Plague Inc: Evolved

This was most enjoyed in the days of miniclip.com and shockwave games. This game was sort of ground breaking in the sense it wasn't anything I've seen before. Fast forward to today and the devs have successfully launched a few games on Steam. Although this can feel a little like a mobile game, it does have a certain progression that respects the player enough to give a challenge. In short, will recommend but on the same steep sale that I got it on.

Plague Inc: Evolved's gameplay relies mostly on a point and click control scheme. The main view for most of the game is a map of the world. The player essentially controls the view of the map, clicks the user interface to interact with the game. The game itself doesn't require much player interaction as its mostly observation. The game is essentially choosing a disease, naming it, watching it spread, mutating it as points accumulate, and popping notification bubbles that come up. I wish there was a little more interaction rather than popping random bubbles that appear on the map. These bubbles either give the player more DNA mutation points or slow the research against the disease. The player can't quite see the extent of their disease in any third or first person mode. Even though the game sounds very straight forward and not much is going on, there is a gameplay loop that is addicting - especially with a campaign that introduces variances.

The visuals and graphics are okay. There is some minor animation going on showing players where infections start and how they travel around (by boat or by plane). Messages sometimes randomly pop up informing the player of world events that are occurring, and if the player is good enough, can actually change the messages. For example, Brexit happening is a big one, and somehow through whatever I did, I mitigated and avoided the Brexit situation. The sounds and music are also okay. They're not phenomenal, but they're at least present. I've actually turned down the this domain because the repetition of the same sounds can become annoying.

In short, I will sort of recommend this game, even if it's on a major sale. The campaign was well done - making an effort to familiarize the player with how to play the game, and sort of adds a new spin to each scenario. The biggest issue for me is staring at the same screen over and over, and simply playing whack-a-mole with my mouse. Really wish there was more interaction. The game does have a "sandbox" type mode and enough for the campaign, but once its done, don't see myself (personally) coming back often.

RATING: 7.0/10

Probably wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't on sale. It's fun at first but gets boring unless you're going for a 100% or branch off to making/playing the custom scenarios.

Wow. 10 years ago? I came back to this because of the 2025 World Update and the new game the dev is releasing.

Is it dated? Yes. It feels like a 10 year old game.

Is it still fun? Yeah. Popping bubbles for resources is a bit tired, but it's still enjoyable to build up your resources, invest in upgrades, and kill (or save) humanity.

I'd definitely recommend Rebel Inc. for an updated version of these mechanics, rather than playing this entry in the franchise. If this theme is more appealing it's still a good game.

It is neither a fun game, nor an interesting simulation. At first blush this is about building your own disease to wipe out the planet. However, the ruthless failure states (cured disease, contained outbreak, etc.) punish you harshly for actually trying to play with these features, effectively pushing you to execute the same boring strategy in every run, and praying that the RNG is kind enough to let it work.

The game has several disease types, but most of them are functionally identical. Even for the ones with some differences, like the Necroa virus, don't allow for fun experimentation. It's basically always mandatory that you invest in the most effective transmission abilities while zealously avoiding ANY symptoms at all, or your disease will be cured in a snap. So you propagate a disease which does absolutely nothing, until every person on the planet has it, and then through some miracle of biology cause a global mutation that kills everyone before scientists can cure it.

If that sounds weird, repetitive, and tiresome, that's Plague Inc. for you. It's unfortunate that such an entertaining, devious concept for a game turned out to be so paper thin in practice. You'll quickly find that every run feels like the same, and it really wears because most of the actual player activity is sitting & waiting, or clicking "DNA bubbles" that pop up randomly for more points (which are necessary to win)., or later "Cure Bubbles" which slightly slow down cure progress. The interface has a very "cheap mobile game" vibe.

I wasted $8 and 6 hours of my life on this, but at least I can caution you to avoid the same mistake.

The game is iconic and unique, but still not very good. No matter which virus you play, workshop or vanilla, the game feels practically the same every run.

The same boring strategy, the same amount of RNG, and the same gameplay (clicking circles on the map, wow... fun).

It just loses its flair extremely quickly. For me, it was within the first 4 runs. I have already exhausted this game 1 hour in.

The workshop scenarios are cute and funny, but they don't change the generic gameplay no matter what.
AND THIS GAME COSTS $15 NORMAL PRICE??? Wtf.

Close to the 100%...


