, Akademgorodok stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Russia · Asia · population 1.6 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.85)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Trans-Siberian Railway. +24% move speed
  • At 29% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Vector Institute. Every elite is Volatile: it bursts when it dies
  • At 59% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Endless Taiga. Twice the tissue cover, 4 nodules in the boss room; hunters forget you in 3 s
  • At 71% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Banya Season. Regenerate 1.5 HP/s; healing from kills and hits can reach double the usual cap
  • At 88% infected · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: −40 °C Frost. Stand still 1.5 s while hunted and you lose 1.5 HP/s; cells have 20% more HP
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Akademgorodok. CRISPR drops 3x as often and cuts bosses 8x instead of 4x
  • History (Codex): Near Novosibirsk stands the VECTOR virology centre, one of only two places in the world officially allowed to keep live smallpox virus.

Singapore

Asia

Infect 4 people in Singapore to take it. Its standing policy, Changi Air Hub, is good for the virus; once it falls, Spotless Streets stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Singapore · Asia · population 5.9 million
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.4)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Changi Air Hub. Start every organ with a random power-up beside you
  • At 18% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Thermal Scanners. Cells see 40% farther, and through walls
  • At 36% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Cruise Ship Cluster. A Norovirus rival in every organ, and rivals cannot flee (loot when beaten)
  • At 43% infected · Social · MAP · bad for the virus: Kiasu Stockpiling. Vesicle chests are 70% rarer after fights
  • At 54% infected · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Circuit Breaker. No Refuges; every room is Alarmed; a fall into a pit raises Detection by 15
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Spotless Streets. Anything left on a room's floor is gone when you return; −15% nucleotides
  • History (Codex): In 2003 Singapore fought SARS with temperature screening, a single designated hospital and strict home quarantine, and the WHO declared it SARS-free that May.

Istanbul

Middle East

Infect 5 people in Istanbul to take it. Its standing policy, Grand Bazaar Haggling, is good for the virus; once it falls, Montagu's Inoculation, 1717 stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Türkiye · Middle East · population 15.7 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×1.0)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Grand Bazaar Haggling. A Mutagenic Pool in every organ, and each costs only 5% HP
  • At 25% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Filyasyon Tracing Teams. Dendritic cells join every organ's wave pool: let one watch you and the room is alerted
  • At 50% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Bosphorus Ferry Commute. Detection cools 2.5x faster once cells lose sight of you
  • At 60% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Meyhane Nights. Below 50% HP you deal +50% damage and move 25% faster
  • At 75% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Cerrahpaşa Hospital. Every boss gains Puddles: slowing pools land around you
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Montagu's Inoculation, 1717. Every host on the street carries Trained Immunity (immune cells hit harder)
  • History (Codex): In 1717 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople, watched Ottoman women inoculate children against smallpox with matter from a mild case, had her own son treated, and carried the practice to England, decades before Jenner's vaccine.

Tehran

Middle East

Infect 5 people in Tehran to take it. Its standing policy, Qanat Tunnels, is good for the virus; once it falls, Tehran Gridlock stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Iran · Middle East · population 16 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.85)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Qanat Tunnels. The boss waits in the shallowest dead end, never the deepest: a shortcut through every organ
  • At 29% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Nowruz Holidays. The first 2 hits in every room are blocked
  • At 59% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Pasteur Institute of Iran. Every elite is Swift and Vampiric: 35% faster, and it heals 8% HP when it hits you
  • At 71% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Sizdah Bedar Picnics. Elite kills heal 12 HP
  • At 88% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Masih Daneshvari Hospital. Bosses roam right up to the arena walls: no corner is safe
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Tehran Gridlock. Every room has Sluggish Cells (they move 20% slower)
  • History (Codex): The Pasteur Institute of Iran opened in Tehran in 1920 to fight rabies, plague and cholera, and went on to make the country's own vaccines, from smallpox to BCG.

Baghdad

Middle East

Infect 6 people in Baghdad to take it. Its standing policy, House of Wisdom, is good for the virus; once it falls, Date Palm Harvest stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Iraq · Middle East · population 8.1 million
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.75)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: House of Wisdom. Every room rolls one tier higher: more boons (and more drawbacks)
  • At 33% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Baghdad Medical City. Every run starts at 40 Detection
  • At 67% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Rooftop Summer Sleepers. Ambush hits on unaware cells deal double damage
  • At 80% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Al-Mutanabbi Friday Market. CRISPR cuts last 50% longer and every CRISPR kill heals 2 HP
  • At 100% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Al-Kindi Hospital. Every boss gains Charge: it winds up and lunges at you
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · MAP · good for the virus: Date Palm Harvest. Every room is Restorative (clearing heals 20% max HP)
  • History (Codex): In the 900s the physician al-Razi ran a hospital in Baghdad, chose its site (legend says) by hanging meat around the city and picking where it rotted slowest, and wrote the first book to tell smallpox and measles apart.

Riyadh

Middle East

Infect 5 people in Riyadh to take it. Its standing policy, Oil Wealth, is good for the virus; once it falls, Shamal Dust Storm stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Saudi Arabia · Middle East · population 7.7 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Fast response (×1.1)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Oil Wealth. RNA strands drop twice as often
  • At 23% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: King Faisal Specialist Hospital. Every hunter squad brings 2 platelets that clot the floor where they die
  • At 45% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Riyadh Season Festival. Power-ups last 60% longer; picking one up heals 10 HP
  • At 55% infected · Social · CELLS · good for the virus: Camel Milk Stalls. Dying cells burst, hurting their neighbours (27 damage); two more camels roam the street
  • At 68% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: King Fahad Medical City. Bosses use their signature skill twice as often
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Shamal Dust Storm. A dust haze leaves you a hazy circle of sight, and a crosswind drifts every shot, yours and theirs
  • History (Codex): In 2012 a new coronavirus, MERS, was found in Saudi Arabia. Dromedary camels turned out to be its reservoir, and in 2015 an outbreak inside a Riyadh hospital infected over a hundred people before infection control stopped it.

