I think I speak for all of us when I say that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we think about past pandemics. Not that we’re fans of them or anything, just that we have a lot more nuance when it comes to understanding how human behavior can impact the prevention – or spread – of the disease in question. We now know firsthand that, in addition to the suffering and dying, there was fear, misinformation, profiteering, and plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong even if people thought they were doing the right thing. And while we have the good fortune to live in a more enlightened and comfortable era, the parallels between this pandemic and, say, the Bubonic Plague are more than just uncanny…
It is these parallels that come to light The Plague Doctor of Wippra, a short-lived pixel art point-and-click developed by Electrocosmos and published by Application Systems Heidelberg. Available on PC (and playable on Steam Deck), The Plague Doctor of Wippra asks the players to “bring healing and relief wherever you can” while warning that “ignorance, superstition, and religious zeal make for a deadly threat” around every corner Although The Plague Doctor of Wippra is on the shorter side, it has multiple endings depending on player choices, making the $7.99 pricepoint even more appealing.
The Plague Doctor of Wippra has players taking on the role of… well, the plague doctor, who has come to the real-life tiny hamlet of Wippra to heal the sick. Unfortunately, the disease stalking the land is extremely infectious — identified by its grotesque pustules on the skin — and is almost always fatal. Still, the doctor makes his rounds just the same, visiting those who have fallen ill and treating their ailments as best he can. Of course, sometimes these visits will require some thinking outside the box, and every choice you make will have consequences, but that’s just another day in the life of a medieval plaque doctor.
For example, the very first housecall you make is to a family with a sick young boy. After crafting a makeshift candle using ingredients found in the home, you have enough light to actually get a good look at him and – wings – it’s the plague. There’s a silver lining in that he’s the only member of their family sick, but for how long? You don’t have much time to think about what to do next before you’re accosted by someone demanding to know your patient’s diagnosis – after all, if it’s the plague, the house will have to be boarded up, sick and well alike trapped inside to prevent the spread. Do you take mercy on the healthy family members and keep silent on the boy’s condition? Or to you think of the rest of the townsfolk and reveal the cause for your visit? Whatever you choose, one thing is clear: the consequences of these difficult decisions will certainly come back to haunt you.
I don’t want to spoil much about The Plague Doctor of Wippra because it is such a short game, but there are several points I feel I must address. One is that the often odd point-and-click puzzle logic is replaced with obstacles that actually make some sense. There isn’t a ton of combining objects to make something seriously wacky; instead, the game draws from history itself to underline what medicine, religion, and life as a whole was like in this era. This is one of the few games that I felt genuinely transported to not only a place in time but also a past mindset with different logical rules. It was a really cool experience in this particular regard and one I hope to see replicated in future historical games.
Another important aspect of The Plague Doctor of Wippra is how much you get into the history of the game, only to realize how similar some things are to today’s world. Early on, you have some angry townsfolk adamant in their beliefs that the Jews caused the plague and make their violent intentions towards this group of people known. Thinking about this in today’s context made me realize that you could easily replace medieval peasants with modern folks and Jews with people of Chinese descent — not only because COVID-19 was first reported in China, but because of the staggering increase of anti-Asian hate crimes (up 339% from last year). It’s examples like this and more that reiterate how much history repeats itself, even if there are slight alterations here or there.
The Plague Doctor of Wippra it is clearly a bleak, gamified examination of a dark period in human history; what makes it bleaker is its illumination on just how little it has changed. Despite our modern comforts and conveniences, human behavior under duress seems to remain constant. And in the midst of all these cascading, convoluted moving parts, The Plague Doctor of Wippra asks players to think carefully of their choices, knowing that sometimes, the best of two evils is the best one can do. If you’re seeking a short-lived point-and-click journey through time where the choices really, really matter, The Plague Doctor of Wippra he is accepting patients.
Final Verdict: 4/5
Available on: PC (Reviewed); Publisher: Application Systems Heidelberg; Developer: Electrocosmos; Players: 1; Released: October 5, 2022; MSRP: $7.99
Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of The Plague Doctor of Wippra provided by the publisher.