Developer Ice-Pick Lodge Publisher TinyBuild Format PC, PS4, Xbox One Release 2019
The four years since Pathologic 2’s release have made the act of donning its face mask a rather uncanny experience, something only underscored by the item’s inventory description: “This mask resembles those worn by medical personnel, but instead of sterile gauze, it’s made of dirty cloth, and instead of clinging tightly to my face, it hangs loose”. It’s a reminder that sometimes, if the world twists the right way, even a game as unusual as this – rooted equally in the Russian literary tradition and the weirdest speculative fiction – can turn into a kind of gospel.
The mask is far from alien to playercharacter Artemy Burakh. A native of the game’s setting, known only as the Town, he returns after years away training as a surgeon, and upon arrival is accused of patricide. The initial hours are spent avoiding vigilantes convinced of your guilt while chasing leads on the real killer and familiarising yourself with the open map. From the
