What scares you the most? Rats? Spiders? Terrifying ghouls? Monsters out to make your life a living hell? These are all trivial fears that vary from person to person. But what is that one true horror, true fear that grips us so desperately? Death. Whether it be our own demise or someone we’ve grown to care for, death strikes true horror in humanity and does so deeply. What could possibly be worse than that? When it is by your own doing or lack thereof. In Pathologic 2, this is not only something you are faced with but something that becomes you. How many times will you attempt to change fate before you ultimately accept the demise that surrounds you?
Story
After receiving a disturbing letter from your father, you find yourself making your way back to the small rural town you call home. Several years have passed since you stepped foot in your hometown, leaving you to be marked as an outsider. Something is just not right as the air is filled with a tense fear. The town is seemingly able to sense their impending fate waiting to greet them just around the corner. As the son of a great surgeon, also a surgeon himself, you are left to unveil the gruesome truths as the lives of all that live in this small little world rely on you with their very being. One brutal truth that will engrave itself into the pit of your heart, is that you can’t save everyone, even those that you fight for the hardest. Death wears black as pockets are stuffed with posies, 12 days he says.
Gameplay
Pathologic 2 is a slow-building survival thriller simulator surrounding a dire outbreak in a small outlandish town. Here you start at the end of the game, the outcome of everything you will be trying to change and avoid. The game will straight out tell you that no matter what, the endgame will be the same. Nothing but blood and death will be left in your wake but you decide to try your hand again wanting things to turn out differently. Perfection is in our nature, even when it involves those we may not be connected with or care about, so this drives us to achieve the best outcome.
Most of the story is gathered through talking to the NPCs in the game which is text-based. Though instead of speech bubbles, you are presented with a black backdrop with text and corresponding character close up. You are given a selection of answers that can affect what you learn and even how some of the story progresses.
This is a true game of survival. Not only must you watch out for your overall health, but you must also manage hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and immunity. Each has its own meter and will deplete at a bothersome rate. There are several ways to obtain needed items for your own survival. You can buy at a shop, barter, legally loot in certain situations (like from trash bins) or do so illegally (rob or right out murder). There is even the option to kill bandits at night legally in which you are legally allowed to loot, that is if they don’t kill you first. It is also possible for one meter to drain the other. Such as running will cause your thirst to increase. Also if your hunger and exhaustion max out, it will deplete your health.
A major factor of being able to get around and survive in this game is your reputation. If you are hated, you will be hunted by the male NPCs who will attempt to kill you. If your reputation is not high enough, you will not be able to barter or buy from shops. Your only source is to trade with the kids. They have a specific set of items that they prefer, which will also differ between the age groups (child and teen).
As the plague takes a grip on the town, the townsfolk will become infected, including key characters. All of which are able to die or can be killed when you attempt to treat them. It is possible to administer wrong medications or cause bleeding from a scalpel. Naturally, those left untreated will die. Everything you do or don’t do effects the entirety of the game.
As if you didn’t have enough on your plate, if you wish to make any sort of dent in the spreading disease, you will need to craft items. You are able to craft brews of medicines from herbs. The herbs are found blending into the fields and grass throughout the town. You are also able to upgrade your inventory storage and tinker with different items.
The kicker to everything above is that if you die, the game will remember. Why does it matter if the game remembers? Well each time you die, the difficulty will increase, usually by affecting how fast your meters drain. The more you die attempting to change fate, the more you will be punished as the burdens pile on top of each other.
Pros
Pathologic 2 is exceptionally challenging, even when you have a great game plan set in motion. It will diminish your sanity and play your heart like a violin threatening to shatter to pieces at any given moment. You will genuinely feel a simulation of suffering and grief. Needless to say, frustration will soar through the highest of ceilings. The story is gripping and tragic. You grow to be consumed with fear, guilt, anxiety, shame, desperation and more. The horrors unfold slowly before you, forcing you to watch a small world fall apart at your own fingertips. The mechanics give an honest simulation of living through such a dark tale. It leaves you wanting to try over and over just to possibly change the outcome. Your mind plagued with “What have I done?”, “I will save you!” and “What can I possibly do to change this awful outcome?”. This game is unforgiving, just as the honest world is and it’s brilliant.
Although I refuse to use it myself, there has been a recent patch where you can control the difficulty of the game. This could benefit players who wish to play the game but are not experienced enough to last through it. Though of course this was only created due to the high level of complaints about the game being difficult (get over it, you sissies). I agree full heartedly with the game developers that Pathologic 2 should be played normally or it will destroy the true experience you’re meant to have. Everything is not meant to be all sunshine and rainbows.
Cons
For myself, I encountered a lot of lags and long load times. This, however, is most likely affected by the abilities of the computer you play on and could be fixed by some tinkering. There have been updates for the game though, dealing with such issues and more. Having to do the multiple updates is a tad annoying but is necessary.
Conclusion
Pathologic 2 is simply amazing and challenging on so many different levels. This game is not going to be one that suits everyone. If you are unsure, I suggest to check out gaming videos on it before buying it. The few drawbacks of lags and many updates are nothing in comparison to what you get out of it. As for the ability to change the difficulty, I am baffled since there are plenty of games out there that challenge us and enrage us to the core, but do we call them out or keep playing until we reach that all empowering end? Shame on those who pushed the developers to do this (bullies!). I highly encourage those who will play this game, to play it normally. It will take some time to learn, but in the end, you will be left with a great experience.
We give it 4.5 out of 5