P. S. I hate the multiplayer achivements.

Great game about infecting the whole world. You start a virus thingy, and you choose what it's name is and what type it is (like it could be a monkey, parasite, or zombie virus if you wanted to do that) and there's also a thing called "scenarios" where there's usually something different with the world or virus, and there's both official scenarios and custom scenarios, and there are also Steam badges and achievements. The mobile version is free, but is filled with paywalls and isn't as good as the PC/console version. Get it if you want, its a cool game and stuff.

Game becomes extremely boring as you unlock the novelty 'plague' types, especially the 'Vampire' one. You no longer have the ability to create your own virus or bacteria, instead the only way to get victory is to play to a specific linear design, so boring.

I've basically always loved this game. It's fun to just speed run it once you get the hang of each of the types. Would definitely recommend.

So I'm a complete casual. I remember playing a game very similar to this on a website. I don't care to be super amazing at this game. I don't want to. They should have just made it so that you can get all the disease types from the beginning. I will probably never unlock the second one. It is just that every once in a while I like to play it and look at the pretty colors. So I imagine that I will have low hours. But I bought this for a low price. So I figure that if I get 4 hours worth out of this overall then it was worth it. No rush. I have like 10 years to get 4 hours. Super casual.

A classic. Can we call it a classic at this point? Because it is. A classic that doesn't get boring after more than 10 years of its lifetime, despite the seemingly limited opportunities. 17 plagues and special scenarios do not sound like a lot, and yet people still play it - a lot, without a sequel or tons of paid DLCs. No mean feat for a map-staring simulator.

Pls do not use steam unlocked. Oliver did it and got big virus fr in his pc.

While I don't hate it, all that experience with Plague Inc shows is that it isn't about the "game" so much as the "metagame."

Limited points and a ticking clock, which should provide nice, organic gameplay instead forces you to monostrategize into limiting your observability and alpha strike with lethal symptoms before the cure gets out.

The scenarios are more meme than memorable, because of course we need to market around Trump elections and Coronavirus.

I don't hate the Cure mode, but it falls into the same pitfalls where, through no fault of yourself, the plague can go long enough without being seen that you effectively just can't fight back and contain it until everyone is pissy because some people are dying...OMG!

It's a good concept for sure, but with a middling execution and, despite the continuous updates and new content, meta heavy gameplay that never gets fixed. When you've played one game, you've played all of the games, so no, I wouldn't recommend it.

Plague inc is a certified banger man- just finished up 100% and although some achievements get a bit save scummy and tiresome (im looking at you super sparrow) there is so much diversity of gameplay and fun achievements to strategize and figure out. A very satisfying game to finally 100% Also- one of my favorite most iconic soundtracks for a game ever. The trailer on opening the game is perfection. The devs really worked hard on every aspect of the game to make it feel like you're actually plaguing the world. 10/10 loved it!

Loved the free version on the phone, brought it to show my support to the devs. I love this game and have fond memories with it

Some fun at first, pretty amusing premise for a game, but after a while the cracks really start showing.
At first you might perceive there is strategy to spreading, resistance, detection etc, but it's all to a large extent, just random.

If you want my true and honest opinion, this game is really underrated nowadays.
Yes this game can get really repetitive after awhile, but custom scenarios and messing with the scenario creator are genuinely really fun to play with.
If you've got the money then I'd recommend atleast giving this game a shot.

This game disincentivizes you from using its core mechanics. If you try to evolve any symptoms, scientists immediately cure your disease or Greenland closes its borders, so instead you just have to wait until a disease that does nothing infects the entire planet and then abruptly evolve total organ failure.

That's like GTA V giving you an inescapable five-star wanted level every time you steal a car, thus forcing you to ride a bike until you eventually save up enough money to finance a used car. Kinda defeats the point, don't you think?

Fun at first but gets repetetive really fast, Recomend it at a 60% discount or more.

great game, perfect in its style, still getting updates after 9 years

A truly amazing game that, 13 years later (initially coming out 2012 on mobile), still receives love and support from the amazing team at Ndemic Creations.

Game play is solid if you enjoy playing shorter simulation games and strategizing within mostly preset constraints.

i used to think this game was cool until it really quickly became the "clicking bubbles until you're bored" game. painfully low replay value. do NOT buy this game

I mean... Its cool. Personally i think its a good game, gets boring after a while. A lot of potential in the Infection maker i'll say that.

the game is undeniably a classic and has made videogame history, even if small. the original game's gameplay loop however gets stale after tens of hours, and the only things that spice it up are official scenarios and workshop stuff. the cure mode is also good and very fresh, but it's way harder to get the hang of.

this is the kinda game you play nonstop for a few days or weeks when you first play it, then drop and revisit it once half a year or something like that. it's a good game, even if it's not super replayable in the long long run. made my childhood.

