Infectonator

Infectonator flipped the usual logic of strategy games, instead of defending humanity against infection, the player himself controls the outbreak, and his task is to let the zombie virus spread through the pixel city as quickly and efficiently as possible. Studio Toge Productions came out in 2010 with a game where the player releases infected individuals into a crowd of civilians and watches panic and infection spread through the streets, while gradually unlocking upgrades, faster spread, tougher zombies, or special abilities.

The game's darkly comic tone rests on the contrast between cute pixel graphics and the terrifying apocalypse theme, small characters flee, scream and perish in a way that resembles a grotesque more than a horror game. This lightness of approach to the zombie infection theme helped Infectonator stand out from the flood of seriously-intended zombie titles that dominated the gaming scene at the time, and the game thus built a loyal community on portals like Kongregate and Newgrounds. The gradual unlocking of new cities and abilities gave the game solid progression despite its simple core mechanics.

The success of the first game led to several sequels, including mobile versions and the spin-off World's End, which expanded the core concept with more tactical elements and a more elaborate unit system. The original Flash version now requires browser emulation, because support for Adobe Flash Player was definitively ended in 2020.

Why play: For fans of black humor and casual strategy games, who appreciate an unconventional take on the zombie genre from the perspective of the infection itself rather than its victims.