Welcome to our review of Pathologic 2, a thriller with a serious dose of suspense.
Pathologic 2 is a narrative-driven dramatic thriller about fighting a deadly outbreak in a secluded rural town. The town is dying. Face the realities of a collapsing society as you make difficult choices in seemingly lose-lose situations. The plague isn’t just a disease. You can’t save everyone.
The plague is devouring the town. The chief local healer is dead, and you are now to take his place. You’ll have to look for unexpected allies. The local kids are hiding something. Try playing by their rules.
You only have 12 days. 12 days in an odd town ravaged by a deadly disease. Time is of the essence: if you don’t manage it carefully, it’ll simply run out. You’ll have to choose how to spend the priceless minutes you have. You’ll have to manage your bodily functions, offsetting hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and so on. It doesn’t boil down to scavenging resources. Surviving on your own is hard; you’ll have to win over allies.
Pathologic 2 is an uphill battle. Managing your bodily parameters may seem bearable at first, and as time goes by, it becomes harder and harder. Your own body is only waiting for an opportunity to give up and betray you. Things are changing from bad to worse and the odds are stacked against you. A duel with an enemy you can’t kill. Your main foe is the plague itself, an incorporeal and malevolent entity that you have to defeat… without having the means to. It’s more powerful and more treacherous than you can imagine.
Loot, murder, mug, steal, barter, beg… or don’t. You need resources to survive, and it’s up to you how to obtain them. The fights are short, ungraceful, and vicious. They’re not always lethal though. Many people—yourself included—would prefer to exchange their wallets for their life.
Pathologic 2 starts off slow. Really slow and it is exactly that speed that sets the eerie atmosphere of this game. A hunt, a quest, a mission all in one. You are forced to bring your A-game in order to survive and Pathologic 2 is a great example of what I like to call a mindfuck. You either keep full control of everything or you will lose.
Pathologic 2 is starting off in the middle of the plague with people getting set on fire, others killed by a firing squad and so many more horrible ways to die. You need to make your way to the cathedral and talk to a few people along the way. You are in no immediate danger really, you just need to make a clear dash for the cathedral. You are told to first talk to the man.
Once arrived in the cathedral, there is a man and a woman sitting on a table. I followed the previously given advice and directed myself towards the male in the room. He asked me why I would be given time to save all of the plague. Me, a mere doctor that is living in a small town like this. I do know the cure, but he won’t listen to reason. I try my luck with the female and strike out too.
Suddenly I am on a train, the screen reads it’s a few days ago now. I am a stowaway and find another one in the same train car as me. We talk and before I know it, the train derails and I make my way out. A gigantic bull awaits and behind it some weird humanoid-like creatures. They may be humans, I never went their way, I took the opposite route. Not a great idea. I died from the plague within a minute while heading the other way.
Suddenly I am back on the train. Or is it a house? Why are all the people I meet suddenly changing into masked creatures. Everything is so damn weird and I wrote this part of the review after being about 15 minutes into the game. I played a lot more since, but I have a tendency not to post spoilers and I do like to stick by it. I am sure enough this short description already got you either turned away or very interested to find out more.
I was in the latter half. I kept playing and my aforementioned mindfuck is the one true description for this game. It is dark, it will mess with your head and it all just clicks. Pathologic 2 is very deep and I would say it was a surprise in more than one way. The action picks up with every step you take in the right direction, but in the end, do you have what it takes to cure the plague?
In conclusion, Pathologic 2 is not fun, it can be very frustrating yet I can not stress it enough that this game just grabs you by the arm and pulls you in.
