That is a nice review. The coverage for this game has been really frustrating. Most people, it seems, refuse to tackle the game on its own term. Instead reviews seem to just compare to other works which really does not work.
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Pathologic 2 |OT| Taking Drugs From Children Simulator 2019
- Thread starter Jader7777
- Start date
That is a nice review. The coverage for this game has been really frustrating. Most people, it seems, refuse to tackle the game on its own term. Instead reviews seem to just compare to other works which really does not work.
I've seen this. Maybe something changes in the later stages of successive deaths, but I still feel as though the sentiment that "dying is not the end" is flat-out wrong. Every failure makes it exponentially harder to carry on, and the content you end up seeing in return amounts to Mark shitting on you over and over while waxing philosophical about the value of suffering. Reloading an earlier save to avoid making a fatal mistake and make better use of your resources has so far proven to be the best option available when you sense things are going to shit. The message being conveyed by the mechanics and dialogue seems to be an utter condemnation of allowing yourself to make a single error. Or erasing evidence of that failure after you know better.
"The most important thing is to not die. Like, ever."
Because there is still an optimal way to play utilizing all the mechanics available to you, and it's not like the game offers a hint of comfort in failure. If you have the ability to play god with the system and you're only going to get kicked in the stomach for falling down, why bother allowing yourself to fall in the first place?
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I think most people are not ready to "suffer" for the sake of atmosphere.
We've got DS and Bloodborne games, but they give you a sense of accomplishment after you beat a boss. Pathologic doesn't actually want to cheer you up.
Even the head of Ice-Pick Logde studio once told that they are making not "attraction games" but "torture games"
Extremely comprehensive difficulty patch is out allowing you to tweak most parameters of the game to your liking.
Difficulty can be changed at any time but there is a new achievement for completing the game without touching the intended difficulty setting.
Steam news post
Basically, you can tweak any aspect of the game that gives you trouble. Perhaps you're fine playing the game as it is and only want to lower Hunger or Thirst a little… maybe even raisinganother parameter to compensate.
Oh yeah, it's possible to make Pathologic 2 way harder now too.
To save you from being lost in the Sea of Sliders, each comes with an explanation, including our suggestions and assessment of how strongly changing this option would impact the game:
Difficulty can be changed at any time but there is a new achievement for completing the game without touching the intended difficulty setting.
Would this work as a separate thread? Some people might be really interested in a new update like this, given that all the reviews criticize the game for its difficulty.
Probably since people who might have been interested but put off because of the difficulty have checked out of the ot by this point
And the third time's, as they say, the charm.
I'm on Day 7 of my third attempted-playthrough now, and it's still super early to call it but after some careful resource management I think I'm well on my way to seeing a half-decent conclusion on the default difficulty. Finding out how to get swevery easily is incredibly useful, as it makes tinctures that not only raise immunity a fair bit, but also heal exhaustion. Aside from that, raising the hospital reward as high as possible gives a ton of money that can be used to buy sewing kits and cloaks for inventory upgrades. I'm also sitting on like 4 shmowders from a combination of hidden stashes and the dead item shop... Though I'm not sure how much longer I'll need them.
Goodest bad boy Bad Grief got infected from shit RNG on Day 4 but managed to last the 3 days it took for me to find the cure, so it only felt fitting to test it on him. Going by some earlier comments I feel like maybe I shouldn't have been able to cure plague this early? Although there's still a lot of questions regarding the cure that need to be answered.
I'm on Day 7 of my third attempted-playthrough now, and it's still super early to call it but after some careful resource management I think I'm well on my way to seeing a half-decent conclusion on the default difficulty. Finding out how to get swevery easily is incredibly useful, as it makes tinctures that not only raise immunity a fair bit, but also heal exhaustion. Aside from that, raising the hospital reward as high as possible gives a ton of money that can be used to buy sewing kits and cloaks for inventory upgrades. I'm also sitting on like 4 shmowders from a combination of hidden stashes and the dead item shop... Though I'm not sure how much longer I'll need them.
Goodest bad boy Bad Grief got infected from shit RNG on Day 4 but managed to last the 3 days it took for me to find the cure, so it only felt fitting to test it on him. Going by some earlier comments I feel like maybe I shouldn't have been able to cure plague this early? Although there's still a lot of questions regarding the cure that need to be answered.
with the Inquisition in town it looks like things are about to go from bad to terrible.
Also I think I fucked up somewhere because Rubin died unceremoniously while I was brewing the panacea. It looks like he can live if you manage your time well that day and brew it before 7:00am on Day 7?
Also I think I fucked up somewhere because Rubin died unceremoniously while I was brewing the panacea. It looks like he can live if you manage your time well that day and brew it before 7:00am on Day 7?
