It very much is. In summary, the original Pathologic had three characters you could play as. Pathologic 2 initially released as a sort of remake, with only one of the characters from the original playable, with the promise that the other two would be released posteriorly as DLC.

However, it has taken some years now (Pathologic 2 released in 2019) and the second route / character has only just been announced to be planned to be released in 2025. As I understand it, in order not to stunt their sales, what was originally planned to be DLC will be released as a new game (Pathologic 3), and I expect the final character / route will be released as Pathologic 4 or something of the sort.

While the original had 3 characters and 2 only has one, I do think that the world, characters and gameplay are much better realized in 2. The world is bigger, denser, more believable and weirder than it was in the first game. Which is why I believe that it’s not necessary to wait for all three routes to come out in order to enjoy Pathologic 2. As it stands, even if the developers go bankrupt and no more games come out, I still think Pathologic 2 is one of the best games ever made and certainly one of the best stories ever told, regardless of medium. It is very much worth the purchase (or torrent, if you want to try it out) and does not require that you played the first game to understand and enjoy it.

Oh, it is indeed super interesting! If you don’t mind long YouTube video essays, watch Hbomberguy’s video about Pathologic, that’ll get you up to speed.

But let me say just a little more: in like, 2005 or something a development studio in Russia made a game called Pathologic. It’s absolutely miserable to play and it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played, an absolute masterpiece.

You play as one of three very different doctors who has come to this utterly bizarre town on the Russian steppe, right as a plague is beginning. Your job is to survive for 12 days in the town, and maybe make some progress towards fixing the plague in some way, either a vaccine or a cure, or hell, maybe a miracle.

But most of your day to day will be walking around the town, excruciatingly slowly, trying to scrounge up enough food and medicine and bullets so you yourself don’t die. The townsfolk will lie to you for their own ends and they love wasting your time. The plot is sprawling and complex, but it’s an absolute scramble every day to see it all, to talk to the people you need to talk to, while avoiding bandits and seemingly sentient clouds of plague and plague carriers, both human and rat. And all the while your exhaustion and hunger meters are rising and you have to take care of that, your body is fragile and its needs are always pressing, you will straight up die if you don’t keep yourself fed and rested and healthy.

You choose one of three doctors to play as, although if you’re serious about the game you play it three times, once as each character. These characters are The Bachelor (a doctor from the big city obsessed with trying to conquer death), The Haruspex (a local from the town who’s been away studying medicine for the past several years) and The Changeling (I don’t know what to say about her. She’s less a doctor and more a, uh, miracle worker? A magical little girl who might have an evil twin sister? I can’t explain The Changeling). All three doctors exist in the story, even the two you’re not currently playing as. They still do their stuff, although, crucially, they’re less successful than when you play as them.

The plot in this game is dense and fascinating. The whole game is, in some ways, a play, a theatre production. Kind of. It also frequently reminds you it’s not real, it’s just a game, in very weird, very interesting ways. And all the while the characters are deep and interesting and don’t feel fake, even as the game takes pains to remind you that they are.

I could talk themes and ideas all day, but I won’t. Suffice it to say there’s more there than I could ever fit into a single comment, a lot more.

But, ok, that’s a weird game from like 20 years ago, what does it have to do with a game coming out next year? Well, in 2019 (I think), Pathologic 2 came out, which is a remake of The Haruspex playthrough of Pathologic. And it’s incredible, it’s so fucking good! It’s way harder and more punishing and less janky than the first one, the themes and ideas are just as rich, although with a slightly different focus (there’s something odd happening with death here, that I really, really don’t understand, I would bet money the next two playthroughs make it more explicit), and the mechanics are really dialed in and feel awful and satisfying in exactly the right way.

And next year (probably, hopefully) the Bachelor playthrough is coming out, as Pathologic 3. (Their naming conventions are terrible, but oh well.) And it’s going to be so, so good. It’s taken 5 years to make, which is long enough that I was really worried it wasn’t going to happen, especially since Pathologic 2 didn’t sell that well and the dev team is Russian, and, well, Russia is at war right now. But the Bachelor playthrough is nearing completion! It’s truly happening, and I couldn’t be happier! It suggests to me we’ll probably also get a Changeling playthrough, even if we have to wait another 5 years. And I’m willing to wait!

So yeah, play Pathologic 2. Don’t play 1 unless you really get bit by the Pathologic bug, it’s hard to overemphasize just how miserable 1 is. 2 is also miserable, sure, but in a much better way, if that makes sense (it probably doesn’t). And it’s the same story, mostly. Broad strokes are the same, even though details are different. And Pathologic 2 is only 1/3 of the full story, although I would say it’s richer than its counterpart in 1. Still, 1 is absolutely worth playing, because you do get all three stories, which is really neat, you get a much deeper and more complete understanding of the town and the people in it. But still, only play it if you really, really must, because it’s miserable.