What is Pathologic?

"Pathologic" can refer to one of two games (soon to be three): Pathologic Classic HD (originally released 2005; remastered 2015) or Pathologic 2 (2019). Pathologic 3 was announced for a mid-2025 release on 7 October 2024. In each game, you play as a healer tasked with coming up with a solution for a plague that afflicts a nameless town in the Russian steppe over the course of twelve in-game days. In Classic, you can play as one of three healers: the Bachelor (Daniil Dankovsky), the Haruspex (Artemy Burakh), or the Changeling (Clara). In the second game, you can only play as the Haruspex. Originally, the other routes were going to be added later, but instead the Bachelor route is set to be released as Pathologic 3. There is no news regarding a Changeling route at this time. There is also a DLC for Pathologic 2 entitled Marble Nest which was originally a tech demo preceding the release of Pathologic 2 where you play as the Bachelor.

The Pathologic games are survival roleplaying games developed by Russian studio Ice-Pick Lodge. Though it is now a cult classic in English-speaking countries, the original release of Pathologic Classic was widely panned for its poor, incomprehensible translation.

Gameplay consists of ensuring your survival through the acquisition of resources through scavenging and trading, doing tasks given to you by the cryptic townsfolk, and what I like to call "stressful walking" broken up by tense sections of clunky combat that really emphasizes how risky a simple fight is. There are also additional mechanics depending on the healer you're playing as. Much of the story is delivered through dialogue with an interesting cast of characters that all have different feelings about whichever character you've chosen to play as. Unravel the complicated web of interpersonal dynamics stretching across the strange town full of peculiar miracles during its darkest hour.

Each healer has a different reason for being in the unnamed town. The Bachelor is a big city doctor who came to the town following a lead about a supposedly immortal man only upon arrival to discover that he has been murdered. The Haruspex was raised in the town, but left to pursue his surgical studies only to return at the request of his father, a member of the local indigenous culture's doctor caste, only to find that he too has been murdered shortly before his arrival. The Changeling is a special case, made even more special by the fact that you can only play her route after completing one of the two other routes. The Changeling awakens in an empty grave with no memories beyond that she is a thief. She has miraculous healing hands, can force people to tell the truth through mystical means, and as one of her first acts in this world lies an evil twin sister into existence that justifies her sordid reputation. Each healer is tasked with protecting a list of special "Bound," notable townsfolk who run the risk of catching the plague and dying if you fail to protect them (in Classic at least, things work differently in Pathologic 2).

Why should I play/get into Pathologic?

Contrary to what some might tell you, I highly encourage you to play these games. They are not nearly as brutal mechanically as you may have been led to believe if you've watched a major video essay on the game. If the age of Pathologic Classic HD turns you off, I would still highly encourage you to play Pathologic 2 which can be played without any prior experience. I advise only that you avoid the console port. If you fall in love with the game, then you should absolutely go back and play through all the Classic routes.

Still, I will attempt to make a case for why you should give Pathologic Classic HD a try. Have you ever wanted to experience a game equivalent of a Russian novel? Have you ever felt that NPCs in games you play weren't nearly duplicitous and cryptic enough? Do you enjoy unparalleled game writing like none other that will leave you feeling bereft knowing nothing else like it exists in the end? Do you fancy suffering and dark themes in your fiction? Do you enjoy theatre? Do you want some way about how you look at games to change forever? Do you want to experience the same general story from three radically different perspectives? Do you want to share an experience with a lovely and talented community? Do you have any lingering feelings surrounding the pandemic you want to sort out? Do you like low poly rats?

Please play this game. It would make me very happy.

Why do I love Pathologic?

Pathologic is easily my favorite game of all time. That includes both released games. There's so much to love, but first and foremost I'm a lover of deeply stressful games that would often be considered "unfun" by the public. Stressful experiences are my go to in the realm of fiction because I know if I'm having a bad time, that the characters of Pathologic are inevitably having a worse one. Though truthfully, I'm so well-acquainted with the game's mechanics that I no longer find it to be all that difficult. I still experience the full crushing thematic weight of the game baked into its narrative and mechanics, but the actual gameplay itself is enjoyable for me. So much so that I often find myself imagining myself walking through the town on Gorkhon whilst doing other things, even while in the club.

