Pathologic 2 – Preview (Steam)
Fans of the original cult-hit Pathologic, which launched almost fifteen years ago, have a lot to look forward to with the upcoming sequel. While it’s less of a sequel and more of a re-imagining of the original, it’s poised to bring players back to the eerie and grim plague filled town with a game completely rebuilt for 2019. Developed by Russian based Ice-Pick Lodge Studios and published by tinyBuild games, Pathologic 2 is set to weird us the f*** out again when it launches later this week.
Pathologic 2 is a game all about story, setting, and the unnerving feeling that you will never be able to make everything right. Anytime a game presents a player with an overarching world issue or evil protagonist, we as gamers are inclined to feel that our main characters is going to be the one to set things right and bring peace to all. But with Pathologic 2, you sort of get the feeling that you are doomed from the start. It doesn’t help that the game begins at the end. You set out in a plague riddled world where you have already failed. Your quest for a cure has been abandoned. Those who oversee the town that you occupy have already decided upon a scorched earth policy. You are already hated everywhere you go. The world is so bleak and austere that even when a Mad Hatter reject presents you with opportunity to go back to the beginning of the calamity, you feel hopeless despite been given this second chance. It is an extremely unique set up for a narrative and made me feel a sense of hopelessness that I’ve never felt in a game before.
The game provides little clarity about your objectives as you set out. Instead players are somewhat encouraged to converse with as many townsfolk as possible to try and uncover mysteries and lore. While you are given a main quest to visit your father in the beginning, this is quickly replaced with several side quests that require exploration, bartering and fetch style quests. A “Thoughts” section of the menu is populated with spheres that signify the different random quests that you pick up as you struggle through cryptic conversation with wandering citizens. A thought will then evolve into other spheres as your player uncovers clues about the lead up to a plague outbreak. If you are the type of player who enjoys a more linear story driven experience, than you may be put off at this point. However I did find intriguing and unique world elements like the massive bird clad wardens, lower class worm-like citizens and the mention of a mysterious body snatching demon that made me want to push on through muddled side quests to figure out exactly what was going on.
Pathologic 2 also utilizes a set of attrition and survival mechanics. Players will have to manage things like thirst, hunger, stamina, and immunity to the looming plague as they work their way through town. By looting containers and trading with citizens, you will find items that can keep these attrition elements at bay. Further to this is a Majora’s Mask style timing system – you are given twelve days before the town and all of it’s citizens reach their foretold demise. Players must be wise with their time and keep an eye on the clock as they expose the mysteries of their world. While both of these mechanics helped to keep up the pace and urgency in the game, I couldn’t help but feel like they did not really fit. There was so much conversation to be had and lore to uncover that I could not help by feel rushed by a timer. Further to this, I found myself bypassing conversations as my thirst and hunger meter grew smaller. It almost seems like these systems were shoved into a game to help quicken the pace, but they really just get in the way of the story.
The world of Pathologic 2 can be best described as drab and desolate. The feeling that the developers sought to evoke in players is one of despair and hopelessness. The setting does that quite well with the tone created by graphics and music. Don’t get me wrong – this is not a pretty or visually impressive game by any means. In fact it appears quite dated in its visuals and doesn’t do a whole lot with lighting considering that most of the world is shrouded in fog. But keep in mind this isn’t supposed to be a pretty game. It’s supposed to gross the player out a bit and make them feel uncomfortable. It does that quite well whether it can seem unintentional at times. I did find at times that immersion was quickly broken with clunky controls, especially during combat or when simply trying to interact with lootable items. The depth perception just always feels a bit off. The immersion is further broken with the sheer amount of repetition in NPC faces that are used. During the prologue sequence, I had a set piece interaction with a character named the “Kin One”. About an hour later, I interacted with three additional characters in the main town area with the exact same facial design. This is evidently an issue that has been carried over form the original Pathologic game.
If you’re looking for a narrative driven first person adventure game, and don’t mind a slower pace, Pathologic 2 is setting up to be just the game for you. Furthermore if you were a fan of the original game, then Pathologic 2 is a no brainer. This is a game that takes a very different approach to telling it’s story and the emotions it seeks to elicit – this may prove memorable even for those just looking for a change of pace or a new experience.
Pathologic 2 launches on Steam on May 23rd, 2019.
