
English: 
“Pathologic 2” is one of the most unique and brilliant games I’ve ever had the chance to experience.
It is a game truly literary in scope, over fifteen years in the making, and has one of the most well-realized and well-crafted worlds I’ve ever seen in a video game.
It is the lovechild of Camus, Dostoevsky, and “Planescape Torment”, with a dash of Brechtian theatre and Tarkovsky’s “Stalker” thrown in for good measure.
But it’s such a memorable experience that I don’t think even these comparisons really do it justice.
If you’re familiar with me, or my work, you may know me as the guy that made a very long analysis of “Pathologic 1”, and hey, well, eh, now I’m back again.
I’m SulMatul, a longstanding fan of Ice Pick Lodge and their various works, and I intend to do my best to analyze this beast of a game.
But I have several caveats to get out of the way.

English: 
Pathologic 2 is one of the most unique and
brilliant games I’ve ever had the chance
to experience. It is a game truly literary
in scope, over fifteen years in the making,
and has one of the most well-realised and
well-crafted worlds I’ve ever seen in a
video game. It is the lovechild of Camus,
Dostoevsky, and Planescape Torment, with a
dash of Brechtian theatre and Tarkovsky’s
Stalker thrown in for good measure - but it’s
such a memorable experience that I don’t
think even these comparisons really do it
justice. If you’re familiar with me, or
my work, you may know me as the person who
made a very long analysis of Pathologic 1,
and hey, well, now I’m back again.
I’m SulMatul, a longstanding fan of Ice
Pick Lodge and their various works, and I
intend to do my best to analyse this beast
of a game – but I have several caveats to

English: 
Firstly, this game is not yet fully realized;
we have one campaign, or story, out of an intended three, and each story will have an entirely different series of themes and perspectives to analyze.
Second, I’m primarily an English-speaking fan, so I’m relying on the translations of the game – which may differ from the original Russian text.
Third, I’m no art critic, or even a student of the humanities –
I’m a doctor by trade, and, whilst that may add something to my own experience of the game, I’m by no means an expert on art or literary theory.
That being said, let’s get into the meat of the game; this analysis will be split up into several parts, and will be heavy with spoilers throughout.
If you want to experience the game yourself, you can pick it up on Steam (and GOG!), and I’ll leave a link in the description below.
If you want to see some more concise reviews of the game, MandaloreGaming, RagnarRox and Hbomberguy have all made excellent videos, which I’ll also link below.

English: 
get out of the way. Firstly, this game is
not yet fully realised; we have one campaign,
or story, out of an intended three, and each
story will have an entirely different series
of themes and perspectives to analyse. Second,
I’m a primarily an English-speaking fan,
so I’m relying on the translations of the
game – which may differ from the original
Russian text. Third, I’m no art critic,
or even a student of the humanities – I’m
a doctor by trade, and whilst that may add
something to my own experience of the game,
I’m by no means an expert on art or literary
theory.
That being said, let’s get into the meat
of the game; this analysis will be split up
into several parts, and will be heavy with
spoilers throughout. If you want to experience
the game yourself, you can pick it up on Steam,
and I’ll leave a link in the description
below. If you want to see some more concise
reviews of the game, MandaloreGaming, RagnaRox
and Hbomberguy have all made excellent videos,
which I’ll also link below.
Firstly, I’ll go into a rough summary of
the plot events for the current story of the

English: 
game, the campaign of Artemiy Burakh. Some
of the events will be summarised slightly
outwith chronological order for the sake of
easier continuity in my narrative flow. Second,
I’ll talk about some of the major characters
we see within this story, and how their complexities
contribute to the overall themes of the game.
I’ll also discuss the nature of the mechanics
and the notorious balance and difficulty,
and how these all contribute to the ludonarrative,
and the emotional impact left upon the player.
Finally, I’ll conclude the video with an
interview with the developers.
This video is very long, so I’m going to
include timestamps in the description below
so you can jump back and forth as you like.
1: Plot
The Main Plot
Act 1
The central plot of the game follows your
character, Artemiy Burakh, a doctor returning
to his hometown - the town upon the Gorkhon,
a settlement in the backwater of the vast
Steppe plains. It’s set in a fictional land

English: 
Firstly, I’ll go into a rough summary of the plot events for the current story of the game, the campaign of Artemiy Burakh.
Some of the events will be summarised slightly outwith chronological order for the sake of an easier continuity in my narrative flow.
Second, I’ll talk about some of the major characters we see within this story, and how their complexities contribute to the overall themes of the game.
I’ll also discuss the nature of the mechanics and the notorious balance and difficulty,
and how these all contribute to the ludonarrative, and the emotional impact left upon the player.
And an upcoming video will include an interview with the developers.
This video is very long, so I’m going to include timestamps in the description below so you can jump back and forth as you like.
The central plot of the game follows your character, Artemiy Burakh,
a doctor returning to his hometown – the town upon the Gorkhon, a settlement in the backwater of the vast Steppe plains.

English: 
with cultural influences from Russia, Mongolia,
Kazakhstan, and other peoples of the steppe.
However, the game proper begins with a rather
unusual scene; it begins at its end.
You awaken, an actor upon a stage, and step
forward to see a theatre of corpses; your
audience is dead, and the town’s other healers
are even more lost than you. Towering figures
dressed in bird-costumes, resembling both
carrion crows and warped plague-doctor masks,
inform you of your failures; the town is lost,
a plague consumed all, and you, its one hope
of salvation, failed to provide a cure.
You exit the theatre and pace down a street
in chaos; boarded up windows, crying townspeople,
and corpses are strewn everywhere. Stage-lights
illuminate army tents, resembling refugee
camps, and the screams of the infected being
burned alive ring all around. Military men
inform you of their intent to bombard the
entire place to the ground, and incinerate
everyone left in it. The stagelights guide

English: 
It’s set in a fictional land with cultural influences from Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and other peoples of the steppe.
However, the game proper begins with a rather unusual scene; it begins at its end.
You awaken, an actor upon a stage, and step forward to see a theatre of corpses; your audience is dead, and the town’s other healers are even more lost than you.
Towering figures dressed in bird-costumes, resembling both carrion crows and warped plague-doctor masks, inform you of your failures;
the town is lost, a plague consumed all, and you, its one hope of salvation, failed to provide a cure.
You exit the theatre and pace down a street in chaos; boarded up windows, crying townspeople, and corpses are strewn everywhere.
Stage-lights illuminate army tents, resembling refugee camps, and the screams of the infected being burned alive ring all around.
Military men inform you of their intent to bombard the entire place to the ground, and incinerate everyone left in it.

English: 
The stagelights guide your way to the town’s cathedral, where you encounter two agents of the government; an Inquisitor, and the army General.
Neither care for your excuses, and the town is to be razed.
As you try to desperately halt the oncoming bombardment, time stops, and you are approached by the director of the town’s theater.
In a Faustian bargain, you are offered a “second chance” to save everyone – despite this ostensibly being your first time coming to this scenario as a player.
You take your chances with the theatre’s director, and are placed, once more, at the chronological start of the events of the game,
beginning with your return to the town via train.
Through flashbacks and fever-dreams, you are given the exposition for your return to the town.
Your father, the town’s only local doctor, has urgently summoned you back from your studies at the capital.
He fears that something terrible is about to befall the town, and needs your help in order to prevent it.
You are also made aware of your unusual heritage.

English: 
your way to the town’s cathedral, where
you encounter two agents of the government;
an Inquisitor, and the army General. Neither
care for your excuses, and the town is to
be raised.
As you try to desperately halt the oncoming
bombardment, time stops, and you are approached
by the director of the town’s theatre; in
a Faustian bargain, you are offered a quote
unquote “second chance” to save everyone
– despite this ostensibly being your first
time coming to this scenario as a player.
You take your chances with the theatre’s
director, and are placed, once more, at the
chronological start of the events of the game,
beginning with your return to the town via
train.
Through flashbacks and fever-dreams, you are
given the exposition for your return to the
town; your father, the town’s only local
doctor, has urgently summoned you back from
your studies at the capital. He fears that
something terrible is about to befall the
town, and needs your help in order to prevent
it. You are also made aware of your unusual
heritage; you are partially related to The

English: 
Kin, the culture of the steppe-folk that lived
in the area before the town was built, and
your skill as a healer is half based on your
studies of modern medicine, and half based
on the shamanistic practices of an ancient,
native Steppe culture. You also meet a Fellow
Traveller on your journey – a man who literally
steps out of a coffin to greet you. His role
will become more important later – though
if you’re aware of common Russian myths,
you might already have gathered that his part
is a sinister one.
You don’t get a very warm welcome on arriving
in the town; you’re immediately attacked
by three men with knives who have mistaken
you for a murderer. Furthermore, you find
that other townsfolk believe this apparent
murderer is a “Shabnakh-Adyr” – some
form of demon that is rumoured to disguise
itself as a woman – and they have already
murdered one young girl in a fit of paranoia,
and quickly go about setting fire to another.
You’re plunged into immediate chaos and
confusion as the once-peaceful town of your

English: 
You are partially related to The Kin, the culture of the steppe-folk that lived in the area before the town was built,
and your skill as a healer is half based on your studies of modern medicine, and half based on the shamanistic practices of an ancient, native Steppe culture.
You also meet a Fellow Traveller on your journey – a man who literally steps out of a coffin to greet you.
His role will become more important later – though if you’re aware of common Russian myths, you might already have gathered that his part is a sinister one.
You don’t get a very warm welcome on your arrival to the town; you’re immediately attacked by three men with knives who have mistaken you for a murderer.
Furthermore, you find that other townsfolk believe this apparent murderer is a “Shabnakh-Adyr” –
some form of demon that is rumoured to disguise itself as a woman –
and they’ve already murdered one young girl in a fit of paranoia, and quickly go about setting fire to another.
You’re plunged into immediate chaos and confusion, as the once-peaceful town of your halcyon childhood is overtaken by senseless violence.

English: 
It isn’t long until you find out that there were in fact two murder victims immediately on your arrival –
one of Simon Kain, a town elder, but more importantly, the other – your father, Isador Burakh.
The townsfolk quickly start to suspect you of patricide, and you are forced to go into hiding with your old childhood friends;
Rubin, a trainee doctor who studied with your father, Griff, a young man who now roams with the local gangs,
and Lara, a troubled but determined young woman who provides you shelter.
Griff, however, attempts to employ your medical services in healing up a wounded gang member –
coincidentally one of the same gang members responsible for burning the aforementioned young girl alive,
leaving you a choice as to whether he is worth saving or not.
Rubin is quick to join the townsfolk in suspecting you of patricide and has left his home – in his place you meet several other characters instead;

English: 
halcyon childhood is overtaken by senseless
violence. It isn’t long until you find out
that there were in fact two murder victims
immediately on your arrival – one of Simon
Kain, a town elder, but more importantly,
the other – your father, Isador Burakh.
The townsfolk quickly start to suspect you
of patricide, and you are forced to go into
hiding with your old childhood friends; Rubin,
a trainee doctor who studied with your father,
Griff, a young man who now roams with the
local gangs, and Lara, a troubled but determined
young woman who provides you shelter. Griff,
however, attempts to employ your medical services
in healing up a wounded gang member – coincidentally
one of the same gang members responsible for
burning the aforementioned young girl alive,
leaving you a choice as to whether he is worth
saving or not. Rubin is quick to join the
townsfolk in suspecting you of patricide and
has left his home – in his place you meet
several other characters instead; Bachelor

English: 
Bachelor Dankovsky, one of the other doctors who has recently arrived at the town, and immediately reacts to you with hostility,
and two lost children.
The children you meet provide you with some shelter from the hostile adults of the town, and take you to their leader – a teenager named Notkin.
In other games, childhood may represent innocence, however, in the world of “Pathologic” we are shown a much more brutal portrayal of youth.
In the same way that the adults have formed gangs and play power politics,
we see that the children have formed their own rivalries, and regularly fight and hurt one another.
Notkin’s gang have had their dogs poisoned and killed by a rival gang member, and they ask you to bring them justice.
Finding this rival teenager presents another difficult choice; this kid saw you arrive in town, and could provide an alibi that proves that you are not your father’s killer,
however, this would betray the trust of Notkin’s gang, who are also providing you shelter.
Bringing the kid to justice might mean killing him – the outright murder of a child.

English: 
Dankovsky, one of the other doctors who has
recently arrived at the town, and immediately
reacts to you with hostility, and two lost
children.
The children you meet also provide you some
shelter from the hostile adults of the town,
and take you to their leader – a teenager
named Notkin. In other games, childhood may
represent innocence, however in the world
of Pathologic we are shown a much more brutal
portrayal of youth; in the same way that the
adults have formed gangs and play power politics,
we see that the children have formed their
own rivalries, and regularly fight and hurt
one another. Notkin’s gang have had their
dogs poisoned and killed by a rival gang member,
and they ask you to bring them justice. Finding
this rival teenager presents another difficult
choice; this kid saw you arrive in town, and
could provide an alibi that proves you are
not your father’s killer, however this would
betray the trust of Notkin’s gang, who are
providing you shelter. Bringing the kid to
justice might mean killing him – outright
murder of a child. You are given a third option,
to bring the kid a leash to psychologically

English: 
prevent his escape from Notkin’s gang, however
the mental destruction that this child then
endures is possibly more cruel than outright
murder would have been.
You come to find through talking to various
townspeople that Alexander Saburov, the town’s
de-facto administrative leader, believes the
rumours of patricide, and is seeking to arrest
you. These rumours are only put to rest when
you’re taken in by another powerful man
in the town, Vlad Olgimsky the Elder - a bourgeois
factory owner, and the wealthiest man in the
town. His relationship to the native Kin of
the steppe and to the townsfolk themselves
is an awkward one; both at once, he is seen
as a stern-yet-kindly patriarchal figure,
a father to his workers, and yet also displays
abject cruelty and callousness at times, remaining
a complex figure throughout the game. With
your innocence eventually believed, you have
some time to prepare yourself for the oncoming
days, and on the stroke of midnight may view

English: 
You are given a third option, to bring the kid a leash to psychologically prevent his escape from Notkin’s gang,
however, the mental destruction that this child then endures is possibly more cruel than outright murder would have been.
You come to find through talking to various townspeople that Alexander Saburov, the town’s de-facto administrative leader,
believes the rumors of patricide, and is seeking to arrest you.
These rumours are only put to rest when you’re finally taken in by another powerful man in town, Vlad Olgimsky the Elder, or Big Vlad –
a bourgeois factory owner, and the wealthiest man in the town.
His relationship to the native Kin of the steppe and to the townsfolk themselves is an awkward one;
both at once, he is seen as a stern-yet-kindly patriarchal figure, a father to his workers,
and yet also displays abject cruelty and callousness at times, remaining a complex figure throughout the game.
With your innocence eventually believed, you have some time to prepare yourself for the oncoming days,
and on the stroke of midnight may view a play in the town’s theater.

English: 
a play in the town’s theatre – an event
I’ll discuss later.
Act 2
With the town’s complex interpersonal and
intercultural politics laid before you, you
awaken to the news that your father is to
be buried. You make your way to the graveyard
at the edge of town, to be greeted by the
peoples of the Steppe – unusual folk that
culturally and ethnically appear very different
from the more Europeanised townspeople. Herb
brides with flowers and mud in their hair
cluster alongside tall Eurasian men and women
in notably more traditional garb, and around
them are Odongs; strange, unique creatures
that are never truly explained, beyond being
“the mud left over when mother nature was
done”. The sense that this culture is alien
and strange, both welcoming and hostile, regarding
you with a sense of expectation, lies heavily
in the air as you approach the gravesite.
You find your father’s body, repeatedly
being supernaturally rejected by the earth
– you may choose to examine it, or to leave

English: 
The plays are events I will discuss later.
With the town’s complex interpersonal and intercultural politics laid before you, you awaken to the news that your father is to be buried.
You make your way to the graveyard at the edge of town, to be greeted by the peoples of the Steppe –
unusual folk that culturally and ethnically appear very different from the more Europeanised townspeople.
Herb brides with flowers and mud in their hair cluster alongside tall Eurasian men and women in notably more traditional garb, and around them are Odongs;
strange, unique creatures that are never truly explained, beyond being “the mud left over when mother nature was done”.
The sense that this culture is alien and strange, both welcoming and hostile,
regarding you with a sense of expectation, lies heavily in the air as you approach the gravesite.
You find your father’s body, repeatedly being supernaturally rejected by the earth – you may choose to examine it, or leave it be at your discretion.

English: 
it at your discretion. What is expected is
that you declare to the world – and to The
Kin – whether you are prepared to take on
your father’s legacy and become their guide
in the troubles to come.
You are taken aside by Aspity, a representative
of The Kin, and someone that may or may not
be supernatural, too. The witch-like woman
offers you your father’s inheritance – which,
aside from material wealth and his house,
also includes his legacy. It becomes clear
that “inheritance” comes with far more
responsibility than it does benefit. Your
father also made a list of names of people
he believed needed to be saved in order to
preserve the town – a list that happens
to be all the major children that you meet.
Aspity herself continues in her role of representing
and guiding the Kin, and can be seen at night
to be giving advice to them. When asked, it
seems that the ethnic tensions between the
Kin and the Townsfolk are worsening; there
are Kin that believe they will rise up and
reclaim the land, and kill the settled townsfolk

English: 
What is expected is that you declare to the world – and to The Kin –
whether you are prepared to take on your father’s legacy and become their guide in the troubles to come.
You are taken aside by Aspity, a representative of The Kin, and someone that may or may not be supernatural, too.
The witch-like woman offers you your father’s inheritance – which, aside from material wealth and his house, also includes his legacy.
It becomes clear that this “inheritance” comes with far more responsibility than it does benefit.
Your father also made a list of names of people that he believed needed to be saved in order to preserve the town –
a list that happens to be all the major children that you meet.
Aspity herself continues in her role of representing and guiding the Kin, and can be seen at night to be giving advice to them.
When asked, it seems that the ethnic tensions between the Kin and the Townsfolk are worsening,

English: 
in the process.
Of the names on your list, you only recognise
a few. The first I’ll mention is Taya Tycheek,
the daughter of the overseer of the Abattoir
and the Termitary – the enormous brutalist
industrial complex that houses much of the
Kin. You find that it’s been locked under
the orders of Vlad Olgimsky as there has been
rumours of an outbreak of disease – and,
despite your best efforts, the doors remain
locked in quarantine. There is no leaving
for those trapped inside; a woman accidentally
falls to her death in an attempt to escape
– or, is it intentional suicide? Is suicide
her escape from the horrors to come? A question
that goes without an answer.
The next name on your list, Sticky, turns
out to be a capricious orphan boy that was
trying to study under your father. Whilst
he is initially a source of some cheek and
frustration, he quickly comes to your aid
in reassembling the machines your father used,

English: 
and there are Kin that believe they will rise up and reclaim the land, and kill the settled townsfolk in the process.
Of the names on your list, you only recognise a few.
The first I’ll mention is Taya Tycheek, the daughter of the overseer of the Abattoir and the Termitary –
the enormous brutalist industrial complex that houses much of the Kin.
You find that it’s been locked under the orders of Vlad Olgimsky as there have been rumours of an outbreak of disease –
and, despite your best efforts, the doors remain locked, in quarantine.
There is no leaving for those trapped inside; a woman accidentally falls to her death in an attempt to escape – or, perhaps, it is intentional suicide?
Is suicide her escape from the horrors to come? This is a question that, with her death, goes without an answer.
The next name on your list, Sticky, turns out to be a capricious orphan boy that was trying to study under your father.
Whilst he is initially a source of some cheek and frustration, he quickly comes to your aid in reassembling the machines your father used,

English: 
even going so far as to steal expensive machine
equipment for you. He remains your understudy
in your hideout as you take on your father’s
mantle, and becomes a vital asset to helping
you make the tinctures and medicines that
form the backbone of your healing work.
Grace, the young girl who lives in the graveyard,
is your next charge to be protected; you find
her, on advice from the strange Changeling
character, trying to commune with the dead
– an act that burns away her life force
as she does it – or so it’s believed.
You may ask her to stop, or you may attempt
to commune with the dead yourself, talking
to your dead father in an attempt to get more
answers. You also commune with the dead on
a second occasion, meeting the actors who
played the men with knives you fought and
killed at the train station, hearing their
stories so that even the deaths of the extras
aren’t rendered meaningless. How much of
this communication is quote-unquote “real”
is left to the player to interpret.
Outside you run into the next child on your
list - a lonely orphan girl named Murky. You’ve
actually bumped into her once or twice before,

English: 
even going so far as to steal expensive machinery equipment for you.
He remains your understudy in your hideout as you take on your father’s mantle,
and becomes a vital asset in helping you make the tinctures and medicines that form the backbone of your healing work.
Grace, the young girl who lives in the graveyard, is your next charge to be protected.
You find her, on advice from the strange Changeling character, trying to commune with the dead –
an act that burns away her life force as she does it – or so it’s believed.
You may ask her to stop, or you may attempt to commune with the dead yourself, talking to your dead father in an attempt to get more answers.
You also commune with the dead on a second occasion, meeting the actors who played the men with knives you fought and killed at the train station,
hearing their stories, so that even the deaths of the extras aren’t rendered meaningless.
How much of this communication is “real” is left for the player to interpret.
Outside, you run into the next child on your list – a lonely orphan girl named Murky.

English: 
where she remained standoffish and untrusting.
This time, she offers a different way to talk
to the dead than Grace; if you trust her,
she takes out into the Steppe and bids you
close your eyes and listen to the twyrine
– the local intoxicating herbs that grow
near the town. Unfortunately, this is shown
only to be the imagination of a lonely orphan
who wants a friend. When confronted, she returns
to being standoffish and hostile, though you
do have collected herbs to show for your trouble.
These can later be used to make the tinctures
that can fight the plague.
You return to the central town to find the
other characters on your list; Capella, the
daughter of Elder Vlad Olgimsky, is another
important person to be protected for the town’s
future. Outside her house, you find a collection
of children burying a dead doll – play-acting
portents of the mass graves to come. The games
they play with death are laced with irony;
they are treating death and suffering as a

English: 
You’ve actually bumped into her once or twice before, where she remained standoffish and untrusting.
This time, she offers a different way to talk to the dead than Grace.
If you trust her, she takes you out into the Steppe and bids you close your eyes and listen to the twyrine – the local intoxicating herbs that grow near the town.
Unfortunately, this is shown only to be the imagination of a lonely orphan who wants a friend.
When confronted, she returns to being standoffish and hostile, though you do have the herbs you have collected to show for your trouble.
These can later be used to make the tinctures that will fight the plague.
You return to the central town to find the other characters on your list.
Capella, the daughter of Elder Vlad Olgimsky, is another important person to be protected for the town’s future.
Outside her house, you find a collection of children burying a dead doll – play-acting portents of the mass graves to come.
The games they play with death are laced with irony.

English: 
They are treating death and suffering as a game, which, whilst initially jarring to see, is in fact a representation of what we as players are doing.
Capella herself is more helpful than the other children.
She is old enough to understand her responsibility as a future leader of the town, though also appears to believe she has the beginnings of clairvoyant abilities.
Regardless of whether you believe her or not, she foretells that you will spill rivers of blood, so much that you will be wading in it –
a prophesy with more literal significance than it initially appears.
Alongside Capella, the other children of the town appear interested in helping you in various ways.
Aside from trading the things stolen from their parents’ cupboards – including razors, sewing needles, and the occasional vial of morphine –
they also introduce you to a game of hide-and-seek.
Whilst, functionally, the game serves as a way for you to find secret stashes of helpful items, the children are clear that there are rules to such games;
you must leave as much as you take, or the game won’t work.
You have to play fair – though what constitutes as “fair” for these kids is often confusing and esoteric.