The game was also instrumental in helping me cope with loss and paved the way for me to have my first sustainable major interest in years that I wouldn't burn out on immediately. It reignited my love of writing fanfiction and making other fancreations. It completely reshaped my perspective on games and gaming. I have also not felt this level of an attachment to fictional characters other than my own in about a decade. My love of this game was sufficient to give me the jumpstart I needed to work on my first video essays and release un-related videos in the first place.

Pathologic checks all my boxes, taps into nearly all of my interests, and feels like a piece I was destined to love. Ever since I played the game for the very first time I knew it would become my favorite, it just took replaying it nearly a year later under highly immersive illness conditions that I was able to comfortably assign it that title. What really cemented it that very first time was getting my first glimpse of the Polyhedron, the impossible structure of dreams and miracles. As a long-time lover of spatial horror and literary spatiality, I was smitten. I adore all kinds of weird architecture and the game kept delivering in this respect going as far as to have the plague afflict the city itself down to its buildings as much as the people dwelling within it. The element of strangeness embedded in the game's world and its denizens was endlessly captivating to me. I was hooked, something relatively easy to achieve with me as a certain path to my heart includes comparing cities (or other settlements) to bodies.

I've loved other games before. However, none to this extent where I love the game on nearly every level. There's simply so much to chew on that I could go on and on about at great length unless someone stopped me. It's taking an incredible amount of restraint to keep this shrine somewhat succint and save my thoughts for other places such as future video essays.

Who is Daniil Dankovsky?

Daniil Dankovsky (a.k.a. The Bachelor) is a character you could call my comfort character or blorbo. He is my appointed male character that I, as a lesbian, am strangely fixated on. He has a particular variety of transmasc swag that enthralls me and gives me all kinds of gender feelings. I am so drawn to him that I am violating my silly personal rule against cosplaying shorter characters as tall person to cosplay him.

But who is Daniil? Daniil is an incredibly complex and interesting character that evokes strong reactions both in-universe and within the fanbase. He is commonly referred to as "the prickly prick" as he is referred to by a character in game. A well-educated man, Daniil comes off as rather self-important and horrid due to his intolerance of other cultures, frequency of disrespectful dialogue options, and tendency to quote Latin phrases mid-conversation. I personally find him to be both an asshole and a deeply tragic character. I may partake in light meme-ry about loathing him, but this does not reflect my true feelings.

Daniil is a famed thanatologist with a primary ambition in life to conquer death. He fights an unwinnable battle against an unvanquishable foe. His lifework prior to the start of the game is under threat of persecution by the Powers That Be meaning that his journey to the town on Gorkhon is a desperate attempt to save all that he's worked for. Despite the fact that he comes off as a major self-important asshole, he's ultimately an idealist who aspires to better the lives of people. He cares deeply about the well-being of others in actuality though he has a hard time expressing it or generally relating to others in a smooth manner. He tends to clash with anyone that doesn't share his specific worldview as a skeptic. Perhaps I'm projecting here, but I've always read Daniil as autistic given that this is all accompanied by a strong sense of justice.

Now to explain the full depth of his tragedy as a character requires spoiling a major ending for Pathologic Classic, please refrain from reading ahead if you have not played the game unless you simply don't care about spoilers.

