Contagion Review

Contagion is primarily a first-person survival horror game, set after the events of a zombie outbreak. The whole world is now one big ghost town full of monsters. Utilising a wide variety of weapons and a great deal of caution, you and your friends must traverse each level fighting off (or fleeing from) the countless undead that are always lurking nearby.

The level design in Contagion is of a similar vein to Valve's Left 4 Dead titles, where the levels are fixed but their contents are constantly reorganised. While each map may have a fixed mission, such as collecting virus samples or escaping locked down police stations: the routes, enemies, and item placements are randomised with each playthrough. That exit you took before is sealed off this time around, and the key card you need must now be on someone else's desk. This simple randomisation element is brilliant as it gives each new run a breath of fresh air; when you consider a map can take upwards of an hour to get through, this is a very welcome feature.

Overall, I wouldn't necessarily say Contagion does it better than Left 4 Dead, as Valve absolutely nailed the less is more approach. But what Contagion does well is build on that foundation — restricting the action slightly in favour of more survival and horror-focused gameplay.

Players can also become infected, and unless medicated, will eventually turn — leading to an impromptu PvP situation. Or you can switch this off and have dead players spawn as scuttling spectating cockroaches (yes, you read that right) instead. Before beginning any level, its world parameters can be manipulated in the pre-match menu, allowing you to refine the game to suit you and your friends' preferred way to play. Coupled with the previously mentioned randomisation, you'll struggle to find two run-throughs that are ever the same.

Aside from the regular "Escape" mode described above, there are also a bunch of others to enjoy. "Flatline" is a notable one — a fun little ten-round wave survival, with a points and shop system implemented. However, there are also holdout-style modes with varying PvP setups: some being survivors vs zombies and others being survivors vs survivors.

The zombies are interesting too, as developer Monochrome Inc. embraced the survival theme when implementing them into the world. Zombies are very durable foes below the neck and will relentlessly pursue any survivors before either a headshot or a very powerful weapon puts them down for good. This aspect is great not only because it's a nod to common zombie movie lore, but it also reinforces the survival element. Your actions need to not only be swift but also controlled, to ensure you're not overrun. A single zombie can quickly gather allies and turn a mission sideways if you don't remain calm. Not to mention you can also run out of ammo quickly if you don't make your shots count. Surprisingly, this game does not have any "special infected" of its own (a trend set by Valve) and instead sticks to the classic shambling corpse as its sole enemy type.

Concerning the negatives, there are a couple of noticeable issues with the game, the first being its graphics. Don't misunderstand me, the textures aren't poor, they're just beginning to show their age. They're never crookedly placed or stretched out at any point; the game being nearly a decade old simply means that they have not aged well. The sounds, including both the music and effects, as well as the animations have all actually aged fairly well on the other hand.

The second issue is the bot allies. They are simply awful and feel like an afterthought, mercilessly kludged onto the side of an otherwise well-oiled game. Their pathfinding is horrendous, and they often struggle to even follow the player out of the starting area. Not only that, but they will constantly shoot at nothing and spew endless dialogue, which can be heard across the map. Needless to say, they are useless and annoying! Luckily, they can be turned off in the pre-match menu, so I recommend either playing with friends or just completely alone. The game doesn't require more than a single player so you won't encounter any issues here.

A final point that others may consider an issue are the controls; they are just old, clunky, and stiff. I, however, couldn't agree less, as the slightly restricted movement — whether intentional or not — adds to the experience, much like tank controls in the first few Resident Evil 2 games. It does feel more like either a by-product of the game's age or possibly ineptness at Monochrome, rather than a deliberate decision, but it does work well nonetheless.

Contagion is an all-round solid effort at a zombie game. While it's visually beginning to show its age, its well-balanced blend of action, horror, and survival is great; its reserved approach is a welcome change to the many fast-paced, all-action, and in-your-face zombie shooters out there. It ultimately feels more like a game adaptation of a George Romero flick rather than a unique property, but considering how well it has been pieced together by Monochrome, I can't find fault in that. I appreciate that due to its niche it won't topple the likes of Call of Duty’s zombies, but any old-school zombie movie fans out there should certainly give this one a whirl.