If you were a fan of that Russian horror video game Pathologic, then you’re in luck: developer Ice-Pick Lodge is back with publisher tinyBuild to bring you a proper reimagining of the first game, aptly called Pathologic 2.
The demo was released last week, and it certainly caught my attention. I was somewhat of a fan of the original, even if it had more than a few flaws. Originally released in 2005 for PC, the game is set in a Russian town suffering from a very lethal sickness called the sand plague. The game was notable for taking place in a perpetual world over a time frame of 12 in-game days. Each day, the player received quests from various NPCs in the game world, and it is your task to complete them in a given day. Failing to complete these tasks before midnight means they are lost forever.
The game features three playable characters, known only by their nicknames: Bachelor, Haruspex and Changeling. The players can only play one of them at any given time, but for the most part they all follow one storyline which is seen through three differing viewpoints. The end goal is to survive by the end of 12 days with the help of maintaining resources. Pathologic is quite a remarkable title, with influence from genres spread across psychological horror, survival, adventure, role-playing and resource manager.
Although the game was a success and is now held in high regard as a cult classic, it was panned by some for poor translation issues, seeing as the original game was in Russian. It also had outdated graphics for its time and was known for its slow gameplay, although as much as I’d hate to admit, these qualities gave off a certain charm which I was drawn to immediately.
A remastered version is now available on Steam, called Pathologic Classic HD. It fixed the translations for the game among other issues. The upcoming Pathologic 2¸ however, is not a remaster, but a complete reimagining of the game – a remake, if you will. It will utilize the Unity engine, for one, and is set to be separated into three parts, one for each of the characters.
If you’re interested in trying out the demo for yourself, it is available for free at this link. Simply follow tinyBuild’s instructions and you should have a downloader for the main game available.
Pathologic 2’s first part, centered on Haruspex, is set to hit PC via Steam this May 23.