English: 
game, which, whilst initially jarring to see,
is in fact a reflection of what we as players
are doing.
Capella herself is more helpful than the other
children; she is old enough to understand
her responsibility as a future leader of the
town, though also appears to believe she has
the beginnings of clairvoyant abilities. Regardless
of whether you believe her or not, she foretells
that you will spill rivers of blood, so much
that you will be wading in it – a prophesy
with more literal significance than it initially
appears.
Alongside Capella, the other children of the
town appear interested in helping you in various
ways. Aside from trading the things stolen
from their parents’ cupboards – including
razors, sewing needles, and the occasional
vial of morphine – they also introduce you
to a game of hide-and-seek. Whilst, functionally,
the game serves as a way for you to find secret
stashes of helpful items, the children are
clear that there are rules to such games;
you must leave as much as you take, or the
game won’t work. You have to play fair – though
what constitutes “fair” for these kids

English: 
is often confusing and esoteric. The rules
the children operate by are as esoteric as
that of the politics of their parents.
It isn’t long before the inklings of the
plague come through the town – which you
are shown in two ways. The first is that you
are prevented from picking up the deed to
your father’s property; the district in
which the clerk lives is covered in black
smog, and the clerk himself has fled. The
second, and more emotionally pressing, is
shown once more through the town’s children.
Notkin, the leader of the gang in the warehouses,
has found that one his young kids has become
sick. You get the chance to experiment with
your father’s machinery in order to make
curative potions from the Twyrine herbs, and
you’re put to work trying to find a way
to help this infected child. With some luck,
or skill, you may manage to give them the
right antibiotics to allow them to live another
day – a temporary fix, but a small victory
nonetheless.
The plague starts to show itself in earnest;
many of the districts on the east of the town
are swallowed by it, and you’re instructed

English: 
The rules the children operate by are as esoteric the politics of their parents.
It isn’t long before the inklings of plague come through the town – which you are shown in two ways.
The first is that you are prevented from picking up the deed to your father’s property;
the district in which the clerk lives is covered in black smog, and the clerk himself has fled.
The second, and more emotionally pressing, is shown once more through the town’s children.
Notkin, the leader of the gang in the warehouses, has found that one his young kids has become sick.
You get the chance to experiment with your father’s machinery in order to make the curative potions from Twyrine herbs,
and you’re put to work trying to find a way to help this infected child.
With some luck, or skill, you may manage to give them the right antibiotics to allow them to live another day – a temporary fix, but a small victory nonetheless.
The plague starts to show itself in earnest; many of the districts on the east end of town are swallowed by it,

English: 
to give prophylactic medicines or tinctures
to help various important characters. Two
of these are names not upon your list; the
artist and architect Petr Stamatin, and the
histrionic compulsive liar, Anna Angel. Both
these characters are important for other storylines
in the town – though the Haruspex has lesser
interaction with the both of them than the
Bachelor and Changeling will in their routes.
In an effort to investigate and stop the spread
of the plague, Notkin, and the leader of the
rival children’s gang, Khan, both are having
a conversation in a bar you stumble into – and
it just so happens that Khan is one of the
remaining Important People on your list. You
can choose to help them with this investigation,
albeit to the children’s protest – finding
an abandoned house in which Death Itself appears
to stalk, and hounds you once you’re inside.
Doing this may prevent a district or two from
becoming infected for a little longer – but,
of course, it has its own costs, both obvious

English: 
and you’re instructed to give prophylactic medicines or tinctures to help various important characters.
Two of these are names not upon your initial list; the artist and architect Petr Stamatin, and the histrionic compulsive liar, Anna Angel.
Both these characters are important for other storylines in the town –
though the Haruspex has lesser interaction with the both of them than the Bachelor and Changeling will in their routes.
In an effort to investigate and stop the spread of the plague, Notkin, and the leader of the rival children’s gang, Khan,
both are having a conversation in a bar that you stumble into – and it just so happens that Khan is one of the remaining Important People on your list.
You can choose to help them with this investigation, albeit to the children’s protest –
finding an abandoned house in which Death Itself appears to stalk, and hounds you once you’re inside.
Doing this may prevent a district or two from becoming infected for a little longer – but, of course, this has its own costs, both obvious and hidden.

English: 
As the next days progress, the plague begins to swallow more of the town.
What once were safe districts to traverse become incredibly dangerous,
your likelihood of catching the infection rises rapidly with each plunge into infected territories,
and chaos descends on the town, as the infected and the desperate stumble into the criminals and the destitute.
Knife-wielding thugs at night are accompanied by burnt-out arsonists, set on lighting all the infected ablaze.
The town declares a state of emergency, and, in true theatrical style, you are summoned to the town’s meeting hall to deal with the panic of the outbreak.
The bells toll, and the fourth wall is briefly cracked for the game to emphasize this turning point in the play.
It is decided that the town’s theatre will be converted into a hospital for the sick – a decision that may prove just as costly as it is helpful.

English: 
and hidden.
Act 3
As the next days progress, the plague begins
to swallow more of the town; what once were
safe districts to traverse become incredibly
dangerous, your likelihood of catching the
infection rises rapidly with every plunge
into infected territories, and chaos descends
on the town as the infected and the desperate
stumble into the criminals and the destitute.
Knife-wielding thugs at night are accompanied
by burnt-out arsonists, set on lighting all
the infected ablaze.
The town declares a state of emergency, and,
in true theatrical style, you are summoned
to the town’s meeting hall to deal with
the panic of the outbreak. The bells toll,
and the fourth wall is briefly cracked for
the game to emphasize this turning point in
the play.
It is decided that the town’s theatre will
be converted to a hospital for the sick – a
decision that may prove just as costly as
it is helpful. You’re given a pay reward
if you appropriately help out at the hospital
each day, though as the days go by the requested

English: 
You’re given a pay reward if you appropriately help out at the hospital each day, though as the days go by, the requested services become more and more onerous.
You begin one day with the administration of painkillers, followed the next day with diagnosing patients,
then the next with treating them with appropriate antibiotics – though these rapidly become extremely expensive –
then the next with giving up on treatment altogether and resorting to dissection of organs of the dead for examination.
Any treatments you do offer seem to merely just buy a short amount of time before the inevitable –
even the child that you treated in Notkin’s warehouse merely dies the next day, and Notkin’s investigations likely leave him infected, too.
One of the final tests of the hospital is to completely cure a patient – a feat that is almost impossible, and I will come back to later.
You begin to make some piecemeal reconciliation with your childhood friend Rubin,
who offers to help cover your work at the hospital whilst you search for a cure – a fabled panacea of your father’s invention.
His feelings towards you start to soften as he’s no longer convinced that you murdered your father,

English: 
services become more and more onerous. You
begin one day with the administration of painkillers,
followed the next day with diagnosing patients,
then the next with treating them with appropriate
antibiotics – though these rapidly become
extremely expensive – then the next with
giving up on treatment altogether and resorting
to dissection of the organs of the dead for
examination. Any treatments you do offer seem
to merely just buy a short amount of time
before the inevitable – even the child that
you treated in Notkin’s warehouse merely
dies the next day, and Notkin’s investigations
likely leave him infected, too. One of the
final tests of the hospital is to completely
cure a patient – a feat that is almost impossible,
and I will come back to later.
You begin to make some piecemeal reconciliation
with your childhood friend Rubin, who offers
to help cover your work at the hospital whilst
you search for a cure – a fabled panacea
of your father’s invention. His feelings
towards you start to soften as he’s no longer
convinced that you murdered your father, but

English: 
but he does still regard you as an outsider, and blames you for abandoning your father and remaining away from home for so long.
This blame is layered with jealousy, too; Rubin was your father’s pupil, and yet you are the one that is to claim your father’s legacy.
There is one final name on your list; the name of the Udurgh – a name that the Kin use, though you are unaware of its translation.
Upon speaking to Rubin, then Aspity, then eventually the son of Vlad Olgimsky – Vlad Olgimsky Junior –
you become aware that it is a term that means A-Thing-That-Contains-Many-Things, or perhaps “a thing, that is more than the sum of its parts”.
Vlad Junior’s explanation suggests that this might be a word for the Kin itself – the Steppe people’s sense of community.
The sense of your link to the Kin is further disturbed through the nights –

English: 
he does still regard you as an outsider, and
blames you for abandoning your father and
remaining away from home for so long. This
blame is layered with jealousy, too; Rubin
was your father’s pupil, and yet you are
the one that is to claim your father’s legacy.
There is one final name on your list; the
name of the Udurgh – a term the Kin use,
though you are unaware of its translation.
Upon speaking to Rubin, then Aspity, then
eventually the son of Vlad Olgimsky – Vlad
Junior – you slowly become aware that it’s
a term that means A-Thing-That-Contains-Many-Things,
or perhaps meaning “a thing, more than the
sum of its parts”. Vlad Junior’s explanation
suggests that it might be a word for the Kin
itself – the Steppe people’s sense of
community.
The sense of your link to the Kin is further
disturbed through the nights – on one hand,
you can visit Aspity to hear more of the Kin’s
plight and struggle as a working-class minority

English: 
group in a rapidly industrialising world,
yet on the other, you find them trying to
hunt down Rubin, just as you’ve made amends.
Rubin asks you to help protect him in the
night, as he is working on something considered
taboo to the kin – or in some way violating
their culture. Several nights in a row, you
are confronted with the decision whether to
fight the Kin, or whether to potentially lose
your friend – and one of the town’s only
other doctors in the midst of the plague.
The taboo work which Rubin is doing appears
to be in relation to the dissection of the
body of Simon Kain – the other man who died
upon your arrival to the town. It appears
to be that this dissection has caused the
Kin to become disturbed; whilst it is permissible
for you to dissect a body, as a Menkhu, taking
on the jumbled butcher-priest-physician role
of your father, it is an outrage for anyone
else to do so. Regardless of what explanations
about necessity or progress you have to offer,

English: 
on one hand, you can visit Aspity to hear more of the Kin’s plight and struggle as a working-class minority group in a rapidly industrialising world,
yet on the other, you find them trying to hunt down Rubin, just as you’ve made amends.
Rubin asks you to protect him in the night, as he is working on something considered taboo to the kin – or in some way violating their cultural norms.
Several nights in a row, you are confronted with the decision whether to fight the Kin,
or whether to potentially lose your friend – and one of the town’s only other doctors, right in the midst of the plague.
The taboo work which Rubin is doing appears to be in relation to the dissection of the body of Simon Kain – the other man who died upon your arrival to the town.
It appears that this dissection has caused the Kin to become disturbed.
Whilst it is permissible for YOU, Artemy Burakh, to dissect a body, as you are a Menkhu, taking on the jumbled butcher-priest-physician role of your father,
it is an outrage for anyone else to do so.

English: 
the Kin will not be swayed from their tradition,
and blood is shed.
It is not only the Kin that you have to contend
with; a further quest sees you managing the
townsfolk’s reactions to infection; even
in supposedly “clean” districts, paranoia
and fear have caused some townsfolk to barricade
others inside their houses – and others
still harbour the dead, a sense of sentimentality
and wish not to see their loved ones burned
overwhelming a sense of self-protection. Still
others, beyond this, seek to extort the vulnerable
– of which Var, an organ-man, is one – and,
perhaps, the more interesting, is Anna Angel.
Anna, a histrionic and unreliable woman, is
presented initially to the player as a germophobe
– however, the layers of her deceit are
revealed when trying to rescue a baby from
a house in an infected district. You stumble
through the house to find Anna there, arguing

English: 
Regardless of what explanations about necessity or progress or medicine you have to offer, the Kin will not be swayed from their tradition, and blood will be shed.
It is not only the Kin that you have to contend with. A further quest sees you managing the townsfolk’s reactions to infection.
Even in supposedly “clean” districts, paranoia and fear have caused some townsfolk to barricade others inside their houses – and others still harbor the dead,
a sense of sentimentality and a wish not to see their loved ones burned overwhelming a sense of self-protection.
Still others, beyond this, seek to extort the vulnerable – of which Var, an organ-dealer, is one – and, perhaps, the other, who may be even more interesting, is Anna Angel.
Anna, a histrionic and unreliable woman, is presented initially to the player as a germophobe –
however, the layers of her deceit are revealed when trying to rescue a baby from a house in an infected district.
You stumble through the house to find Anna there, arguing with a Steppe woman –

English: 
with a Steppe woman – both have come through
to rescue the child, however the child is
related to neither of them. Both are intent
on capitalising on the reward from the rescue
of a baby – an automatic pardon of any past
crimes. The steppe woman wishes her husband
pardoned for criminal acts in the preceding
days – Anna, however, has far older crimes
to atone for. I’ll discuss these later – however
the impact upon the player is one that emphasizes
the fear and desperation coursing through
the town in the Plague’s wake.
This desperation is brought to a head with
Lara’s plans. Your childhood friend wants
to set up a place of safety for those who
have been left destitute or homeless from
the plague, and is willing to let her large
house be used for this purpose – she requests
that you attain some water barrels to provide
for those she’ll care for. The barrels themselves,
however, may be dangerous, as you don’t
know whether the plague is waterborne or not.
Upon finding muddy and unpleasant water, you
are left with several choices; to bring the
sample to Dankovsky, order the barrels’
destruction and doom a whole third of the

English: 
both have come through to rescue the child, however the child is related to neither of them.
Both are intent on capitalising on the reward from the rescue of a baby – an automatic pardon of any past crimes.
The steppe woman wishes her husband pardoned for criminal acts in the preceding days – Anna, however, has far older crimes to atone for.
I will discuss these later – however, the impact upon the player is one that emphasizes fear and desperation coursing through the town in the Plague’s wake.
This desperation is brought to a head with Lara’s plans.
Your childhood friend wants to set up a place of safety for those who have been left destitute or homeless from the plague,
and is willing to let her large house be used for this purpose –
she requests that you attain some water barrels to provide for those that she’ll care for.
The barrels themselves, however, may be dangerous, as you don’t know whether the plague is waterborne or not.
Upon finding muddy and unpleasant water, you are left with several choices;

English: 
to bring the sample to Dankovsky, order the barrels’ destruction and doom a whole third of the town to a lack of clean water,
bring the barrels to Lara and risk potential infection, or to do nothing.
All choices have drawbacks, and no choice is the “correct” one.
However – and, the following is a spoiler for that quest – the barrels are in fact infected.
Giving the barrels to Lara will result in her district becoming infected and put her at significant risk of catching the plague herself.
Destroying the barrels does weaken the water supply for a huge district of the town and put you at a significant disadvantage later. There is no correct choice.
In the midst of all of this, Capella and her prophetic powers appear to be growing.
A melody heard played, seemingly unconsciously by various townsfolk, who otherwise cannot play a musical instrument,
is attributed to her and her deceased mother’s power infiltrating the town.

English: 
town to a lack of clean water, bring the barrels
to Lara and risk potential infection, or to
do nothing. All choices have drawbacks, and
no choice is the “correct” one. However
– and, the following is a spoiler for that
quest – the barrels are in fact infected.
Giving the barrels to Lara will result in
her district becoming infected and put her
at significant risk of catching the plague
herself. Destroying the barrels does weaken
the water supply for a huge district of the
town and put you at a significant disadvantage
later. There is no correct choice.
In the midst of all of this, Capella and her
prophetic powers appear to be growing; a melody
heard played, seemingly unconsciously by various
different townsfolk who otherwise cannot play
a musical instrument, is attributed to her
and her deceased mother’s power infiltrating
the town. There is some implication that the

English: 
fourth wall is being somewhat knocked upon
to do so – however the implications are
clear; alongside the supernatural disaster
that is the plague, there are supernatural
miracles rife in the town’s history, and
there may well be connections between the
two.
Amidst the chaos, the looting and the arson,
the Saburov family still are convinced they
need to discover the true murderer – a drive
which may also influenced by supernatural
entities, like the unusual Rat Prophet – a
mysterious creature with whom you have terse
dealings. I’ll come to discuss him more
later. You are offered a selection of various
crooks and ne’er-do-wells to judge, however
it is obvious that none of them are the murderer,
and the desperate search for someone to blame
amidst the destruction is a destructive, useless,
and altogether human desire. Saburov himself
is uninterested in providing the true murderer,
but merely a reasonably guilty party. The

English: 
There is some implication that the fourth wall is being somewhat knocked upon, if not outwardly broken, to do so – however, the implications are clear;
alongside the supernatural disaster that is the plague, there are supernatural miracles rife in the town’s history, and there may well be connections between the two.
Amidst the chaos, the looting and the arson, the Saburov family are convinced that they need to discover the true murderer –
a drive which may also be influenced by strange supernatural entities, like the unusual Rat Prophet – a mysterious creature with whom you have terse dealings.
I will also come to discuss him more later on.
You’re offered a selection of various crooks and ne’er-do-wells to judge, however, it is obvious that none of them are the actual murderer of your father,
and the desperate search to have someone to blame amidst the destruction is a destructive, useless, and altogether human desire.
Alexander Saburov himself is uninterested in providing the true murderer, but merely a reasonably guilty party.

English: 
The one piece of useful information that you do get from the ordeal is that it seems both your father, Isador, and the other man, Simon Kain,
both knew that they were going to die prior to their murders – with some implication that they had, in fact, accepted their fate.
The dealings of the Saburov family present a second issue; their insistence in identifying the murderer is interpreted by the townsfolk as a distraction –
a cover-up for the fact that THEY may be the people hiding the true bringer of the plague.
A rumour springs forth that they are responsible for hiding the Shabnakh-Adyr, the plague-demon hidden in the form of a human girl.
The rumours centre around the mysterious Changeling,
however, you quickly come to realise that the young orphan girl, Murky, is another potential target for the crowd’s lynching and burning.
Fortunately, you ward Murky away from the town, however, she instead retreats to the Steppe wilderness to stay with a sinister “friend”.

English: 
one useful information you do get from the
ordeal is that it seems both your father,
Isador, and Simon Kain, both knew they were
going to die prior to their murders – with
some implication that they had accepted their
fate.
The dealings of Saburov family present a second
issue; their insistence in identifying the
murderer is interpreted by the townsfolk as
a distraction – a cover-up for the fact
that they may be the people hiding the true
bringer of the plague. A rumour springs forth
that they are responsible for hiding the Shabnakh-Adyr,
the plague-demon hidden in the form of a human
girl. The rumours centre around the mysterious
Changeling, however you quickly come to realise
the young orphan girl, Murky, is another potential
target for the crowd’s lynching and burning.
Fortunately, you ward Murky away from the
town, however she retreats to the Steppe wilderness
to stay with a sinister “friend”.
Murky’s retreat to the steppe comes at an
important time for the Kin, too – upon the
sacrificial mound to the south of the town,

English: 
the Kin have brought a bull. They believe
that the plague can be halted by sacrifice
to Boddho – the deity that embodies the
earth. To carry out this sacrifice they need
a Menkhu – a surgeon, a person who, quote
unquote “knows the lines” of flesh. You
carry out this butcher’s task, carving the
bull into the correct pieces, living up to
your title of Haruspex. The ritual appears
to yield more than it initially seems; in
speaking to the Kin, you find that the bulls
cannot be infected by the plague. You take
a sample of blood from the bull, and along
with Bachelor Dankovsky, attempt to analyse
why this might be.
After some number of hours of analysis, you
find that the immunity the bulls have to the
disease is not something transferrable to
humanity – however there still may be some
connection to bulls and a curative panacea.
After talking to Rubin again, and receiving
a strange, prophetic dream, you are inspired

English: 
Murky’s retreat to the steppe comes at an important time for the Kin, too – upon the sacrificial mound to the south of the town, the Kin have brought a bull.
They believe that the plague can be halted by a sacrifice to Boddho – the deity that embodies the earth.
To carry out this sacrifice they need a Menkhu – a surgeon, a person who “knows the lines” of flesh.
You carry out this butcher’s task, carving the bull into the correct pieces, living up to your title of Haruspex, or Menkhu.
The ritual appears to yield more than it initially seems; in speaking to the Kin, you find that the bulls cannot be infected by the plague.
You take a sample of blood from the bull, and, along with Bachelor Dankovsky, attempt to analyze why this might be.
After some number of hours of analysis, you find that the immunity the bulls have to the disease is not something transferrable to humanity –
however, there still may be some connection to bulls and a curative panacea.
After talking to Rubin again, and receiving a strange, prophetic dream,

English: 
to walk to the village of the Kin on the outskirts
of town. Rubin has been working tirelessly
on a vaccine, but is burning out from stress
and overwork, and has relatively little to
show for it; if you are unable to make a curative
panacea before the fourth act, he will die
from having had to take on this burden for
you – likely killed by the Kin for treading
the grounds you should have walked, and performing
the acts reserved for you, a Menkhu.
Feeling the call of the Kin, you arrive at
their village, far from the borders of the
town. Though it is abandoned, there are many,
many sprigs of twyre to be found to make more
prophylactic potions, and, most importantly,
there is a pool of what appears to be blood.
This blood, the blood of the Earth, of Boddho
herself, appears to be still warm, and somehow
important. When you take it back to your workshop
and use it to make a tincture, you find that

English: 
you are inspired to walk to the village of the Kin on the outskirts of the town – a village called Shekhen.
Rubin has been working tirelessly on a vaccine, but is burning out from stress and overwork, and has relatively little to show for it;
if you are unable to make a curative panacea before the fourth act begins, he will die from having had to take on this burden of cure creation for you.
He is likely killed by the Kin for treading the grounds that YOU should have walked, and performing the acts reserved for YOU, a Menkhu.
Feeling the call of the Kin, you arrive at their village, far from the borders of the town.
Though it is abandoned, there are many, many sprigs of twyre to be found to make more prophylactic potions,
and, most importantly, there is a pool of what appears to be blood.
This blood, the blood of the Earth, of Boddho herself, appears to be still warm, and somehow important.

English: 
When you take it back to your workshop and use it to make a tincture, you find that it works perfectly; you have, at last, created a Panacea, a cure for the plague.
In this brief moment of elation and hope, you are reminded that Murky has still retreated to the steppe with her “friend”.
Going there, you find Murky, and then Clara, the mysterious changeling girl – or at least, someone that appears to be her.
You have two separate conversations with two separate Claras, neither of which seem to remember the other –
and there is a heavy implication that one of these is an imposter.
Furthermore, the imposter appears to be an avatar of The Plague itself, and is shortly replaced by an Executor in beak-masked garb,
taunting you for your belief in a world so simply saved.
If you thought that a noble fight and easy victory would be won by challenging your opponent and coming out on top,
you have fundamentally misunderstood the nature of your enemy.
The plague will claim either you, or Murky – the infection immediately takes hold.