Dubai

Middle East

Infect 4 people in Dubai to take it. Its standing policy, 200 Nationalities, is good for the virus; once it falls, Burj Khalifa Views stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • United Arab Emirates · Middle East · population 3.7 million
  • 4 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.35)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: 200 Nationalities. Every host on the street carries Endogenous Viral Genes: you start each run with a random trait
  • At 19% infected · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Dubai Mall Crowds. The first wave of every fight scatters into up to 3x as many clusters: cells everywhere
  • At 37% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Gold Souk. Vesicle chests after fights 3x as often; +20% nucleotides
  • At 44% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Friday Brunch. A full heal between organs
  • At 56% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: World Trade Centre Field Hospital. Bosses fight enraged from the first hit: denser bursts, shorter wind-ups, summons from the start
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · BOSS · good for the virus: Burj Khalifa Views. The boss arena is 40% bigger: more room to circle
  • History (Codex): Dubai's airport handles more international passengers than any other on Earth. In April 2020, with its flights grounded, the city turned its World Trade Centre into a 3,000-bed field hospital in a matter of days.

São Paulo

South America

Infect 5 people in São Paulo to take it. Its standing policy, Megacity Traffic, is good for the virus; once it falls, Helicopter Commuters stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Brazil · South America · population 22.6 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.75)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Megacity Traffic. +30% damage
  • At 33% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Mixed Messages. Detection never rises on its own, only when cells see you
  • At 67% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Butantan Vaccines. 30% of cells spawn vaccinated: a 40% HP shield and a syringe badge
  • At 80% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Carnival Goes Ahead. Ultimate charges 50% faster and locks out half as long
  • At 100% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Hospital das Clínicas. The boss arena is 25% smaller: tighter patterns, less room to circle
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Helicopter Commuters. Your dash becomes a teleport through walls
  • History (Codex): When bubonic plague reached the nearby port of Santos at the end of the 1890s, São Paulo founded the Butantan Institute to make serum. Today it is one of Latin America's biggest vaccine makers.

Buenos Aires

South America

Infect 5 people in Buenos Aires to take it. Its standing policy, Shared Mate Gourds, is good for the virus; once it falls, Superclásico Derby stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Argentina · South America · population 15.6 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Fast response (×1.05)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Shared Mate Gourds. Kills heal 2 HP
  • At 24% infected · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Longest Lockdown. One more reinforcement wave in every fight
  • At 48% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Sputnik Shipment. Elites are twice as common and every elite is Regenerating
  • At 57% infected · Social · STATS · good for the virus: Asado Sundays. +30% max HP
  • At 71% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Inflation Crisis. Doses come 40% less often, with double the cooldown between them
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · BOSS · bad for the virus: Superclásico Derby. Two bosses share the arena; the second has 55% HP
  • History (Codex): In 1871 yellow fever killed about 14,000 people in Buenos Aires, close to one in twelve residents. Wealthy families fled north, reshaping the city.

Lima

South America

Infect 5 people in Lima to take it. Its standing policy, Thin Andean Air, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Combis Back on the Road stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Peru · South America · population 11 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×0.9)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Thin Andean Air. Dashes recharge 40% slower and go 20% less far
  • At 28% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Five Presidents in Five Years. Killer T cells split only once when killed and have 30% less HP
  • At 56% infected · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Oxygen Shortage. No healing between organs; room clears heal 40% less
  • At 67% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Home Remedies. Every dose the host takes also heals you 15%
  • At 83% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Qoyllur Rit'i Pilgrimage. Dash invulnerability lasts twice as long; +20% move speed
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Combis Back on the Road. Hunter squads and Killer T packs enter from a random door
  • History (Codex): In 1991 cholera returned to the Americas for the first time in a century, starting on Peru's coast and in Lima, and spread across Latin America.

Manaus

South America

Infect 6 people in Manaus to take it. Its standing policy, Remote Rainforest, is good for the virus; once it falls, Oxygen Convoy of 2021 stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Brazil · South America · population 2.3 million
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.7)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Remote Rainforest. Hunter squads, packs and summons take 3x as long to become active; two extra fruit bats roam
  • At 36% infected · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: River Clinic Boats. The host seeks medicine at 50 Detection
  • At 71% infected · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Variant Hotspot. Mutation orbs roll rarer traits
  • At 86% infected · Social · CELLS · good for the virus: Boi-Bumbá Festival. Nothing buds offspring: no plasmablast or megakaryocyte broods
  • Last tier (75%, held back by the very slow response) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Jungle Fevers. Helper T and basophil buffs last 2x longer and reach 2x farther
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · good for the virus: Oxygen Convoy of 2021. Bosses cannot summon; they fire a radial burst instead
  • History (Codex): Manaus sits where the dark Rio Negro meets the sandy Solimões, and its mosquitoes make dengue fever a constant public-health fight.

Cairo

Africa

Infect 5 people in Cairo to take it. Its standing policy, Khan el-Khalili Bazaars, is good for the virus; once it falls, Kasr Al Ainy Hospital stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Egypt · Africa · population 22 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×0.9)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Khan el-Khalili Bazaars. Fight rooms 40% bigger with 40% more cells; +40% nucleotides
  • At 28% infected · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Desert Heat. Heat: lose 0.5 HP/s while hunted; cells regenerate 0.8%/s; acid lasts twice as long
  • At 56% infected · Political · BOSS · good for the virus: Ramadan Nights. Boss reinforcements spawn unaware and 2 s late
  • At 67% infected · Social · STATS · good for the virus: Coffeehouse Crowds. +35% nucleotides
  • At 83% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Nile Hospitals. Every Killer T clones itself at half HP, whatever its generation
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Kasr Al Ainy Hospital. Bosses start the fight already shielded (an 18% HP bubble, no reinforcements)
  • History (Codex): In 1947 cholera spread through Egypt, killing about 10,000 people before mass vaccination and quarantine brought it under control.

Lagos

Africa

Infect 6 people in Lagos to take it. Its standing policy, Packed Danfo Buses, is good for the virus; once it falls, Third Mainland Bridge stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Nigeria · Africa · population 15.9 million
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.75)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Packed Danfo Buses. 35% of placed cells arrive with a twin at 60% HP: more kills, more loot
  • At 33% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Outbreak Veterans. Dying cells burst, hurting you within 120 pt
  • At 67% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: NEPA Power Cuts. Every 45 s the lights go out for 8 s: cells barely see, Detection freezes
  • At 80% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Owambe Parties. Pickups fly to you from 3x farther; kills heal 2 HP
  • At 100% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Community Health Workers. Every hunter squad brings a macrophage and 2 basophils
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Third Mainland Bridge. +3 rooms per organ; the boss waits at least 5 rooms from the start
  • History (Codex): In 2014 a traveller brought Ebola to Lagos. Doctor Ameyo Adadevoh kept him isolated, and Nigeria contained the outbreak at 20 cases.