In the event you manage to save all of your Bound and the Bound of another healer, you receive a letter from the elusive Powers That Be requesting that you meet them at the bottom of the Polyhedron. The same Powers That Be that had been sending you threatening letters regarding the continuation of your lab, Thanatica, all game if you fail to eradicate the disease and/or permit the destruction of the town. At the base of the Polyhedron you find yourself in a strange dimly lit garden at nighttime inhabited by two massive children. Upon speaking with them you learn that you are actually their doll come to life and that the town was a mere sandbox. In another route you would learn that the children were playing this grim game with you because they were coping with the death of their grandfather and had just come back from his funeral. You can lash out at the children, declare that you will destroy their precious town to save the miraculous Polyhedron that Daniil becomes so enamored with for its wonderful properties and due to his attachment to the Kains and the Utopians. Though it hardly matters what you chose now unless you make a choice out of spite doesn't it? You were a man that aspired to the ultimate goal of defeating death but you were never alive in the first place. There is no Thanatica. There isn't even a Capital you came from. It was all a figment of the children's imagination. Therein lies the true tragedy of Daniil's character, the hopelessness of it all even when the original fight was already intrinsically hopeless for no one can defeat death.

The hopeless struggle against death is also a core part of the Marble Nest DLC/tech demo wherein Daniil is trapped in a time loop on the tenth day of the outbreak where he must attempt to keep the last remaning uninfected district in town pure whilst also trying to circumvent his inevitable death at the end of the day as foretold by an Executor who demands that he accept his death. He is fated to endlessly repeat this day until he can accept his death or find an alternate path that requires transcending the literal rules of the game that he inhabits as a video game character and pass off the control of the rules to the player. This is similar to the second secret ending of Pathologic Classic wherein you receive a letter, if you've healed all of the Bound, from the developers of the game ("The People Who Executed the Whole Thing") who wish that despite the fact that the Bachelor is merely a collection of poorly rendered polygons on a screen, he still, through the power of the player, make a genuine choice as to what to do with the town and the Polyhedron.

I really like to entertain the idea of what comes next if the characters and town don't cease to exist upon the children tiring of their game. What happens next if the characters are forced to live with their choices? With the consequences of their actions? With the fractured false reality that they thought they understood the rules of? Daniil is most interesting in this scenario to me personally as I find that he would be more inclined to reject the premise and give into despair than Artemy, who has the Kin, or Clara, who in the event she continues to exist past the end of the plague has a privileged position of this meta role she occupies alongside the fact that she was literally born twelve days ago. Perhaps I just love when my favorite characters suffer too much and my absolute favorites tend to be the ones most ripe for abject suffering like Daniil.

What other characters do I love?

Whilst I have a very special regard for Daniil, I still love the majority of the other characters. All three of the healers are among my favorite characters of all time. Artemy was instrumental in helping me cope with grief as through writing his perspective I was able to achieve a semblance of peace after the initial shocks. He induces a feeling in me I can only imagine is how ravenous straight women feel about certain types of men that nail down this certain archetype of "strong" & "good with kids" & "intelligent." I also think about Clara on a near daily basis and how tragic her short existence is as a girl who was born only days ago in an open grave with miraculous powers beyond her reckoning and appropriate control. I think constantly about her status as this meta sort of character who is closer to the player than our other two healers and how unique her reaction is to the revelation of the truth of her existence.

In addition to the healers, there's also a handful of other townsfolk I am deeply attached to. Mostly Yulia Lyurivheva (pictured left), Eva Yan, Maria Kaina, Anna Angel, Aspity, Lara Ravel, and Capella Olgimskaya (you can clearly see I'm normally attached to female characters). Eva and Yulia I am most attached to as I am deeply fond of their relationship dynamic and doomed yuri status. Yulia is my darling sad lesbian who they butchered the design of in Pathologic 2 in an act that stands as one of my few genuine complaints about the game. Eva is everything you could want in a character, a problematic* polyamorous bisexual icon who is doing it like no one else is. Maria is simple my dream woman and Anna is a nightmare trainwreck that I adore precisely because so few others care about her. Most people tend to loathe her. But through the magic of crafting a convoluted AU I began to develop an appreciation for her and her ways as an imperfect victim. Aspity is, simply put, an icon as the town's premier inhuman catty lesbian who cares deeply about the Kin. Lara is an absolute sadcat sweetheart that I empathize with a tremendous amount and feel that she deserves so much better. Lastly, Capella's simply great and her role as an emerging mistress and important figure for all of the town's children is really compelling to me.

