Plague, Inc: Evolved is getting the free Shadow Plague expansion, including the real-world wildcard of Brexit and the less real advent of vampires.
According to developer Ndemic Creations’ press release, Shadow plague “adds Brexit events into the game’s sophisticated disease models as well as the new Shadow Plague – a sentient, mutagenic pathogen which triggers a powerful thirst for blood in its chosen host… Unlike the normal game, here you control a single vampire in its mission to enslave all humans and bring in a new era of darkness. Can humanity defend itself against a powerful vampire attacking from the shadows?”
The Shadow Plague itself, this vampire disease, comes with its own rule/feature set:
- Consume humanity – Feed carefully to grow in power and transform into a monstrous bat to strategically set up lairs and shadow portals.
- Emerge from the Shadows – Create slaves to worship their vampire and use Blood Rage to defeat the Templar who hunt them as well as the WHO who seek to eradicate their pathogen
- Cover the world in darkness – Master unique gameplay mechanics and strategies to help the vampire rule the world!
From its content, one would assume this was intended to be a Halloween update. However, it’s hilarious, so it shouldn’t affect people wanting to try it.
As far as Brexit’s implementation, there’s a little mystery as to how Brexit plays out in Plague, Inc: Evolved. “The player can use their disease to help influence the path the UK takes – creating conditions to allow a soft or hard Brexit – or even a terrifying ‘brutal’ Brexit. For people who would rather not leave the EU – there is also the possibility to turn back time and keep the UK inside the union instead!”
Plague, Inc: Evolved has its Shadow Plague expansion already available on Steam, iOS, and Android. It will come to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One “before Christmas.” It is earned by completing all other plagues on “Brutal”, or by paying $1.99 for the unlock.