Nairobi

Africa

Infect 5 people in Nairobi to take it. Its standing policy, Livestock Markets, is good for the virus; once it falls, M-Pesa Mobile Money stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Kenya · Africa · population 5.3 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×1.0)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Livestock Markets. Cows, chickens and pigs on every street; every host is a Mixing Vessel
  • At 25% infected · Medical · TWIST · bad for the virus: Malaria Know-How. Every dose is an Interferon Shot; under interferon cells hit +50%
  • At 50% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Safari Tourism. Gear dropped by cells is one rarity tier higher (organ cap still applies)
  • At 60% infected · Social · CELLS · good for the virus: Matatu Hand Sanitiser. Cells can no longer opsonize you (no bonus-damage mark)
  • At 75% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Mobile Vaccine Vans. Vials and capsules join every organ's wave pool, up to two per wave
  • After it falls (lasting) · Social · BOSS · good for the virus: M-Pesa Mobile Money. Bosses drop double nucleotides and always an RNA strand
  • History (Codex): In 1980 a man sick with Marburg virus travelled to Nairobi Hospital. A doctor who treated him caught it too but survived, a case later made famous by the book The Hot Zone.

Cape Town

Africa

Infect 5 people in Cape Town to take it. Its standing policy, Variant Sequencing Lab, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Groote Schuur Hospital stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • South Africa · Africa · population 4.8 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Fast response (×1.2)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Variant Sequencing Lab. Learned shot-type resistance is 60% instead of 30%
  • At 21% infected · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Harbour Trade. Gear drops 80% more often
  • At 42% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Township Solidarity. Start with one Helper Virion fighting beside you
  • At 50% infected · Social · MAP · bad for the virus: Alcohol Ban. Mutagenic Pools cost 35% HP; −20% nucleotides
  • At 63% infected · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: Cape Doctor Winds. Wind: a crosswind drifts every shot, yours and theirs; the Bloodstream current is 50% stronger
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Groote Schuur Hospital. Bosses spawn with armor worth 25% of their HP
  • History (Codex): In 1901 bubonic plague arrived in Cape Town on ships supplying the Boer War, and the authorities used it as a reason for forced removals to Ndabeni.

Antananarivo

Africa

Infect 5 people in Antananarivo to take it. Its standing policy, Island Isolation, is good for the virus; once it falls, Cyclone Season stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Madagascar · Africa · population 3.9 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.75)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Island Isolation. The Cytokine Storm never responds to your damage
  • At 33% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Plague Season. 30% of plain cells split in two when killed
  • At 67% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Rice Harvest Markets. Every room is Nutrient-Rich (+60% nucleotides)
  • At 80% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Famadihana Gatherings. Incubating drops Detection by 60; you re-emerge with +25% HP
  • At 100% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Zebu Cattle Markets. Plasmablasts and megakaryocytes bud twice as fast with double caps
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Cyclone Season. Pits in 90% of fight rooms, up to 4 per room; hazards fire twice as often
  • History (Codex): In 2017 Madagascar had a large pneumonic plague outbreak in its cities, including Antananarivo, with over 2,000 cases before it was brought under control.

Sydney

Oceania

Infect 6 people in Sydney to take it. Its standing policy, Closed Borders, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Rat Bounty of 1900 stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Australia · Oceania · population 5.3 million
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.3)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Closed Borders. Hunter squads come at 20/45/65 Detection instead of 35/60/80
  • At 19% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Ruby Princess Docks. Rival viruses twice as common and one tier rarer (better loot)
  • At 38% infected · Political · MAP · good for the virus: Bondi Beach Reopens. Every fight room is an open rectangle with no inner walls
  • At 46% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Dobbing Hotline. Dendritic cells raise the alarm in 1 s, for 30 Detection
  • At 58% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Snap Lockdowns. The boss spawns beside you, already attacking
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Rat Bounty of 1900. Elites drop RNA strands and pay triple nucleotides
  • History (Codex): In 1900 bubonic plague broke out around The Rocks in Sydney. Over a hundred people died, and the city paid a bounty for every rat caught.

Auckland

Oceania

Infect 6 people in Auckland to take it. Its standing policy, Go Hard, Go Early, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Elimination Strategy stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • New Zealand · Oceania · population 1.7 million
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.4)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · bad for the virus: Go Hard, Go Early. Every Killer T pack is one generation ahead and follows you through doors in 0.3 s
  • At 18% infected · Political · BOSS · good for the virus: Be Kind Campaign. Bosses never enter their final frenzy
  • At 36% infected · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Pandemic Fatigue. +40% damage
  • At 43% infected · Social · BOSS · bad for the virus: Team of Five Million. Every boss gains Rally: the whole room speeds up and shields
  • At 54% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Wastewater Testing. Cells hear you from 2.5x as far
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Elimination Strategy. Detection never cools below 40; cells see 25% farther
  • History (Codex): In November 1918 the influenza pandemic swept Auckland, killing over a thousand people in a few weeks.

Port Moresby

Oceania

Infect 5 people in Port Moresby to take it. Its standing policy, Few Clinics, is good for the virus; once it falls, Polio Returns 2018 stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Papua New Guinea · Oceania · population 400,000
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very slow response (×0.7)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Few Clinics. The host never takes medicine
  • At 36% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Tropical Humidity. Acid pools, mucus lobs and clots last 3x as long
  • At 71% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Highlands Sing-Sing. Power-ups drop 3x as often and are always Fire Cross
  • At 86% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: Betel Nut Markets. 1 in 3 nucleotide piles is a 6x jackpot
  • Last tier (75%, held back by the very slow response) · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Aid Airlift. The boss arrives with 2 Killer T cells at its side
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Polio Returns 2018. Every room is Alarmed: Detection rises 60% faster inside
  • History (Codex): In 2018 polio returned to Papua New Guinea for the first time in 18 years, and nationwide vaccination drives reached Port Moresby's children.