Special shout out for the designs of the Tragedians and the Executors who are solid guys that I can't stop looking at with fondness. I painted my own drawing figure into a Tragedian for my real life Pathologic shrine (because I needed to cover both bases and I lucked out with finding fanart at a local con). And who could forget the beauties that are the worms?

What fan creations have I made for this game?

Video Essays:

Pathologic & Grief: A Personal Essay (watch here)

How the Pathologic games tackle the subject of grief and what they can do for the grieving.

Fanfiction:

Grief's Rehearsal (read here)

Artemy Burakh/Daniil Dankovsky, Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death

On paper, Artemy Burakh was no stranger to loss, having lost not only his brother at a young age, but also personally witnessed what felt like a veritable myriad of deaths during his service as a field medic. The death of his father was another story, only sinking in at a moment where he glimpses joy for the first time since returning home.

Doomed Bride (read here)

Yulia Lyuricheva/Eva Yan, Implied/Referenced Suicide, No Dialogue, Kissing

Yulia realizes there's nothing that can be done to help Eva and seeks a farewell.

Nitimur In Vetitum (read here) [INCOMPLETE]

Artemy Burakh/Daniil Dankovsky, Yulia Lyuricheva/Eva Yan, Past Anna Angel/Eva Yan/Andrey Stamatin, Daniil Dankovsky & Yulia Lyuricheva, Clara & Alexander Saburov, Andrey Stamatin & Eva Yan, Artemy Burakh & Stanislav Rubin Locked Tomb Crossover AU

Daniil Dankovsky, renowned necromancer of the Sixth House and high ranking Cohort medical officer, journeys to a disease-ravaged distant colony with his cavalier Yulia the Sixth to cooperate with the strangest sorts: a Seventh House adept barely into her teens and a Ninth House occultist with a peculiar skillset. Already stationed at the mysterious colony on Gortyn is Eva Yan, controversial necromancer of the Third House, grappling with its untapped miracles and veiled secrets.

Zines

Click the cover to read/find more information:

Upcoming:

(Including these here for accountability purposes.)

On Reconnection (fanfic)

Artemy Burakh/Daniil Dankovsky, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Interactive Fiction

What comes next when all that's left is calculating one's failure.

Buried Doll (fanfic)

Yulia Lyuricheva/Eva Yan, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Interactive Fiction

Reality fractures when you lose the one you love.

Mistresses & Misogyny: The Women of Pathologic (video)

Assessing female characters and the narrative treatment of women in Pathologic.

Give me more Pathologic!

Note: What follows is a collection of my assorted favorite Pathologic things, if you are listed here and don't wish to be, feel free to reach out and I will remove your stuff.

• Skippocalyptic's Pathologic Fan-songs - Extremely catchy and all bangers. "Second Chances" has been stuck in my head nonstop.
• The Gorkhon Archives - Currently inactive fansite for Pathologic.
• Playhead North's Videos - Phenomenal work analysing Pathologic Classic and its characters.
• ranking pathologic characters based on their display of homosexual tendencies - Perhaps my favorite video on all of YouTube.
• SulMatul's Pathologic Analysis - All her Pathologic videos are great, this one included.
• Pathologic is Genius, And Here's Why - I would be remiss not to link The Most Popular Pathologic video.
• Demystifying Maria Kaina - I mourn the lack of followup to this incredible video on the regular.
• Pathologic 2 is an Underrated Masterpiece - Simply excellent.
• Pathologic Theater Opening - Animatic - Stellar animation depicting the opening scene of Pathologic Classic
• Pathologic Dialogue - Amazing resource for referencing dialogue from all of the games.

There's more than this, but these are the links that stand out to me most without even touching on the wealth of wonderful fanart, fanfiction, and memes out there. I implore you to go seek them out, infect your algorithms with the Pathologic bug.