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12 days on the fringe.

Pathologic, a weird horror tale of major reality malfunction in a secluded Russian town, told by means of first-person perspective action and adventure game with RPG elements, is available on GOG.com, for only $9.99

People are used to thinking of space and time as if they were solid. They're not. The thing we call reality is just a function of how the human brain perceives them, in its very limited capability. There's but a thin veil separating the world of men and the dimensions that were never meant for us to see. Sometimes those parallel universes will push against the veil, testing the integrity of its fabric. Sometimes the fabric will tear. When it does, insanity pours through the holes into our world. The rules cease to apply, everything shifts and twists. Most of the times we don't notice. The fail-safe mechanisms in our brains go off and filter out whatever seems off and unfitting. But once in a while the tear is too large and the worlds collide with such force, that there's no way to ignore the madness and horror. This is a story of such an event.

Pathologic aims to scare you, but not in the usual "monsters jump at you all of a sudden"-way. Everything in the Russian town that serves as the game setting seems off. Even the rules of geometry seem to have taken a day off in some parts of the landscape. The barrier between life and death isn't working as it should. A strange plague is attacking the townsfolk. Nightmarish creatures roam the streets taunting you with appearance so alien, that you simply cannot accept their existence. You have only 12 days to discover the towns secrets and find means of saving it from falling off the face of the Earth, and into the realm of madness. This is game is one of a kind, everyone, so if you enjoy weird and terrifying stories, surreal aesthetics, and gripping storytelling, be sure not to miss it!

A stitch in time will save you nine, so the sooner you grab Pathologic, for only $9.99 on GOG.com, the more hope you can have to fix the fabric of reality before it falls apart.
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Kunovski: this is really ONE OF THE BEST games in the history of gaming...

too bad I'll never be able to finish it - the real-time system breaks my neck every time I try :(

once I've read an awesome article discribing what Pathologic is really all about - does somebody remember that?
mm i think was this article ?

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/02/16/the-very-important-list-of-pc-games-part-35/#pathologic
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GOG.com: ... testing the integrity of its fabric. Sometimes the fabric will tare. When it does, insanity pours through the holes into our world. ...
Sure you don't mean tear?

Otherwise game looks interesting, haven't heard anything about this one before, so definitely need some more information but will add to my wishlist to circle back to when I have the time and funds.
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GOG.com: ... testing the integrity of its fabric. Sometimes the fabric will tare. When it does, insanity pours through the holes into our world. ...
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BlueKronos: Sure you don't mean tear?

Otherwise game looks interesting, haven't heard anything about this one before, so definitely need some more information but will add to my wishlist to circle back to when I have the time and funds.
imagine an fps sandbox game where you explore a magnificent city, talk to its strange inhabitants, try to find explanations and motives for the things that happen there... while trying to survive - you need pills, water and other stuff just to live. there are also some fights later on, but if you're prepared it's not much of a trouble (see below)

imagine an atmosphere so heavy that it will lay on you and won't be able to get up (and I absolutely LOVE this game because of it), wonderful soundtrack and spectacular architecture and visuals (in style, the graphics are of course a bit older)

I'd play the hell out of this game if there wasn't one little thing - you play in realtime, no event waits for you, so if you don't do the things you should one day, it will be gone, the next day will come and you won't be prepared or you won't know the things you need to know...
Who voted for this game?. It was in a bundle a few bundles back drm free. Wish GOG wouldn't release games which had only been in a el cheapo bundle a short time ago :/.


Having said that i read a very detailed positive review of this game a when this game came in the bundle. Dont have the link however.. not the rps article.
Post edited March 28, 2013 by nijuu
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Mivas: By the way, I recommend you to read the article series Butchering Pathologic done by Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
indeed a great article...

however, you probably shouldn't read it if you plan to play the game, as the article pretty much explains the secrets behind the city and the plot.
Can't say I've ever played it yet. That said I have a physical copy in the cupboard that I bought 5 years or so back on special. I'll pick it up here a bit later just to make a little more physical space.
Excellent game, already have a hard copy.
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Novotnus: Excellent game, already have a hard copy.
I have two :)

damn, I really should finish the game! I'll pick up a walkthrough and will try once more...
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Kunovski: I have two :)

damn, I really should finish the game! I'll pick up a walkthrough and will try once more...
I remember using some "easy mod" to finish Pathologic... Or was it Tension \ Void?
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Mivas: By the way, I recommend you to read the article series Butchering Pathologic done by Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
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Kunovski: indeed a great article...

however, you probably shouldn't read it if you plan to play the game, as the article pretty much explains the secrets behind the city and the plot.
Good thinking! I added spoiler warning at least. This series was actually what got me to buy that TopCD cardboard edition. I read only a couple of first paragraph, decided to drop it and play it. And then I rewarded myself by reading the rest :).
weird is a good descriptor. Had a hard time getting into this one... need to try again as it sounds really neat. Regardless, always glad to see the catalog growing ;)
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Kunovski: I have two :)

damn, I really should finish the game! I'll pick up a walkthrough and will try once more...
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Novotnus: I remember using some "easy mod" to finish Pathologic... Or was it Tension \ Void?
Pathologic doesn't have any easy mode. The best thing you can do is to use some cheats available on their Russian forum. I have them somewhere saved. And yes, I admit that this is only game I played with cheats and I'm not ashamed of that. The game is art but gameplay is ruthless.
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Berserkr: What actually determines what languages are being included in a release?
I'm guessing it's who holds the rights to the translation. I'm an aspiring translator, and while I do not know how the system works in the games industry, I'm guessing it's much the same as with books, subtitles and what have you. Translators occasionally get (or negotiate from their employer) the option to keep the rights to their translation for themselves. So if the developer only acquires the permission to use the translation in, say, a physical release of the game or a certain time period or whatever, but not the rights themselves, you would have to find out who did the original translation and then track down and pay them separately.
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Mivas: Pathologic doesn't have any easy mode. The best thing you can do is to use some cheats available on their Russian forum. I have them somewhere saved. And yes, I admit that this is only game I played with cheats and I'm not ashamed of that. The game is art but gameplay is ruthless.
As a hardcore adventure player I wasn't very fond of combat \ resource management in both Pathologic and Void and did everything to minimalize impact of those aspects.
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cich: The English translation is supposedly really bad too.

But there's a Polish fan translation that seems to be quite nice
http://www.pathologic-game.com/eng_index.htm
Crap. I think I'll have to consider improving my Russian A LOT.

Normally I either play a game's original version or the English version. Guess that this might be the one case where I will actually prefer the Polish version despite not being the original (and at least Polish and Russian are both Slavic languages so the experience should be a little closer to the original than in case of the English or German version :p).