Perth

Oceania

Infect 5 people in Perth to take it. Its standing policy, Most Isolated City, is good for the virus; once it falls, Woodman Point Quarantine stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Australia · Oceania · population 2.2 million
  • 5 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Fast response (×1.15)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Most Isolated City. Reinforcements always arrive across the room, as far from you as it allows
  • At 22% infected · Political · MAP · bad for the virus: Hard State Border. Runs here go one organ deeper
  • At 43% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Mining Boom FIFO Workers. Polymerase Shards drop 2.5x as often; bosses drop 2.5x materials
  • At 52% infected · Social · MAP · bad for the virus: Sandgropers Stay Home. No Crossroads rooms this run
  • At 65% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Fiona Stanley Hospital. Boss shields can't be broken until every reinforcement is dead
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · good for the virus: Woodman Point Quarantine. Bosses are pinned near the room centre, with 20% more HP
  • History (Codex): During the 1918–1919 flu pandemic, ships arriving at Perth's port of Fremantle were held at the Woodman Point Quarantine Station, where hundreds of passengers fell ill.

McMurdo Station

Antarctica

Infect 6 people in McMurdo Station to take it. Its standing policy, Isolation Protocols, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Polar Medevac stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Research base · Antarctica · population 1,000
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Fast response (×1.2)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Isolation Protocols. Every room is Fortified (cells have 30% more HP)
  • At 21% infected · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Cabin Fever. +40% fire rate
  • At 42% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Shift Changes. Even reinforcement waves spawn unaware
  • At 50% infected · Social · STATS · good for the virus: Shared Galley Meals. Clearing rooms heals double; kills heal 3 HP
  • At 63% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Deep Freeze. Enemy shots fly 30% faster but vanish after 2 s instead of 4
  • After it falls (lasting) · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Polar Medevac. Boss summons arrive as elites (Rare or better)
  • History (Codex): Antarctic crews know the 'crud': colds that sweep the station when summer flights bring new people, then die out over the isolated winter.

Vostok Station

Antarctica

Infect 7 people in Vostok Station to take it. Its standing policy, Ancient Lake Microbes, is good for the virus; once it falls, Lake Vostok Breached stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Research base · Antarctica · population 13
  • 7 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Slow response (×0.8)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Ancient Lake Microbes. Mutation orbs roll much rarer traits
  • At 31% infected · Political · TWIST · bad for the virus: −89 °C Record Cold. Cold: hazards fire half as often, slows last twice as long, everyone moves 12% slower
  • At 63% infected · Political · CELLS · good for the virus: Skeleton Crew of 13. No hunter squads are ever sent
  • At 75% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Strict Crew Rotation. 20% of cells are storm-adapted crimson from the first room
  • At 94% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Lake Vostok Drill Chamber. The boss arena is 20% smaller and has its organ's hazards
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Lake Vostok Breached. Every mutation orb offer is at least Rare
  • History (Codex): In 1983 Vostok Station recorded −89.2 °C, the coldest natural temperature ever measured on Earth, above a lake sealed under the ice for millions of years.

Esperanza Base

Antarctica

Infect 6 people in Esperanza Base to take it. Its standing policy, Families on Base, is good for the virus; once it falls, Hope Bay stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Research base · Antarctica · population 55
  • 6 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Steady response (×0.9)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Political · STATS · good for the virus: Families on Base. Kills heal 4 HP
  • At 28% infected · Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus: Penguin Colonies. Antibody swarms are twice as big in every fight
  • At 56% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Supply Ship Delays. No medicine for the first 4 minutes of the run
  • At 67% infected · Social · TWIST · good for the virus: School Kids Share Everything. Orbs 50% more often; the first orb of each organ is at least Epic
  • At 83% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Katabatic Winds. Boss shots fly 25% faster and live 6 s instead of 4
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · BOSS · good for the virus: Hope Bay. The boss waits asleep across the room until you hit it
  • History (Codex): In 1978 Emilio Palma was born at Esperanza Base, the first person known to be born in Antarctica.

South Pole Station

Antarctica

Infect 8 people in South Pole Station to take it, the most of any city. Its standing policy, Sealed Habitat, is bad for the virus; once it falls, Aurora Australis stays in force for every later run there.

Details
  • Research base · Antarctica · population 150
  • 8 people to infect for the city to fall
  • Very fast response (×1.3)
  • Standing policy (always in place) · Medical · MAP · bad for the virus: Sealed Habitat. Sterile station: no pits, shafts or hazards, but cells have 25% more HP
  • At 19% infected · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Six Months of Night. Polar night: a narrow circle of sight; cells see half as far; +50% nucleotides
  • At 38% infected · Medical · BOSS · bad for the virus: Station Doctor. Bosses regenerate 1% HP/s once left unhit for 3 s
  • At 46% infected · Social · CELLS · bad for the virus: Midwinter Isolation. Every elite is Regenerating and Splitting
  • At 58% infected · Political · STATS · good for the virus: The Bottom of the World. +50% damage, +50% nucleotides
  • After it falls (lasting) · Political · TWIST · good for the virus: Aurora Australis. Every power-up is Chain Lightning and lasts 50% longer
  • History (Codex): In 1999 the South Pole Station's only doctor, Jerri Nielsen, found a lump in her breast and treated herself with chemotherapy drugs airdropped in the dark of winter.

Pandemic Game Mode

World responses and city weather

As whole continents fall, the world itself responds, and those responses apply to every Pandemic run. Ten cities also bring their own weather, which changes how you see, move and shoot.

WHO Declares a Pandemic

1 continent

The world's first answer, once any continent has fallen.

Details
  • Medical · CELLS · bad for the virus
  • The Immune Alert climbs 25% faster
  • Killer T packs are dispatched at 90 Detection

Misinformation Spreads

3 continents

Once three continents have fallen, doubt about medicine helps the virus.

Details
  • Social · TWIST · good for the virus
  • Doses 30% rarer
  • Drug capsule pulses also heal you 5% when you stand inside

Global Vaccine Alliance

5 continents

Once five continents have fallen, the world vaccinates.

Details
  • Political · CELLS · bad for the virus
  • 40% of cells spawn vaccinated (a 40% shield)
  • Doses come 50% more often

Rain

Vancouver

Rainy-Season Gatherings in Vancouver (its 50% tier) bring rain to every run there.

Details
  • Every shot flies 20% slower, yours and theirs
  • Shown as “Rain in force”

Heatwave

Cairo

Desert Heat in Cairo (its 25% tier).

Details
  • Lose 0.5 HP/s while hunted
  • Cells regenerate 0.8% HP/s
  • Acid lasts twice as long

Cold snap

Vostok Station

−89 °C Record Cold at Vostok Station (its 25% tier).

