Virus xx142 — an honest story about a game that owns your evening

Sometimes the simplest-looking game hooks you harder than a blockbuster. This is exactly that case: the rules take a minute to learn, and putting it down is much harder.

What this game is

Virus xx142 (xx142-b2.exe) — a cinematic stealth-action game that took 1st place in the "Desktop" category at js13k 2019 (by Ben Clark and Salvatore Previti). The year is 2413: humanity has been enslaved by an alien race for over two centuries, and you are a weaponized AI virus deployed inside the enemy network. Your mission is to shut down the power generators and reach THE MEMORY CORE. Each run lasts exactly 13 seconds before the alien antivirus detects and deletes you. The stroke of genius is the "ghost" mechanic: a file is never really deleted — every attempt you lose leaves behind a ghost that, on the next run, replays your previous route exactly. Replay each level over and over, dodging your OWN past copies, until you finally slip through to the objective. Eight levels with the Memory Core as the finale; the entire world is drawn in code with WebGL volumetric light cast by the player and fully procedural jsfxr audio.

How to play, in short

1. Virus xx142 (xx142-b2.exe) — a cinematic stealth-action game that took 1st place in the "Desktop" category at js13k 2019 (by Ben Clark and Salvatore Previti).

2. The year is 2413: humanity has been enslaved by an alien race for over two centuries, and you are a weaponized AI virus deployed inside the enemy network.

3. Your mission is to shut down the power generators and reach THE MEMORY CORE.

4. Each run lasts exactly 13 seconds before the alien antivirus detects and deletes you.

5. The stroke of genius is the "ghost" mechanic: a file is never really deleted — every attempt you lose leaves behind a ghost that, on the next run, replays your previous route exactly.

6. Replay each level over and over, dodging your OWN past copies, until you finally slip through to the objective.

7. Eight levels with the Memory Core as the finale; the entire world is drawn in code with WebGL volumetric light cast by the player and fully procedural jsfxr audio.

Controls

Controls: movement — WASD or arrow keys (four directions through the level's maze). Backspace — "kill -9", instant self-destruct (resets the run if you get stuck). On phones — an on-screen d-pad for movement and a red ☠ button for kill -9, or just swipe. Score — how deep you got (the highest level reached); clearing the Memory Core counts as a win.

A few final tips

• Check out the demo mode on the game page — the AI shows how it is played, and repeating it yourself gets much easier.
• Play in short sessions: the best results come with a warmed-up head.

Simple on the surface, deep underneath — exactly the kind of game that never ages. Ready to try? "Virus xx142"