What is Pathologic?

Pathologic is a 2005 survival-horror game created by Russian game-dev studio Ice Pick Lodge. An English localization was released in 2006—known for its off-kilter and often difficult to understand translation. In 2015, Pathologic Classic HD was released, which featured an entirely new translation. This later translation is widely believed to be the better of the two, as it maintains the strange tone of the original while still delivering a more comprehensible and accurate translation.

What is Pathologic about?

A strange and deadly disease has broken out in a remote town in the Russian steppe. Three potential routes exist, each depicting one of three different healers as they fight against the plague. The three playable characters are the Bachelor, the Haruspex, and the Changeling.

The Bachelor

Daniil Dankovsky is a Bachelor of medicine from the country's capital. Though he first arrived in the Town to further his research on achieving immortality, he quickly found himself trapped as the plague began to spread. Daniil prioritizes finding a vaccine for the plague with little intention of curing those who have already contracted the plague.

Daniil is an egotistical and abrasive man who tends to talk down to those around him. He has a habit of quoting phrases in Latin, regardless of if the person he is speaking two understands the language.

"The Bachelor is so engrossed in his noble battle against death that he forgets to value the lives of those near him."

As the game progresses, Daniil's ultimate quest remains to defeat death, even as the people around him begin dying in greater numbers, in circumstances beyond his control. Ultimately, Daniil's story is one of control, and of prevention.

The Haruspex

Artemy Burakh, or the Haruspex, is the Town's physician and menkhu—a special designation within the Kin which allows him to dissect human bodies, a practice which is otherwise frowned upon. Though Artemy grew up in the town, he spent many years away studying medicine, and returned right as the plague began to spread throughout the Town.

Artemy's goal is to create a panacea—a cure for the plague. His medicine incorporates his scientific knowledge as a physician and his spiritual knowledge as a menkhu.

"The Haruspex, a butcher, a killer, one could even say a murderous psychopath, gets the warmest character arc. It's about love."

Artemy's route gives a much more meaningful perspective on the Town and its history. Compared to the Bachelor, who is mentally and physically detached from the Town, Artemy sees the inherent interconnectedness and meaningfulness of everything. His route shows the player sides of the town they didn't get to see through the Bachelor, and explores the history and beliefs of the Kin that the Bachelor had dismissed as nonsense.

The Changeling

Clara, or the Changeling, is a strange young girl who claims to be a miracle worker. Her route cannot be chosen until the player has completed at least one other route. Clara's power is strange, being able to both heal and kill people with her hands alone. Some shun her for this power, while other deem her powers a form of judgement that kills those who deserve it.

Clara spends much of her time in-game chasing her supposed evil twin—though it is unclear if they are truly twins, or if they are one and the same. Clara represents a strange duality and coexistence of multiple conflicting concepts—as if she is both a saint and the plague itself.

"The Changeling's overarching idea is contact as a means to create meaning, develop the world and bring peace to it."

In a figurative sense, Clara serves as a middle ground between the Haruspex and the Bachelor's routes. In a literal sense, she is even more of an outsider than either of them, to the extent that some people question her humanity—as if she were a changeling, a fairy who masquerades as a human.

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Each playable character has their Bound—a group of NPCs which they must keep safe by completing assigned tasks each day. If a quest is left incomplete, one of the player's Bound will complete that task for them, and will subsequently fall ill.

Though each character has their own specific ending, it is possible to choose a different character's ending if the player keeps that character's Bound healthy throughout the game. There is a fourth ending, as well: the bad ending, which occurs when a player fails to keep their Bound safe.

Each ending involves the destruction of something. Regardless of the ending, something must be lost in order to restore peace—or, more accurately, to restore the character's idea of peace in their respective endings.

Pathologic is not a game to be won. It is a game to be experienced.

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To-do:

• Game mechanics section
• Pages to ramble about my favorite characters
• Daniil page
• Artemy page
• Murky page
• Page documenting me playing Patho2 again now that I have a computer that doesn't explode when I run the game