English: 
it works perfectly; you have, at last, created
a cure for the plague.
In this brief moment of elation and hope,
you are reminded that Murky has still retreated
to the steppe with her quote-unquote “friend”.
Going there, you find Murky, and then Clara,
the changeling girl – or at least, someone
that appears to be her. You have two separate
conversations with two Claras, neither of
which seem to remember the other – and there
is a heavy implication that one of these is
an imposter. Furthermore, the imposter appears
to be an avatar of The Plague Itself - shortly
replaced by an Executor in beak-masked garb,
taunting you for your belief in a world so
simply saved. If you thought that a noble
fight and easy victory would be won by challenging
your opponent and coming out on top, you have
fundamentally misunderstood the nature of
your enemy. The plague will claim either you,
or Murky – the infection immediately takes
hold. In my game, I found my shortlived hope

English: 
immediately fading as I burned away the cure
I had made only moments before.
Though your hope has been raised with the
discovery of a potential cure, the town itself
still burns with the dying, the criminals,
and the arsonists. You hear news that the
authorities have dispatched an Inquisitor
to re-establish order and quarantine. This
is not welcome news; visiting the house of
Yulia Lurecheva, the town’s unusual engineer,
you find her talking to a distressed young
woman. The young woman is, herself, the daughter
of an inquisitor, and asks you a series of
morality-play riddles – emphasizing that
the arrival of this Inquisitor will spell
the end and execution for much of the town.
You later find her corpse beside the cathedral’s
steps; she committed suicide as a means to
escape the arrival of her father’s brutality.
Tragically, it is not her father, but a different
inquisitor that arrives by the dawn; her death
is rendered meaningless.

English: 
In my own game, I found my short-lived hope immediately fading as I burned away the cure I had made only moments before.
Though your hope has been raised with the discovery of a potential cure, the town itself still burns with the dying, the criminals, and the arsonists.
You hear news that the authorities have dispatched an Inquisitor to re-establish order and quarantine.
This is not welcome news; visiting the house of Yulia Lyuricheva, the town’s unusual engineer, you find her talking to a distressed young woman.
The young woman is, herself, the daughter of an inquisitor, and asks you a series of morality-play riddles –
emphasizing that the arrival of this Inquisitor will spell the end and execution for much of the town.
You later find her corpse beside the cathedral’s steps; she committed suicide as a means to escape the arrival of her father’s brutality.
Tragically, it is not her father, but a different inquisitor that arrives by the dawn, and thus, her death is rendered meaningless.

English: 
The anxieties of the townsfolk, particularly the town’s children, may be allayed; your criminal friend Griff offers a solution;
come nightfall, you can ask for his help to acquire and lay explosives beneath the train tracks, and detonate them prior to the Inquisitor’s train arriving.
Traipsing out to the steppe to foil the arrival of the inquisitor, you find him instead sitting by a fire, almost relaxed in posture;
in the end, he tells you this idea was foolish to begin with, submitting to whatever his fate under the inquisitor may be.
The tone shifts back towards one of inevitability, where the idea of having any agency itself is questioned.
The fourth act begins with a cinematic; the Inquisitor arrives to town, and the gallows are erected.
The theatre’s play prior to her arrival shows her signing death warrants and executions, draconian measures where every crime is met with capital punishment.

English: 
The anxieties of the townsfolk, and particularly
the town’s children may be allayed; your
criminal friend Griff offers a solution; come
nightfall, you can ask for his help to acquire
and lay explosives beneath the train tracks,
and detonate them prior to the Inquisitor’s
train arriving. Traipsing out to the steppe
to foil the arrival of the inquisitor, you
find him instead sitting by a fire, almost
relaxed in posture; in the end, he tells you
this idea was foolish to begin with, submitting
to whatever his fate under the inquisitor
may be. The tone shifts back towards one of
inevitability, where the idea of having any
agency itself is questioned.
Act Four
The fourth act begins with a cinematic; the
Inquisitor arrives to town, and the gallows
are erected. The theatre’s play prior to
her arrival shows her signing death warrants
and executions, draconian measures where every

English: 
She sets up her base in the cathedral, and before its great doors a line of townspeople are summoned, one by one, to answer for their actions over the past week.
Approaching the townsfolk in the line, you find them scared, confused and apprehensive, many of them awaiting their own demise.
Those who have already spoken to the Inquisitor reveal that they, too, were asked the morality-play questions,
and fear that the incorrect answers will have cost them their lives.
The Inquisitor herself, Aglaya Lillich, is a tall, imposing, and stern individual,
though her outward composure seems to soften somewhat on further discussion with her.
Whether this is legitimate, or whether this is merely a ploy for you to give her your trust, remains ambiguous.
She asks you, too, several moral quandaries, though it appears that you, the player character, have agency in ways that other, non-player, characters do not;
she remains intrigued by your answers and actions.
The main acts that you must assist her with involve the re-opening of the termitary;

English: 
crime is met with capital punishment. She
sets up her base in the cathedral, and before
its great doors a line of townspeople are
summoned, one by one, to answer for their
actions over the past week. Approaching the
townsfolk in the line, you find them scared,
confused, and apprehensive, many of them awaiting
their own demise. Those who have already spoken
to the Inquisitor reveal that they, too, were
asked the morality-play questions, and fear
that the incorrect answers will have cost
them their lives.
The Inquisitor herself, Aglaya Lillich, is
a tall, imposing, and stern individual, though
her outward composure seems to soften somewhat
on further discussion with her. Whether this
is legitimate, or whether this is merely a
ploy for you to give her your trust, remains
ambiguous. She asks you, too, several moral
quandaries, though it appears that you, the
player character, have agency in ways that
other characters do not; she remains intrigued
by your answers and actions.
The main acts that you must assist her with

English: 
the great factory workhouse where members of the Kin have been locked in “quarantine”.
Arriving there, you find that she has ordered the doors opened –
however, unsurprisingly, the plague has already outstripped you, and already has ravaged the inhabitants.
Instead of a crowd of thousands, you find merely a scattered few survivors – though the young girl on your list, Taya Tycheek, is among those who lived.
This young girl, the daughter of the previous foreman of the Abattoir and the new cultural leader of the Kin, is now the Kin’s new Mother Superior.
You talk to her in an attempt to persuade her to escape the Termitary – the close-packed workhouse is still a breeding ground for the plague.
She refuses, however, as she will not leave the rest of the Kin behind; either all must go, or none shall go.
The act of uniting the Kin is a difficult one;
many of them do not trust you, many believe that you mean them harm in the ways the Olgimsky family has meant them harm.

English: 
involve the re-opening of the termitary; the
great factory workhouse where many members
of the Kin have been locked in quote-unquote
“quarantine”. Arriving there, you find
that she has ordered the doors opened – however,
unsurprisingly, the plague has already outstripped
you, and has already ravaged the inhabitants.
Instead of a crowd of thousands, you find
merely a scattered few survivors – though
the young girl on your list, Taya Tycheek,
is amongst those who lived. This young girl,
daughter of the previous foreman of the abattoir
and cultural leader of the Kin inside, is
now the Kin’s new Mother Superior. You talk
to her in an attempt to persuade her to escape
the termitary – the close-packed workhouse
is still a breeding ground for the plague.
She refuses, however, as she will not leave
the rest of the Kin behind; either all must
go, or none shall go.
The act of uniting the Kin is a difficult
one; many do not trust you, many believe that
you mean them harm in the ways that the Olgimsky
family has meant them harm. Many believe that

English: 
your time spent as an outsider has removed
you from the Kin, and that you are as alienated
to them. You encounter an elder of the Kin;
a tall, imposing man named Oyun, clad in the
mask of a sacred bull. He tells you that he
knew your father, and whether you trust him
or not, his advice to unite the Kin still
remains important; he advises brutality and
leading them by-the-nose, in the same ways
that the Kin themselves lead their cattle
across the steppe. He respects strength; though
whether you see this as raw brutality, or
as the guiding inner strength of a leader,
is left intentionally up for interpretation.
You may take on his advice, and unite the
Kin via violence, killing the members that
refuse to leave, or you may leave them be
and choose to return later – though this
is a gamble that may not go in your favour.
Further to this, the Kin wish justice for
the incarceration that led to the infection
and decimation of their people; they want

English: 
Many believe that your time spent as an outsider has removed you from the Kin, and that you are alienated to their identity.
You encounter an elder of the Kin; a tall, imposing man named Oyun, clad in the mask of a sacred bull.
He tells you that he knew your father, and whether you trust him or not, his advice is still to unite the Kin and it still remains important;
he advises brutality and leading them by-the-nose, in the same ways that the Kin themselves lead their cattle across the steppe, by-the-nose.
He respects strength; though whether you see this as raw brutality, or as the guiding inner strength of a leader, is left intentionally up for interpretation.
You may take on his advice, and unite the Kin via violence, killing the members that refuse to leave,
or you may leave them be and choose to return later – though this is a gamble that may not go in your favour.
Further to this, the Kin wish justice for the incarceration that led to the infection and decimation of their people; they want the blood of the man responsible.

English: 
the blood of the man responsible. For them
to agree to trust you, they require vengeance.
You can retrieve them Vlad the Younger; the
young man with grand ambitions and progressive
plans for the town, the son of the patriarch
Big Vlad the Elder. Vlad the Younger, despite
his initial morally ambiguous actions of giving
the orders to lock the termitary, is accepting
of his responsibility and his fate; he will
leave to surrender himself to the Kin’s
justice voluntarily. It is possible to prevent
his death, however – if informed of his
son’s actions, Vlad the Elder will choose
to go in his stead. In both instances, men
who appeared selfish and scheming act on a
sense of justice, or a sense of familial love,
even when their own lives are at stake. It
is possible, albeit difficult, to save both
these characters – though this is of course
at the cost of the Kin’s justice.
Resolving this is the main way to allow Taya
and the trapped Kin to leave, and thus protect

English: 
For them to agree to trust you, they require vengeance.
You can retrieve them Vlad the Younger; the young man with grand ambitions and progressive plans for the town, the son of the patriarch Big Vlad the Elder.
Vlad the Younger, despite his initial morally ambiguous actions of giving orders to lock the Termitary, is accepting of his responsibility and his fate;
he will leave to surrender himself to the Kin’s justice voluntarily.
It is possible to prevent his death, however – if informed of his son’s actions, Vlad the Elder will choose to go in his stead.
In both instances, men who appeared selfish and scheming act on a sense of justice, or a sense of familial love, even when their own lives are at stake.
It is possible, albeit difficult, to save both these characters – though this is of course at the cost of the Kin’s justice.
Resolving this is the main way to allow Taya and the trapped Kin to leave, and thus protect her from infection.

English: 
Oyun also reveals that the blood you are searching for – the blood of the Earth, of Boddho, of the land itself, is to be found within the Abattoir,
the enormous meat processing slaughterhouse that the Kin’s workhouse is attached to.
Soon, he will endeavour to unlock it.
Returning to the town, the oncoming days bring further pain, confusion and death on a massive scale;
the graveyard is overrun, and piles of the dead begin to mount outside in mass graves.
Grace, the young girl in the cemetery, is overwhelmed and terrified;
still hearing the voices of the dead, their screams flow over and over the earth, and are a burden she is unable to bear alone.
Concerned for her health and sanity, you touch the mass grave and also hear the relentless cries of the souls already lost.
You are presented a choice; to burn the dead, which Grace begs you not to do as this would render them suffering forever,

English: 
her from infection. Oyun also reveals that
the blood that you are searching for – the
blood of the Earth, of Boddho, of the land
itself, is to be found within the Abattoir
itself, the enormous meat processing slaughterhouse
that the Kin’s workhouse is attached to.
Soon, he will endeavour to unlock it.
Returning to the town, the oncoming days bring
further pain, confusion and death on a massive
scale; the graveyard is overrun, and piles
of the dead begin to mount outside in mass
graves. Grace, the young girl in the cemetery,
is overwhelmed and terrified; still hearing
the voices of the dead, their screams flow
over and over the earth, and are a burden
she is unable to bear alone. Concerned for
her health and sanity, you touch the mass
grave and also hear the relentless cries of
the souls already lost. You are presented
a choice; to burn the dead, which Grace begs
you not to do as they would remain suffering
forever, or to leave them be, continuing to

English: 
torment her. There is also a third, supernatural
option; the ghostly visage of the Rat Prophet
appears, and offers to remove your problem
– for a price. What that will cost, exactly,
for you or for the souls of the dead, is not
made explicit. Regardless of your choice,
you are then confronted by an adult of the
town; even after the plague, it will soon
be winter, and Grace, a young girl alone in
a graveyard, may not survive. You may choose
to let her continue to live in her home, or
to make her leave – in the latter event,
she is adopted by the somewhat unhinged artist
and architect, Petr Stamatin.
Returning to the Inquisitor, you find that
she has ensnared Griff; where once you knew
a cocky and arrogant man, now you find a criminal
reformed by the burden of existential dread.
He speaks to you about the realisation that
he is merely a puppet; he dances to the strings

English: 
or to leave them be, and thus they would continue to torment her.
There is also a third, supernatural option; the ghostly visage of the Rat Prophet returns, and offers you to remove your problem – for a price.
What that will cost, exactly, for you or for the souls of the dead, is not made explicit.
Regardless of your choice, you are then confronted by an adult of the town;
even after the plague, it will soon be winter, and Grace, a young girl alone in a graveyard, may not survive.
You may choose to let her continue to live in her home, or make her leave –
in the latter event, she is adopted by the somewhat unhinged artist and architect, Petr Stamatin.
Returning to the Inquisitor, you find that she has ensnared Griff;
where once you knew a cocky and arrogant man, now you find a criminal reformed by the burden of existential dread.

English: 
He speaks to you about the realisation that he is merely a puppet; he dances to the strings of his fate, which he no longer believes he can escape.
The longer the plague progresses, the more the fabric of the game’s reality wears thin;
Aglaya understands that her role is decided by the authorities, the Powers That Be;
her destiny is already written in the play’s script, as is the destiny of Griff, too.
As is the destiny of everyone.
Griff tells you that he is relinquishing his life of crime, and with it his sense of agency and his sense of self.
You are given the keys to his warehouse, and in his stead meet far more violent criminals – though their parts in the play are decidedly cut short.
With the fourth act approaching its climax, the town’s situation becomes increasingly desperate.
The Inquisitor, failing at her task of containing the outbreak, is interrupted by the arrival of the military.
Men with guns set up barricades in the streets –
but even then, they can barely hold back the advancement of the plague, and it isn’t long until their ranks are decimated, too;

English: 
of his fate, which he no longer believes he
can escape. The longer the plague progresses,
the more the fabric of the game’s reality
wears thin; Aglaya understands that her role
is decided by authorities; her destiny is
already written in the play’s script, as
is the destiny of Griff, too. He tells you
that he is relinquishing his life of crime,
and with it his sense of agency and sense
of self. You are given the keys to his warehouse,
and in his stead meet far more violent criminals
– though their parts in the play are cut
decidedly short.
With the fourth act approaching its climax,
the town’s situation becomes increasingly
desperate. The Inquisitor, failing at her
task of containing the outbreak, is interrupted
by the arrival of the military. Men with guns
set up barricades on the streets – but even
then, they can barely hold back the advancement

English: 
all the strength of arms in the world, all the flamethrowers, all the guns, are nothing to a microbe and a cough.
Aglaya looks towards the superstructure of the Polyhedron, as you look towards the Abattoir.
Her concerns are that the building that defies laws of physics and reality
is, in some way, connected to the plague that also seems to be defying the laws of nature – a prediction with some portent.
Your task is contained on the other side of the city; the Kin have now allowed the path to the Abattoir to open up to you.
Within, you find a strange, Neolithic cavern, filled with torches, pools of panacea-producing blood of the earth, and enormous, aggressive members of the Kin.
If you are to demonstrate true strength, it is strength met in bloodshed, victory met in violence.
You meet other Steppe girls there, dancing with the Plague itself, rituals to appease Boddho –
and you encounter a Steppe girl you’ve met before, by the name of Nara.

English: 
of the plague, and it isn’t long until their
ranks are decimated, too; all the strength
of arms in the world, and flamethrowers, and
guns, are nothing to a microbe and a cough.
Aglaya looks towards the superstructure of
the Polyhedron, as you look towards the Abattoir.
Her concerns are that the building that defies
laws of physics and reality is, in some way,
connected to the plague that seems to also
be defying the laws of nature – a prediction
with some portent. Your task is contained
in the other side of the city; the Kin has
allowed the path to the Abattoir to open to
you.
Within, you find a strange, Neolithic cavern,
filled with torches, pools of panacea-producing
blood, and enormous, aggressive members of
the Kin. If you are to demonstrate true strength,
it is strength met in bloodshed, victory met
in violence. You meet other Steppe girls there,
dancing with the Plague itself, rituals to
appease Boddho – and you encounter a Steppe

English: 
girl that you’ve met before, by the name
of Nara. She appears several times in the
game prior to this, teasing that she knows
you, and that she has been promised to you
- the implication is initially one of marriage,
but as you see her upon the sacrificial stones
in the abattoir, you realise that the promise
is of a much grimmer sort. With the skills
of a Menkhu, you cut her open, and remove
the contents of her insides; a spindle in
the place of her emotions.
Knowing the lines, the connections between
all things, you draw the connections between
the trash found in the Kin’s hearts, and
with it create a heart of your own; the heart
of the Zurkhen, of Boddho herself, of the
Kin, and of the world you are trying so desperately
to protect. It tells you that the Plague will
only affect humanity; that which is distanced
from the world of nature and miracles; “the
disease only affects those who sever themselves
from the earth”.

English: 
She appears several times in the game prior to this, teasing that she knows you, and that she has been promised to you –
the implication is initially one of marriage, but as you see her upon the sacrificial stones in the abattoir, you realise that this wedding is of a much grimmer sort.
With the skills of a Menkhu, you cut her open, and remove the contents of her insides; a spindle in the place of her emotions.
Knowing the lines, the connections between all things, you draw the connections between the trash found in the Kin’s hearts, and with it create a heart of your own;
the heart of the Zurkhen, of Boddho herself, of the Kin, and of the world you are so desperately trying to protect.
It tells you that the Plague will only affect humanity; that which is distanced from the world of nature and miracles;
“the disease only affects those who sever themselves from the earth”.

English: 
It tells you that this great slaughterhouse
was once a sacrificial chamber; great bulls,
ancient aurochs, were slaughtered here, their
blood feeding the earth, and the earth’s
blood feeing the Kin. It bids you also jump
in, to sacrifice yourself to Boddho. You awaken
in the bowels of the earth, surrounded by
walls of flesh, and wander until you find
the truth beneath the surface; the literal
Heart of the Earth. Beside it, an enormous
spike, a hair’s breadth from piercing straight
through it; the base of the Polyhedron.
The Town is built upon the Earth, and the
Earth lives and breathes; just as portrayed
in the 2005 version of Pathologic, the earth
is a Bull, upon which humanity lives.

English: 
It tells you that this great slaughterhouse was once a sacrificial chamber;
great bulls, ancient aurochs, were slaughtered here, their blood feeding the earth, and the earth’s blood feeding the Kin.
It bids you also jump in, to sacrifice yourself to Boddho.
You awaken in the bowels of the earth, surrounded by walls of flesh, and wander until you find the truth beneath the surface; the literal Heart of the Earth.
Beside it, an enormous spike, a hair’s breadth from piercing straight through it; the base of the Polyhedron.
The Town is built upon the Earth, and the Earth lives and breathes.
Just as portrayed in the 2005 version of “Pathologic”, the earth is a Bull, upon which humanity lives.
And the Polyhedron is a spike driven into its heart.
Act 4 (Continued)

English: 
Your victory, once more, is short-lived; though the cure is within your grasp, the Plague itself comes to confront you.
Every child that you have worked to protect, every character that is important to you and to the future of the town, is claimed by the plague.
It breaks its own rules, and there is no way to prevent the children from becoming infected.
Worst of all; even with every curative panacea possible to create, you still do not have enough for every child.
The military, still failing to maintain order, appear to be falling to the plague just as quickly as the townsfolk;
the army is unable to halt the spread of the plague, and the general of the military forces, Alexander Block, appears at odds with the Inquisitor, Aglaya Lilich.
Aglaya, for her part, appears to have also come to the same conclusions that you have, even without seeing the spike beneath the earth;
the Polyhedron, this superstructure that supposedly generates miracles, wedged into the earth itself, is to blame for the outbreak.

English: 
Act 4 (Continued)
Your victory, once more, is shortlived; though
the cure is within your grasp, the Plague
itself comes to confront you. Every child
that you have worked to protect, every character
that is important to you and the future of
the town, is claimed by the plague. It breaks
its own rules, and there is no way to prevent
the children from becoming infected. Worst
of all; even with every curative panacea possible
to create, you would still not have enough
for all the children.
The military, still failing to maintain order,
appear to be falling to the plague just as
quickly as the townsfolk; the army is unable
to halt the spread of the plague, and the
general of the military forces appears at
odds with the Inquisitor. Aglaya, for her
part, appears to have also come to the same
conclusions that you have, even without seeing
the spike beneath the earth; the Polyhedron,
this superstructure that supposedly generates
miracles, wedged into the earth itself, is
to blame for the outbreak. In her view, to

English: 
In her view, to destroy it is to destroy both the supernatural miracles, and the supernatural plague;
in yours, to destroy it is to tear out the spike that pierces the Earth, leaving blood to well to the surface and provide panacea for everyone.
Aglaya agrees to start drafting the orders to bombard the Polyhedron –
however, the artillery crews that the military have brought in are also being ravaged by the plague.
Military General is found rapidly losing control of his army, as a third die to disease, and another third mutiny;
the soldiers were provided no special protections and had no specialists to manage the plague,
and feel that they are being thrown in to a worse meat-grinder than the front lines,
or that they can no longer open fire on their own civilians.
The sense of inevitability draws in as the loyal soldiers close the hospital, believing that there will be no cure.
Within all this, your old friend, Lara, has one last act that she feels she must undertake;

English: 
destroy it is to destroy both the supernatural
miracles, and the supernatural plague; in
yours, to destroy it is to tear out the spike
that pierces the Earth, leaving the blood
to well to the surface to provide panacea
for everyone.
Aglaya agrees to start drafting the orders
to bombard the Polyhedron – however, the
artillery crews the military have brought
in are also being ravaged by the plague. The
military General, Alexander Block, is found
rapidly losing control of the military as
a third die to the disease, and another third
mutiny; the soldiers were provided no special
protections and had no specialists to manage
the plague, and feel that they are being thrown
in to a worse meat-grinder than the front
lines, or that they can no longer open fire
on their own civilians. The sense of inevitability
draws in as the loyal soldiers close the hospital,
believing there to be no cure.
Within all this, your old friend, Lara, has
one last act she feels she must undertake;
with the city burning, world ending, and any

English: 
sense of self-preservation long gone, she
acquires a pistol, and makes moves to assassinate
General Block. The general happens to be the
same man who ordered the execution and court-martial
of her father long ago – and, whilst Lara
seems a tempered and altruistic soul, the
annihilation of her world seems to give her
a sense that she has nothing to lose – a
sense that the player may be starting to share.
By the time she arrives at the general’s
headquarters, the general himself has been
whisked away by the mutineer forces, denying
her chance at revenge.
The final day of the game draws close, and
it brings with it the conclusions to the remaining
story threads. The first of these is the Inquisitor,
Aglaya Lillich; following writing the orders
to destroy the polyhedron, she proposes an
escape plan; she believes that you are the
only character within the play that retains
any degree of true freedom and autonomy, unlike
other characters like Griff, who still remain
trapped, puppets dancing upon their strings.
Much like a Greek hero, she pays the ultimate
price for attempting to escape her written
destiny. She asks that you meet her at the

English: 
with the city burning, the world ending, and any sense of self-preservation long gone, she acquires a pistol, and makes moves to assassinate General Block.
The general happens to be the same man who ordered the execution and court-martial of her father long ago –
and, whilst Lara seems a tempered and altruistic soul, the annihilation of her world seems to give her a sense that she has nothing to lose –
a sense that the player may also be starting to share.
By the time she arrives at the General’s headquarters, the General himself has been whisked away by the mutineer forces, denying her her chance at revenge.
The final day of the game draws close, and it brings with it the conclusions to the remaining story threads.
The first of these is the Inquisitor, Aglaya Lillich; following writing the orders to destroy the polyhedron, she proposes an escape plan;
she believes that you are the only character within the play that retains any degree of true freedom and autonomy,
unlike the other characters like Griff, who still remain trapped as puppets, dancing upon their strings.
Much like a Greek hero, she pays the ultimate price for attempting to escape her written destiny.

