Pathologic 2

Unique, challenging and breath-taking game, managed to complete it only on my third attempt. Game is really well balanced, but be aware, that this piece of art is really good at making you feel precisely, what being in a plague infected city feels like. For those, who is afraid of horror games, like myself, there are no really screamers or moments full of horror, which will scary you a lot, it's rather atmosphere of the mystery and plague, so nothing really to afraid of, except of the plague and darkness of the night. And for those, who doesn't like shooters of fighting games - I made it to the end of the game without any fire gun and tried to minimize attacking other people, and in fact, this really game forces you to think twice before you make any risky decisions. I liked how they managed to combine dialogue-based game with survival mechanics. Dialogues are not extremely heavy, but you'll have to read them, in order to understand the story and get interested in it. I also liked a lot, that in this game, city and it's citizens, houses, are not just there for decoration - you will have to interact with them and this interaction is based on essential survival mechanics, and you will appreciate and even miss it, when luxury of interacting with somebody won't be available to you. Everything is alive in the Pathologic 2, and reacts to you, your actions and can impact your live significantly. Characters are made with precision and details, they have soul, and you do get attached to them, and probably, you'll remember some of them, long after you've completed the game. Also, failure is not always something bad. Be aware of that, when you play this game. And don't give up. Portion of fresh air in my gaming soul. I was under great feelings after finishing this game. I hope they're going to manage to complete other two parts of the story and make Linux port, but I will remember this game and recommend it to you.

Died over 100 times before I finished the game because I'm bad at games, never gave up because it's just so interesting. Pathologic 2 tries a lot of uncommon things that are difficult and stresses the player out. This game really succeeds in making you feel negative emotions (I mean this in a good way), which is a rarity in games. Not for everyone, and I really have to be in the mood to play it. Pathologic 2 is worth playing because there is almost nothing else that resembles it, even Pathologic 1 is different.

Pathologic is a fascinating, unique game from one of the most brilliant, unique studios making games right now. You can expect an interesting and original story (which suffers significantly from how sparse it becomes towards the end as well as the fragmented way in which it is told but is nonetheless full of cool ideas), an impeccable grim atmosphere, a strong and occasionally gorgeous visual style, and, maybe most importantly, a nontraditional design philosophy. The game is about a catastrophic plague and a town that gradually collapses over twelve days, and that permeates not only the story but also the gameplay. Pathologic is difficult, frustrating, and stressful to play -- by design. It sacrifices conventional fun for genuinely excellent gameplay-narrative integration. Do not confuse this for realism -- there is nothing realistic about, say, the hunger meter in this game. But the relief or excitement it makes you feel when you find food is spot on for a starving, dying town. The mechanics are all geared towards a specific effect that's perfectly aligned with the story/theme. It may sound kind of unpleasant, and it is, but the game remains engaging throughout -- even if this gameplay design doesn't work for you at all, you've still got a good story, philosophical themes, complex characters, great atmosphere, and a strange and surreal setting. All that said, keep in mind that the game has some serious technical issues at the moment. Performance and optimisation are subpar, and the game becomes increasingly buggy towards the end, to the extent that some storylines can become dead ends as crucial dialogues or other quest interactions randomly become unavailable. But if you can deal with the technical problems, and especially if you're interested in more experimental games or at the very least enjoy games for their atmosphere and story, you will probably find a lot to like here.

I just finished my 2nd plathrough of Pathologic 2 and I must say I kinda fell in love with the game, having played 65 hours over the course of 2 weeks. The game offers an absolutely unique gaming experience. Survival, healing and storyline come together in a truly wonderful way, not to mention the superb soundtrack and a nice graphic design. Many games attempt to be philosophical, but pathologic offers its insight in a very natural and mature way. First game in a long time that actually made me think deeply about who I was and how I wanted to progress. The difficulty is high, but manageable and the game offers enough time and resources to make it through. I found that there was sufficient room for error, even on the "intented" difficulty. I experienced a few minor glitches, but restarting the game always helped. I also wish that the tutorial had explained the more advanced mechanics as well, not just the basics of survival and healing. Other than that, a wonderful game.

Pathologic hooked me from the start. The storytelling, the world, the characters, the mystery - everything perfectly interwoven. Big props also go to the excellent way it made use of the economy throughout, as you rarely get a game that has you considering so thoughtfully what you need most and how far you're willing to sink to get it. In most roleplaying games, when a weak character offers you a reward for helping them, you automatically turn it down to score the good boy points. Not so here. Because what you're being given could seriously make the difference whether someone lives or dies that day. If you've got food on you, you might make the risky trip to help a person that needs treatment. But if you're low? Well, those are hours you simply can't spare because you're in dire need of supplies. Really, what I want to say is that you shouldn't feel too intimidated by the description if you want to check this out. I despise time constraints in most games, but it's so integral to the flow of your experience in Pathologic that you won't ever wish you could play it without it.