Still healing my nerves, anxiety and social life from 200% difficulty run (save everyone, no save scamming, deathless). Hyped for Bachelor route.

If you're into sado-masochism this game is for you

Pathologic 2 belongs to that genre of genreless games, the ones so brimming with creativity that they'll surprise you at every turn. Where most entries in the medium are made with the intent of refining popular game mechanics while making them more fun, this one took a different approach. Rather, the developers began from scratch¹ and asked themselves: how do we exploit the limitless ways a person can interact with the game, and in so doing stir their soul and wrench them with grief?

The narrative and the mechanics are intertwined, and it makes no sense to evaluate "story" and "gameplay" separately. They have the single purpose of making you walk in the shoes of a healer at the brink of exhaustion, staving off pain and hunger to save as many people as you can. And, gruff and stubborn as you may be, you are fueled above all by compassion – that truest of human emotions that guides both character and player to sacrifice.

There is a lot to say about Pathologic 2's individual qualities. It offers a dynamic world, as the game breaks its own rules and leads you into a false sense of hope before taking it away. The writing takes a literary, downright lyrical approach that is rarely seen in the medium, and lulls you into a dreamlike world where characters speak in riddles, statements become questions and interpretations are left to you. And despite its magical elements, the setting – a russian town in the early 20th century – will feel real, as it analyses and portrays the dynamics among people and among peoples in the face of tragedy – and you, the Haruspex, at their fulcrum.

In my mind, Ice-Pick Lodge deserves all the support they can get and more. They respect the gaming medium, seeing it as an artistic avenue with limitless potential. In so doing, they need to take risks, and their games will likely remain niche. We should help them nonetheless: it is by supporting developers such as these that we may prevent the curse of staleness hovering over the industry. For what it is, Pathologic 2 remains a unique, engaging, harrowing experience. Not everyone may enjoy it, but if you do, it will stay with you.


¹ Or, to be precise, from Pathologic 1.