Like a plague doctor subtly administering another handful of leeches, Ice Pick Lodge has shared a little more about the recently announced Pathologic 3, explaining how their plans for the cult epidemic battle series have progressed since the release of Pathologic 2.
As Brendy recalled in our announcement post, Pathologic 2 was essentially a remake of the original Pathologic. Like the 2005 game, it should have three very different playable characters: the Haruspex, the Bachelor, and the Changeling, each tasked with saving a squalid town of slaughterhouse workers from a vicious infection.
The Haruspex arrived at launch in 2019 and the other two characters would follow as DLC expansions, but as Ice Pick explain it on the Steam pageThis proved impractical, as development of the Haruspex route took longer than expected. The Bachelor will thus become the sick heart of his own game. Will the same be true for the Changeling, who can heal or kill with a touch? It’s still a bit unclear, but that’s the hope, yes.
“The game simply grew beyond our concept of DLC,” writes Ice Pick on Steam. “It will have different gameplay and entirely new features. Instead of one game with three playthroughs with the same gameplay but different storylines (as in the original 2005 release and the Classic HD remaster), we are creating three fully developed games with different gameplay and significant differences in story.
“Now these are really three separate protagonists with unique worldviews, perceptions of reality and different tools,” they continue. “From a gameplay perspective, this means three different approaches and a complete rethink of the original scripts.”
As for the Changeling route, the apparent expectation is that she will be the heroine of Pathologic 4, but the developers don’t want to elaborate. “We understand that premature promises about the previous Pathologic led to unmet expectations,” they write. “We apologize for that and we don’t want to mislead you in the future. The developer should not be an unreliable narrator – unlike his characters.”
The post also covers some differences between the Bachelor and the Haruspex, which may be familiar to those who played the 2005 game. “The Haruspex had to survive, fight, search for pieces of bread, and try to save those he loved along the way,” the developers write. “The Bachelor is a man of intellect. Survival is not his primary concern; his goals go beyond what a life could contain. He must think, formulate theories, and gather evidence. Ultimately, he must issue orders and observe the results. This distinctions will be emphasized through gameplay, mechanics, objectives, soundtrack, and so on.”
As you would hope, people who helped fund the development of Pathologic 2 according to the original vision of a game with three protagonists will receive keys for Pathologic 3. To be specific, they will send free keys to “Kickstarter backers and other platforms where support is provided”. for the game was available during the fundraising phase” along with “Backers from 2014 and 2015”. People entitled to two copies will receive two keys.
The game will “probably” be available on the same platforms as its predecessor, with console launches following the PC version. Expect more details closer to release in 2025.