KickStarter Pathologic 2 (AKA Pathologic remake)

[alyvain]

So Pathologic is a well-produced game now?

The end is nigh

 

[Jaedar]

Played one in-game day.

Aside from some stuttering/loading when entering/exiting buildings (and one or two times when running around), I had no performance issues. Dialogue with NPC's reminds me of E.Y.E, in that I can't quite tell if the translation is bad, or if mild confusion/alienation is just the intended effect.

So far feels like tutorial though, all objectives were marked on map and trivially accomplished (although moving around when every other dude wants to bash your head in means there's some challenge).

I did find a bug where the Thirst meter was stuck on-screen and then, whenever I ran, it would seem as if the Thirst was decreasing where it was actually the Stamina bar. Nothing major, though.

I might have had this, but I think it's meant to show that thirst is what is keeping your stamina from being maxed out.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Too bad you can't start as the Bachelor.

Isn't that a biggie? The Haruspex already knows everyone in town, whereas the Bachelor doesn't. So the order is wrong if you play Haruspex first and the Bachelor afterwards. At least if you play Pathologic for the first time.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

mild confusion/alienation is just the intended effect

I played the original and the demo in original language and it's pretty much the same there.

 

[Puteo]

Oh great, the top steam review is by some entitled dipshit with 0.5 hours playtime who claims the game is a beta and incomplete because it does not include the other two characters.

Looks like we're never even going to get those two other characters now.

 

[Jenkem]

Someone please change the title to Pathologic 2 - Soulsian low budget Skyrim.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Oh great, the top steam review is by some entitled dipshit with 0.5 hours playtime who claims the game is a beta and incomplete because it does not include the other two characters.

Looks like we're never even going to get those two other characters now.

Wait till you see this.

A scam, pure and simple, 40$ for a joke of an atmosphere, where's the story anyway ? Right from the beginning we don't know anything and yet apparently we're a doctor. Only 12 minutes in the game and I couldn't bear hearing the howling wolf in the background anymore, the movements are somewhat clunky. It's just not immersive at all, I feel like the trailers simply lied to me.

Not Recommended
0.2 hrs on record

 

[Jinn]

Particularly absurd considering the atmosphere in the first 10 minutes of the game is balls to the wall amazing. Don't want to spoil it, but that shit sent shivers down my spine.

Glad to see the game is holding strong with a solid Very Positive average on steam, but I wish there were more reviews and concurrent players, though it's actually getting more play than I anticipated, so that's good. Hopefully it's enough to keep these guys going.

 

[Wunderbar]

Game crashed twice during Day 2 due to memory leaks, both time i wasted like two hours of real time searching for hidden stashes

 

[GewuerzKahn]

You should use the save function.

 

[Wunderbar]

You should use the save function.

there weren't any savepoints on my route (search for hidden caches).

 

[Wunderbar]

PSA - Acts in "thoughts" menu aren't Days.
Don't be alarmed after not receiving a message "i've done everything i could, time to rest", your Act II thoughts tree will be continued in Day 3.

 

[Terenty]

After playing a bit of the first day it basically feels like the same game, even graphically i remember the first pathologic looking similar, i know it looks worse, but in my memories looks like that, if it makes any sense. The plot is the same,the city etc. I know its a remake, but im not sure whats the point of it. Mechanically its not streamlined at all for the new players, the same monotonous running from one place to another with rapidly filling survival meters. Why they decided to make the same game twice instead of creating something new?

Does the plot differ significantly or what? I beat the first game, so im not sure i want to continue here

 

[Burning Bridges]

Particularly absurd considering the atmosphere in the first 10 minutes of the game is balls to the wall amazing. Don't want to spoil it, but that shit sent shivers down my spine.

Glad to see the game is holding strong with a solid Very Positive average on steam, but I wish there were more reviews and concurrent players, though it's actually getting more play than I anticipated, so that's good. Hopefully it's enough to keep these guys going.

You seem overly concerned with the game getting very positive reviews. I cannot comment on the remake but the old Codex adage "chances are something you really like pretty much sucks" comes to mind.

Not Recommended
0.2 hrs on record

I find playtime and enjoyment very much related. Tbh these days I usually don't even read reviews especially the overly long ones, which usually only repeat things I already know. I just look if there are reviews with 100 hours and more (and especially 300h etc) which tells me that the game is replayable and not some storyfag linear nonsense. Sometimes I read such a review too especially to see wether the person has regrets (like the many Elite Dangerous reviews which are all variants of "how I fucking wasted my time" and thereby highly amusing)

 

[Wunderbar]

After playing a bit of the first day it basically feels like the same game, even graphically i remember the first pathologic looking similar, i know it looks worse, but in my memories looks like that, if it makes any sense. The plot is the same,the city etc. I know its a remake, but im not sure whats the point of it. Mechanically its not streamlined at all for the new players, the same monotonous running from one place to another with rapidly filling survival meters. Why they decided to make the same game twice instead of creating something new?

Does the plot differ significantly or what? I beat the first game, so im not sure i want to continue here

inventory and barter are improved, some systems like healing people or repairing equipment are more complex than in original, there are much more sidequests and stuff to do.
Plot is maybe the same, but the writing is brand new and some characters are very different.

