Codex
The playable viruses and their real-world relatives.
An RNA virus that infects cells of the respiratory tract and causes the flu. Its genome is split into 8 separate RNA segments.
In the game
The Shapeshifter class. Antigenic Drift changes your shot type every few seconds; Shift fires a burst of every mutation; the Pandemic ultimate infects everything nearby.
Fun fact: Subtypes are named by their surface proteins: H1N1 means hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1.
Appears inPlayable VirusesLineage & GenerationsNamed GearThe Codex
A fictional retrovirus inspired by HIV: it infects the immune system's own CD4 T cells and macrophages and slowly wears it down.
In the game
The Turncoat. A lineage becomes Retrovirus through the Reverse Transcriptase Capture mutation. Cells it kills are stored in its reservoir; Integration Surge releases them all as allies, and a captured macrophage taunts the cells near it into fighting it instead of you; Latency hides you and withers the cells around you.
Fun fact: HIV copies its RNA genome into DNA and stitches it into the host's chromosomes, so infected cells carry it for life.
Appears inPlayable VirusesRetrovirusPetri LabFeature UnlocksReached OrgansLineage & GenerationsNamed Gear
A fictional filovirus inspired by Ebola: a long thread-like virion, often curled into a 'shepherd's crook'. Real filoviruses cause fever, bleeding and organ failure; some Ebola outbreaks have killed up to 90% of those infected.
In the game
The Hemorrhager. A lineage becomes Filovirus through the Filovirus Spillover mutation. Hits can make cells bleed, Hemorrhage makes every cell nearby bleed, and Viral Hemorrhage hits every cell nearby hard and heals you.
Fun fact: Ebola was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the DR Congo. The 2014–16 West Africa epidemic infected over 28,000 people.
Appears inPlayable VirusesFilovirusPetri LabFeature UnlocksReached OrgansLineage & Generations
A fictional virus crowned with a halo of spike proteins that bind receptors on cells in the airways. It spreads before symptoms show, or with none at all.
In the game
The Superspreader. A lineage becomes Halovirus through the Spike Recombination mutation. Fast; Detection rises slower, every few shots fire a spike volley, and infected cells burst when they die. You're always in one variant's form, starting as Swarm. Variant Surge moves on to the next in a fixed order (Swarm, Fury, Ghost, then Swarm again) with a big boost for a few seconds, then a smaller one that lasts until the next surge. Swarm: a spike volley with every shot, then volleys one shot sooner. Fury: +60% damage (+65% from the Gut on), then +15%. Ghost: 50% faster and cells hit you 40% less, then 12% faster and 15% less. The Variant button takes your form's colour, and its beads show the order with your form on top. Superspreader Event pulls cells into a crowd where each death spreads an outbreak.
Fun fact: Real viruses with a crown of spikes are called coronaviruses, from the Latin for crown; the 2003 SARS outbreak was caused by one.
Appears inPlayable VirusesHalovirusPetri LabFeature UnlocksReached OrgansLineage & Generations
The main cause of the common cold: a tiny, non-enveloped RNA virus with over 160 known types.
In the game
A rival virus competing for the host: fast and darting, firing spreads of virions. Escape it and it returns stronger.
Fun fact: It replicates best at 33°C, the cooler temperature inside your nose, which is why it rarely goes deeper.
Appears inRival Viruses
A calicivirus behind most outbreaks of stomach flu, famous for spreading on cruise ships.
In the game
A rival virus: slow, splattering slowing pools and bursts of infectious droplets.
Fun fact: As few as 18 virus particles can be enough to infect someone.
Appears inRival Viruses
A large DNA virus with a 20-sided protein shell and long fibers sticking from each corner, causing colds and pink eye.
In the game
A rival virus: armoured (break its armor bar first) and firing rotating crosses of fibers.
Fun fact: Modified adenoviruses are used as delivery vehicles in some vaccines and gene therapies.
Appears inRival Viruses
A complete, infectious virus particle that exists outside a host cell.
In the game
That's you: every run, one virion tries to take over a host.
Fun fact: A single infected cell can release thousands of new virions.
Appears inLineage & GenerationsThe StoreEndless Boons & Curses