Relaxing fun gameplay as you end humanity. Easy to play fun to master.

was a pretty fun phone game. turned into a steam game. its fun for what is it.

From mobile to desktop to board game, this game never fails me. All-time legend.

Custom scenarios broken since 2020, stucks on "recieving data" and preventing from playing even local file.
Devs doing nothing and not responding.

Game Review: Plague Inc.
Rating: 4.9/5

"Plague Inc." is a brilliantly crafted simulation that puts you in the role of a deadly pathogen aiming to wipe out humanity. The game offers a compelling mix of strategy, planning, and a touch of dark humor as you evolve your disease, adapt to global responses, and try to outsmart scientists and governments trying to develop a cure.

One of the standout features of "Plague Inc." is its depth of gameplay. Despite its simple premise—infect the world—it's incredibly addictive and requires careful thought and strategy. The game’s realistic mechanics, combined with its attention to detail, make each playthrough unique and challenging. The graphics and interface are clean and straightforward, making it easy to navigate and focus on the strategic elements.

The game is highly engaging and educational, offering insights into how diseases spread and how global responses work, all wrapped in a darkly entertaining package. Its balance of simplicity and complexity makes it accessible to newcomers while providing enough depth for seasoned strategists.

Overall, "Plague Inc." is a near-perfect blend of fun, strategy, and educational value. It’s a must-play for fans of simulation and strategy games. My rating: 4.9 out of 5.

I have loved this game since the first time i found a ripoff
could be better with multiple strain controls and recovery and reinfection.
as we know from covid, diseases split and mutate like crazy

plauge inc is a great game. personally one of my favourite steam games. lots of humor lots of achievments and great devs. consider buying!!

Only real complaint is that this game says it works well on the Steam Deck, when the truth is some features are flat out unusable on the Deck. Other than that it's super addictive and I'm having a lot of fun!

It's a neat little strategy game.
At some point it get's a bit repetitive, especially with the default disease types.
Like, there are a lot of combinations to try but they all kind of reduce to infect everyone and then kill them.
Some of the scenarios and thematic disease type offer some neat variations to the formula.

Nice idea, failed execution.

Not well balanced and every Pathogen feels and plays the same.

Points are RNG so if you fail, just retry and pray that you get enough point drops to beat the attempt.

No skill required, just let the game play itself.

Boring and not worth any money, get it if it's FREE and you're extremely bored of your life.

I really do want to recommend it given how much I've played; I wish there was a neutral review option. The premise of Plague Inc is original and gameplay can be quite fun at first, but it quickly becomes dull, predictable, and linear over time, with some RNG frustrations.
Making a disease and infecting countries starts to feel monotonous in the main gamemode the more playthroughs you go through, and I'm often trying to find ways just to make it not feel as boring as every playthrough starts to feel the same. When I play now, I usually only play workshop scenarios which are a lot more fun than the main game. You're also almost always guaranteed to miss an island country after they shut down their ports because of RNG which is very frustrating and requires you to create saves just to not lose to one country not getting infected. Cure progression can also feel unfair at times, since developing only one symptom can cause your disease to be noticed immediately and cure progress will start.
Overall, I do enjoy some parts of Plague Inc, but can't recommend fully due to the lack of entertainment I feel in the main game. If you want to play, wait to buy until it goes on sale and check out the workshop scenarios.

This game is fucking awesome. I love taking over the planet. It really feeds my crazy god complex.

It was amazing and i am still playing, there are a few hard levels like fungi. But other wise it was a good game......

Un buen juego para simular el fin del mundo o salvarlo, pero está mas divertido infectarlo y ver arder la humanidad

Fun to burn some time. I came back to it recently after many years of not playing. The game is more complicated than you think, it doesn't really explain some of the underlying game mechanics such as higher severity giving you more DNA points for infects.

Many custom scenarios to try as well.

This game is ungodly shit, killed my dog, my grandma, and all of my closest relatives except for my uncle whom i hate.

This game is so fun, you can just take over the world so quick! As well as seeing the world collapse.

