Pestis

About

"Pestis" is a middle ages-based game where you play as a young Plague Doctor, sent to a plague-ridden village. Your mission is to cure as many residents as possible while avoiding infection yourself. With a gloomy atmosphere and unusual graphic design, the game rewards your progress with status upgrades from Plague Assistant to Hippocrates' Descendant.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 62 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game has a unique premise and a fun plague doctor aesthetic that appeals to fans of the genre.
It offers a simple and straightforward gameplay loop that can be entertaining for a short period, especially for achievement hunters.
The graphics and atmosphere, while basic, are decent for a low-budget game, and the music adds to the overall experience.

The game is extremely short, with only one level and minimal content, making it feel repetitive and lacking in depth.
Controls are clunky and interactions are slow, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The pricing is considered excessive for the limited content offered, with many reviewers feeling it is not worth the current price.

gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
73%
12%
The gameplay is characterized by a simple and repetitive loop involving walking, collecting plants, and using basic mechanics to create potions and cure plague-ridden characters. While the controls are responsible and the atmosphere is enhanced by music, the overall experience is limited by a slow character movement and a lack of depth, making it feel more like a short, casual experience rather than a fully engaging game. Despite its shortcomings, some players find it entertaining enough for its low price, especially when aiming for achievements.
- “The mechanics are minimal, yet engaging enough once you get the hang of them: collect plants to make potions, crush plague-ridden rats with your foot, destroy plague-ridden rat holes with fire, and cure plague-ridden people with home-made antidotes.”
- “Responsible controls, atmospheric music, and simplistic neat gameplay - grab it on sale for 0.49.”
- “For such a low price it looks serviceable, and the gameplay is somewhat entertaining.”
- “What you get is basically a small 20-minute long gameplay loop of walking from A to B and pressing E.”
- “There's only one map, and the gameplay is pretty repetitive; but getting all the achievements should take a while, especially if you're as bad at this kind of quasi-strategy/management game as I am.”
- “The 'cure' mechanic also has infrequent bugginess, which some may find irritating (curing people requires a random combination of colored herbs, shown as colored dots in a popup).”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
19%
19%
The game's atmosphere receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate its intriguing design, atmospheric music, and the immersive, sinister vibe of playing as a plague doctor, others criticize the poor drawing and animation that detracts from immersion. Overall, the atmosphere is described as fun and engaging, particularly for those who enjoy the thematic elements of potion-making and exploration.
- “The concept is awesome and executed very well with the atmosphere and the theme; it all just sort of gets you into the mood of the game. Collecting herbs to make and mix potions is really fun and interesting, and there are so many ways to go about how you play the game, from saving everyone to killing rats and making bombs to destroy their nests, healing yourself with potions, and eating shrooms to stave off the plague and death.”
- “It also boasts a suitably dank and dirty atmosphere, helped in no small part by an aptly Dead Can Dance-esque soundtrack.”
- “It is also poorly drawn and animated, so there is no immersive atmosphere.”
- “You play as a plague doctor that is trying to cure a small village, and the game certainly captures that sinister atmosphere.”
- “It also boasts a suitably dank-'n'-dirty atmosphere, helped in no small part by an aptly dead can dance-esque soundtrack.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally considered passable, with some reviewers noting that the art style and overall aesthetic, particularly the plague doctor theme, are appealing. While the graphics may not stand out significantly for a 2018 title, they are described as smooth and fancy for a budget game, with decent artwork and animation.
- “It actually has smooth and fancy graphics for a cheap game like this.”
- “Still the art style and overall aesthetic are really good.”
- “The mechanics are fine, the graphics are passable, and while I had to mute the game to focus, the music isn't that bad.”
- “[h1]Graphics for a 2018 game:[/h1] Meh.”
- “I think the artwork and animation are decent for what it is.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The music in Pestis is generally well-received, described as atmospheric and fitting for the game's aesthetic, though some players note its repetitiveness with only two tracks. While it enhances the overall experience, a few users found it distracting enough to mute during gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's ambiance.
- “Pestis is a very interesting game with a very good soundtrack.”
- “Responsible controls, atmospheric music, and simplistic neat gameplay - grab it on sale for 0.49.”
- “It also boasts a suitably dank-'n'-dirty atmosphere, helped in no small part by an aptly Dead Can Dance-esque soundtrack.”
- “The music, while repetitive with only 2 tracks, is pretty good.”
- “It also boasts a suitably dank-'n'-dirty atmosphere, helped in no small part by an aptly dead can dance-esque soundtrack.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and easy, with a short duration that lacks depth. The mechanics are straightforward, but the slow character movement adds to the frustration, leading to mixed feelings about whether the grind is worth it for achievements.
- “The mechanics are okay, nothing too complicated, but the character was tediously slow.”
- “It's very tedious, easy, and short.”
- “Worth grinding for the achievements?”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by the bizarre interaction of popping rats, which evokes a mix of humor and confusion. Players express a sense of detachment due to inconsistent hit boxes, leading to a surreal experience that may detract from emotional engagement. Overall, the game's mechanics create an unusual emotional landscape that can be both amusing and frustrating.
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game lacks a traditional campaign and features repetitive missions, resulting in a significant absence of story and character interaction. Players noted the limited environment, consisting of only two maps, detracts from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, some still find the gameplay enjoyable.
- “-1 point for no story or characters to interact or talk to and -1 point for only 2 maps, 1 tiny map for the tutorial level and 1 big map for the main game.”
- “Although it's always the same mission, and there isn't an actual campaign, it still is quite fun.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers limited replayability and content, making it more enjoyable as a budget option rather than a title with lasting engagement.
- “Fun little game if you can grab it for cheap, but don't expect much content or replay value.”