Why is this game I've never heard of being remade for Xbox One?
Because you should have heard of it. The game, centred around a 12 day long attempt to cure a town of plague, became a cult classic after being picked up and gushed over by a few very devoted fans, despite being a fairly obscure Russian art game with more gore than a butchers’ window.
Ugh. So is it good?
By all accounts, it’s brilliant. Trapping you in a labyrinth of lies, conspiracy and manipulation, Pathologic makes sure that you never really understand what’s going on. It leaves you feeling confused and suspicious of just about everyone you encounter including yourself in an unsettling, Silent Hill like setting.
Sounds like the office Christmas party. Is the story any good?
It’s centred around three characters the Bachelor, the Haruspex and the Devotress. You pick one and the game goes from there. You won’t get the full story first time around, you might not even get it the tenth time around, if you make it that far. Rest assured that it’s creepy, mysterious and intriguing.
I want to know more. Tell me more.
No. Just as the game is constantly secreting things away from you, inducing paranoia like you’re the absolute only kid that didn’t get invited to your classmate’s birthday party only this birthday party is about disease and insanity and implied cannibalism rather than pass the parcel and jelly and ice cream.
I do love the sound of that. So why should I be excited?
Because Pathologic is one of the most psychologically interesting, in depth survival games you’ve never played. You’re expected to keep on top of hunger, thirst, exhaustion, reputation and, of course, infection, all at the same time as unravelling the mysteries of the town. It’s a disease fighting, problem solving game that’s also brutally challenging in terms of quite simply not dying. It’s bleak. It’s amoral. It’s spine-chilling in a quiet, whispered way. There are stories to be told, and others to remain buried. That Pathologic itself is being exhumed is due to the kindness of 7,139 Kickstarter backers, so many thanks to them.