The original “Pathologic” is, in my opinion, one of the greatest horror games of all time. Sadly, it no longer runs on modern operating systems. Luckily developers Ice-Pick Lodge have done something about this. In fall of 2015, they released an updated version of the original game (“Pathologic Classic HD”) and now, following a successful crowdfunding campaign, they are working on a new version of “Pathologic” that seems to fall into a rather odd space between being a remake and a fully new game. After a long period of remaining mostly silent on the matter, Ice-Pick Lodge have come forward with news about this new version of the game, so let’s take a look.

The basic synopsis of the story will remain the same. The player will still take control of one of three different characters who will spend twelve days in a small, strange town in the steppes. During these twelve days, the town will still become the site of a deadly plague outbreak. The town will still have the same inhabitants. The lore and setting will still be the same, though apparently they will now be explored a bit more thoroughly. The game will still be a race against time as the plague spreads through the town. So, the fundamentals are going to remain the same.

Some things are apparently going to be kept from the old game, but subject to some tweaking and reinterpretation. Some of the town’s citizens who were a little underdeveloped in the original game are going to have expanded roles in the new version. Similarly, the cast of background characters (the NPCs who just kind of wander the town like extras in a movie) is going to be slightly different; there will be some new versions of old characters, and some characters who are entirely new. While the player’s basic activities (fights, bargaining, talking, etc.) remain the same, the risk-reward ratio has been tweaked to achieve a more balanced game. Thanks to a stretch goal in their crowdfunding campaign, the town itself is going to be expanded, while important landmarks will still be in roughly the same locations (such as the theater in the center of the town). Most intriguingly, the developers have said that the plot will fall into this category; details on this are a little sparse but supposedly while the overarching stories of the three playable characters will remain the same, the exact events and beats that make them up will be different.

Of course, there are also things that are going to be completely different. There are no longer going to be specific main quests that need to be accomplished in a single day. The dialogue is going to be extensively, perhaps even entirely, rewritten, which is probably for the best given the very poor translation of the original game. Fights are no longer always going to be to-the-death affairs, instead opting for a more realistic system in which people get beaten up or mugged without necessarily killing each other. The way in which quests are handled is being completely revamped in favor of a much more realistic system; no longer will strangers offer to pay you to fix their relationships. Most importantly, the way that the disease spreads is being entirely changed. Ice-Pick Lodge promise a much more dynamic spread of the disease both through the player’s own body and throughout the town.

Since the game isn’t out yet, it’s obviously a little soon to say exactly how “new” the new version of “Pathologic” is going to be. However, with this announcement from Ice-Pick Lodge, it seems like there is going to be quite a bit of difference, almost certainly for the better. I’m sure that, if nothing else, it will be a singular and horrifying experience.

For anyone interested, there are still a few weeks to donate to the ongoing crowdfunding of Pathologic