English: 
She asks you to meet her at the train station come nightfall, where you board the train, and make your escape.
It almost seems like you are successful in leaving the town forever, until fate reminds you that it refuses to be defied;
the traincar is stopped by the general’s last loyal forces, you are placed under quarantine arrest, and Aglaya is shot on sight.
Even if you do not take on this quest, and Agalaya does not leave the town with you, her corpse is found the next morning beside the town hall.
There is no way to save her.
The next story thread to be addressed is the mystery that started it all; the murder of your father, Isador Burakh.
Following your journey into the bowels of the earth, your fever-dreams are prophetic and unnerving.
You dream once more of returning to the Abattoir, and, finally, you encounter your father’s ghost.
He tells you that he knew of the plague, and could have stopped it, yet chose not to;

English: 
train station come nightfall, where you board
the train, and make your escape. It almost
seems you are successful, until fate reminds
you that it refuses to be defied; the traincar
is stopped by the general’s last loyal forces,
you are placed under quarantine arrest, and
Aglaya is shot on sight.
Even if you do not take on this quest, and
Agalaya does not leave the town with you,
her corpse is found the next morning beside
the town hall. There is no way to save her.
The next story thread to be addressed is the
mystery that started it all; the murder of
your father, Isador Burakh. Following your
journey into the bowels of the earth, your
fever-dreams are prophetic and unnerving.
You dream once more of returning to the Abattoir,
and, finally, you encounter your father’s
ghost. He tells you that he knew of the plague,
and could have stopped it, yet chose not to;
the town should live or die on its own, survive
the disease on its own, develop its own societal

English: 
immunity, or perish, if it couldn’t withstand
the trauma of living. More than this- he was,
in fact, Patient Zero; he intentionally became
infected, and allowed that infection to spread.
With the deaths of Simon Kain, and of the
Old Mistresses – the prophetic women, and
mothers of Maria Kaina and Victoria Olgimskaya
– the bulwarks keeping the town’s miracles
alive were lost. In this, the counterbalance
to any supernatural miracles, the supernatural
plague would be inevitable after Isador died
– and so he accepted his fate, allowing
the plague to manifest, hoping the town would
learn to adapt and endure. It could no longer
remain as it had done in the past.
As Isador says; “To face the future is the
way of love. To face the past is the way of
love. But the two are incompatible, and it
broke my heart”.
This leads you on to understanding the final

English: 
the town should live or die on its own, survive the disease on its own, develop its own societal immunity, or perish, if it couldn’t withstand the trauma of living.
More than this – he was, in fact, Patient Zero; he intentionally became infected, and intentionally allowed that infection to spread.
With the deaths of Simon Kain, and the Old Mistresses – the prophetic women, and mothers of Maria Kaina and Capella Olgimskaya –
the bulwarks keeping the town’s miracles alive were lost.
In this, the counterbalance to any supernatural miracle, the supernatural plague would be inevitable after Isador died –
and so he accepted his fate, allowing the plague to manifest, hoping the town would learn to adapt and endure.
It could no longer remain as it had done in the past.
As Isador says; “To face the future is the way of love. To face the past is the way of love. But the two are incompatible, and it broke my heart”.

English: 
choice of the game; the choice of working
towards the town’s future, or to try to
preserve it as it once was.
The murder, itself, was no true murder; it
was in fact a mercy-killing. Elder Oyun, seeing
Isador infected and dying with the plague,
euthanized your father out of a sense of compassion;
like putting down a sick animal. After confessing
this to you, he retains his sense of honour,
and will accept whatever fate you decide for
him – be that execution, or mercy.
As the final day dawns, the last moments of
your struggle within the town are a desperate,
frantic sprint to make the last cures and
heal all children under your care that still
survive. The play itself begins to unravel,
as the writing begins to break down and the
theatre’s fourth wall begins to shatter.
The final quest becomes a mad dash to find
the inquisitor’s bombardment orders; there
are several copies taken by couriers to be
delivered to the barely-surviving general.

English: 
This leads you on to understanding the final choice of the game; the choice of working towards the town’s future, or to try to preserve its past as it once was.
The murder, itself, was no TRUE murder; in fact, it was a mercy-killing.
Elder Oyun, seeing Isador infected and dying with plague, euthanized your father out of a sense of compassion;
like putting down a sick animal to protect the herd.
After confessing this to you, he retains his sense of honour, and will accept whatever fate you decide for him – be that execution, or mercy.
As the final day dawns, the last moments of your struggle within the town are a desperate, frantic sprint to make the last cures
and heal all the children under your care that still survive.
The play itself begins to unravel, as the writing begins to break down and the theatre’s fourth wall begins to shatter.
The final quest becomes a mad dash to find the inquisitor’s bombardment orders;
there are several copies taken by couriers to be delivered to the barely-surviving general.

English: 
You encounter the other soon-to-be playable characters – the Bachelor, who bids you listen to his reason to preserve the Polyhedron,
and the Changeling, who insists that she can find another miracle cure – however, they are both too late to affect the inevitable ending.
The Bachelor killed the courier he met and burned his orders, wishing to preserve the Polyhedron.
The courier near Clara was killed and fell in the river, his orders lost to the waters.
In your search for the final courier you find a disturbing character, instead – in the ransacked remains of the pub, you meet a man who claims to be... you.
He, too, knows you are all merely actors within a play, and that he is the next actor slated to take the role of Artemiy Burakh if should you fail.
Everyone, including you, remains disposable.
Finally, as you find the last fallen courier and acquire the orders to bombard the Polyhedron, the Kin approach you;
they beg you not to give the order – for to destroy the Polyhedron would remove the spike from the earth’s heart.

English: 
You encounter the other soon-to-be playable
characters – the Bachelor, who bids you
listen to his reason to preserve the Polyhedron,
and the Changeling, who insists that she can
find another miracle cure – however they
both are too late to affect the inevitable
ending. The Bachelor killed the courier he
met and burned his orders, wishing to preserve
the polyhedron. The courier near Clara was
killed and fell in the river, his orders lost
to the waters.
In your search for the final courier you find
a disturbing character, instead - in the ransacked
remains of the pub you meet a man who claims
to be you. He, too, knows you are all merely
actors within a play, and that he is the next
actor slated to take the role of Artemiy Burakh
if should you fail. Everyone, including you,
remains disposable.
Finally, as you find the last fallen courier
and acquire the orders to bombard the Polyhedron,
the Kin approach you; they beg you not to
give the order – for to destroy the polyhedron
would remove the spike from the earth’s

English: 
heart. Although she is mortally wounded with
the Polyhedron’s spike, to withdraw it in
such a traumatic manner would spill all her
blood. This is the blood you need to create
the panacea to cure the plague – but to
gain it would mean the Earth would bleed out,
killing her, and the past world of miracles,
the world of the Kin.
The final choice of the game is whether to
choose to ensure the Polyhedron is destroyed,
and the town is cured, or whether to accept
the world of miracles, both good and ill;
“Plague, monsters and wonders are all connected.
Kill one, and the rest will suffer, too. Is
my goal worth the sacrifice?”
The Diurnal Ending
There are two endings to the game; the first
is where the papers are delivered to the commander,
and the polyhedron is bombarded. The artillery
shells fire, the Tower of Miracles collapses,
and from its base wells a pool of precious

English: 
Although she is mortally wounded with the Polyhedron’s spike, to withdraw it in such a traumatic manner would spill all her blood.
This is the blood that you need to create the panacea to cure the plague – but to gain it would mean the Earth would bleed out,
killing her, and the past world of miracles, the world of the Kin.
The final choice of the game is whether to choose to ensure the Polyhedron is destroyed, and the town is cured,
or whether to accept the world of miracles, for both good and ill.
“Plague, monsters and wonders are all connected. Kill one, and the rest will suffer, too. Is my goal worth the sacrifice?”
There are two endings to the game; the first is where the papers are delivered to the commander, and the Polyhedron is bombarded.

English: 
blood; the blood so needed to create a panacea.
The final day dawns; a peaceful day, the plague
vanished, and the town altogether silent.
Those who survived gather in their clusters
around the town, mourning their losses, and
contemplating what must happen next.
The men and women who believed in miracles
and utopian dreams – the Bachelor, the Stamatin
brothers who were the architects of the polyhedron,
Georgy Kain, Simon Kain’s living brother,
and various others, all discuss and regroup,
with their dreams to build a new town on the
other side of the river, still steadfast in
their pursuit of future dreams.
Taya and other members of the Kin, accompanied
by Notkin practice their new lives; soon-to-be
members and leaders of a revived Kin, but
this time altogether too human, and altogether
less miraculous. They have a new, smaller,
industrialised world to come to terms with,
and will struggle to find their place in it
– and, for people like Aspity, they may

English: 
The artillery shells fire, the Tower of Miracles collapses, and from its base wells a pool of precious blood; the blood so needed to create a panacea.
The final day dawns; a peaceful day, the plague has vanished, and the town is altogether silent.
Those who survived gather in their clusters around the town, mourning their losses, and contemplating what must happen next.
The men and women who believed in miracles and utopian dreams –
the Bachelor, the Stamatin brothers who were the architects of the Polyhedron, Georgy Kain, Simon Kain’s living brother, and various others,
all discuss and regroup, with their dreams to build a new town on the other side of the river, still steadfast in their pursuit of the future.
Taya and the other members of the Kin, accompanied by Notkin, practice their new lives;
soon-to-be members and leaders of a revived Kin, but this time altogether too human, and altogether less miraculous.
They have a new, smaller, industrialised world to come to terms with, and will struggle to find their place in it –

English: 
and, for people like Aspity, they may have no place in it at all.
Murky and Sticky, the abandoned children, return to your house – you have acted as a father figure and protector through the days of the plague,
and have accepted responsibility and care for both them, and for the town as a whole.
Rubin, if he survived, accompanies Lara and Griff upon the broken architecture that litters the town;
life shall continue on for them, the most human of all the characters, continuing on their lives as best they can amidst the wreckage.
You can even hug Lara, if you played the game well.
The Changeling speaks of a different path;
she mourns the path she didn’t win, and implies a meeting with Higher Powers and those who broke the fourth wall – a path that Artemiy will never see.
Her twin, however, is with the new young Mistresses, Capella and Maria, standing adjacent to their mothers’ graves.
The Olgimsky family, and younger members of the Kain family are there, too;

English: 
have no place in it at all.
Murky and Sticky, the abandoned children,
return to your house - you have acted as a
father figure and protector through the days
of the plague, and have accepted responsibility
and care for both them, and the town as a
whole.
Rubin, if he survived and did not leave with
the army, accompanies Lara and Griff upon
the broken architecture that litters the town;
life shall continue on for them, the most
human of all the characters, continuing on
their lives as best they can amidst the wreckage.
You can even hug Lara, if you played the game
well.
The Changeling speaks of a different path;
she mourns the path she didn’t win, and
implies a meeting with Higher Powers and those
who broke the fourth wall – a path Artemiy
will never see. Her twin, however, is with
the new young Mistresses, Capella and Maria,
standing adjacent to their mothers’ graves.
The Olgimsky family, and younger members of
the Kain family are there, too; together,

English: 
together, the new Mistresses and magi shall rebuild their new order, and once more, a town shall form –
divorced from its old miracles, yet still cautiously optimistic.
The Saburovs, if they survived, have a sombre moment of seeming reunited – and, if Grace survived, they will adopt her.
It is possible that the young gravekeeper may become the next Clairvoyant Mistress, much as Katerina was,
though, with the death of the Earth’s heartbeat, her clairvoyance may no longer last.
If you’re a truly inquisitive soul, you may even find the avatars of the developers, standing atop the town alongside the rat prophet.
Finally, you take your place on the stage, at last, to conclude the play.
As the curtains draw, and the director of the theatre seems, at least, somewhat pleased with your work, the town seems safe.
A world saved, a people rescued, and a series of miracles sacrificed, never to return.

English: 
the new Mistresses and magi shall rebuild
their new order, and once more, a town shall
form – divorced from its old miracles, yet
still cautiously optimistic.
The Saburovs, if they survived, have a sombre
moment of seeming reunited – and, if Grace
survived, they will adopt her. It is possible
that the young gravekeeper may become the
next Clairvoyant Mistress, much as Katerina
was, though with the death of the Earth’s
heartbeat her clairvoyance may no longer last.
If you’re a truly inquisitive soul, you
may even find the avatars of the developers,
standing atop the town alongside the rat prophet.
Finally, you take your place on the stage,
at last, to conclude the play. As the curtains
draw, and the director of the theatre seems,
at least, somewhat pleased with your work,
the town seems safe. A world saved, a people
rescued, and a series of miracles sacrificed,
never to return.

English: 
The Nocturnal Ending
The other ending to the game comes from burning
the papers, denying the military the orders
to bombard the polyhedron, and the will to
preserve miracles, at the cost of the town.
The life of miraculous creatures is important;
the lives of the Kin, the Worms, the strange
creatures of the steppe, the forgotten miracles
like the Gigantic Aurochs, and, the living
being that is The Plague itself.
Sticky and Murky, your almost-adopted children,
appear to have joined the cult of the Bulls,
and join alongside the religion of the Kin.
The Bachelor, the other Utopians, and everyone
else within the town that would not otherwise
join the Kin leave, into the steppe, to walk
until they die. Those that knew you as friends
– Notkin, Griff, even Lara, have forgotten
you, as the world rejects their place in it.
Those that represented the future are lost;
those that stand with the past remain. Elder
Oyun remains, his guilt for euthanizing your

English: 
The other ending to the game comes from burning the papers, denying the military the orders to bombard the Polyhedron,
and the will to preserve miracles, at the cost of the town.
The life of miraculous creatures is important;
the lives of the Kin, the Worms, the strange creatures of the steppe, the forgotten miracles like the Gigantic Aurochs, and the living being that is The Plague itself.
Sticky and Murky, your almost-adopted children, appear to have joined the cult of the Bulls, and join alongside the religion of the Kin.
The Bachelor, the other Utopians, and everyone else within the town that would not otherwise join the Kin, leave,
walking into the steppe, to traverse it until they die.
Those that you knew as friends – Notkin, Griff, even Lara, have forgotten you, as the world rejects their place in it.
Those that represented the future are lost; and those that stand with the past remain.
Elder Oyun remains, his guilt for euthanizing your father still hanging over his head.

English: 
Clara appears to watch over you, though remains enigmatic as ever.
The only person to truly seem to believe that you have made the right choice is Aspity, the voice of the Kin, and the voice of the past.
The shackles of industry, of colonisation, of a culture laying foundations and roots into the earth itself, is gone, and the culture of the Kin can once more thrive.
The Polyhedron, the tower of miracles, remains preserved – and you are to climb atop it.
Without the town’s future, the new Mistresses no longer include Capella Olgimskaya, or Maria Kaina –
instead, they are Grace, the gravekeeper, Taya, the tiny Mother Superior, and Clara, the changeling who shall shatter the fourth wall.
The long, slow climb up the Polyhedron reveals much, and bit by bit you speak to the last residents of the town; the children that remain atop the polyhedron.
Each tells you a confession, and each confession comes closer to breaking the fourth wall further,

English: 
father still hanging over his head.
Clara appears to watch over you, though remains
as enigmatic as ever. The only person to truly
seem to believe you have made the right choice
is Aspity, the voice of the Kin, and the voice
of the past. The shackles of industry, of
colonisation, of a culture laying foundations
and roots into the earth, is gone, and the
culture of the Kin can once more thrive.
The Polyhedron, the tower of miracles, remains
preserved –and you are to climb atop it.
Without the town’s future, the new Mistresses
no longer include Capella Olgimskaya, or Maria
Kaina – instead, they are Grace, the gravekeeper,
Taya, the tiny mother superior, and Clara,
the changeling who shall shatter the fourth
wall.
The long, slow climb up the Polyhedron reveals
much, and bit by bit you speak to the last
residents of the town; the children that remain
atop the polyhedron. Each tells you a confession,
and each confession comes closer to breaking

English: 
as you realize you aren’t talking to children, but talking to the ghosts of the game’s developers.
Atop the Polyhedron itself stands the Rat Prophet; the character who constantly defies the illusion of the Stage, and talks directly to the player.
Amidst the sky, the visage of Boddho herself appears, the giant bull that IS the world.
Within the town, even the once-proud houses of the Kains have been claimed by the Kin, and are surrounded by clouds of plague –
clouds that hold you no more harm.
Your future is to live with it, to be as one with it, unaffected, like the cattle of the Kin.
The Cathedral itself has been changed; it is now an altar for the women of the steppe to practice their rituals.
The last remaining townsperson, Eva Yan, remains – now trying to become part of the Steppe culture, herself, though it seems like this is a fatal ambition;
she will never truly be a part of the Kin, and it may well cost her her life.

English: 
the fourth wall as you realise you aren’t
talking to the children, but talking to ghosts
of the game’s developers. Atop the Polyhedron
itself stands the Rat Prophet; the character
who constantly defies the illusion of Stage,
and talks directly to the player. Amidst the
sky, the visage of Boddho herself appears,
the giant bull that is the world.
Within the town, even the once-proud houses
of the Kains have been claimed by the Kin,
and are surrounded by clouds of plague – clouds
that hold you no harm any more. Your future
is to live with it, to be as one with it,
unaffected like the cattle of the Kin. The
Cathedral itself has been changed; it is now
an altar for the women of the steppe to practice
their rituals. The last remaining townsperson,
Eva Yahn, remains – now trying to become
part of the Steppe culture, herself, though
it seems like this is a fatal ambition; she
will never truly be a part of the Kin, and
it may cost her her life.

English: 
At last, you return to the stage, bid your
adieus to the director, and once more turn
back to a decidedly darker town.
The Stage Plot
There is an entire layer to the story of the
game that I have not yet touched on – that
of the Stage Play. This story sits on a more
meta level than the outright story of the
town and the character arc of Artemiy Burakh,
though, as the story progresses, the dividing
line between the story-as-literal and story-as-stageplay
starts to blur, and the role of the Player
and the role of Artemiy Burakh becomes equally
blurred.
From the very beginning of the game, the entire
structure is set out as if it is a stage play,
and you merely an actor within it. Your first
act within the game involves talking to the
Director of the Play – your play, the game
itself, and asking for a second run. There
is a semi-ironic acknowledgement of none of
the events being portrayed as quote-unquote
“real” – however, the lack of a literal

English: 
At last, you return to the stage, bid your adieus to the director, and once more turn back to a decidedly darker town.
There is an entire layer to the story of the game that I have not yet touched on – that of the Stage Play.
This story sits on a more meta level than the outright story of the town and the character arc of Artemiy Burakh,
though, as the story progresses, the dividing line between story-as-literal and story-as-stageplay starts to blur,
and the role of the Player and the role of Artemiy Burakh becomes equally blurred.
From the very beginning of the game, the entire structure is set out as if it is a stage play, and you merely an actor within it.
Your first act within the game involves talking to the Director of the Play – your play, the game itself, and asking for a second run.
There is a semi-ironic acknowledgement of none of the events being portrayed as “real” –

English: 
truth does not mean the story lacks emotional
truth – quite the opposite.
The entire purpose of the play is slowly revealed,
through intermittent parts, and often revealed
through failure and death. Death is a constant
companion in this game – not only a thing
to be avoided and feared, but an omnipresent
entity, and personal nemesis, all in one.
You meet Death in the opening moments of the
game; a fellow traveller in your train carriage
gets out of a coffin – a cramped wooden
box, much like your traincar. You play a game
of chance – a gamble of secrets and wits,
much as a doctor plays a game of dice every
time he tries to cheat death. The Traveller
arrives alongside you, the Player full-well
knowing that the act of playing the game is
what will bring Death to the town.
The game’s story is laid out as a five-act
play; the first act forms the tutorial and
introduction to the world and characters,
establishing the internal politics of the

English: 
however, the lack of a literal truth does not mean the story lacks emotional truth – quite the opposite.
The entire purpose of the play is slowly revealed, through intermittent parts, and often revealed through failure and death.
Death is a constant companion in this game – not only a thing to be avoided and feared, but an omnipresent unknowable entity, and a personal nemesis, all in one.
You meet Death in the opening moments of the game; a fellow traveller in your train carriage gets out of a coffin – a cramped wooden box, much like you in your traincar.
You play a game of chance – a game of secrets and wits, much as a doctor plays a game of dice every time he tries to cheat death.
The Traveller arrives alongside you, the Player full-well knowing that the act of playing the game is what will bring Death to the town.
The game’s story is laid out as a five-act play;
the first act forms the tutorial and introduction to the world and characters, establishing the internal politics of the town,

English: 
the nature of the townsfolk and the Kin, and the central tensions.
The second act comes as the plague strikes, the status quo is disrupted, and Death takes his harvest –
the tensions between the characters rise as the situation becomes more desperate.
The third act is where the climax of the story is approached;
the town falls into complete chaos, the Inquisitor arrives to establish order and fails,
and your heritage to the Kin is explored further, and your ability to save everyone is called into question.
The third and fourth act are bridged by the true climax of the story; Artemiy’s descent into the Abattoir and retrieval of the Panacea.
However, where a standard five act play would include the remainder of a Fourth Act and conclude with the Fifth, “Pathologic” does an intentionally strange thing;
it shows that the play begins to go off-script and off-rails, and posits that the director has lost control by the time the fourth act has begun.