Details
  • Hazards fire half as often
  • Slows last twice as long
  • Everyone moves 12% slower

Snow

Moscow

Bitter Winter in Moscow (its 25% tier).

Details
  • You and your shots move 15% slower
  • Cells see 30% less far

Night

Madrid

Late-Night Terraces, Madrid's social response.

Details
  • A lantern of sight around you
  • Cells see 40% less far
  • +30% nucleotides

Polar night

South Pole Station

Six Months of Night at the South Pole (its 25% tier).

Details
  • A narrow circle of sight
  • Cells see half as far
  • +50% nucleotides
  • Ambush hits deal 50% more

Fog

Nuuk

Sea Fog in Nuuk (its 25% tier).

Details
  • You see only a wide circle around you
  • Cells see 30% less far

Smog

Los Angeles

Wildfire Smoke Season, what Los Angeles becomes once it falls.

Details
  • A hazy circle of sight
  • Cells see 25% less far
  • Acid and clots last twice as long

High winds

Cape Town

Cape Doctor Winds in Cape Town (its 75% tier).

Details
  • A crosswind drifts every shot, yours and theirs
  • The Bloodstream current is 50% stronger

Monsoon

Mumbai

Monsoon Floods, what Mumbai becomes once it falls.

Details
  • Double mucus in every organ
  • The Bloodstream current pulls 60% harder

Pandemic Game Mode

Pandemic-only gear sets

Each continent gives its own five-piece set when you take it whole, and infecting the whole world gives the Pandemic Crown. These sets are found nowhere else. Pieces are named Crown, Mantle, Lattice, Talons and Lance (capsid, envelope, matrix, tail fibers and spike).

Liberty Strain

North America

Legendary set for taking all of North America.

  • 3 pieces: +15% nucleotides
  • 4 pieces: +1 projectile on every shot
  • 5 pieces: +25% damage

Old World Plague

Europe

Legendary set for taking all of Europe.

  • 3 pieces: Detection rises 25% slower
  • 4 pieces: +10% critical hit chance
  • 5 pieces: +30% damage

Silk Road Vector

Asia

Legendary set for taking all of Asia.

  • 3 pieces: Fire 15% faster
  • 4 pieces: Shots fly 30% faster
  • 5 pieces: +1 projectile on every shot, +15% damage

Incense Caravan

Middle East

Legendary set for taking all of the Middle East.

  • 3 pieces: Pick up drops from twice as far
  • 4 pieces: Dashes recharge 30% faster
  • 5 pieces: +20% damage, dashes go 25% farther

Rainforest Canopy

South America

Legendary set for taking all of South America.

  • 3 pieces: +20% max HP
  • 4 pieces: Regenerate 1.5 HP/s
  • 5 pieces: Fire 15% faster, +15% damage

Cradle Genome

Africa

Legendary set for taking all of Africa.

  • 3 pieces: +15% move speed
  • 4 pieces: Each kill heals 2 HP
  • 5 pieces: +30% max HP, +10% damage

Reef Bloom

Oceania

Legendary set for taking all of Oceania.

  • 3 pieces: Take 10% less damage
  • 4 pieces: Cells that touch you take 30 damage
  • 5 pieces: +2% lifesteal, regenerate 2 HP/s

Permafrost Relic

Antarctica

Legendary set for taking all of Antarctica.

  • 3 pieces: Cells move 10% slower
  • 4 pieces: Ultimate charges 30% faster
  • 5 pieces: +25% damage, +25% max HP

Pandemic Crown

Whole world · Prismatic

The Prismatic set for infecting every continent, with +25 RNA strands.

  • Item level 80
  • 3 pieces: +25% damage, +25% max HP
  • 4 pieces: +1 projectile, fire 20% faster, Detection rises 30% slower
  • 5 pieces: Shots pierce 2 more cells, regenerate 3 HP/s, take 15% less damage, +30% damage

Survival

Endless Game Mode

One huge arena, set after set of waves, until you fall. Each set changes the rules and pays loot, and it is the only place Ribozyme Cores drop.

Endless Game Mode
Endless Game Mode

Endless Game Mode

Level 7

Fight wave after wave in the deepest organ you've reached and see how long you last.

Details
  • Opens at Level 7 for the selected virus
  • Main menu button tagged “Collect: Ribozymes”
  • Runs stand apart from your lineage: no inherited strain, and dying doesn't end a generation
  • No XP, no host and no tumors
  • “Endless Game Mode runs don't count toward your lineage or the Codex.”

The arena

Newest organ

The arena is the newest organ your selected virus has reached in normal runs, and it's as hard as that organ.

Details
  • The start screen shows the arena, your best set there and the top gear tier it can drop
  • “Reach the … in a normal run for a harder arena”
  • Your best set is kept separately for each organ's arena
  • One big sealed room with no minimap

Draft your strain

6 of 20

Every Endless run opens with a draft: pick 6 traits from a pool of 20.

Details
  • The same trait can show up twice; picking both stacks it
  • Deeper arenas roll rarer traits
  • “Pick for me” fills your picks; once full it becomes “Re-roll”
  • Synergy hints on the cards

How a set plays

Set flow

Each set starts with a card of its rules, then a short countdown, its waves, and a moment to collect loot before the next pick.

Details
  • The set card lists its boons and curses; press Ready
  • “SET n · STARTS IN 5”: you can move, nothing spawns yet
  • Waves come one after another, 1.4 s apart once a wave is cleared
  • Every hostile cell must be gone and stay gone for 3.5 s
  • Then loot drops in the middle and you choose 1 of 3 traits

Set schedule

2 → 5 waves

Sets start at 2 waves and build up to 5, with a boss set every few sets.

Details
  • Sets 1–16: 2, 2, 2, BOSS, 3, 3, 2, BOSS, 3, 4, 4, BOSS, 5, 5, 5, BOSS
  • After that every set has 5 waves, with a boss set after 3 sets, then 4, then 3, then 4…
  • Boss sets in order: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 29, 34…

The waves

Waves

Every cell arrives already hunting you, from the organ's own mix, and the mix grows as the sets and waves climb.

Details
  • Cells spawn at least 280 pt away from you
  • Each wave adds an antibody swarm of 3 + the set number
  • “WAVE n / N” announces each new wave; “FINAL WAVE · SET n” the last
  • The top pill shows the set, wave and cells left

Rising difficulty

Every set

Every set is harder than the last, on top of its own rules.

