Pathologic Preview

Back in October I wrote a preview for this game when it was still in its early stages. Pathologic is still in Beta phase but the developer is now showing more of its game in the version we received.

To summarize; this game mixes genres; it has elements of FPS, RPG, survival horror and adventure games. Its focus is on telling a branching story and setting a mood or as they say "Pathologic is a unique example of a dramatic game, which directly affects the player’s state of mind."

The Drawing of the Three

The story takes place in a town that has been contaminated by a lethal and mysterious epidemic. Three outsiders (playable characters but you can only select one for each game) arrive there in order to help out but each has his own agenda. One is a highly educated scientist called Bachelor hired by the provincial authorities.

Another is a skilled surgeon called Ripper, which is the character you are allowed to play in this pre-release and is a homeboy of sorts since his family has lived there, and the last one is a girl with mysterious healing abilities and a haunted past. The main goal of the game is to try to analyze and find a cure for the epidemic in the course of twelve days. There are however numerous minor goals and surprises as the game progresses.

At the beginning of Pathologic you are treated to a play in a rickety old theatre but unfortunately I couldn't understand a word of it because the voice-overs are still in Russian. Pity since it went on for a while and probably gave some insights into the personas. It also makes you wonder how the quality of the English voice-over will be since it's such an integral part of the whole game.

The Stand

Artemiy, your character, returns to his old hometown in order to find out the reason for his father's death and to uphold the legacy of his craft; that of being a Haruspicus (a macabre profession who can for example read the future from guts.) He is faced with an unexpected attack from thugs when entering the plague infested village.

Our hero disposes of them easily since he is an excellent melee fighter. I guess his hands can both be lethal weapons as well as lifesavers. Interestingly you have the option of extracting the heart, kidney, liver and blood samples of the bodies which is just one of the things that makes Pathologic a little different.

He has been injured in the attack and is accused of being a murderer which results in a very low reputation with the villagers meaning that some of them might attack him on sight. Through the course of the first day he must attempt to clear his name and find out why he was attacked. Along the way he will meet some of the important players in the village and try to unravel the mystery behind his father's death and the epidemic.

The above two paragraphs describe the predicament of just one of the three main characters in one day and you will see some variations to the main story when you select either the bachelor or the healer. As an added touch the other two will always influence the story of each other but as computer-controlled characters thus creating a common destiny.

Dreamcatcher

I've already detailed some of the background behind Pathologic in my former article and for the most part that still applies. In this beta we get to experience the twelve days instead of just one but there are no huge differences in gameplay that I've noticed which is just fine and dandy and means it is progressing nicely. The graphics are still nicely done but the character models could use a little work. The music score is still fantastic and the sound effects are very good.

The twelve days that you progress through are similar to acts in a play, you can't really run around and do nothing or you risk people's lives. For each day you have some goals that you must try to fulfil and you always have some decisions to make that affect the story. Therefore much of the game is interacting with people rather than solving puzzles or fighting. The closest approximation I can get to would be the Broken Sword adventure games but even then there are differences between them.

The Regulators

Pathologic is indeed concerned with setting a mood and telling a good story rather than creating scares or letting you wade through monsters. As an example of that ammunition is very scarce and has to be conserved.

With that in mind Pathologic does an excellent job, there is a great music score which I have mentioned and also a well-written dialogue. Sometimes it seems a little too well-written and philosophical coming from the children in the game but perhaps the storyline will explain how they have such old souls;. I for one am looking forward to see the finished product.

Additionally it will be interesting to see how Pathologic will be marketed since it doesn't really fit into a specific category. Gamers expecting something like Silent Hill or Half-Life might feel cheated by the somewhat slow-paced progression and focus on dialogue. Then again they might be pleasantly surprised.