English: 
town, the nature of the townsfolk and the
Kin, and the central tensions. The second
act comes as the plague strikes, the status
quo is disrupted, and Death takes his harvest
– the tensions between the characters rise
as the situation becomes more desperate. The
third act is where the climax of the story
is approached; the town falls into complete
chaos, the Inquisitor arrives to establish
order and fails, your heritage to the Kin
is explored further, and your ability to save
everyone is called into question. The third
and fourth act are bridged by the climax of
the story; Artemiy’s descent into the Abattoir
and retrieval of the Panacea.
However, where a standard play would include
the remainder of a Fourth Act and conclude
with a Fifth, Pathologic does an intentionally
strange thing; it shows that the play begins
to go off-script and off-rails, and posits
that the director has lost control by the
time the fourth act has begun. Whilst the

English: 
Whilst the fifth act COULD be seen as the Day 12 Conclusion arcs, the game itself explicitly avoids this,
and shows the stage as collapsed into chaos by the time of the General’s arrival, and your quest markers never update beyond a fourth act.
Much of the behind-the-scenes story is lived out upon the event of dying in the game;
unlike most other games, and unlike “Pathologic 1”, dying does not return you back to a main menu to re-load your game and try again.
Instead, the game keeps track of the number of times you have died, regardless of whether you reload or not –
there is no dodging the consequences of death via savescumming.
Upon death, you awaken in the theater; there, you meet the director of the whole play, the ironically-named Mark Immortell.
He informs you that Death is inevitable, suffering is a given, and, most importantly,
that every “stage death” of the hero will cause irreversible consequences to the world.
With every death comes a new change;
your body is weaker, your maximum hit points or exhaustion limit or thirst limit is reduced,

English: 
fifth act could be seen as the Day 12 Conclusion
arcs, the game itself explicitly avoids this,
and shows the stage as collapsed into chaos
by the time of the general’s arrival, and
your quest markers never update beyond a fourth
act.
Much of the behind-the-scenes story is lived
out upon the event of dying in the game; unlike
most other games, and unlike Pathologic 1,
dying does not return you back to a menu to
re-load your game and try again. Instead,
the game keeps track of the number of times
you have died, regardless of whether you reload
or not – there is no dodging the consequences
of death via savescumming.
Upon death, you awaken in the theatre; there,
you meet the director of the whole play, the
ironically-named Mark Immortal. He informs
you that Death is inevitable, suffering is
a given, and, most importantly, that every
quote-unquote “stage death” of the hero
will cause irreversible consequences to the
world.
With every death comes a new change; your
body is weaker, your maximum hit points or
exhaustion limit or thirst limit is reduced,

English: 
or dialogue options with important characters
are removed – including your ability to
hug anyone or express warmth. The game becomes
harder as you die, making death itself more
likely – the effect snowballs to an almost-unbearable
degree.
Each time you encounter Death, you encounter
the stage director, or one of his assistants.
Each of them speak to you, not as Artemiy
Burakh, but as the person taking upon his
role – you, the player, becoming a performer.
The defining line that separates the player
from their character becomes blurred, especially
as the Stage itself becomes part of the game’s
internal play, and the backstage characters
venture forth into the world of the game;
the Rat Prophet, particularly, is a major
example of this. He brings knowledge of the
backstage workings of the play to the on-stage
script itself; he is found acting as a Deus-Ex
Machina on more than one occasion, and with
enough player deaths he will be found standing
outside the theatre itself, goading the player
with knowledge that their failures and deaths

English: 
or dialogue options with important characters are removed – including your ability to hug anyone or express warmth.
The game becomes harder as you die, making death itself more likely – the effect snowballs to an almost-unbearable degree.
Each time you encounter Death, you encounter the stage director, or one of his assistants.
Each of them speak to you, not as Artemiy Burakh, but as the person taking upon his role – you, the player, becoming a performer.
The defining line that separates the player from their character becomes blurred,
especially as the Stage itself becomes part of the game’s internal play, and the backstage characters venture forth into the world of the game;
the Rat Prophet, particularly, is a major example of this.
He brings knowledge of the backstage workings of the play onto the on-stage script itself;
he is found acting as a Deus-Ex Machina on more than one occasion, and with enough player deaths, he will be found standing outside the theater itself,

English: 
are undermining the play and destroying the
game’s world.
By the fourth act of the game, this blurring
of realities, and acknowledgement of the plot
as a fictional play, is stated outright – it
is explicitly acknowledged by Aglaya and Griff,
who find their lives as characters without
agency to be existentially distressing. It
is forced upon the player, too, who encounters
an actor that claims to be the next Artemiy.
It is not only the protagonists and player
characters that experience this meta-narrative;
the Plague itself takes form as a character
to be spoken to on more than one occasion,
changing form from an invisible, unknowable
power to a personal nemesis. The antagonist
shows up in other ways, too; the Fellow Traveller
offers a faustian bargain if you continue
to die repeatedly – offering you a deal
to remove any penalties from Death, but at
the cost of the “true” ending of the game.
Indeed, if you take on this deal and get the
‘bad’ ending of the game, you see the
other protagonists – Bachelor Dankovsky
and Clara the Changeling – both standing
on stage as actors, rehearsing their scripts

English: 
goading the player with knowledge that their failures and deaths are undermining the play and destroying the game’s world.
By the fourth act of the game, this blurring of realities, and acknowledgement of the plot as a fictional play, is stated outright –
it is explicitly acknowledged by Aglaya and Griff, who find their lives as characters without agency to be existentially distressing.
It is forced upon the player, too, who encounters an actor that claims to be the next Artemiy.
It is not only the protagonists and the player characters that experience this meta-narrative;
the Plague itself takes form as a character to be spoken to on more than one occasion, changing form from an invisible, unknowable power to a personal nemesis.
The antagonist shows up in other ways, too;
the Fellow Traveller offers a faustian bargain if you continue to die repeatedly –
offering you a deal to remove any penalties from Death, but at the cost of the “true” ending of the game.
Indeed, if you take on this deal and get the ‘bad’ ending of the game, you see the other protagonists –

English: 
Bachelor Dankovsky and Clara the Changeling – both standing on stage as actors, rehearsing their scripts to try again.
The director uses his time spent with you to give voice to the developers’ intent;
you are to understand that Death is inevitable, inscrutable, and yet can be overcome;
detaching the self from the individual body, and subsuming oneself in something that lasts eternally –
such as a culture, or a kindred, or a miracle project, or utopian ideals, or even just leaving the legacy of a story.
Suffering is not only an inevitable part of life, but a trial, and such fictionalised suffering is a means of coming to understand this trial and understand oneself.
This toying with theater technique and direct addressing of the audience is overtly metatextual; the play is explicitly not entirely real, it is a play.
It is not like other games, in which the in-game world is presented as “real” –

English: 
to try again.
The director uses his time spent with you
to give voice to the developers’ intent;
you are to understand that Death is inevitable,
inscrutable, yet can be overcome; detaching
the self from the individual body, and subsuming
oneself in something that lasts eternally
– such as a culture, or a kindred, or a
miracle project, or utopian ideals, or even
just in leaving the legacy of a story. Suffering
is not only an inevitable part of life, but
a trial, and such fictionalised suffering
is a means of coming to understand oneself.
This toying with theatre technique and direct
addressing of the audience is overtly metatextual;
the play is explicitly not entirely real,
it is a play. It is not like other games,
in which the in-game world is presented as
quote-unquote “real” – the nature of
your character as An Actor Playing Artemiy

English: 
Burakh or as Actually Artemiy Burakh is fluid.
There is a blurring of boundaries between
each layer of the fiction – and thus a blurring
of boundaries between fiction and reality.
The game itself is to be understood and examined
as a fiction, and its characters are to be
analysed as fictional. The only “real”
character amongst it is you.
The play is self-evidently a tragedy with
You, The Player as the protagonist; though
Artemiy is your in-game avatar and has his
own goals, the exploration of character flaws
and weaknesses is an exploration of the player’s
weaknesses – it isn’t just Artemiy that
fails to save everyone, it’s you as a player.
It is not only Artemiy’s flaws that are
revealed through tragedy – it is yours.
2: Characters
I’m going to begin this next section of

English: 
the nature of your character as An Actor Playing Artemiy Burakh or as Actually Artemiy Burakh is fluid.
There is a fluctuation of boundaries between each layer of the fiction – and thus a blurring of those boundaries between fiction and reality.
The game ITSELF is to be understood and examined as a fiction, and its characters are to be analyzed as fictional.
The only “real” character amongst it is, explicitly, you.
The play is self-evidently a tragedy with You, The Player as the protagonist;
though Artemiy is your in-game avatar and has his own goals,
the exploration of character flaws and weaknesses is an exploration of the player’s weaknesses –
it isn’t just Artemiy that fails to save everyone, it’s YOU as a player.
It is not only Artemiy’s flaws that are revealed through tragedy – it’s YOURS.

English: 
I’m going to begin this next section of the analysis of the game with an overview of some of the major characters.
This is by no means an exhaustive list – and, if you’re familiar with the structure of “Pathologic 1”, you might already anticipate the caveat here;
all the character analyses from this route will be from Artemiy’s perspective.
This means that there are some multifaceted figures whose arcs we have not yet been seen, and some characters with whom we hardly interact at all.
I’m going to talk most in-depth about the characters relevant to this campaign,
and will address the remaining cast when the Bachelor’s and Changeling’s scenarios are released.
If any of these characters die, they will appear backstage in the theater, and tell you what their intended role in the play was.
I will include these, so you may draw your own conclusions.
The Olgimsky family are an unusual family within the town;
headed by Big Vlad, or Vlad Olgimsky the Elder,
this dynasty operates a bourgeois empire and is responsible for the town’s entire economic output to the outside world.

English: 
the analysis of this game with an overview
of some of the major characters. This is by
no means an exhaustive list – and, if you’re
familiar with the structure of Pathologic
1, you might already anticipate the caveat
here; all the character analyses from this
route will be from Artemiy’s perspective.
This means that there are some multifaceted
figures whose arcs we have not yet seen, and
some characters with whom we hardly interact
at all. I’m going to talk most in-depth
about the characters relevant to this campaign,
and will address the remaining cast when the
Bachelors’ and Changelings’ scenarios
are released.
If any of these characters die, they will
appear backstage in the theatre, and tell
you what their intended role in the play was.
I will include these, so you may draw your
own conclusions.
The Townsfolk
The Olgimsky family are an unusual family
in the town; headed by Vlad Olgimsky the Elder,
this dynasty operates a bourgeois empire and

English: 
The town, a newly crafted settlement in the outskirts of the steppe, was built over where the native Kin once lived, and once herded cattle in a nomadic kind of life.
Now, this cattle-herding process has been settled and industrialised, and the profits of this enterprise return to elder Vlad Olgimsky.
This vast man acts as a bull in his own right;
a true patriarch, domineering to some, protective of his own, and operating as an indomitable pillar in a brutal and cut-throat world.
He is evidently a dangerous man to cross, and holds power over the entire cattle production enterprise –
and, therefore, over the entirety of the native Kin who work there, as well as the poorer townsfolk.
Whilst not technically in a position of judicial or administrative authority, his economic stranglehold on the town places him amongst the great families.
However, to cast him as another purely Villainous Member of the Bourgeoisie is far too simplistic;

English: 
is responsible for the town’s entire economic
output to the outside world. The town, a newly
crafted settlement in the outskirts of the
steppe, was built over where the native Kin
once lived, and once herded cattle. Now, this
cattle-herding process has been settled and
industrialised, and the profits of this enterprise
return to the elder Vlad Olgimsky.
This vast man acts as a bull in his own right;
a true patriarch, domineering to some, protective
of his own, and operating as an indomitable
pillar in a brutal and cut-throat world. He
is evidently a dangerous man to cross, and
holds power over the entire cattle production
enterprise – and, therefore, over the entirety
of the native Kin who work there, as well
as the poorer townsfolk. Whilst not technically
in a position of judicial or administrative
authority, his economic stranglehold on the
town places him amongst the great families.
However, to cast him purely as another Villainous
Member of the Bourgeoisie is far too simplistic;

English: 
he is a man who expresses great affection
and tenderness to his own family, and extends
his definition of ‘family’ to protect
Artemiy, as well. His humanity is clearly
demonstrated in a scene where you find a looted
shop – despite the profit that may be gained
from re-opening it, Elder Vlad would prefer
it remain as a memorial, both to the dead,
and to his late wife, Victoria. He is also
more than willing to die in the place of his
son, and surrender himself to the Kin and
face their vengeance, despite the Younger
Vlad being the one actually responsible for
the deaths within the Termitary.
His final words; “My path was called "The
Diaphragm." I thought I was free to decide
the fate of the Kin. But fortune… heh…
had something else in mind.”
Vlad the Younger is of a different breed to
his father, and yet retains many of his traits;
instead of retaining power via fear and aggression,
Vlad the Younger is of a laisses-faire mindset;
his ethics and ideology are those of a businessman,
and his goals are to continue to run the cattle

English: 
he is a man who expresses great affection and tenderness to his own family, and extends his definition of ‘family’ to protect Artemiy, as well.
His humanity is clearly demonstrated in a scene where you find a looted shop – despite the profit that may be gained from re-opening it,
Elder Vlad would prefer it remain as a memorial, both to the dead, and to his late wife, Victoria.
He is also more than willing to die in the place of his son, and surrender himself to the Kin and face their vengeance,
despite the Younger Vlad being the one actually responsible for the deaths within the Termitary.
His final words; “My path was called "The Diaphragm." I thought I was free to decide the fate of the Kin.”
“But fortune… heh… had something else in mind.”
Vlad the Younger is of a different breed to his father, and yet retains many of his traits;
instead of retaining power via fear and aggression, Vlad the Younger is of a laisses-faire mindset;

English: 
enterprise according to colder economic principles
– though he may lack the brashness and bluster
of his father, and his mode of power is expressed
differently, he still ultimately wishes to
continue his father’s economic legacy, and
wishes to use this to sustain the town. For
a price, of course.
Despite his outwardly capitalistic outlook,
he still maintains more of a fascination with
the native Kin than many other townsfolk do,
going as far as to study their culture, language,
and taboos in far more depth than his contemporaries.
He also engages, with the Kin’s assistance,
in digging a well in the town – an act that
is taboo, but is done with some degree of
sensitivity as to not anger the Kin.
He, also, is responsible for the locking of
the termitary – an act that dooms many of
the Kin inside to infection and death, in
the cramped and overcrowded living quarters.
This act was done to prevent the rioting Kin
from harming other townsfolk, and to protect

English: 
his ethics and ideology are those of a businessman, and his goals are to continue to run the cattle enterprise according to colder economic principles –
though he may lack the brashness and bluster of his father, and his mode of power is expressed differently,
he still ultimately wishes to continue his father’s economic legacy, and wishes to use this to sustain the town.
For a price, of course.
Despite his outwardly capitalistic outlook, he still maintains more of a fascination with the native Kin than many other townsfolk do,
going as far as to study their culture, language and taboos in far more depth than his contemporaries.
He also engages, with the Kin’s assistance, in digging a well in the town – an act that is taboo, but is done with some degree of sensitivity as not to anger the Kin.
He therefore sits in contrast with Rubin.
He, also, is responsible for the locking of the Termitary –
an act that dooms many of the Kin inside to infection and death, in the cramped and overcrowded living quarters.
This act was done to prevent the rioting Kin from harming other townsfolk, and to protect the town –

English: 
though, of course, it turns out to be a bad judgement call.
Notably, the townsfolk believe his father would not have made such a grave error.
Regardless, he is willing to meet the Kin’s justice for this act, and will do so, unless actively stopped.
He remains a complex character, and cannot be easily judged as good or bad.
His final words: “My path was called “The Blood of the Earth” – well, I found out what comes from where, and the conclusions are obvious.”
The second Olgimsky child, Capella, is an adolescent during the events of the game –
one foot in childhood, in the world of dreams and ambitions and games, the other in adulthood, responsibility, and in coming into her mother’s legacy.
Her mother, a character who died before the events of the game, was one of the Clairvoyant Mistresses, able to divine the fate of the town.
Capella may be beginning to share her mother’s abilities –

English: 
the town – though, of course, it turns out
to be a bad judgement call. Notably, the townsfolk
believe his father would not have made such
a grave error. Regardless, he is willing to
meet the Kin’s justice for this act, and
will do so unless actively stopped. He remains
a complex character that cannot easily be
judged.
His final words: “My path was called the
blood of the earth – well, I found out what
comes from where, and the conclusions are
obvious.”
The second Olgimsky child, Capella, is an
adolescent during the events of the game – one
foot in childhood, the world of dreams and
ambitions and games, the other in adulthood,
responsibility, and in coming into her mother’s
legacy. Her mother, a character who died before
the events of the game, was one of the Clairvoyant
Mistresses, able to divine the fate of the
town. Capella may be beginning to share her
mother’s abilities – though in many ways,

English: 
it seems that they are less her own abilities,
and more her mother’s spirit, returning
to manifest itself through Capella.
The ghost of Victoria Olgimskaya, Capella’s
mother, returns in multiple points through
the game. The most notable example comes with
her influence on various townsfolk, including
the Changeling Clara, to play a childhood
melody that Capella recognises – another
example of the past never truly leaving the
town. Capella’s journey is one of internalising
and understanding her history and her mother’s
legacy, yet choosing to create a new world,
different from that of her parents; in the
Diurnal ending, looking towards the future,
she will be one of the new Mistresses of the
town. In the Nocturnal ending, looking towards
the past, she is absent, likely dead.
Her final words: “My path was my namesake—"Capella."
If not for the plague, I would have spread

English: 
though in many ways, it seems that they are less her own abilities, and more her mother’s spirit, returning to manifest itself through Capella.
The ghost of Victoria Olgimskaya, Capella’s mother, returns in multiple points throughout the game.
The most notable [example] comes with her influence on various townsfolk, including the Changeling Clara, to play a childhood melody that Capella recognizes –
another example of the past never truly leaving the town.
Capella’s journey is one of internalising and understanding her history and her mother’s legacy,
yet choosing to create a new world, different from that of her parents;
in the Diurnal ending, looking towards the future, she will be one of the new Mistresses of the town.
In the Nocturnal ending, looking towards the past, she is absent, likely dead.
Her final words: “My path was my namesake—"Capella." If not for the plague, I would have spread among the children a heathen cult.”
“Our parents… would have lived forever…”

English: 
The Nocturnal Ending shows a different set of mistresses to the town – one of which includes Grace, the gravekeeper.
She, like Capella, is also prone to visions and Clairvoyance – however, hers is tied to the dead, to the Rat Prophet, and to the lost.
She has compassion, yet that compassion is something that harms and erodes her.
Those she speaks for, the Dead and the Lost, sap her strength – and yet, she has no source from which to replenish her own strength from.
Her story is one of resilience and attrition. Though her story may have several different outcomes, depending on her survival.
Her Diurnal ending, looking towards the future, sees her adopted by the Saburov family –
perhaps to become the next faulty seer, walking in the footsteps of Katerina Saburova.
Her nocturnal ending sees her become the True Mistress of the Dead – though whether this is for good or for ill is left uncertain.

English: 
among the children a heathen cult. Our parents…
would have lived forever…”
The Nocturnal Ending shows a different set
of mistresses to the new town – one of which
includes Grace, the gravekeeper. She, like
Capella, is also prone to visions and Clairvoyance
– however hers is tied to the dead, to the
Rat Prophet, and to the lost. She has compassion,
yet that compassion is something that harms
and erodes her. Those she speaks for, the
Dead and the Lost, sap her strength – and
yet, she has no source from which to replenish
her own strength from. Her story is one of
resilience and attrition. Though her journey
may have several different outcomes, depending
on her survival. Her Diurnal ending, looking
towards the future, sees her adopted by the
Saburov family – perhaps to become the next
faulty seer, walking in the footsteps of Katerina
Saburova. Her nocturnal ending sees her become
the True Mistress of the Dead – though whether
this is for good or ill is left uncertain.

English: 
Her final words; “My path was called "The Burden of the Living." I… I just wanted to care for those leaving us behind.”
The Saburovs themselves are given relatively little screen time in the game;
we see Alexander Saburov as a hawk, a hard-headed and inflexible man with a penchant for draconian justice –
on the one hand, attempting to show determination and strength in the face of overwhelming odds,
but on the other, his pursuit of “justice” comes down to repeatedly trying to find a scapegoat for the catastrophe around him.
We will see more of him in an upcoming route. I fell that we should not yet judge him too harshly.
His final words; “My path was called "The Restoration of Power." I wanted to return strength and dignity to our country.”
“I could have become the Ruler were it not for the plague.”
Katerina Saburova, as I have alluded to earlier, is also a clairvoyant mistress –

English: 
Her final words; “My path was called "The
Burden of the Living." I… I just wanted
to care for those leaving us behind.”
The Saburovs themselves are given relatively
little screen time in the game; we see Alexander
Saburov as a hawk, a hard-headed and inflexible
man with a penchant for draconian justice
– on the one hand, attempting to show determination
and strength in the face of overwhelming odds,
but on the other, his pursuit of ‘justice’
comes down to repeatedly trying to find a
scapegoat for the catastrophe around him.
We will see more of him in a coming route.
His final words; “My path was called "The
Restoration of Power." I wanted to return
strength and dignity to our country. I could
have become the Ruler were it not for the
plague.”
Katerina Saburova, as I have alluded to earlier,
is also a clairvoyant mistress – however

English: 
however, her clairvoyance was not as strong as that of the other old mistresses of the town – the now-deceased Nina Kaina and Victoria Olgimskaya.
Unable to bear the pain of her visions, she slowly turned to morphine – and in her addictions became vulnerable to malevolent outside forces, such as the Rat Prophet.
She is led to false conclusions in how to defeat the plague, and, despite her ragged-worn compassion, she ultimately does not succeed.
Her role is also to be explored more in a an upcoming route.
Her final words; “My path was called "The Rat Prophet." I didn't know that it was he who whispered to me in my dreams.”
“Until the very end, I believed it was the Earth.”
Lara Ravel is a character portrayed with more depth;
a woman with seemingly boundless compassion and a childhood friend to Artemiy, she remains one of your most reliable confidants throughout the game.
Unlike the Olgimsky family, her kindness and protection comes with no cost nor expectation of repayment;

English: 
her clairvoyance was not as strong as that
of the other old mistresses of the town – the
now-deceased Nina Kaina and Victoria Olgimskaya.
Unable to bear the pain of her visions, she
slowly turned to morphine – and in her addictions
became vulnerable to malevolent forces, such
as the Rat Prophet. She is led to false conclusions
in how to defeat the plague, despite her ragged-worn
compassion. Her role is also to be explored
more in a coming route.
Her final words; “My path was called "The
Rat Prophet." I didn't know that it was he
who whispered to me in dreams. Until the very
end, I believed it was the Earth.”
Lara Ravel is a character portrayed with more
depth; a woman with seemingly-boundless compassion
and a childhood friend to Artemiy, she remains
one of your most reliable confidants throughout
the game. Unlike the Olgimsky family, her
kindness and protection comes with no cost

English: 
nor expectation of repayment; she only asks
for your assistance in providing that same
compassion to others. However, such limitless
compassion has its drawbacks; much in the
way that the player will falter and die if
they overstretch themselves, Lara places herself
in consistent danger and can easily become
infected in her attempts to provide shelter
for the poor of the town. Her actions through
the mid-game involve requesting you provide
her water for her shelter to the poor and
destitute – an action that will cause her
district to become infected if it is carried
out.
Her family and home life is also presented
with some complexity; the daughter of a celebrated
war hero, she has inherited a house far too
large for her, and she leaves the majority
of the rooms boarded up and disused. Her respect
for her dead father’s memory appears to
be mixed with a sense of unaddressed grief;
his death still hangs over her, a sword of
Damocles in the making.
Once the stresses of the plague reach their
height, her role as a compassionate, caring
and pacifistic figure fades; General Block,

English: 
she only asks for your assistance in providing that same compassion to others.
However, such limitless compassion has its drawbacks;
much in the way that the player will falter and die if they overstretch themselves,
Lara places herself in consistent danger and can easily become infected in her attempts to provide shelter for the poor of the town.
Her actions through the mid-game involve requesting you provide her water for her shelter to the poor and the destitute –
an action that WILL cause her district to become infected if it is carried out.
Her family and home life is also presented with some complexity;
the daughter of a celebrated war hero, she has inherited a house far too large for her, and she leaves the majority of the rooms boarded up and disused.
Her respect for her dead father’s memory appears to be mixed with a sense of unaddressed grief; his death still hangs over her, a sword of Damocles in the making.
Once the stresses of the plague reach their height, her role as a compassionate, caring and pacifistic figure fades;

English: 
General Block, the military commander, was the man responsible for her father’s court martial and execution.
Once the plague has burned away the town she cares about, there is nothing to stop her carrying out her revenge –
she has very little to live for, and nothing to lose.
She is barely stopped in time, and only escapes her own execution via luck.
In the Diurnal Ending, she is found standing atop a ruined stairway, gazing out across what remains of the town.
She appears hopeful, though her words are bittersweet –
she expresses some affection towards you, and appears willing to help act as a maternal figure for the lost children you seem to have adopted.
Whether that is to lead to anything more between her and Artemiy is left intentionally vague.
Her final words; “My path was called “The Home For the Living”. Kindness guided me, but I could never know that I was to meet my father’s murderer.”
Stakh Rubin, the second of your childhood friends, also presents a complex figure.