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Saving Bad Grief paid off in spades.
Also I don't think IPL intended for me to resolve that quest by getting punched into a corner where I couldn't be hit and taking cheap shots.
Edit: Just finished. Despite what I still feel are legitimate issues with the "quicksand" difficulty and some severe frustration learning how to manage it all, I absolutely love this game. Probably gonna have to give it a spot in my top 5 for this year.
Hopefully now that the difficulty patch is out more people might give it a shot. I'm excited to see what's in store for the Bachelor chapter, which seems to be next, and especially interested in seeing things from the Changeling's perspective. Hopefully IPL will get to make them...
Free shotgun aw yiss.
Can I even sell this for bread anymore though? The whole Inquisition Bucks system made buying things a lot more complicated. The Shady Shop still takes money but unfortunately they only restock once each morning.
Can I even sell this for bread anymore though? The whole Inquisition Bucks system made buying things a lot more complicated. The Shady Shop still takes money but unfortunately they only restock once each morning.
Also I don't think IPL intended for me to resolve that quest by getting punched into a corner where I couldn't be hit and taking cheap shots.
Edit: Just finished. Despite what I still feel are legitimate issues with the "quicksand" difficulty and some severe frustration learning how to manage it all, I absolutely love this game. Probably gonna have to give it a spot in my top 5 for this year.
Hopefully now that the difficulty patch is out more people might give it a shot. I'm excited to see what's in store for the Bachelor chapter, which seems to be next, and especially interested in seeing things from the Changeling's perspective. Hopefully IPL will get to make them...
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I love people who actually finish the game.
There's so much terror and dread and suffering... but the ending is such a resolution, so transcendent. It really is one of the best games ever made.
By the way, here's an old image about the game. Still applies.
There's so much terror and dread and suffering... but the ending is such a resolution, so transcendent. It really is one of the best games ever made.
By the way, here's an old image about the game. Still applies.
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Have barely played games in a week plus because of real life shit but on the last two days and expecting to finish it tonight. Can only hope it won't be the last taste since I really want to play the remade Changeling campaign.
And lol, Pathologic is so much wilder than anyone would ever expect coming in even with the offbeat trailers.
And lol, Pathologic is so much wilder than anyone would ever expect coming in even with the offbeat trailers.
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The amount of times this game blew my mind, even in small moments of dialogue, is uncountable. Things that stick in my mind off the top of my head:
More than anything, I just really want to know what Clara/The Changeling's role in all this is. I feel like The Bachelor's more rational approach from an outsider's perspective can only be a step down in intrigue after being thrown head-first into Steppe culture as the Haruspex, but IPL has more than earned my faith in crafting something amazing.
- Meeting the Rat Prophet after already meeting The Thing That Lurks Beneath and having a dialogue branch to acknowledge his role as an actor playing the part of the latter
- Learning what Sand Pest actually is, and how it and the Polyhedron play into the overall theme of death and man's attempt to transcend it
- Meeting "Artemy Burakh" on the final day and hearing spoilers for an event I hadn't gotten to yet
- The Inquisitor discussing her and Artemy's roles as characters incapable of transcending the fate chosen for them by those roles
- Realizing who Murky's "friend" actually is, and taking the plague upon myself to save her
- The "eureka" moment upon first developing the panacea and testing it on Bad Grief, only to realize I have no idea what it even comes from
- Frantically rushing through Day 10 and curing the afflicted children with my stockpiled shmowders and newly-crafted panacea in a triumphant "fuck you" to the plague
- Learning what Sand Pest actually is, and how it and the Polyhedron play into the overall theme of death and man's attempt to transcend it
- Meeting "Artemy Burakh" on the final day and hearing spoilers for an event I hadn't gotten to yet
- The Inquisitor discussing her and Artemy's roles as characters incapable of transcending the fate chosen for them by those roles
- Realizing who Murky's "friend" actually is, and taking the plague upon myself to save her
- The "eureka" moment upon first developing the panacea and testing it on Bad Grief, only to realize I have no idea what it even comes from
- Frantically rushing through Day 10 and curing the afflicted children with my stockpiled shmowders and newly-crafted panacea in a triumphant "fuck you" to the plague
More than anything, I just really want to know what Clara/The Changeling's role in all this is. I feel like The Bachelor's more rational approach from an outsider's perspective can only be a step down in intrigue after being thrown head-first into Steppe culture as the Haruspex, but IPL has more than earned my faith in crafting something amazing.
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See, here's the thing, to me, the bachelor's angle is probably going to be more interesting, because the resolution of the plague with Haruspex is so weird that I can't begin to imagine what the ultra-sciencey bachelor's trip to the same possible conclusion is. Also, he seems to be deeply involved with the Kain family, so there's some other possible weirdness there with the Polyhedron and the chapel.
