Pathologic 2 is a cult classic PC horror game, and it’s going to get a sequel. Publisher HypeTrain Digital announced Monday that Pathologic 3 from Russian developer Ice-Pick Lodge is in the works, and is set for release on Steam in 2025.
In the first Pathologic, released in 2005, players could choose between one of three characters: the Bachelor, the Changeling, or the Haruspex. While Pathologic 2 does have a number in the title, it’s a remake/reimagining/redo of the first game, and defaults to having you play the Haruspex. Pathologic 3 is following this pattern but letting you play the Bachelor, which means that a potential Pathologic 4 will put you into the shoes of the Changeling. All three are doctors with unique backstories and connections to the town who seek to save it from a brutal plague (also class warfare) in 12 days.
That premise will continue in Pathologic 3, but with a new time travel twist that’ll let the player rewind or fast-forward through those 12 days so that you can get the “best” outcome. While a time travel mechanic will be new for the sequel, there has already been time travel in the games. Pathologic 2 starts off with the Haruspex failing a run to save the town and requesting another, so time is reset.
“We can describe the concept of this mechanic as surrealist time management. Our goal is to give the player a sense that time is more complex than we typically perceive it—as a linear path,” game director Nikolay Dybowski said in a press release.
Another difference is how your character will be viewed by the town’s residents. In Pathologic 2, the Haruspex is on the run for suspected murder. In Pathologic 3, the Bachelor appears to become the town doctor. A press release says you’ll “immerse yourself in the role of a physician,” making health decisions for people in the town and fighting the plague on your own terms.
The Pathologic series isn’t the most accessible. The gameplay is clunky, its story is abstract, and its characters are uncanny. That said, there are few PC games out there like it, both in its combination of horror, RPG, and immersive sim elements, and its crushing bleakness. If you’re interested, start with Pathologic 2 to experience the best version of its ideas.