 

[Jinn]

You seem overly concerned with the game getting very positive reviews. I cannot comment on the remake but the old Codex adage "chances are something you really like pretty much sucks" comes to mind.

I'm concerned about the continued existence of Ice-Pick Lodge as a developer, and steam reviews are relevant to that. I don't really give a fuck beyond that. I've already decided the game is excellent according to my own preferences and I don't much care what others think beyond it effecting sales.

 

[CarbonCarousel]

Never played the first one, but I'm digging the small bit of P2 I've thus far played. Atmospheric, excellent map design, foreboding sense of mystery, top-notch sound. Headphones are a must.

 

[Terenty]

After playing a bit of the first day it basically feels like the same game, even graphically i remember the first pathologic looking similar, i know it looks worse, but in my memories looks like that, if it makes any sense. The plot is the same,the city etc. I know its a remake, but im not sure whats the point of it. Mechanically its not streamlined at all for the new players, the same monotonous running from one place to another with rapidly filling survival meters. Why they decided to make the same game twice instead of creating something new?

Does the plot differ significantly or what? I beat the first game, so im not sure i want to continue here

inventory and barter are improved, some systems like healing people or repairing equipment are more complex than in original, there are much more sidequests and stuff to do.
Plot is maybe the same, but the writing is brand new and some characters are very different.

I see. They should have done something with traversing, its the most annoying part of the game. Mantling in fp games is a must, not being able to vault chest high fences and needing to run around entire buildings is a shitty game design that should have stayed in 2005. The snails pace and laughable stamina doesnt help either

 

[Silva]

not being able to vault chest high fences and needing to run around entire buildings is a shitty game design that should have stayed in 2005. The snails pace and laughable stamina doesnt help either

Maybe the protag is a cripple? You know, Inclusion and all that.

 

[Wunderbar]

They should have done something with traversing, its the most annoying part of the game. Mantling in fp games is a must, not being able to vault chest high fences and needing to run around entire buildings is a shitty game design that should have stayed in 2005. The snails pace and laughable stamina doesnt help either

there is a fast-travel option.

 

[Terenty]

They should have done something with traversing, its the most annoying part of the game. Mantling in fp games is a must, not being able to vault chest high fences and needing to run around entire buildings is a shitty game design that should have stayed in 2005. The snails pace and laughable stamina doesnt help either

there is a fast-travel option.

I know, but still. Its like they wanted to create this modern slick version of pathologic but its actually not modern at all, its the same junky game with Unity engine that somehow feels even junkier than it did in 2005

 

[Orma]

ON DIFFICULTY

We’ve always believed that games are a medium capable of delivering all kinds of compelling experiences—and that said experiences don’t need to be conventionally pleasant to be interesting and fulfilling. Pathologic 2 was always intended to be gruelling, stressful, and bleak; we believe in ludonarrative cohesion and aren’t too fond of stories that are only dark and hurtful on the cover.

However, we also believe—even firmer—in player freedom.

Pathologic 2 was balanced around three principles:

• We want the player to always balance on the verge of death, but also always to have an opportunity to drag themselves out (perhaps loading a save or two back—that’s why the game keeps the full history of your saves)
  
• We want the player to be forced to sacrifice “cool and interesting” content due to their survival needs, to be always short on time and not being able to achieve an optimal playthrough. The story of Pathologic 2 is written to be caught glimpses of, not unfold completely
  
• We want the player to do things that feel clearly wrong, like voluntarily thrashing their reputation or using the healing items that could have saved someone. Among other things, Pathologic 2 is an exploration of selfishness—that video games often allow us to completely disregard as a factor

Judging by your feedback, Pathologic 2 is actually balanced in a way that achieves all that.

However, we have received clear feedback that the game is too hard—and we don’t think that everyone who says that misses the point of the experience. People are different and have different attention spans and patterns. So we’re fine with allowing the players to tweak the game a bit to account for this fact.

Our games have always been in a curious spot. Some people only finished the original Pathologic and The Void using cheat codes. So while in theory these players agreed with our stance on games as a medium for creating compelling experiences, in actuality they didn’t really—well—experience what we had in store for them. Which is, of course, understandable. Not everyone wants a life-changing experience every time they launch a game. Sometimes people only want a cursory glance.

Well, we’d rather give people a tweaked experience than none at all.

So, in the coming 2-3 weeks we’ll introduce a difficulty slider to Pathologic 2. You’ll be able to tweak the game mildly, within the limits of what we consider intended difficulty, and also set it the way you want, if you want.

But we hope that you don’t. Pathologic 2 is supposed to be almost unbearable, otherwise the effect is lost. We concede that everyone has their own limits to push. But we strongly advise against making the game easy for yourself.

However, we do like the notion of giving you this freedom—and this responsibility. This way, the achievement of resisting the temptation and finishing the game on intended difficulty becomes even more true and vivid. And that’s the kind of effect we deeply appreciate.

 

[Wunderbar]

Pathologic is now a part of Dark Souls franchise:

1) there is a lore
2) you can die
3) there is a stamina bar
4) this piece of software was made by people from somewhere

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

this piece of software was made by people from somewhere

more like 'the software is made by people from goatfuck nowhere'

 

[Jenkem]

how abysmal must the sales be if they are already kowtowing to casuals? hopefully they can add in options that make the game more difficult as well, such as removing obj. markers entirely/having more districts be infected at once, etc.