A Virus Named TOM

 PC
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 62
  3. Negative: 21 out of 62

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  1. Fods
    Apr 5, 2013
    3
    A simple puzzle game bloated with painful controls and an arbitrary story line. Adding "action" to a puzzle game so often just makes it frustrating, and that's certainly the case with A Virus Named TOM.

    It's just the old "Pipes" game annoying.
  2. Qlmmb2086
    Sep 28, 2013
    3
    This game is "Pipes" with a lot of time pressure and enemy dodging. Nothing more, nothing less. Injecting story and polish into the sort of game one might be tasked to put together as computer science midterm project is not enough to redeem the unoriginal concept and frustrating control scheme.
  3. mckw
    Sep 22, 2013
    3
    This game is bad, really bad. The controls are a pain, the gameplay is boring, there is no fun no real puzzle, it's pasted on with cheap angry inducing mechanics. There are much better puzzle games out there, much better timing games out there. This game is nothing new, nothing fresh, and nothing fun. Avoid.
  4. AWG
    Sep 29, 2013
    4
    The worse thing is not that the game is bad and boring but that developers are sure this is a wonderful and funny game.
  5. Tritonio
    Sep 19, 2013
    4
    Amazing music, nice theme but the game isn't anything new really. It's the classic pipes game with a few twists. After a while I got annoyed and dropped it. But this music. Wow... And the polishing....
  6. jim109109
    Jan 22, 2014
    4
    Most players will play this game for 60 minutes, have fun, then move on and never play it again, because by then you will have experienced all it has to offer. The overdone "pipes" puzzle gameplay is a classic but also extremely shallow. Fortunately, it's well polished with some care put into it.
  7. BrianColfxire
    Sep 8, 2015
    4
    I really do want to recommend this game. The aesthetics, the humor, the character design of T.O.M., the snazzy soundtrack (the one positive thing I got from this game) are fantastic, but ultimately the gameplay is where the game fails to understand itself.

    If you have played the demo, you might actually find the game interesting and fun with the pipe-linking puzzle game AVNT wants you    I really do want to recommend this game. The aesthetics, the humor, the character design of T.O.M., the snazzy soundtrack (the one positive thing I got from this game) are fantastic, but ultimately the gameplay is where the game fails to understand itself.

    If you have played the demo, you might actually find the game interesting and fun with the pipe-linking puzzle game AVNT wants you to believe it is. But once you get to the middle of the second area/world/device, the game suddenly forgets the methological approach.

    The main problem with this game is it wants you to take your time to figure out the puzzles, yet it also rushes you to solve the solutions as your health is your time-limit. Some levels will slowly degrade your health while others will rely on you manuevering around enemies to absorb more health. And you have to complete the puzzle while doing that as well.

    What makes the gameplay worse is it makes you work under a clock to solve puzzles where you CAN'T see your progress. There is a mechanic introduced fairly early that hides the grid away from you unless you can set it up to be activated by the other pipes. So that means you have to either brute force your way to completion. But some levels seem to demand that memorize each level, THEN do it as quick as possible while not getting hurt and losing time/health.

    Some might argue that the skip-tokens let you get past those frustrating levels, but the game just continues to get more frustrating for all the wrong reasons. The challenges at the start of the game do not prepare you for the trials towards the end. I couldn't even imagine trying to convince someone to play cooperative with me on the later levels.

    Controls. The best way I can explain my problem with the controls is that I always feel tied to an anchor. Whether you use a controller or the keyboard, you have to hold a button down to interact with a section of the grid. Combine this mechanic with having to dodge enemies quickly and you'll find yourself stuck on the same paths or you'll accidently slide into an enemy you were trying to avoid.

    If there is A Virus Named TOM 2, however slim the possibility is, I hope the devs choose one type of puzzle or the other. Testing your reflexes or testing your puzzle-solving is fine, but testing both at the same time is a challenge in frustration, not of fair difficulty.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 29, 2012
    70
    This interesting and funny arcade game mixes a couple of genres together and offers a fast-paced multiplayer option. [Oct 2012]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 11, 2012
    60
    Like trying to solve a cryptic crossword whilst blind and being repeatedly stung by mosquitoes. [Oct 2012, p.82]
  3. PC Gamer UK
    Sep 19, 2012
    55
    The extra frills don't add thrills to the tried Pipemania template. [Oct 2012, p.90]
See all critic reviews »