While Changeling is more mysterious by default, I don't see how interesting her journey could be. She's inherently magical, has some ties to the Mistresses from very early days, so her leap to the ultimate ailment and the cure doesn't seem like that much of a stretch. The details will be interesting, sure, but Bachelor's route has this massive mystical wall ahead of him.
After having this game indirectly recommended to me by another poster here at Resetera and having just read Dusk Golem's interesting thread about the game and it's critical reception I couldn't help but picking it up.
I'm hoping it runs OK on my 1060 6gb / Ryzen 5 1600 combo and I'm looking forward to reading this thread properly after playing some of the game. I'm also hoping I like it: I've never played or even heard of the original but I understand this is very much a re-imagining of that game; I conceptually like the idea of survival games; I like the the idea of games where the story happens regardless of you; and I don't mind harsh fail states sometimes so I guess the odds are good! I just wish I didn't have such a busy few weeks ahead.
I'm hoping it runs OK on my 1060 6gb / Ryzen 5 1600 combo and I'm looking forward to reading this thread properly after playing some of the game. I'm also hoping I like it: I've never played or even heard of the original but I understand this is very much a re-imagining of that game; I conceptually like the idea of survival games; I like the the idea of games where the story happens regardless of you; and I don't mind harsh fail states sometimes so I guess the odds are good! I just wish I didn't have such a busy few weeks ahead.
I can get onboard with that. Bachelor seems more like the Lovecaftian skeptic relying on human knowledge in a situation that defies logic, so seeing how he tackles things should make for an interesting time. The Polyhedron stuff also seems super intriguing and seeing where his arc goes in this route I imagine that'll make up a good portion of his run.
I feel like Changeling is interesting because understanding who she is and what she even does feels like a massive piece of the puzzle regarding the supernatural in this world. Plus she's kind of a walking contradiction in Haruspex's playthrough - she does blatantly inexplicable things, but then she seems outright incapable of resolving other conflicts or making good on her threats. I half expect her route to be like the Malkavian run of Pathologic. Plus it seems her route in the original was really rushed and lacking as a result, so I imagine a lot of creative juice has been spent figuring out what they can do to do it justice in the remake.
You guys are so close, can't wait to see how Daniil's route goes over. Some fantastic stuff in there.
Whelp. Looks like Medrel+ healing like, 1/3rd of your exhaustion was an unintended side effect of the most recent patch. Once I realized how great they were and how common swevery was I hoarded them and barely had to sleep in my playthrough. So uh, if anyone wants that Imago achievement and isn't afraid of using an exploit there's your incentive to push as far as you can before they fix it.
Don't talk about my beautiful boy like that.
I never saw what the bull does either.
Can't wait to see how Mandalore copes with the game. He's really putting his full attention into it. I can't help but feel a strange pity but also pride in anyone who tries to complete the game- let alone write something meaningful about it.
As long as you buy the bull and live to day 11 having carefully attended to the bull every opportunity you get, you will hear a sweet word from... You'll see. :)
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There's a good article in RPS today:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/06/24/pathologic-2-has-the-best-intro-ive-played-all-year/
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/06/24/pathologic-2-has-the-best-intro-ive-played-all-year/
I'm playing through Classic right now. What an incredible premise for a game... Only finished the first day so far. Nerve-wracking...
Also happened to give The Void a try. Amazing atmosphere, premise, setting... the only thing bothering me about it is that the game isn't very good at recognizing glyphs, I always get the "you wasted some Color" message whenever I try to give a tree some color
Also happened to give The Void a try. Amazing atmosphere, premise, setting... the only thing bothering me about it is that the game isn't very good at recognizing glyphs, I always get the "you wasted some Color" message whenever I try to give a tree some color
What is the final verdict for this game? I haven't played the original version but the premise drawing me in. Although, I can't be arsed to deal with a hardcore survival game right now. Can I tweak the difficulty so I don't have to deal with the mechanics of the game and just focus on the story?
You can substantially tweak it, allowing for a heavily reduced difficulty. It also has the best game writing of this year by a far margin.
MandaloreGaming references the feature, where you know which story characters are at danger of infection or fully sick, as one improvement/innovation over Pathologic 1
That coupled with lack of apparent district reputation, I gotta ask, did the plague infect story characters at random in 1, or did it follow locational rules like it generally does in 2?
That coupled with lack of apparent district reputation, I gotta ask, did the plague infect story characters at random in 1, or did it follow locational rules like it generally does in 2?
It was mixed, there were 'always going to be infected' people, but other areas depended on your prior actions. Changling specifically could do some weird stuff with her abilities in her playthrough.
