Pathologic 2

Pathologic 2 returns with its engaging and mysterious story, and makes progress in translation and menu design as well, but in technical terms the same old issues are obvious. Maybe these issues will be addressed in the future episodes, but since then, get ready to come across some weird ones, while enjoying its wonderful storytelling style.

Pathologic 2 is a visionary and narratively powerful video game, but at the same time is edgy and full of systems that do everything to frustrate the player.

Pathologic 2, just like its predecessor, has a ton of annoying routines which will easily scare away even the most patient players. Yet after getting through the game to the last bow I felt a sudden urge to return to this moody prairie town in the middle of nowhere.

A gruelling mystery game that smothers its big ideas with dour survival mechanics.

A weird and unique game that may be too confusing for most of the players but manages to be almost unique in its kind.

I thought I would enjoy Pathologic 2, but its needlessly mundane and cruel systems take too much away from its otherwise interesting and strange world.

Pathologic 2 is a weird and unique experience, besmeared by some optimization and balance issues. Its narrative, story, and atmosphere are suffocating under the weight of its mechanics and I'm pretty sure that heavy reliance on meta-gaming to avoid hitting a roadblock wasn't something its creators intended.

Like an experimental art house film re-shot to more fully realize its original creative vision using modern technology and techniques, Pathologic 2 brings the tense, enigmatic streets of Town-on-Gorkhon to life like the original never quite could. It iterates and adds on top of what once was to great effect in nearly all but one particularly baffling area, and any gamer with a penchant for single-player games with a strong narrative focus should play through Pathologic 2 at least once for the one-of-a-kind experience that only it provides.

Pathologic 2 is an exceptional and very bad game in equal parts, a title that for modern judgment can be considered only a mediocre game but, despite its numerous problems, deserves at least one chance to show what it can offer.

Pathologic 2 looks unlike anything on the market, and its genuinely surreal and emotionally twisted tale and graphics are at least unique, if not actually appealing. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but neither was Carmac McCarthy’s The Road. Miasma of poorly explained and confusing systems and unforgiving survival mechanics are more clearly a problem and they make Pathologic 2 nearly impossible to enjoy on any level, and certainly not fun.

Pathologic 2 is a narrative-driven thriller that doesn't really care if you have a good time or not. Prepare to be eternally hungry.

Pathologic 2 is an engaging and disquieting game, one that has the potential to be something really quite special. But its survival mechanics are unnecessarily suffocating and take much of the joy out of it. Until Pathologic 2 is cured of that particular problem, be prepared for an uneven slog.

Original Pathologic was way too early to the “sandbox survival” boom, now its years too late. As for story – it’s basically the same: rich in ideas and lore, but very poorly written. [Issue#239, p.60]

Pathologic 2 is the ultimate acquired taste - unforgiving, byzantine, and eye-opening.

Pathologic 2 is a game that will appeal to a very particular type of player, and be despised by everyone else. Those on the fence should scope out the game on either YouTube or Twitch to know what you are getting into.