Definitely Recommend to play this game!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
"Infectiously Addictive (Pun Intended)"

Plague Inc is a game that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. The concept is unique where you create and evolve a disease to wipe out humanity. It sounds dark but it's seriously fun.

There’s a lot of variety with different plague types and each one offers a new way to play. The strategy is solid and you have to think about how to spread when to evolve and how to stay under the radar.

It can get difficult at times. Some scenarios are really tough especially when the cure research speeds up faster than your infection. But that just makes winning feel more rewarding.

If you like strategy games science themes or something different Plague Inc is absolutely worth trying. Just be ready to spend a lot of time on it.

👍 Would infect again.

a game everyone should definitely own. it's both informative and interactive and the game play simply is addictive. although I feel like the content is limited, but passing a level is not that easy

Fun gimmick game for 5 bucks, "replay ability" is really just doing the same thing except a few abilities are different. You aren't made to adapt your starting strategy.

The PC version is a massive disappointment.

As others have mentioned, the game's difficulty curve is in overdrive causing even casual/normal rounds to require extreme luck in order to succeed. Having even on symptom causes the disease to be noticed and research will start almost immediately and it takes very little time to complete followed by a week to inoculate the entire planet. Those of us who lived through the last few years can attest that that does not happen in reality which is what the game was originally pitched on; mimicking real world scenarios and procedures including corroboration with the CDC.

I originally played this game on mobile and was able to clear everything on at least the top two highest difficulty settings. That version of the game also entailed strategies more tailored to individual disease types as opposed to having a single strategy that's used for everything. I used to enjoy this game but the RNG is insane and the humans close down ports to stop a disease that solely causes a cough or a sneeze.

If you're a fan of the mobile version stick with that. The PC port has nothing to offer.

Its ok, got decent replay value. but buy on sale, dont pay full price!

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Perfect
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Okay
☐ Bad
☐ Very stylized
☐ They're what they should be for what the game is
☐ MS Paint could make something better

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Fantastic
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Meh
☐ Bad, but playable
☐ Just go watch paint dry

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Amazing
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not to bad
☐ Alright
☐ Bad
☐ My ears are bleeding

---{ Audience }---
☑ Babies
☑ Young kids
☑ Young teens
☑ Older teens
☑ Adults
☑ Old people
☑ Anyone with a decent maturity level
☑ Anyone with a lack of maturity
☑ Anyone that is alive
☑ No one, not even your dog

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Just average
☐ A little better than average
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Better than good
☐ Fancy Pants Rich Boy
☐ NASA

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Can choose your difficulty setting
☐ No difficulty needed
☑ Just press 'W"
☐ Easy
☐ Medium
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Hard
☐ Verry Difficult

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if you like to collect things
☑ Only if you care about steam achievements
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Only if you care about rankings/placements/leaderboards/etc.
☐ Average grind level
☐ A little grindy
☑ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second life, maybe some macros, & a will to live for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ Story? What story?
☐ No Story
☐ Twilight was a better love story than this
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It‘ll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ 1-2 Hours
☐ 2-5 Hours
☐ 5-10 Hours
☐ 10-20 Hours
☐ 20-50 Hours
☐ 50+ Hours
☐ 100+ Hours
☑ To infinity and beyond

---{ Replayablity }---
☐ You won't even finish it the first time
☐ None, once was enough
☐ Not that kind of game
☑ You don't stop playing this kinda game, ever
☐ Maybe once or twice, to try something new
☐ You'll want to get every single possible ending & secret there is
☐ You'll pick it up every few years, but never finish a whole playthrough
☐ A lot, just to romance everyone, pick new options. try new classes, etc

---{ Price }---
☐ It’s free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If you have some money to blow
☐ Wait for it to go on sale for the 100th time
☐ Ask someone to gift it to you instead
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Circumstantial (PC specs, internet, save/install location, etc.)
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Very low
☑ Low
☐ Average
☐ High
☐ Too much

---{ Worth It }---
☐ Hell no!
☐ If you have a lot of cash
☑ Worth it!
☐ Get it now!
☐ Life is not complete without this game!

---{ TEXT }---
This is game is a classic! I love this game, it's part of my childhood!

---{ 8 / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

fun times, a little too real with covid but fun game

Man I love when Greenland closes all its borders and they remain the sole survivors of the whole world

As maddeningly random as the original Flash game, only now it's Greenland instead of Madagascar that'll drive you crazy.