Details
  • Cells +15% health per set after the first
  • Cells hit +8% harder per set
  • Cells +3% faster per set (up to +60%)
  • Elites +15% more likely per set
  • The set card says it: “Cells 30% tougher, hitting 16% harder than set 1”

Global effects

Boons & curses

Each set rolls new global boons and curses that last until the next set.

Details
  • 1 boon per set, 2 from set 5
  • 1 curse in sets 1–2, then one more every 2 sets, up to 5 from set 9
  • 11 boons and 11 curses in the pool

Boss sets

Boss

A boss set is one boss from any organ you've reached, never the same one twice in a row.

Details
  • Its health is scaled to your build: at least about 25 s of your damage, 3 s more for each boss set
  • It fades in across the arena from you
  • “BOSS SET · <boss> · Beat it for extra loot”

Set rewards

Loot

Every cleared set pays nucleotides, materials and gear of the arena's level, and heals you.

Details
  • Nucleotides: 30 + 18 per set (scaled by organ and modifiers)
  • Polymerase Shards: 4 + the set number
  • Chaperone Proteins on every even set
  • Ribozyme Cores every set: 1, 2 from set 6, 3 from set 12…
  • A gear piece every set (better from set 6), a second every 3rd set
  • Boss sets add a better gear piece and more Ribozyme Cores
  • Heals 30% of your max health

Ribozyme Cores

Endless drop

The material that enhances gear from +3 up to +10; every level needs more of them.

Details
  • Every Endless set pays at least one, more as sets climb
  • Endless bosses, Killer T cells and elites drop more
  • In Infect and Pandemic Game Modes those drops condense into chaperones

Cover walls

7 layouts

Every set raises a new layout of tissue walls to hide behind, bounce shots off and funnel cells.

Details
  • Four pillars, two long bars, corner brackets, vertical baffles, scattered blocks, staggered bars, or a diamond of short walls
  • Layouts can be mirrored and never repeat back to back
  • Walls never rise on top of you or the loot in the middle

Endless over

Run end

The run summary counts sets survived, then a final page shows your result against your best.

Details
  • “Sets survived: N · Best: N”
  • Gear found can be reviewed, equipped or dismantled as usual
  • “Endless Game Mode runs don't count toward your lineage.”

Endless Game Mode

Endless boons and curses

Each set rolls its own global effects from these 22. Boons help you; curses make the immune system stronger.

Viral Surge

Boon

Your hits land critically more often.

Details
  • +15% critical hit chance

Thick Envelope

Boon

A tougher outer layer.

Details
  • Take 15% less damage

Leeching

Boon

Your auto-attacks heal you.

Details
  • Auto-attacks heal 2% of their damage

Regenerative

Boon

Health comes back on its own.

Details
  • Regenerate 2 HP/s

Spiked Coat

Boon

Cells that touch you get hurt.

Details
  • Cells that touch you take 20 damage

Quick Shedding

Boon

Your dash comes back sooner.

Details
  • Dash recharges 40% faster

Fast Virions

Boon

Faster shots.

Details
  • Shots fly 30% faster

Rich Host

Boon

More to collect.

Details
  • +60% nucleotides

Feeding Frenzy

Boon

Every kill heals you.

Details
  • Each kill heals 2 HP

Volatile Cells

Boon

Dead cells take their neighbours with them.

Details
  • Dying cells burst and hurt their neighbours

Wide Uptake

Boon

Pickups come to you from farther away.

Details
  • Pick up drops from twice as far

Fever

Curse

Faster immune cells.

Details
  • Cells move 25% faster

Inflammation

Curse

Harder-hitting immune cells.

Details
  • Cells hit 30% harder

Antibody Coat

Curse

Tougher immune cells.

Details
  • Cells have 35% more HP

Rapid Fire

Curse

Faster enemy shots.

Details
  • Cell shots fly 35% faster

Regrowth

Curse

Wounded cells recover.

Details
  • Wounded cells heal over time

Elite Surge

Curse

Elite cells everywhere.

Details
  • Far more elite cells (twice as likely)

Hyper-Vigilant

Curse

The immune system notices you sooner.

Details
  • Detection rises 80% faster
  • Cells see farther (40%)

Cytotoxic Backlash

Curse

Dying cells can hurt you.

Details
  • Dying cells burst and can hurt you

Lean Host

Curse

Less to collect.

Details
  • 30% fewer nucleotides

Brittle Capsid

Curse

You take more damage.

Details
  • Take 15% more damage

Swollen Cells

Curse

Bigger, meaner cells.

Details
  • Cells have 20% more HP and hit 15% harder

Encyclopedia

The Codex

A real-science encyclopedia of everything in the game: 390 entries in 15 categories. 40 Game Mechanics entries explain how the game works; the other 350 are discovered as you play, each with its real-world biology, a fun fact and what it does in the game.

The Codex
The Codex

The Codex

390 entries

Categories on the left, that category's entries in the middle, and the entry to read on the right.

Details
  • “N / 350 discovered” in the header; each category shows found/total and turns mint when complete
  • Undiscovered entries read “???” with a silhouette and a hint on how to find them
  • Entries show REAL WORLD, FUN FACT and IN GAME (Game Mechanics: WHAT IT IS, TIP, HOW IT WORKS)
  • ‹ › page through what you've found; L1/R1 or Q/E flip categories
  • Opens at the entry you came for when reached from the drops guide
  • Opens after your first finished run

Game Mechanics

40 entries

How the game's systems work, from Detection and Hunter Squads to Endless Game Mode and Pandemic responses.

Details
  • Always readable, never “discovered”
  • Gated mechanics appear once they've been introduced in a run
  • Examples: Detection, Killer T Cells, Room Tiers, Strains & Lineage, Starting Deeper, Run Modifiers, Pandemic Game Mode Responses

Viruses

8 · Your virus

The playable viruses, the rival viruses and the virion itself.

Details
  • Influenza A virus, Retrovirus, Filovirus, Halovirus, Rhinovirus, Norovirus, Adenovirus, Virion
  • Found by playing a virus, meeting it as a rival, or a mutation turning your lineage into it

Mutations

56 · Your virus

Every strain a generation can be born with.