English: 
the military commander, was the man responsible
for her father’s court martial and execution.
Once the plague has burned away the town she
cares about, there is nothing to stop her
carrying out her revenge – she has very
little to live for, and nothing to lose. She
is barely stopped in time, and only escapes
her own execution via luck.
In the Diurnal Ending she is found standing
atop a ruined stairway, gazing out across
what remains of the town. She appears hopeful,
though her words are bittersweet – she expresses
some affection towards you, and appears willing
to help act as a maternal figure for the lost
children you seem to have adopted. Whether
that is to lead to anything more between her
and Artemiy is left intentionally vague.
Her final words; “My path was called the
home for the living. Kindness guided me, but
I could never know I was to meet my father’s
murderer”
Stakh Rubin, the second of your childhood
friends, also presents a complex figure. He
remained with your father, Isador, working
as his student whilst you left home to study

English: 
medicine in the capital. Your return to the
town is met with anger and accusation by the
townsfolk, whom Stakh agrees with. For the
first few days he meets you with open hostility,
believing you are responsible for your father’s
murder. Even once this rumour is decidedly
disproven, he still regards you with hostility;
he views your failure to return to the town
in time to save your father as equivalent
to being responsible for his death – the
failure of responsibility of a doctor to save
a patient, and of a man to save his family.
He also stands in direct competition with
you in many ways; he remained your father’s
pupil whilst you did not, however you are
the person to come into your father’s legacy
and inheritance, whilst he is not. He is one
of the few physicians with any skill in the
town, and also is working on his own cure
– albeit a different one that does not rely
on the Kin. He also engages in self-destructive
and dangerous actions in order to save the
town - and, should you fail to find the cure,
he will do so in your place and pay for it

English: 
He remained with your father, Isador, working as his student whilst you left home to study medicine in the capital.
Your return to the town is met with anger and accusation by the townsfolk, whom Stakh agrees with.
For the first few days, he meets you with open hostility, believing you are responsible for your father’s murder.
Even once this rumour is decidedly disproven, he still regards you with hostility;
he views your failure to return to the town in time to save your father as equivalent to being responsible for his death –
the failure of responsibility of a doctor to save a patient, and of a man to save his family.
He also stands in direct competition with you in many ways;
he remained your father’s pupil whilst you did not, however you are the person to come into your father’s legacy and inheritance, whilst he is not.
He is one of the few physicians with any skill in the town, and is also working on his own cure – albeit a different one that does not rely directly on the Kin.
He also engages in self-destructive and dangerous actions in order to save the town –

English: 
with his life.
His means of salvation comes in the act of
desecrating the body of Simon Kain – the
second of the town’s old guard to die immediately
before your arrival. Though the full reveal
of what Simon Kain was will be revealed more
in the Bachelor’s campaign, for the purposes
of this discussion, Simon had a body that
was somehow immune to the plague. Rubin’s
actions in the game involve exhuming this
body and dissecting down its essence in order
to build a vaccine – an act that involves
the cutting of a body in a way the Kin regard
as taboo. If he is left unprotected, they
will kill him.
Eventually Rubin comes around to begrudgingly
respecting you again – and will work in
the town’s hospital and cover your shifts
whilst you exit to build your panacea. Following
the arrival of the Inquisitor, if he remains
alive, you may have your reconciliation as
he sleeps, exhausted from a week of constant
work.
If he remained alive and did not leave the

English: 
and, should you fail to find the cure, he will do so in your place and pay for it with his life.
His means of salvation comes in the act of desecrating the body of Simon Kain – the second of the town’s old guard to die immediately before your arrival.
Though the full reveal of what Simon Kain WAS will be revealed more in the Bachelor’s campaign,
for the purposes of this discussion, Simon had a body that was somehow also immune to the plague.
Rubin’s actions in the game involve exhuming this body and dissecting down its essence in order to build a vaccine –
an act that involves the cutting of a body in a way the Kin regard as taboo.
If he is left unprotected, the Kin will kill him.
Eventually, Rubin comes around to begrudgingly respecting you again –
and will work in the town’s hospital and cover your shifts whilst you exit to build your panacea.
Following the arrival of the Inquisitor, [if] he remains alive, you may have your reconciliation as he sleeps, exhausted from a week of constant work.

English: 
If he remains alive and does not leave the town to join the military, he can be found in the Diurnal Ending on the same steps as Lara –
his final reconciliation with you, an admission that you have, truly, become the man worthy of your father’s legacy.
His final words; “My path was called "The Warden", with the fruits of my sacrilege I sated the town.”
Grigory Fillin – or Griff, your last childhood friend, took a rather different path in life;
he has become the de-facto leader of the town’s criminal underworld, and your interactions with him take on a rather different tone –
his first task for you is to patch up a murderer and retrieve his shiv from the man’s gut –
however, his respect for you will not lessen even if you allow this murderer to die.
Griff’s appearance as a dangerous man, however, is shown outright to be merely a mask;
a stagehand above Griff, acting as his “conscience”, is explicit in telling you, the player, that the bravado Griff has shrouded himself in is a show,

English: 
town to join the army, he can be found in
the Diurnal Ending on the same steps as Lara
– his final reconciliation with you an admission
that you have, truly, become the man worthy
of your father’s legacy.
His final words; “My path was called The
Warden, with the fruits of my sacrilege I
sated the town.”
Grigory Fillin – or Griff, your last childhood
friend, took a rather different path in his
life; he has become the de-facto leader of
the town’s criminal underworld, and your
interactions with him take on a rather different
tone – his first task for you is to patch
up a murderer and retrieve a shiv from the
man’s gut - however his respect for you
will not lessen even if you allow this murderer
to die.
Griff’s appearance as a dangerous man, however,
is shown outright to be merely a mask; a stagehand
above Griff, acting as his quote-unquote ‘conscience’,
is explicit in telling you that the bravado

English: 
he has shrouded himself with is an act, and
that the ‘real’ Griff is the same child
you once knew, now merely playing a role of
a dangerous thug – consistent with his general
attitude of irony and mockery.
However, the dividing line of where a performance
ends and authenticity begins is a difficult
one; Griff is still indirectly responsible
for much of the violence carried out by his
men – and, though it rapidly escalates out
of his control, he does not so much try to
stop it, as regard it all through a lens of
detached irony.
This sense of ironic detachment is played
upon and heightened further in the run up
to meeting the Inquisitor; his response to
your request to blow up the train tracks is
to lead you to believe he’ll help you, then
withdraw his assistance last-minute as a demonstration
of how foolish an idea it is to fight fate.
His sense of inevitability is broken in further
when the Inquisitor arrives; the Inquisitor
shows him the nature of reality – that he
is merely a figure in a play, a part to be
acted out, that he has no means to fight his
own fate, and no means to have agency of his

English: 
and that the ‘real’ Griff is the same child you once knew, now merely playing a role of a dangerous thug –
consistent with his general attitude of irony and mockery.
However, the dividing line of where a performance ends and authenticity begins is a difficult one;
Griff is still indirectly responsible for much of the violence carried out by his men –
and, though it rapidly escalates out of his control, he does not so much try to stop it, as regard it all through a lens of detached irony.
This sense of ironic detachment is played upon and heightened further in the run up to meeting the Inquisitor;
his response to your request to blow up the train tracks is to lead you to believe he’ll help you,
then withdraw his assistance last-minute as a demonstration of how foolish an idea it is to fight fate.
His sense of inevitability is broken in further when the Inquisitor arrives;
the Inquisitor shows him the nature of reality – that he is merely a figure in a play, a part to be acted out,
that he has no means to fight his own fate, and no means to have agency of his own.

English: 
own.
His inability to change his own fate stands
in contrast to you, the player – or, at
least so it seems. You have some agency in
your actions in the game, yet, you too are
still acting out the part written for you
– for Artemiy. His final words to you, in
the Diurnal ending, reflect his changed views
on his own fate; he can never quite go back
to who he used to be, but will go into his
future, ready to play his role once more – whatever
that role may be.
His final words; “My path was not called
"The Spider," no, think wider—it was "The
Silkworm." At the end of a railroad, I pulled
strings firm… yet unaware, someone more
cunning pulled mine upstairs.”
Aglaya Lilich, the Inquisitor herself, is
a character unlike many of the others; she
has no part in the backstage play, and, no
matter what path the player chooses, she will

English: 
His inability to change his own fate stands in contrast to you, the player – or so it seems.
You have some agency in your actions in the game, yet, you too are still acting out the part written for you – for Artemiy.
His final words to you, in the Diurnal ending, reflect his changed views on his own fate;
he can never quite go back to who he used to be, but will go into his future, ready to play his role once more – whatever that role may be.
His final words; “My path was not called "The Spider," no, think wider — it was "The Silkworm."”
“At the end of a railroad, I pulled strings firm… yet somehow unaware, someone more cunning pulled mine upstairs.”
Aglaya Lilich, the Inquisitor herself, is a character unlike many of the others;
she has no part in the backstage play, and, no matter what path the player chooses, she will always die.

English: 
She has no means to escape her fate – and, most tragically, is aware of this.
Much like a tragic Greek hero, she has had her destiny foretold, and every act of struggling against it only entangles her further in the web of her inevitable fate.
She appears as cool, collected and dangerous;
the Inquisitors in general are presented as agents of the Powers that Be, those they send in to address problems that are otherwise unsolvable.
In a similar vein to Artemiy, a Menkhu, connecting the “lines” between living things,
Inquisitors are presented as being able to also draw such patterns, such lines between seemingly unconnected events,
and to use this as a way to intuit the solution to a problem.
Her intuitions prove correct;
she is aware that the Polyhedron – the enormous megastructure that seems to defy the laws of nature –
is somehow, both, connected to the manufactured miracles of the Kain’s Utopian project, and to the catastrophic plague as the Earth’s reaction.
She is aware that some characters are to have greater roles in the plague’s management than others –

English: 
always die. She has no means to escape her
fate – and, most tragically, she is aware
of this. Much like a tragic Greek hero, she
has had her destiny foretold, and every act
of struggling against it only entangles her
further in the web of her inevitable fate.
She appears as cool, collected, and dangerous;
the Inquisitors in general are presented as
agents that the Powers that Be send in to
address problems that are otherwise unsolvable.
In a similar vein to Artemiy, a Menkhu, connecting
the quote-unquote ‘lines’ between living
things, Inquisitors are presented as being
able to also draw such patterns, such lines
between seemingly-unconnected events, and
use these to intuit ways to solve problems.
Her intuitions prove correct; she is aware
that the Polyhedron – the enormous megastructure
that seems to defy the laws of nature – is
somehow connected to both the manufactured
miracles of the Kain’s Utopian project,
and the catastrophic plague as the Earth’s
reaction. She is aware that some characters
are to have greater roles in the plague’s

English: 
and, perhaps most telling, she is aware that you, Artemiy, and the player controlling him, are different to other townsfolk.
Though Artemiy is as much bound by the strings of his fate – of the script he is playing – as anyone else,
he demonstrates that this does not matter to him; what is important to him is to act according to his morals.
If he is manipulated to an external force’s benefit, that doesn’t matter to him – so long as he has acted as he sees best.
It is this quality that Aglaya believes sets Artemiy free –
even if he is still tied to his destiny, his willingness to act as he sees fit gives him more solace than she has ever managed to have for herself.
Her final acts in the game – to sign the writ of the Polyhedron’s destruction and to make her escape – are tragic;
the last desperate attempt at demonstrating her agency, by a figure who’s already known that all her efforts would be fruitless,
and yet she was compelled to try anyway.

English: 
management than others - and, perhaps most
telling, she is aware that you, Artemiy, and
the player controlling him, are different
to the other townsfolk.
Though Artemiy is as much bound by the strings
of his fate – of the script he is playing
– as anyone else, he demonstrates that this
doesn’t matter to him; what is important
to him is to act according to his morals.
If he is manipulated to an external force’s
benefit, it doesn’t matter to him – so
long as he has acted as he sees best. It is
this quality that Aglaya believes sets Artemiy
free – even if he is still tied to his destiny,
his willingness to still act as he sees fit
gives him more solace than she has ever managed.
Her final acts in the game – to sign the
writ of the Polyhedron’s destruction and
to try to make her escape – are tragic;
the last desperate attempt at demonstrating
her agency, by a figure who already knew that
her efforts would be fruitless, yet was compelled
to try anyway.
In the face of inevitability, it is sometimes

English: 
In the face of inevitability, it is sometimes better to stand and roar against your fate, against God – even if it seems pointless.
To quote Dylan Thomas; “Do not go gentle into that good night – Rage, rage against the dying of the light”.
The Utopians, as a group, have very little screen time in this iteration of the game – however, I feel it important to at least address each of them in short, here.
They’ll get more coverage in the following routes of the Bachelor and the Changeling,
but in the interim, they do still play some role in Artemiy’s view of the town and its people.
Andrei Stamatin is a charismatic, dangerous and sharp owner of the local drinking establishment, and a dealer in twyrine.
He and his troubled brother, Petr, are responsible for the creation of much of the town, and are the architects of the Polyhedron – the superstructure that defies nature.
They, along with a third architect, were also responsible for the Cathedral –

English: 
better to stand and roar against your fate,
against God – even if it seems pointless.
To quote Thomas Dylan; “Do not go gentle
into that good night – Rage, rage against
the dying of the light”.
The Utopians, as a group, have very little
screen time in this game – however I feel
it important to at least address each of them
in short, here. They’ll get more coverage
in the following routes of the Bachelor and
the Changeling, but in the interim, they do
still play a role in Artemiy’s view of the
town and its people.
Andrei Stamatin is a charismatic, dangerous
and sharp owner of the local drinking establishment,
and a dealer in twyrine. He and his troubled
brother, Petr, are responsible for the creation
of much of the town, and are the architects
of the Polyhedron – the superstructure that
defies nature. They, along with a third architect,
were also responsible for the Cathedral – a
great, looming structure in the Stone Yard

English: 
that, for all its grandeur, remains empty
and soulless. The various scattered staircases
abandoned through the town are their creations,
too – prototypes of their Polyhedron project.
Andrei remains the more upbeat of the pair
– regarding himself as the bulldozer that
clears the way for his brother’s brilliance
– though this has at times led to other
dangerous problems, including the murder of
the third architect. They have both fled to
the town for various breaches of the law – though
whether that is the law of the nation, the
Laws of Nature and Physics, or Both, is left
deliberately unclear. During the Diurnal ending,
he is seen angrily mourning the loss of the
Polyhedron, swearing revenge for its destruction.
His final words; “My path was called "Larger
Than Life." There isn't a single boundary
I haven't broken. I've done everything I ever
wanted to!”
Petr is the gentler of the pair – a troubled
artist and addict to Twyrine, the town’s
local hallucinogen of choice. His house is
littered with paint and sketches, the feverish

English: 
a great, looming structure in the Stone Yard that, for all its grandeur, remains empty and soulless.
The various scattered staircases abandoned through the town are their creations, too – prototypes of their Polyhedron project.
Andrei remains the more upbeat of the pair – regarding himself as the bulldozer that clears the way for his brother’s brilliance –
though this has at times led to other dangerous problems, including the murder of the third architect.
They have both fled to the town for various breaches of the law –
though whether that is the law of the nation, the Laws of Nature and Physics, or both, is left deliberately unclear.
During the Diurnal ending, he is seen angrily mourning the loss of the Polyhedron, swearing revenge for its destruction.
His final words; “My path was called "Larger Than Life." There isn't a single boundary I haven't broken. I've done everything I ever wanted to!”
Petr is the gentler of the pair – a troubled artist and addict to Twyrine, the town’s local hallucinogen of choice.
His house is littered with paint and sketches, the feverish scrawls of both brilliance and madness.

English: 
scrawls of both brilliance and madness. Where
his brother’s role is to demolish old boundaries
and rules, his role is to rebuild in brilliance
– or hubris, depending on your perspective.
He has some kindness and compassion in his
heart, too, and will adopt Grace, the young
gravekeeper, as a fellow misfit, if they both
survive long enough.
His final words; “My path was called "The
Calligrapher." They wouldn't let me forget
what I'd done, but they couldn't kill me.
That means this is just the beginning.”
The Kain family, much like the Olgimskys and
the Saburovs, are the third powerful family
of the town. They also are not given as much
screen time in this route as they’ll get
in subsequent routes – however their role
in the events of the game is still important.
With the creation of the Polyhedron by the
Stamatin brothers, the Kains have come across
the final means to build a utopia they’ve
always dreamed of - a transformative immortality,
and a perfect society, all in one. The true
mastermind of the project, Simon Kain, is

English: 
Where his brother’s role is to demolish old boundaries and rules, his role is to rebuild in brilliance – or hubris, depending on your perspective.
He has some kindness and compassion in his heart, too, and will adopt Grace, the young gravekeeper, a fellow misfit, if they both survive long enough.
His final words; “My path was called "The Calligrapher." They wouldn't let me forget what I'd done, but they couldn't kill me.”
“That means this is just the beginning.”
The Kain family, much like the Olgimskys and the Saburovs, are the third powerful family of the town.
They also are not given as much screen time in this route as they’ll get in subsequent routes – however, their role in the events of the game is still important.
With the creation of the Polyhedron by the Stamatin brothers, the Kains have come across the final means to build a utopia they’ve always dreamed of –
a transformative immortality, and a perfect society, all in one.
The true mastermind of the project, Simon Kain, is a brilliant, seemingly-immortal man,

English: 
however he, along with your father Isador, dies immediately before the events of the game.
The remaining Kain family are composed of Georgy, the eldest, and the town’s judge,
Victor, the husband of the late Nina Kaina – one of the deceased Clairvoyant Mistresses of the old town,
and Maria, Victor’s daughter, who is, much like Capella, also beginning to channel the spirit of her dead mother.
Victor’s younger child, Caspar Kain – otherwise known as Khan, is a character that I’ll discuss later.
Georgy Kain is shown relatively little in the game;
his main objectives appear to be to ensure the survival of the Polyhedron and the miracles of the town, and to continue the project of the deceased Simon.
To this end, despite knowing that Simon, and your father Isador Burakh, are responsible for returning the plague to the town, he does not stop them –
in the Diurnal Ending, it is shown that he regards this as a necessary step,

English: 
a brilliant, seemingly-immortal man, however
he, along with your father Isador, dies immediately
before the events of the game.
The remaining Kain family are composed of
Georgy, the eldest, and the town’s judge,
Victor, the husband of the late Nina Kaina
– one of the deceased Clairvoyant Mistresses
of the old town, and Maria, Victor’s daughter,
who is, much like Capella, also beginning
to channel the spirit of her dead mother.
Victor’s younger child, Caspar Kain – otherwise
known as Khan, is a character I’ll discuss
later.
Georgy Kain is shown relatively little in
the game; his main objectives appear to be
to ensure the survival of the Polyhedron and
the miracles of the town, and to continue
the project of the deceased Simon. To this
end, despite knowing that Simon, and your
father Isador Burakh, are responsible for
returning the plague to the town, he does
not stop them – in the Diurnal Ending, it
is shown that he regards this as a necessary
step, a sacrifice in order to advance humanity,

English: 
a sacrifice in order to advance humanity, and advance the miracles of the town, or a test that must be passed.
His house is called the Crucible, and he is shown as a man in a workshop – a sculptor and creator, of both, physical things, and of people.
His final words; “My path was called "Necrology." Few can survive the trial of death…”
“I did everything I could so that a handful might pass the test.”
Victor Kain is a man of few words – his interactions with Artemiy are very brief.
He mourns for his loss of his wife, Nina Kaina, who was once one of the Great Mistresses of the town before.
Under her guidance, the people were fearful, but loving – she was the perfect image of blood, passion and strength.
Victor’s actions and desires were to return her memory to the town, in some small way or another –
though, in the context of the Clairvoyant Mistresses, “returning” them to the town has a far more literal meaning than mere memory.

English: 
and advance the miracles of the town. His
house is called the Crucible, and he is shown
as a man in a workshop – a sculptor and
creator, both of physical things, and of people.
His final words; “My path was called "Necrology."
Few can survive the trial of death… I did
everything I could so that a handful might
pass the test.”
Victor Kain is a man of few words – his
interactions with Artemiy are very brief.
He mourns for the loss of his wife, Nina Kain,
who was one of the Great Mistresses of the
town before. Under her guidance, the people
were fearful, but loving – she was the perfect
image of blood, passion and strength. Victor’s
actions and desires were to return her memory
to the town, in some small way or another
– though, in the context of the Clairvoyant
Mistresses, ‘returning’ them to the town
has a much more literal meaning.
His final words; “My path was called "The
Mistress." I tried to anchor the memory of

English: 
His final words; “My path was called "The Mistress." I tried to anchor the memory of my unearthly wife here in this town.”
Maria Kaina is met only a few times within the game;
she is imperious, commanding and arrogant, assuming to wield great power – however, there are various instances where she seems to do this successfully.
She interacts with Clara and Capella, presuming that they three will be the New Mistresses,
and during at least one interaction alters the game’s mechanics, in order to prevent you from interrupting her further.
Through the course of the game, she appears to become more and more detached from reality,
and more involved with talking to the unseen ghost of her mother –
how much of that is her genuine clairvoyance, and how much is her perceptions of reality slipping in response to stress, is left unclear.
Her final words; “My path was called "The Return of Magic." I wanted the power to create a place of miracles, and precious anarchy.”
The last of the Utopians, unrelated to the Kains, is Eva Yan – a dreamer and lost soul.

English: 
my unearthly wife here in this town.”
Maria Kaina is met only a few times within
the game; she is imperious, commanding, and
arrogant, assuming to wield great power – however,
there are various instances where she seems
to do this successfully. She interacts with
Clara and Capella, presuming that they three
will be the New Mistresses, and during at
least one interaction alters the game mechanics
in order to prevent you interrupting her further.
Through the course of the game, she appears
to become more and more detached from reality,
and more involved with talking to the unseen
ghost of her mother – how much of that is
her genuine clairvoyance, and how much is
her perceptions of reality slipping in response
to stress, is left unclear.
Her final words; “My path was called "The
Return of Magic." I wanted the power to create
a place of miracles, and precious anarchy.”
The last of the Utopians, unrelated to the
Kains, is Eva Yahn – a dreamer and lost
soul. Living in the abandoned Observatory
– another experimental structure, like the

English: 
Cathedral and the Polyhedron. This building,
created by Farkhad, the deceased architect
that worked with the Stamatins, had its own
curse; whilst the Polyhedron could preserve
and augment a soul, the observatory, quote-unquote
“stretched it out”. Most were unable to
stay in such a house for long – except this
young woman.
Contrary to her provocatively-clad portrayal
in Pathologic 1, Eva appears somewhat dishevelled
– certainly not sexualised. Somewhat disconnected
from reality, she appears somewhat innocent
and very naive. Though it does not occur in
this version of the story, her desires are
to still provide the soul to the otherwise
soulless Cathedral – an act that in the
original game required her suicide for her
spirit to provide meaning to the otherwise
sterile stonework – though whether this
act was ever necessary is debatable. She presents
as someone who romanticises the world around
her heavily, to the point of distorting her

English: 
Living in the abandoned Observatory – another experimental structure, like the Cathedral and the Polyhedron.
This building, created by a man named Farkhad, the deceased architect that once worked with the Stamatin brothers, has its own curse;
whilst the Polyhedron could preserve and augment a soul, the observatory “stretched it out”.
Most were unable to stay in such a house for long – except for this young woman.
Contrary to her provocatively-clad portrayal in “Pathologic 1”, Eva in “Pathologic 2” appears somewhat dishevelled – certainly not sexualised.
Somewhat disconnected from reality, she appears somewhat innocent and very naive.
Though it does not occur in this version of the story, her desires are still to provide the soul to the otherwise soulless Cathedral –
an act that in the original game required her suicide for her spirit to provide meaning to otherwise sterile stonework –
though whether this act was ever necessary is debatable.
She presents as someone who romanticizes the world around her heavily, to the point of distorting her views of reality.

