Pandemic Express (Mosquito Mutant Tag With Assassin Mimes)

 

Talk about some deceptive wording. Pandemic Express is billed with the word “zombie” thrown about but zombies there are none though escape plenty. I’m not sure why everyone latched onto it as a “zombie” thing when it stands perfectly fine on its own feet if you’re into mutant insect people, but I suppose for advertising and buzz wording “zombie” is all you have to really describe what is actually a game of tag between mutated mosquitoes and gun-toting French mime assassins. Maybe overhaul the PR and scrap the theme? Probably not needed. But can you really overhaul what is in essence a game of tag?

 

 

Yes. Developed by TinyBuild and TALLBOYS, Pandemic Express has a very simple premise. You take control of a single character in a group of 30 or less. When the timer runs down, the mad dash and trash talking begins. One player is randomly infected and their goal is to infect as many of the other players as possible. Once you’re infected, you start to infect. Those who remain uninfected, however, are attempting to escape the realm without getting caught by hopping onto a speeding train. As more players are turned, the survivors see their damage increase as swarms of mosquito beasts attempt to keep the train from reaching its destination. Check out some gameplay in the video below.

   

Pandemic Express is a gorgeous game to look at. It has an innovative style that places you in a Russian-influenced Soviet country with highly stylized design. The players appear something like French mimes with plague doctor-inspired masks and can gather a variety of weapons (I suggest shotgun) to spray at their prey. The “zombies” are like giant, purulent, black mosquitoes with glowing eyes. The sound is bizarre and quirky and you can jump immediately into play, though you’ll get destroyed and called practically every racial and gender slur on the planet when you first try. As the “zombie” character you have different types to choose from including an invisible version that only appears when it attacks. The idea is simply to escape or stop others from escaping.

 

 

To be honest I hated Pandemic Express when I first played it. It’s simple enough to understand, but you’ll be overwhelmed from several directions the first time through, and after getting called fa**** 10 times in five minutes by 15-year-olds from all over the world some of you will probably have enough in 1 (don’t worry you can mute the hate if you’re already shaking in rage). But it shines in the depth of its simple design as you hitch a ride on trucks and blast at swarms, careen over cliffs, and experience pure chaos. Plus the devs have announced some very promising updates and additions in the coming weeks. Pandemic Express is great for quick plays and with the ability to level it has a surprising amount of replay value for what is in essence a game of tag between French mimes and mutant mosquitoes.

 

Pandemic Express Official Steam Page

Written Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Pandemic Express
TALLBOYS (developer), TinyBuild, (developer, publisher)
4.6 / 5