Details
  • Unlocks when you pick it for a new generation at the end of a run
  • Examples: Robust Capsid, Twin Genome, Glass Cannon, Loud and Proud

Traits

35 · Your virus

Every trait mutation orbs can offer.

Details
  • Unlocks when you pick it from a mutation orb
  • Examples: Lytic Burst, Fomite Ricochet, Incubation Period, Gene Drive

Power-ups

11 · Your virus

CRISPR-Cas9 and the ten elemental power-ups.

Details
  • Unlocks when you pick it up in a fight
  • CRISPR-Cas9, Spike Shield, Chain Lightning, Fire Cross, Tidal Pulse, Gale Force, Stone Skin, Frost Aura, Mist Veil, Radiance, Umbra

Gear

5 · Your virus

The five gear slots and the real viral parts behind them.

Details
  • Capsid, Viral Envelope, Matrix Protein, Tail Fibers, Spike Protein
  • Unlocks when you find gear for that slot

Immune Cells

57 · Inside the host

Every cell that fights you, from neutrophils to bosses and tumors.

Details
  • Unlocks during a run: for most cells, landing one hit is enough
  • Examples: Neutrophil, Macrophage, Natural Killer Cell, Cytotoxic T Cell, Glioblastoma

Organs & Tissue

11 · Inside the host

The eight organs plus mucus, cilia and alveoli.

Details
  • Unlocks when you reach that part of the body in a run

Rooms & Hazards

24 · Inside the host

Special rooms and the hazards built into the tissue.

Details
  • Unlocks the first time it shows up in a run
  • Examples: Refuge, Receptor Puzzle, Immune Siege, Abyss Pits, Cilia Carpet, Synapse

Treatments

9 · Inside the host

The medicine your host takes to fight you.

Details
  • Unlocks when the host takes it during a run
  • Examples: Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), Influenza Vaccine, Interferon Shot, Radiation Therapy

Host Conditions

48 · Inside the host

Conditions a person or animal host can have, each changing the whole run.

Details
  • Unlocks when you infect a host that has it
  • Examples: Severe Asthma, Type 1 Diabetes, White-Nose Syndrome, Hibernation Torpor

Molecules

18 · Inside the host

Proteins and molecules from the game, from antibodies to ribozymes.

Details
  • Unlocks when it turns up in a run: a drop, a gene or an attack
  • Examples: Hemagglutinin (HA), Neuraminidase (NA), Histamine, RNA, Fusion Peptide

Processes

11 · Inside the host

Biology in action: what happens to you and around you.

Details
  • Unlocks when it happens to you in a run
  • Examples: Opsonization, Antigenic Drift, Antigenic Shift, Phagocytosis, Viral Latency

Animal Hosts

19 · The world

Every animal you can infect, each with its own signature trait.

Details
  • Unlocks when you infect one
  • Some only live around Pandemic Game Mode cities
  • Examples: Fruit Bat, Pig, Dromedary Camel, Kangaroo, Penguin

Pandemic Cities

38 · The world

Every Pandemic city, with a real outbreak or event from its history.

Details
  • Unlocks when you start a run there in Pandemic Game Mode
  • Shows country, population and continent, its standing policy and what it becomes once taken

Play your way

Controls and accessibility

Play with touch, a game controller, or keyboard and mouse, in English or Spanish. Menus work fully with a controller or keyboard, and the game respects Reduce Motion.

Touch controls

iPhone & iPad

Put a thumb down on the left side of the screen to steer with a floating stick; tap the round buttons on the right for your moves.

Details
  • The stick appears wherever your thumb lands on the left side
  • Buttons: Dash, Shift (signature ability), Ultimate and your active skill
  • Your virus fires on its own at the nearest cell it can see
  • A pause button sits in the corner

Game controllers

Controller

Xbox, PlayStation, Switch Pro and MFi controllers work in runs and in every menu.

Details
  • Left stick or d-pad moves
  • Default layout: A dash, B Shift, Y Ultimate, X active skill, Menu pause
  • Connect any time, even mid-run
  • No controller? “Pair one in the iPhone's Bluetooth settings” (or the Mac's)

Button remapping

Settings

Give each of the five run actions any of ten controller buttons.

Details
  • Actions: Dash, Shift skill, Ultimate, Active skill, Pause
  • Buttons: A, B, X, Y, LB, RB, LT, RT, Menu, Options
  • Picking a button another action uses swaps the two
  • Reset to default
  • Change it mid-run from the pause menu and it applies at once

Button icons that match your controller

Controller

Prompts show the buttons of the controller you're holding, in their real colours.

Details
  • PlayStation: ✕ ○ □ △ in blue, red, pink and green, with L1/R1
  • Xbox: A B X Y in green, red, blue and yellow, with LB/RB
  • Each in-run button wears the icon of the button mapped to it
  • They switch to keyboard keys whenever the keyboard was used last

Controller menu navigation

Menus

Every menu can be played without touching the screen: a spinning highlight moves between buttons.

Details
  • D-pad or left stick moves the highlight (hold to keep moving)
  • A selects; B (or Menu) goes back or closes the top pop-up
  • LB/RB (and LT/RT) switch tabs
  • Left/right turns a highlighted slider down or up by 10%
  • Map pins and continent labels get their own highlight shapes
  • Locked items can still be highlighted to read what they need

Controls hint bar

Menus

With a controller or keyboard in use, a bar along the bottom shows what each button does on the current screen.

Details
  • Select, Back, Tabs and Adjust, each with the right icon
  • Only shows the hints that apply right now

Keyboard in a run

Keyboard

Any hardware keyboard plays: a Mac's, an iPad's or a Bluetooth one on iPhone.

Details
  • Arrow keys: move
  • Space: dash
  • W: Ultimate
  • D: Shift skill
  • A: active skill
  • Esc or P: pause

Keyboard in menus

Keyboard

Menus work from the keyboard too, with the same highlight as a controller.

Details
  • Arrows or WASD move the highlight (hold to repeat)
  • Return or Space selects
  • Esc (or Delete) goes back
  • Q / E switch tabs (also [ ], Tab and Shift-Tab)
  • Settings → Keyboard & Mouse lists every key

Mouse

Mouse

Steer with the pointer.

Details
  • Hold the left button and your virus heads for the pointer, at full speed once it's 90 pt away
  • Right-click to dash

Vibration

Haptics

Every event in the game can be felt: each sound has a matching vibration through the Taptic Engine.