English: 
In the Diurnal ending, she remains alive, keen to participate in the Kains’ project for a new town – though her potential suicide is referenced.
In the Nocturnal ending, she can be seen dancing with Steppe girls – trying to immerse herself and find meaning in a culture that will never truly accept her.
Her final words; “My path was once called "Goldilocks," but then I wanted to offer my soul to the Cathedral, so that it would hold something truly immortal.”
Yulia Lyuricheva, whilst not one of the Utopians, is still adjacent to them in her role in the town;
where Andrei and Petr Stamatin are the architects of the wondrous creations, Yulia is the engineer that built the roadmap of the town –
the alleyways and streets, mapping them out more as vessels in an organism than crossroads in a planned city.
Her role is also one of compassion, however, hers is more detached than Lara’s; she assists how she can in the hospital, though her role there is brief and limited.

English: 
views of reality.
In the Diurnal ending, she remains alive,
keen to participate in the Kains’ project
for a new town – though her potential suicide
is referenced. In the Nocturnal ending, she
can be seen dancing with Steppe girls – trying
to immerse herself and find meaning in a culture
that will never truly accept her.
Her final words; “My path was once called
"Goldilocks," but then I wanted to offer my
soul to the Cathedral, so that it would hold
something truly immortal.”
Yulia Lurecheva, whilst not one of the Utopians,
is still adjacent to them in her role in the
town; where Andrei and Petr Stamatin are the
architects of the wondrous creations, Yulia
is the engineer that built the roadmap of
the town – the alleyways and streets, mapping
them out more as vessels in an organism than
crossroads in a planned city. Her role is
also one of compassion, however hers is more
detached than Lara’s; she assists how she
can in the hospital, though her role there
is brief and limited. Her soul will be bared

English: 
Her soul will be bared more in an upcoming route.
Her final words; “My path was called the "Tripwires of Fate."”
“I built the roads of this town such that humans became red blood cells in its veins, and I laid bare the logic of imminence.”
Anna Angel, perhaps, is one of the characters most draped in mystery.
A figure who never truly reveals any truth to anyone, she is a shallow, vain mysophobe.
She is dressed in an enormous parka that entirely drenches her form and shields her from any real view throughout the game,
and the fragments of her history learned from other figures paint a mixed and confusing picture;
a woman who once travelled with a circus known as the Diamond Caravan, she was very likely involved in the kidnapping of children –
and, according to some, may have been involved in their murder.
She spends her time in the game berating you for leading the infection to her door,
hiding in her room, and occasionally trying to break into infected houses to “rescue” a child –

English: 
more in an upcoming route.
Her final words; “My path was called "Tripwires
of Fate." I built the roads of this town such
that humans became red blood cells in its
veins, and I laid bare the logic of imminence”
Anna Angel is, perhaps, one of the characters
most draped in mystery. A figure who never
really reveals any truth to anyone, she is
a shallow, vain mysophobe. She is seen dressed
in an enormous parka that entirely drenches
her form and shields her from any real view
throughout the game, and the fragments of
her history learned from other figures paint
a mixed and confusing picture; a woman who
once travelled with a circus known as the
Diamond Caravan, she was very likely involved
in the kidnapping of children – and, according
to some, may have been involved in their murder.
She spends her time in the game berating you
for leading the infection to her door, hiding
in her room, and occasionally trying to break

English: 
into infected houses to quote-unquote “rescue”
a child – an act cynically done to earn
pardon for her past crimes, rather than for
any sense of compassion. Wearing several layers
of fake personas and false identities, it
is unclear if even she knows who she really
is, underneath it all - when performer and
performance blend together, and the performances
are all based on lies, the result beneath
is hollow – a shell of inauthenticity. Her
actions appear to only have cynical motives;
means of hiding herself further or avoiding
discovery for who she really is. Even in the
final moments of the game, she still shows
only childish fear and further obfuscation
of her identity. Though her story is to be
explored further in an upcoming route, she
remains the living embodiment of the phrase,
“the mortifying ordeal of being known”.
Her final words; “My path was called "The
Angel of Death." I'm not sure, myself, why
I was in the Caravan… ...forgive me, please!

English: 
an act cynically done to earn pardon for past crimes, rather than for any sense of compassion.
Wearing several layers of fake personas and false identities, it is unclear if she even knows who she really is, underneath it all –
when performer and performance blend together, and the performances are all based on lies, the result beneath is a hollow shell of inauthenticity.
Her actions appear only to have cynical motives; means of hiding herself further or avoiding discovery for who she really is.
Even in the final moments of the game, she still only shows childish fear and further obfuscation of her identity.
Though her story is to be explored further in an upcoming route, she remains the living embodiment of the phrase, “the mortifying ordeal of being known”.

English: 
I promise I'll be good!”
The remaining children of the town are the
main group that Artemiy is destined to protect;
in his goal of creating a future town where
they may continue their culture and future,
Artemiy’s path is distinctly a forward-facing
one. His role in nurturing and protecting
the town’s future is most closely seen in
his actions to protect the other kids.
Notkin, the first of the kids that Artemiy
interacts with, is presented as an adolescent,
clad in too-big clothes, one foot still in
childhood, and with a connection to simple,
more earthly things, like playing with cats
and dogs – in opposition to the rival gang
that plays with dreams and polyhedrons. He,
like the adults before him, represents the
town’s future connection to nature, and
to its own humanity; his first interaction
with you is one of imploring justice – a
very human question of whether it is ever
justified to kill another man. This question
returns to haunt you at multiple parts throughout

English: 
Her final words; “My path was called "The Angel of Death." I'm not sure, myself, why I was in the Caravan… ...forgive me, please! I promise I'll be good!”
The remaining children of the town are the main group that Artemiy is destined to protect;
in his goal of creating a future town where they may continue their culture and future, Artemiy’s path is distinctly a forward-facing one.
His role in nurturing and protecting the town’s future is most closely seen in his actions to protect the other children.
Notkin, the first of the kids that Artemiy interacts with, is presented as an adolescent,
clad in too-big clothes, one foot still in childhood, and with a connection to simple, more earthly things, like playing with cats and dogs –
and lies in opposition to the rival gang that plays with dreams and polyhedrons.
He, like the adults before him, represents the town’s future connection to nature, and to its own humanity;
his first interaction with you is one of imploring justice – a very human question of whether it is ever justified to kill another man.
This question returns to haunt you at multiple parts throughout the game –

English: 
and the fact that it is put to you by an earnest teenager, a child, albeit not an entirely innocent one, lends it more poignancy.
Notkin’s childlike naivety is contrasted by his attempts to be a sombre and serious leader –
going so far as to semi-adopt the stay kids of the town, and attempt to protect them and save their lives when plague breaks out.
His attempts to investigate an infected house with you are a noble endeavour – though a costly one, likely to infect him.
Of all the characters in the game, he is most likely to be the first that is infected – and, even if cured, the most likely to be re-infected and the most likely to die.
In your dreams, the Powers that Be comment that they believe he will be the first to venture through the door to death.
In the Diurnal Ending, he can be found listening to the words of Taya Tycheek – the future of the town’s earthly endeavours resting on his slender shoulders.

English: 
the game – and the fact that it is put to
you by an earnest teenager, a child, albeit
not an entirely-innocent one, lends it more
poignancy.
Notkin’s childlike naivety is contrasted
by his attempts to be a sombre and serious
leader – going so far as to semi-adopt the
stay kids of the town, and attempt to protect
them and save their lives when the plague
breaks out. His attempts to investigate an
infected house with you are a noble endeavour
– though a costly one, highly likely to
infect him.
Of all the characters in the game, he is most
likely to be the first that is infected – and,
even if cured, the most likely to be re-infected
and most likely to die. In your dreams, the
Powers that Be comment that they believe he
will be the first to venture through the door
to death. In the Diurnal Ending, he can be
found listening to the words of Taya Tycheek
– the future of the town’s earthly endeavours
resting on his small shoulders.
His final words: “My path was called "A

English: 
Half-Soul More." I wanted to create a real
utopia, a fraternity of boys and pups, girls
and kittens, tots and cubs…”
Standing in opposition to Notkin is Caspar
Kain – otherwise referred to as Khan. Much
as Artemiy is of the earth and Daniil, the
Bachelor, is of the Polyhedron and Utopian
dreams, such is the dynamic of Notkin and
Khan. Bold, assuming, and not entirely kind,
he is far more a boy trying to play the role
of a harsh king, than a forever-young Peter
Pan in a forever-childish Polyhedron. He takes
his responsibility with some seriousness,
bordering on the precocious – reflected
in the small snippets seen of him in interacting
with Capella, and his sense of duty in clearing
the House of the Dead. He is otherwise an
unusual one for Artemiy to protect, more resembling
the other Utopians than anyone else – however,
he is to be part of the town’s future balance.
His role, as seen in the Diurnal Ending, is
to one day marry Capella Olgimskaya, and form

English: 
His final words: “My path was called "A Half-Soul More." I wanted to create a real utopia, a fraternity of boys and pups, girls and kittens, tots and cubs…”
Standing in opposition to Notkin is Caspar Kain – otherwise referred to as Khan.
Much as Artemiy is of the earth and Daniil, the Bachelor, is of the Polyhedron and Utopian dreams, such is the dynamic of Notkin and Khan.
Bold, assuming, and not entirely kind, he is far more a boy trying to play the role of a harsh king, than a forever-young Peter Pan in a forever-childish Polyhedron.
He takes his responsibility with some seriousness, bordering on the precocious –
reflected in the small snippets seen of him in interacting with Capella, and his sense of duty in clearing the House of the Dead.
He is otherwise an unusual one for Artemiy to protect, more resembling the other Utopians than anyone else – however, he is to be part of the town’s future balance.
His role, as seen in the Diurnal Ending, is to one day marry Capella Olgimskaya, and form a new dynasty –

English: 
joining the Utopian dreamers to the future representative of the common townsfolk.
His final words: “My path was called "The High Day."”
“If not for the plague, I'd have seized power from the adults and instituted a dictatorship of the children. But Capella... Capella had a better idea.”
The next two children that you encounter form the emotional core to the story; Sticky and Murky.
These kids, their birth names forgotten, are both orphans, and both look to you as a father figure – and both, in turn, remind you of your own father’s actions.
The first, Sticky, is a young boy, barely past twelve years old, and orphaned after his father went to war and his mother died due to sickness.
In the years before your return to the town, your father, Isador, treated him with some kindness,
and allowed him to stay in his warehouse and tinker with the potion-makers and equipment.
Though lacking anything much of a formal education, he is sharp-witted and able to assist you on more than one occasion –

English: 
a new dynasty – joining the Utopian dreamers
to the future representative of the common
townsfolk.
His final words: “My path was called "The
High Day." If not for the plague, I'd have
seized power from the adults and instituted
a dictatorship of the children. But Capella...
Capella had a better idea.”
The next two children that you encounter form
an emotional core to the story; Sticky and
Murky. These kids, their birth names forgotten,
are both orphans, and both look to you as
a father figure – and both, in turn, remind
you of your own father’s actions.
The first, Sticky, is a young boy, barely
past twelve years old, and orphaned after
his father went to war and his mother died
to sickness. In the years before your return
to the town, your father, Isador, treated
him with some kindness, and allowed him to
stay in his warehouse and tinker with his
potion-makers and equipment. Though lacking
anything much of a formal education, he is
sharp-witted and able to assist you on more
than one occasion – the most memorable of
which being when he offers to help sneak into

English: 
the most memorable of which being when he offers to help sneak into a store and steal you vital equipment, whilst you distract the shop’s owner.
Without fully understanding exactly what you’re doing, he still watches your work keenly, and can offer helpful advice on occasion.
His memories of your father are fond ones – of a caring, paternal grandparent who looked after the town and its people.
His role is both to act in place of a son and future pupil of yours, and to remind you of Isador’s kindness and compassion –
the positivity with which he regards you as a father figure is the same positivity that you regarded your own father.
Murky, in contrast, offers you a confused and conflicting relationship, reflecting the confused parts of your own relationship with Isador, your father.
A young, homeless girl, she first meets you in Notkin’s lair, and seems wary and hostile towards you.
Despite this hostility, she still seems to follow you, every so often latching onto you as a figure of strength –
each time, letting you in a little bit, but each time also clamming up if pushed too far.

English: 
a store and steal you vital equipment, whilst
you distract the shop’s owner. Without fully
understanding exactly what you’re doing,
he still watches your work keenly, and can
offer helpful advice on occasion. His memories
of your father are fond ones – of a caring,
paternal grandparent who looked after the
town and its people. His role is both to act
in place of a son and future pupil of yours,
and to remind you of Isador’s kindness and
compassion – the positivity with which he
regards you as a father figure is the same
positivity that you regarded your own father.
Murky, in contrast, offers you a confused
and conflicting relationship, reflecting the
conflicted parts of your own relationship
with your father. A young, homeless girl,
she first meets you in Notkin’s lair, and
seems wary and hostile towards you. Despite
this hostility, she still seems to follow
you, every so often latching onto you as a
figure of strength – each time, letting
you in a little bit, but each time also clamming
up if pushed too much. Eventually you come

English: 
to realise she stays, homeless and alone,
in a box car outside of town – littered
with small tokens, childlike drawings, things
of value to her – but still open to the
elements, cold, and lonely. Her destitution
is reflected in her appearance, too; unwashed,
unkempt clothing and hair, dirt on her face,
she is already in a position of vulnerability
long before the game begins – and, in this
regard, becomes the embodiment of those you
need to protect within the town, acting as
a quote-unquote “conscience on dirty feet”.
This role as your de-facto conscience is revealed
to be even more apt when her background becomes
revealed to you; her homelessness, her destitution,
her orphanhood were all things caused by your
own father, Isador. During the previous outbreak
of the plague, he quarantined an area of the
poor district – dooming many people to death,
including Murky’s mother and father. Her
view of Isador is therefore far more tainted;
she sees him as a monster, committing monstrous
deeds, in the name of something she is too
young to understand.

English: 
Eventually, you come to realize she stays, homeless and alone, in a boxcar outside of town –
littered with small tokens, childlike drawings, things of value to her – but still open to the elements, cold, and lonely.
Her destitution is reflected in her appearance, too;
unwashed, unkempt clothing and hair, dirt on her face, she is already in a position of vulnerability long before the game begins –
and, in this regard, becomes the embodiment of those you need to protect within the town, acting as a “conscience on dirty feet”.
This role as your de-facto conscience is revealed to be even more apt when her background becomes revealed to you;
her homelessness, her destitution, her orphanhood were all things caused by your own father, Isador.
During the previous outbreak of the plague, he quarantined an area of the poor district – dooming many people to death, including Murky’s mother and father.
Her view of Isador is therefore far more tainted;
she sees him as a monster, committing monstrous deeds, in the name of something she is too young to understand.

English: 
In both the Diurnal and Nocturnal ending,
Sticky and Murky remain your wards – they,
as the children you have effectively adopted,
will follow your path, wherever that may lead.
In the Diurnal ending, Sticky is to become
your future pupil, and Murky is given a home
under your roof. In the Nocturnal ending,
Sticky remains your pupil – though of a
different sort, and Murky, in some strange
irony, is the one to offer you her boxcar
as a roof over your head.
His final words: “My path was called "In
Defiance." I almost tracked down that weird
creature, but then I found a better goal.
I'm going to become a real doctor.”
Her final words; “And my path was called
"Feed the Doll." I also wanted to be with
Mom and Dad.”
The Kin
Taya Tycheek, the last of the children under
your care, is found within the Termitary,
and viewed as a Holy Child by the Kin who

English: 
In both the Nocturnal and Diurnal ending, Sticky and Murky remain your wards –
they, as the children you have effectively adopted, will follow your path, wherever that may lead.
In the Diurnal ending, Sticky is to become your future pupil, and Murky is given a home under your roof.
In the Nocturnal ending, Sticky remains your pupil – though of a much different sort,
and Murky, in some strange irony, is the one to offer YOU her boxcar as a roof over YOUR head.
His final words: “My path was called "In Defiance." I almost tracked down that weird creature, but then I found a better goal. I'm going to become a real doctor.”
Her final words; “And my path was called "Feed the Doll." I also wanted to be with Mom and Dad.”

English: 
Taya Tycheek, the last of the children under your care, is found within the Termitary, and viewed as a Holy Child by the Kin who live there.
The daughter of the now-deceased Overseer, she is afforded a leadership position –
a strange contrast, as the biggest, most brutish and scariest of the peoples met in the game are led by the smallest and youngest girl.
She is clearly adored by the Kin who follow her, and she and they feel a sense of solidarity;
despite your best efforts at cajoling and persuading, she refuses to leave the Termitary unless all the Kin may leave with her.
Despite her commanding the power over the entirety of the Kin, she is still, at heart, a very young and immature child –
even in her final speeches in the Diurnal Ending of the game, her moral edicts are interspersed with commands about candy, and other such childish things.
In many ways, this immaturity reflects the position of the Kin;
in a new world, their old ways have died out, and their own rebirth and re-learning their place [in it] must also ensue.
In the Diurnal ending, she is seen giving out her new commands as the moral and quasi-religious leader of what remains of the Kin –

English: 
live there. The daughter of the now-deceased
Overseer, she is afforded a leadership position
– a strange contrast, as the biggest, most
brutish and scariest of the peoples met in
the game are led by the smallest and youngest
girl. She is clearly adored by the Kin who
follow her, and she and they feel a sense
of solidarity; despite your best efforts at
cajoling and persuading, she refuses to leave
the Termitary unless all the Kin may leave
with her.
Despite her commanding the power over the
entirety of the Kin, she is still, at heart,
a very young and immature child – even in
her final speeches in the Diurnal Ending of
the game, her moral edicts are interspersed
with commands about candy, and other such
things. In many ways, this immaturity reflects
the position of the Kin; in a new world, their
old ways have died out, and their own rebirth
and re-learning their place in it must also
ensue.
In the Diurnal ending, she is seen giving
out her new commands as the moral and quasi-religious
leader of what remains of the Kin – merely
play-acting a role, but acting it with such

English: 
confidence that it should eventually become
a truly authentic one. In the Nocturnal ending,
she is seen, sitting atop the Polyhedron,
once more inheriting her role as a soon-to-be
Clairvoyant Mistress of the town, the Mistress
of the Bulls.
Her final words; “My path was called…
something or another. I forget. Had something…
something to do with bulls.”
Aspity, an unusual witch-like woman, scarred
and haggard, with a blown pupil, is one of
the few other members of the kin with whom
you have closer interactions. She speaks for
the Kin, and speaks for the future that she
wishes for them. She is first met in the graveyard
outside the town, burying your father’s
body alongside the rest of the Kin, and approaches
you afterwards to give you your father’s
inheritance – both in his physical effects,
and in the burden of his responsibility. She
holds you with affection and compassion, and
in you she rests the hopes of the future of
the Kin – going as far as dying to protect

English: 
merely play-acting a role, but acting it with such confidence that it should eventually become a truly authentic one.
In the Nocturnal ending, she is seen, sitting atop the Polyhedron, once more inheriting her role as a soon-to-be Clairvoyant Mistress of the town,
the Mistress of the Bulls.
Her final words; “My path was called… something or other. I forget. Had something… something to do with bulls.”
Aspity, an unusual witch-like woman, scarred and haggard, with a blown pupil,
is one of the few other members of the kin with whom you have closer interactions.
She speaks for the Kin, and speaks for the future that she wishes for them.
She is first met in the graveyard outside the town, burying your father’s body alongside the rest of the Kin,
and approaches you afterwards to give you your father’s inheritance – both in his physical effects, and in the burden of his responsibility.
She holds you with affection and compassion, and in you she rests the hopes of the future of the Kin –

English: 
you, if you let her treat the children in
Notkin’s warehouse in your stead.
By nightfall, she is found in her burnt-out
house on the edge of town, approached by various
members of the Kin; in them, she speaks of
ideals of rebellion, of reclaiming the land
back from the town, and of allowing the Kin
to return their world of Bulls, of Miracles,
of Animism to the steppe.
Her predictions about the cause of the plague
are not unfounded; the town and its leadership,
in building the Polyhedron, did sink a spike
deep into the heart of the Earth – a truth
that you literally see for yourself. Her solution
is, however, the unusual one; her ideals call
for a return to the past, and not a pursuit
of the future.
In the Diurnal ending, she is one of the few
characters that will berate you and mourn
your choice to remove the Polyhedron and let
the Earth’s blood spill. In the Nocturnal
ending, in the return to the past world of
Miracles, she lauds your choice; whilst nearly
every other character has died or left, or
been changed alongside the changed world,
Aspity is finally at peace – her prophesies

English: 
going as far as dying to protect you, if you let her treat the children in Notkin’s warehouse in your place.
By nightfall, she is found in her burnt-out house on the edge of town, approached by various members of the Kin;
in them, she speaks of ideals of rebellion, of reclaiming the land back from the town, and of allowing the Kin to return their world of Bulls, of Miracles and of Animism.
Her predictions about the cause of the plague are not unfounded;
the town and its leadership, in building the Polyhedron, did sink a spike deep into the heart of the Earth – a truth that you literally see for yourself.
Her solution, however, is the unusual one; her ideals call for a return to the past, and not a pursuit of the future.
In the Diurnal ending, she is one of the few characters that will berate you and mourn your choice to remove the Polyhedron and let the Earth’s blood spill.
In the Nocturnal ending, in the return to the past world of Miracles, she lauds your choice;
whilst nearly every other character has died or left, or been changed alongside the changed world, Aspity is finally at peace –

English: 
her prophesies of a return to the old ways were carried out, and her hopes in you proved true.
Her final words; “My path was called “Earth”. I could have told you all why the black soil is not to blame for this catastrophe.”
Foreman Oyun – one of the last surviving members of the Kindred, appears relatively late in the game.
A giant of a man, he is first seen dressed in steppe garb, wearing an enormous Bull-mask; every bit a half-man, half-animal minotaur.
In this, he reflects the nature of the Kin themselves; one foot in humanity, one foot in the mythical past – a past that Oyun, himself, describes as an animalistic one.
Whilst he is not an unintelligent character, his views are traditional and narrow;
he understands the world in the Kin’s terms, and bids you engage in [his] tasks in the Kin’s ways.
Despite his attempt at command, he is an unfortunately powerless character;

English: 
of a return to the ways of old were carried
out, and her hopes in you proved true.
Her final words; “My path was called Earth.
I could have told you all why the black soil
is not to blame for this catastrophe”
Foreman Oyun – one of the last surviving
leaders of the Kindred, appears relatively
late in the game. A giant of a man, he is
first seen dressed in steppe garb, wearing
an enormous Bull-mask; every bit a half-man,
half-animal minotaur. In this, he reflects
the nature of the Kin themselves; one foot
in humanity, one foot in the past – a past
that Oyun, himself, describes as an animalistic
one. Whilst he is not an unintelligent character,
his views are traditional and narrow; he understands
the world in the Kin’s terms, and bids you
engage in his tasks in the Kin’s ways.
Despite his attempt at command, he is an unfortunately
powerless character; where he feels his role
should be one of respected strength within

English: 
the Kin, he is in fact only to act as an overseer,
an underling to the Olgimsky family. The world
he understands is slowly dying out, and he,
like the Aurochs before him, is soon to fade
with it. He was, in fact, always your father’s
murderer – though this was a mercy-killing
of a feverish, infected and unwell man – the
culling of a sick member to protect the herd
as a whole.
The world around him is moving on, whilst
his ways are stagnant and unfruitful; despite
believing in the Way of Strength, he is forced
to kill Isador – a man he believes is wiser,
stronger, and more worthy of leadership. He
is locked away from the Termitary, unable
to get back to his people. In his struggles
to return, he is shot like a dog by Olgimsky’s
guards. He is unable to find the mythical
Aurochs to save the town. His raw strength
means little in a world more composed of industry
than magic.
On the discovery that he murdered your father,

English: 
where he feels his role should be one of respected strength within the Kin, he is in fact only to act as an overseer, an underling to the Olgimsky family.
The world he understands is slowly dying out, and he, like the Aurochs before him, is soon to fade with it.
He was, in fact, always your father’s murderer – though this was a mercy-killing of a feverish, infected and unwell man –
the culling of a sick member to protect the herd as a whole.
The world around him is moving on, whilst his ways are stagnant and unfruitful;
despite believing in the Way of Strength, he is forced to kill Isador – a man he believes is wiser, stronger, and more worthy of leadership.
He is locked away from the Termitary, unable to get back to his people. In his struggles to return, he is shot like a dog by the Olgimsky’s guards.
He is unable to find the mythical Aurochs to save the town. His raw strength means little in a world more composed of machinery and industry than magic.