Google translated from here - https://dtf.ru/gamedev/65410-inogda...t-ee-bolshoe-intervyu-s-ice-pick-lodge-o-more
This is the game I've wanted since Majoras Mask.
I'm close to end of day 3, I like the writing, it's something metaphysical with time managing and the act of balance, so when it comes to the story's pace I'm surprised, I'm amazed, this game ain't shy of its presentation, & this is a lot of content, overwhelmingly so - I want to participate in everything. This game is bloody genius.
I'm close to end of day 3, I like the writing, it's something metaphysical with time managing and the act of balance, so when it comes to the story's pace I'm surprised, I'm amazed, this game ain't shy of its presentation, & this is a lot of content, overwhelmingly so - I want to participate in everything. This game is bloody genius.
I hadn't thought about the relation to Majora's Mask, but I can totally see it now. The off-kilter atmosphere, the creeping dread, the constant slipping of time, the focus on masks, it has a bunch in common.
OMG FINALLY FINISHED IT!!
Finally, relieved!! What a strange but enjoyable ending.
Finally, relieved!! What a strange but enjoyable ending.
Managed to reach all possible courier locations but in the end when I found him on my doorsteps my lack of time to deliver the message decided the fate of the town. I'm going to do the last day again to see what the other endings are but right now I need to take a break, because damn that shit was intense ( I think this game made me balder), 25+ deaths by hunger, exhaustion, infection and a lot of mugging by bandits and to think I played the last couple of days with the thirst parameter lowered (forgot that I lowered it to test the best way to get from one point to another), I wonder if that's why the last mad dash to find the couriers felt quite doable (while still being intense) compared to past quests (you also seem to walk faster the last day?), also if that courier hunt had its own special music, it would have made the final part of the day 11 way more enthralling.
Damn, I really hope they find a way to release the other characters (there are a lot of characters that aren't fleshed out in the Haruspex story and also the whole thing of visiting the abattoir and seeing the heart of the town doesn't seem to fit the Bachelor, I know that the Polyhedron is more integral to his story but I wonder if he'll also see the heart of the town and how he'll reach it? Heck I'm especially mystified by the Changeling, will she have her own special locale and theme? And it also seems that not all the music on the OST is heard in the game?
Damn, I really hope they find a way to release the other characters (there are a lot of characters that aren't fleshed out in the Haruspex story and also the whole thing of visiting the abattoir and seeing the heart of the town doesn't seem to fit the Bachelor, I know that the Polyhedron is more integral to his story but I wonder if he'll also see the heart of the town and how he'll reach it? Heck I'm especially mystified by the Changeling, will she have her own special locale and theme? And it also seems that not all the music on the OST is heard in the game?
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How long have it taken you?
I'm 42 hours in and about to finish day 7, its gone real slow for me.
I'm 42 hours in and about to finish day 7, its gone real slow for me.
... Well my steam playtime shows a whopping 140 hours but there may be only something of 107 or so hours of actual play, ±28 hours of playing The Marble Nest and some ±5 hours of leaving the game running but stepping away from it to relieve some tension. I also had an odd habit of restarting some days to see if there was a more efficient way to do things and to see which dialogue routes I preferred... I got some slight weird obsessive compulsions when it comes to roleplaying.
One thing that I think needs to be addressed in the gameplay is the amount of bandits that appear in burned down districts later in the game, it's ridiculous; I'm fighting one off and suddenly there comes five more from around the corner making it quite impossible to even lay one foot in some areas.
One thing that I think needs to be addressed in the gameplay is the amount of bandits that appear in burned down districts later in the game, it's ridiculous; I'm fighting one off and suddenly there comes five more from around the corner making it quite impossible to even lay one foot in some areas.
ICYMI, recent post by Dusk Golem, in the 'Have Silent Hill 2's imagery and subtleness been surpassed by any other game?' thread:
From the start of the RagnarRox video:
What he says starting at 12m48s is similar to my own experience (from playing through just the first parts of the game so far), and in particular he adds that "...a big part of that is that the whole experience so perfectly interlocks all of its elements within the game's metaphor that with this game, I don't just *tolerate* the survival aspects, they actually captivate me...", which was true for me as well. He says:
From the start of the RagnarRox video:
What he says starting at 12m48s is similar to my own experience (from playing through just the first parts of the game so far), and in particular he adds that "...a big part of that is that the whole experience so perfectly interlocks all of its elements within the game's metaphor that with this game, I don't just *tolerate* the survival aspects, they actually captivate me...", which was true for me as well. He says:
Totally agree, I'm still working my way through and it's absolutely one of the best psychological horror games ever made, this is exactly the kind of gameplay-driven, heavily-themed game that I always wish we had more of.
Btw the video is timestamped to 39:00 when you click on it, don't know if that was intentional.