Details
  • Light taps for hits and pickups, heavy thumps for taking damage and landing, double pulses for rewards and warnings
  • Rate-limited so rapid fire never turns into a constant buzz
  • Vibration on/off in Settings (not shown on Mac)

Settings

Menu & pause

One panel, reachable from the gear button on the main menu or the pause menu's Settings tab.

Details
  • Music and Effects volume sliders (70% and 90% by default)
  • Vibration
  • Language
  • Controller (button mapping)
  • Keyboard & Mouse (shown when a keyboard is connected; always on Mac)
  • Scale to window (Mac)
  • Everything is saved between launches

Language

English · Español

Play in English or Spanish, or follow your device's language.

Details
  • Choices: Phone, English, Español
  • Numbers and dates follow the game's language
  • The switch applies after restarting the game

Reduce Motion

Accessibility

With iOS Reduce Motion on, the game calms its busiest animations.

Details
  • The title screen's intro animations are toned down
  • The Pandemic map's moving layers hold still: the night sweep, growing veins, pulses and the news ticker
  • Buttons keep their labels for VoiceOver (Back, Settings, Resources, Modifiers)

No accidental taps

Quality of life

New-mechanic briefings and confirmation pop-ups hold their main button for 3 seconds, counting down on the button, so a finger still on the screen can't dismiss them.

Details
  • Cancel buttons are never held
  • A countdown (3, 2, 1) takes the button's label while it waits

Clear “can't do that” feedback

Quality of life

Tapping something you can't afford or can't use yet shakes it and says why.

Details
  • A short reason pops up on the button
  • A “denied” sound and a buzz
  • Works the same with a controller's A

Automatic saving

Quality of life

Progress saves on its own, moments after anything changes and whenever the app goes to the background.

Details
  • Pickups and discoveries are banked every 2 seconds during a run
  • Abandoning a run keeps everything collected

Mac

Mac

The Mac version adds window scaling and its own game-styled controls.

Details
  • Scale to window: grow the interface with the window, or keep it 1:1 (sharpest on a non-Retina screen)
  • Keyboard and mouse always available
  • Game-styled sliders and switches in Settings

Sound and look

Audio and presentation

Every sound and every note of music in Pathogen is synthesized from code when the game launches, with no audio files. The music adapts to the fight, and each organ has its own theme.

Made from code

Audio

A tiny built-in synthesizer renders every sound effect and music loop at launch.

Details
  • Oscillators (sine, triangle, saw, square, noise) with pitch glides and envelopes
  • FM, a sweeping low-pass filter and echo
  • Gentle saturation so stacked sounds never clip harshly
  • No audio files at all

54 sound effects

Audio

A sound for everything that happens, from each shot to a boss falling.

Details
  • Combat: shots (Influenza A and Retrovirus have their own), hits, crits, pops, explosions, freeze, shock
  • You: hurt, death, block, heal, dash, teleport, dash burst, Shift, Latency, Ultimate, skill
  • Pickups: nucleotides, RNA, gear, rare gear, chests, orbs, trait picks
  • The immune system: door lock, room clear, alert, squad, Killer T, boss intro, boss shield, boss defeat, treatment, rival
  • Menus: tap, back, buy, denied, level up, dismantle, combine, mutate, victory, defeat
  • Small random pitch changes keep repeated sounds from sounding robotic

Adaptive music

Music

Each theme is four layers that fade in and out as the action heats up.

Details
  • Layers: pad, arpeggio, groove (bass and drums) and boss
  • Calm, explore, combat and boss intensities
  • Fights bring in the groove; boss rooms bring in everything
  • Themes cross-fade between screens and organs

Title theme

Music

The calm opening theme.

Details
  • 76 bpm, Lydian
  • Triangle pad, sine lead

Nasal Passage theme

Organ 1

The first organ's theme.

Details
  • 100 bpm, Dorian, swung
  • Saw pad, triangle lead

Lungs theme

Organ 2

Airy and open.

Details
  • 92 bpm, minor
  • Triangle pad, sine lead

Bloodstream theme

Organ 3

Fast and tense.

Details
  • 116 bpm, harmonic minor
  • Saw pad, square lead

Lymph Node theme

Organ 4

Swinging and busy.

Details
  • 108 bpm, Dorian, swung
  • Saw pad, triangle lead

Gut theme

Organ 5

The darkest theme, with the heaviest swing.

Details
  • 98 bpm, Phrygian
  • Saw pad, square lead, the most muffled filter

Liver theme

Organ 6

Brooding.

Details
  • 104 bpm, minor
  • Triangle pad, saw lead

Bone Marrow theme

Organ 7

The fastest organ theme.

Details
  • 120 bpm, harmonic minor
  • Saw pad, square lead

Brain theme

Organ 8

The brightest theme, for the final organ.

Details
  • 88 bpm, Lydian
  • Triangle pad, sine lead, the most open filter

CRISPR theme

Power-up

A short, driving loop that takes over while CRISPR makes you invincible, then hands back to the organ's theme.

Details
  • 184 bpm, E harmonic minor
  • Pumping 16th-note bass, a gritty detuned-saw riff and power-chord stabs
  • Four-on-the-floor kicks, with a snare roll and riser launching each repeat

INFECTED

Run start

Every run opens with “INFECTED” slamming in over a green pulse, with a vibration to match.

Details
  • Used for Infect, Pandemic and Endless Game Mode starts

Pandemic world map

Pandemic

A night-and-day world with drifting oceans, glowing coasts and infection spreading city to city.

Details
  • The night side starts where it really is and sweeps around the world every five minutes, with city lights
  • Veins and particles spread from infected cities; route arcs join the cities you took
  • Aurora ribbons over Antarctica's polar view
  • A spinning globe and fever thermometer in the header

Pandemic run summary

Pandemic

The city's people flip red one by one, response cards flip in, and fallen cities get a FALLEN stamp.

Details
  • Each person flips with a tick and a light vibration
  • The stamp lands with a heavy vibration
  • A taken continent's five set pieces appear one by one

City responses banner

Pandemic

At the start of each organ in a Pandemic run, a banner lists the city's responses in force.

Details
  • “<CITY> · CITY RESPONSES”
  • Good ones in green, bad ones in red, up to 12 in two columns
  • Stays for 4.5 seconds

Next up

The Viruses

Four viruses that play nothing alike, plus rivals that want your host.

Explore The VirusesJoin the beta