English: 
you may confront him about this; he does not
fight you, and is willing to succumb to your
judgement – the last marks of honour in
his fading life. If you choose that he should
die, he will be sacrificed within the abattoir,
and you will dig the grave for his corpse.
If you allow him to live, he may be seen in
the Diurnal ending, also listening to Taya
Tycheek’s sermon.
His final words; “I am a servant. Broken,
by another’s will”
The Stage
The Play itself is orchestrated by those backstage;
on a meta level, the ‘true’ backstage,
in the real world, is the game’s developers
– but, in true form to Pathologic these
boundaries are somewhat blurry; they have
their own appearances within the game, and
their avatars became characters in their own
right.
The Director of the whole play, Mark Immortell,
is an enigmatic and aloof figure – eccentric
in appearance, and sadistic in his outlook,

English: 
On the discovery that he murdered your father, you may confront him about this;
he does not fight you, and is willing to succumb to your judgement – the last marks of honor in his fading life.
If you choose that he should die, he will be sacrificed within the Abattoir, and you will dig the grave for his corpse.
If you allow him to live, he may be seen in the Diurnal ending, also listening to Taya Tycheek’s sermon.
His final words; “I am a servant. Broken, by another’s will.”
The Play itself is orchestrated by those backstage;
on a meta level, the “true” backstage, in the real world, is the game’s developers – but, in true form to “Pathologic”, these boundaries are somewhat blurry;
they have their own appearances within the game, and their avatars became characters in their own right.
The Director of the whole play, Mark Immortell, is an enigmatic and aloof figure –

English: 
eccentric in appearance, and sadistic in his outlook, his entire goal is to deliver the most engaging possible performance to his audience.
He has no past, no future, and, if he should appear within the game, there is a distinct impression that it is part of an Intended Scene that he has arranged.
There is some blurring of lines, as you, the player, are both Actor and Audience, all at once;
the main times he will interact with you are if you should fail, die, and end up in his backstage arena.
His ongoing discussions with you through these repeated encounters with death are of an interesting nature;
on one level, he will criticise you for your failure to adequately play the role of Artemiy Burakh correctly,
yet on the other, he will praise you for your individuality and ability to make your own decisions.
On one hand, he will berate you for succumbing to death,
but on the other, he will only discuss the MEANING of death with you, should you die enough times.
His outlook is eventually laid bare;
his Theater of Cruelty is, in a Brechtian sense, a critique of video games, of conventional storytelling, and even of most Western philosophy.

English: 
his entire goal is to deliver the most engaging
possible performance to his audience. He has
no past, no future, and, if he should appear
within the game, there is the distinct impression
that it is part of an Intended Scene that
he has arranged. There is some blurring of
lines, as you, the player, are both Actor
and Audience at once; the main times he will
interact with you are if you should fail,
die, and end up in his backstage arena.
His ongoing discussions with you through these
repeated encounters with death are of an interesting
nature; on one level, he will criticise you
for your failure to adequately play the role
of Artemiy Burakh correctly, yet on another
will praise you for your individuality and
ability to make your own decisions. On one
hand, he will berate you for succumbing to
death, and yet on the other will only discuss
the meaning of death with you should you die
enough times.
His outlook is eventually laid bare; his Theatre
of Cruelty is, in a Brechtian sense, a critique
of video games, of conventional storytelling,

English: 
It is difficult to fully say what his entire thesis is, as there are still two more campaigns to be released –
but it is apparent that it is, in his view, only through facing suffering, death and inevitability that we can truly learn from it.
In the Haruspex’s case, the eventual lesson is deceptively simple;
Death can be avoided through something greater than the sum of one’s body;
that it may be, in some senses, defeated through a community, through forging a future that extends beyond your own,
and through your own sense of self becoming tied to more than just your single, frail, physical body.
This lesson, however, is not likely to be the only one drawn; the Bachelor and the Changeling are likely to draw markedly different conclusions.
Mark Immortell, for his part, is merely there to foster the analysis and the criticism – to guide you to your own conclusions, not to dictate answers.
Though he is a voice of the developers, he is nevertheless distinct from them –

English: 
and even of most Western philosophy. It is
difficult to fully say what his entire thesis
is, as there are still two more campaigns
to be released – but it is apparent that
it is, in his view, only through facing suffering,
death, and inevitability that we can truly
learn from it. In the Haruspex’s case, the
eventual lesson is deceptively simple; Death
can be avoided through something greater than
the sum of one’s body; that it may be, in
some senses, defeated through a community,
through forging a future that extends beyond
your own, and through your own sense of self
becoming tied to more than just your single,
frail, physical body. This lesson, however,
is likely not to be the only one drawn; the
Bachelor and the Changeling are likely to
draw markedly different conclusions. Mark
Immortell, for his part, is merely there to
foster the analysis and the criticism – to
guide you to your own conclusions, not to
dictate answers.
Though he is a voice of the developers, he
is nevertheless distinct from them – both

English: 
an in-universe character, and a real-world
reference point to hang the story upon.
The Fellow Traveller is another figure that
blurs the boundaries between the stage, the
backstage, and the role of the audience and
player. In the opening tutorial, laced with
metaphor, you find yourself in a traincar
– a cramped wooden box. Within your traincar,
the Fellow Traveller is first met as he steps
out of a coffin – another cramped wooden
box. In the vein of much Russian folklore,
he is travelling alongside you – perhaps
to the same destination, and has his own agenda,
too, and appears enigmatic, inscrutable, and
very likely someone not to be trusted.
Though it is never explicitly stated, the
Fellow Traveller appears to be Death itself
– on a meta level, Death comes to the town
alongside you, the player; the game would
not occur, the stage would not be set, and
its characters wouldn’t be subjected to
the plague unless you, the player, chose to
play.
The Traveller tells you that he is also coming

English: 
both an in-universe character, and a real-world reference [point] to hang the story upon.
The Fellow Traveller is another figure that blurs the boundaries between the stage, the backstage, and the role of the audience and player.
In the opening tutorial, laced with metaphor, you find yourself in a traincar – a cramped wooden box.
Within your traincar, the Fellow Traveller is first met as he steps out of a coffin – another cramped wooden box.
Much in the vein of Russian folklore, he is travelling alongside you – perhaps to the same destination,
and has his own agenda, too, and appears enigmatic, inscrutable, and very likely not someone to be trusted.
Though it is never explicitly stated, the Fellow Traveller appears to be Death itself – on a meta level, Death comes to the town alongside you, the player;
the game would not occur, the stage would not be set, and its characters wouldn’t be subjected to the plague unless you, the player, chose to play.

English: 
The Traveller tells you that he is also coming to the town, to take something of a Harvest, of sorts – a harvest of lives, innocent or not.
He, however, appears not only to be Death of the townsfolk, but the Death of the Play itself.
His role is to disrupt the play – where Mark Immortell’s actions are to push the game into further levels of suffering,
the Fellow Traveller appears, and will trade you extremely valuable items in return for junk, disrupting the intended tragedy.
Where the game will prevent you from buying food after the Inquisitor’s arrival, and shops will only trade in food coupons,
the Fellow Traveller will sell you these coupons at a vastly reduced rate.
Perhaps though, most tellingly, where Mark Immortell will punish you for dying, and apply more and more penalties to your character,
the Traveller will offer to remove all those penalties.
For a price.
With all the suffering removed, all the intended purpose of the Theatre of Cruelty, the purpose of Mark’s play, the purpose of tragedy itself becomes obsolete –

English: 
to the town, to take something of a Harvest,
of sorts – a harvest of lives, innocent
or not. He, however, appears to be not only
the Death of the townsfolk, but the Death
of the Play itself. His role is to disrupt
the play – where Mark Immortell’s actions
are to push the game into further levels of
suffering, the Fellow Traveller appears, and
will trade you extremely valuable items in
return for junk, disrupting the intended tragedy.
Where the game will prevent you from buying
food after the Inquisitor’s arrival, and
shops will only trade in food coupons, the
Fellow Traveller will sell you these coupons
at a vastly reduced rate.
Perhaps, most tellingly, where Mark Immortell
will punish you for dying, and apply more
and more penalties to your character, the
Traveller will offer to remove all those penalties.
For a price.
With all the suffering removed, all the intended
purpose of the Theatre of Cruelty, the purpose

English: 
of Mark’s play becomes obsolete – the
Fellow Traveller has killed it. On completion
of the game under these terms, the final day,
the ending of the game is removed. Death,
in the end, won – and in the place of a
narrative conclusion comes an abrupt cutoff,
heralded by Mark Immortell and the other actors
upon the stage informing you of your failure.
In this, the Fellow Traveller provides the
counter-thesis to Mark Immortell’s treatise
on Death – he clarifies what Death is. Death
is not merely the ending of a life, or the
absence of it – but the removal of meaning
itself. Even in the suffering portrayed by
Mark Immortell, all of it had meaning – tragedy,
emotion, passion, despair, fate – all of
it. In the world the Fellow Traveller wreaks,
this meaning is snuffed out, and all that
is left is a hollow Nihilism.
The short version; don’t take the deal.
It won’t help you.

English: 
the Fellow Traveller has killed it.
On completion of the game under these terms, the final day, the ENDING of the game is removed.
Death, in the end, won – and in the place of a narrative conclusion comes an abrupt cutoff,
heralded by Mark Immortell and the other actors upon the stage informing you of your failure.
In this, the Fellow Traveller provides the counter-thesis to Mark Immortell’s treatise on Death – he clarifies what Death IS.
Death is not merely the ending of a life, or the absence of it – but the removal of meaning itself.
Even in the suffering portrayed by Mark Immortell, all of it had meaning – tragedy, emotion, passion, despair, fate – all of it.
In the world the Fellow Traveller brings, this meaning is snuffed out, and all that is left is a hollow Nihilism.
The short version; don’t take the deal. It won’t help you.

English: 
The Stagehands, too, form an equally important
part of the running of the play – appearing
as morph-suit clad Tragedeans, or tall, imposing,
bird-beaked Executors. They form another blurred
part of the stage’s boundaries – on one
hand, within the stage play, orderlies dress
themselves up with protective cloaks borrowed
from the town’s local theatre – bird-beaks
and masks included. These protective cloaks
serve to keep the orderlies moderately shielded
from the plague, yet also appear as literal
omens of death – carrion-fowl arriving to
prey on the deceased. On another level, such
stage-cloaks are worn by the fourth-wall-breaking
stagehands, who inform the player of what
they are to do, and then return to playing
their assigned characters.
To quote the game’s design documents;
“There are the events taking place in the
town, which are real. And there is their stage
adaptation, which is also real. There are
the actors who play the protagonists and reenact
the events of their lives (since upon loading,
you’re reliving that short—or not so short—stretch

English: 
The Stagehands, too, form an equally important part of the running of the play – appearing as morph-suit clad Tragedeans, or tall, imposing, bird-beaked Executors.
They form another blurred part of the stage’s boundaries –
on one hand, within the stage play, orderlies dress themselves up with protective cloaks borrowed from the town’s local theater – bird-beaks and masks included.
These protective cloaks serve to keep the orderlies moderately shielded from the plague, yet also appear as literal omens of death –
carrion-fowl arriving to prey on the deceased.
On another level, such stage-cloaks are worn by fourth-wall-breaking stagehands,
who inform the player of what they are to do, and then return back to playing their assigned characters.
To quote the game’s design documents;
“There are the events taking place in the town, which are real. And there is their stage adaptation, which is also real.”
“There are the actors who play the protagonists and re-enact the events of their lives”
“(since upon loading, you’re reliving that short — or not so short — stretch of their deathbound journey).”

English: 
of their deathbound journey. The actor walks
out into the town, looking for inspiration,
“walking the hero’s paths”.
And there’s a fluid ambiguity in not having
a clear way of telling who you are right now:
the real Haruspex or Bachelor, living his
life, about to die—or an actor playing his
part and thus getting a chance to go back
to the past?”
The final character from the Backstage to
appear is the Rat Prophet; an unusual figure,
he also blurs the bounds between the fiction
of the game and the meta-fiction of the stage.
He appears to be, in some ways, demonic – yet
he is not a Creature of the Steppe, as many
of the magical beings in the game are – but
more a Creature of the Stage that accidentally
is let loose. On one level, his influence
is terrifying – he is seen Eating the Dead
with Grace, and seen poisoning the mind of
Caterina Saburova – however, on another,
he is often jovial, regularly breaking character,
revealing himself to merely be a small actor,
merely wearing a mask.
He is, himself, a contradiction – and therein

English: 
“The actor walks out into the town, looking for inspiration, “walking the hero’s paths”.”
“And there’s a fluid ambiguity in not having a clear way of telling who you are right now:”
“the real Haruspex or Bachelor, living his life, about to die — or merely an actor playing his part and thus getting a chance to go back to the past?”
The final character from the Backstage to appear is the Rat Prophet;
an unusual figure, he also blurs the bounds between the fiction of the game and the meta-fiction of the stage.
He appears to be, in some ways, demonic – yet he is not a Creature of the Steppe, as many of the magical beings in the game are –
but more a Creature of the Stage that is accidentally let loose.
On one level, his influence is terrifying – he is seen Eating the Dead with Grace, and seen poisoning the mind of Katerina Saburova –
however, on another, he is often jovial, regularly breaking character, revealing himself to be merely a small actor, wearing a mask.

English: 
lies his power.
3: Themes
Humanity against Nature
In many recent works of fantasy fiction, Nature
is presented as a passive force – a balance
to be protected, oft composed of beautiful
waterfalls and streams, or woodland glades.
Pathologic 2 instead presents the forces of
Nature as far more awesome and terrible – things
older than Humanity, and far stronger, far
more dangerous. Death itself, and its manifestation
in the Plague, is presented as an immutable
force of this nature – a thing so powerful
and beyond human understanding that it feels
like a horrific eldritch deity.
The setting of Pathologic 2 during Russia’s
industrialisation therefore comes as no surprise;
the beginning of the 20th century heralded
a change in the way much of humanity lived.
Where once individual people lived or died
at the whims of a cold, callous world, new

English: 
He himself is a contradiction – and therein lies his power. Whether we will ever find out more about him is yet to be seen.
In many recent works of fantasy fiction, Nature is presented as a passive force –
a balance to be protected, oft composed of beautiful waterfalls and streams, or woodland glades.
“Pathologic 2” instead presents the forces of Nature as far more awesome and terrible – things older than Humanity, and far stronger, far more dangerous.
Death itself, and its manifestation in the Plague, is presented as an immutable force of this nature –
a thing so powerful and beyond human understanding that it feels like a horrific eldritch deity.
The setting of “Pathologic 2” during Russia’s industrialization therefore comes as no surprise;
the beginning of the 20th century heralded a change in the way much of humanity lived.

English: 
technology granted previously unknown degrees
of freedom. People were living longer, travelling
further, and becoming more interconnected
with one another. Slowly, the forces of nature
weren’t something to be hidden from, but
things to be harnessed, utilised, or contained.
The magic of the unknown slowly gave way to
reason and science.
Humanity, no longer so bound by previous limitations,
achieved many seemingly-impossible things;
flight, quick worldwide travel, birth control,
vastly extended life expectancies, minute
calculations of the laws of physics - a myriad
of human endeavour springing up in a short
space of time. In contrast to the confusing
and chaotic natural world, humanity imposed
order and regularity.
This contrast is reflected in Pathologic – most
clearly in its factions, their divisions,
the superstructures that represent them, and
even in the two major endings. On the one
hand, the Kains, the Stamatins and the other

English: 
Where once individual people lived or died at the whims of a cold, callous world, new technology granted previously unknown degrees of freedom.
People were living longer, travelling further, and becoming more interconnected with one another.
Slowly, the forces of nature weren’t something to be hidden from, but things to be harnessed, or contained, or utilized.
The magic of the unknown slowly gave way to reason and science.
Humanity, no longer so bound by previous limitations, achieved many seemingly-impossible things;
flight, quick worldwide travel, birth control, vastly extended life expectancies, minute calculations of the laws of physics –
a myriad of human endeavor springing up in such a short space of time.
In contrast to the confusing and chaotic natural world, humanity imposed order and regularity.
This contrast is reflected in “Pathologic” – most clearly in its factions, their divisions, the superstructures that represent them, and even in the two major endings.

English: 
Utopians subscribe to an ideal of reason,
to the triumph of humanity over all else – a
triumph represented in their immortal, pure
Polyhedron, untainted by the plague. On the
other stands the Kindred, their ancient abattoir,
soiled in blood and earth and clay, standing
itself as another part of nature rather than
in opposition to it. The Kin also view themselves
on similar terms; the world is a bull, and
humanity are merely creatures walking on the
fur of its back. Oyun goes as far as to suggest
that his Kin are also animals – a herd of
people, to be corralled much like a herd of
cattle. Though this may sound unnerving to
a modern ear – the idea of treating people
like animals – in this instance it is not
a derogatory statement, but merely an expression
of a different worldview; one in which humanity
is a part of nature, not distinct from it.
By extension, the Town may be seen as either
as an example of humanity’s progress, or
humanity’s hubris - it is either an achievement

English: 
On the one hand, the Kains, the Stamatins and the other Utopians subscribe to an ideal of reason, to the triumph of humanity over all else –
a triumph represented in their immortal, pure Polyhedron, untainted by the plague.
On the other stands the Kindred, their ancient Abattoir, soiled in blood and earth and clay, standing itself as another part of nature rather than in opposition to it.
The Kin also view themselves on similar terms; the world is a bull, and humanity are merely creatures walking on the fur of its back.
Oyun goes as far as to suggest that the Kin are also animals – a herd of people, to be corralled much like a herd of cattle.
Though this may sound unnerving to a modern ear – the idea of treating people like animals –
in this instance it is not a derogatory statement, but merely an expression of a different worldview;
one in which humanity is a part of nature, and not distinct from it.
By extension, the Town may be seen as either as an example of humanity’s progress, or humanity’s hubris –

English: 
of industry, bringing progress and light to
a feudal peasant or nomadic backwater – or
it is a cancer, burrowing into the back of
the Earth.
The Abattoir may be seen as a home of bloodshed
and barbarism, or it may be seen as a part
of the natural cycle – blood sacrificed
to feed the blood of the Earth itself, the
product of a native culture, and a means of
balancing an ecosystem of the nomadic peoples.
The conversion of such a sacred site into
an enormous meat processing factory can be
seen as barbaric in itself – or it may be
seen as a means to bring industry, progress
and education to a backwater community that
otherwise would still believe in magic, and
brutish displays of strength as the path to
leadership and dominance.
The Polyhedron may be seen as humanity’s
crowning achievement – a pinnacle of architectural
design that can, in itself, grant immortality
and reflect a human soul - or it may be seen
as an aberration, a cursed structure that
has brought disbalance and deceit, piercing
the earth’s heart for nothing.
The Plague, too, may be seen in these terms

English: 
it is either an achievement of industry, bringing progress and light to a feudal peasant or nomadic backwater – or it is a cancer, burrowing into the back of the Earth.
The Abattoir may be seen as the home of bloodshed and barbarism, or it may be seen as a part of the natural cycle –
blood sacrificed to feed the blood of the Earth itself, the product of a native culture, and a means of balancing an ecosystem of the nomadic peoples.
The conversion of such a sacred site into an enormous meat processing factory can be seen as barbaric in itself –
or it may be seen as a means to bring industry, progress and education to a backwater community that otherwise would still believe in magic,
and brutish displays of strength as the path to leadership and dominance.
The Polyhedron itself may be seen as humanity’s crowning achievement –
a pinnacle of architectural design that can, in itself, grant immortality and reflect a human soul –
or it may be seen as an aberration, a cursed structure that has brought disbalance and deceit, piercing the earth’s heart for nothing.

English: 
The Plague, too, may be seen in these terms – especially within the endings of the game.
The Diurnal ending shows humanity’s survival – the survival of the town and its progress towards a new generation.
However, this is achieved at the cost of miracles and at the cost of the wonders of the old Natural world, and at the cost of much of the Kin.
Humanity withstood the test and bested Death, bested Nature’s Plague, and in so doing, nature’s Heart stopped beating.
The Nocturnal end spells the end of the town and most of its most Human elements, and returns it to a state of Nature –
the state the world existed in before the existence of industry.
This state includes magic, miracles, enormous Aurochs the size of the sky – but at the cost of its people.
Those that remain, the Kin, are themselves conforming back to Nature’s whims –
returning to an older, bloodier, and more terrifying culture than the civilization brought by Industrial Humanity.

English: 
– especially within the endings of the game.
The Diurnal ending shows humanity’s survival
– the survival of the town and its progress
towards a new generation. However, this is
achieved at the cost of miracles – at the
cost of the wonders of the old Natural world,
and at the cost of much of the Kin. Humanity
withstood the test and bested Death, bested
Nature’s Plague, and in so doing, nature’s
Heart stopped beating. The Nocturnal end spells
the end of the town, of its most Human elements,
and returns it to a state of Nature – the
state the world existed in before the existence
of industry. This state includes magic, miracles,
enormous Aurochs the size of the sky – but
at the cost of its people. Those that remain,
the Kin, are themselves conforming back to
Nature’s whims – returning to a culture
older, bloodier, and more terrifying than
the civilisation brought by Industrial Humanity.
Both of these endings are bittersweet, and
both require sacrifice – either the future

English: 
Both of these endings are bittersweet, and both require sacrifice – either the future is sacrificed to preserve the past, or the past is lost, to make way for the future.
An interrelated, though subtler conflict, is that of Tradition against Progress.
Although often those closer to Nature, such as the Kin, are more inclined to stick to tradition, and the Utopians vie for Progress,
this is a conflict that is experienced more on an interpersonal and internal level than a societal one.
The Kin, as a whole, are undergoing a societal and cultural shift;
their original steppe culture of nomadic herding is no longer viable, and in its place they have taken [on] work in the industrialized abattoir –
uprooting their heritage in the process.
There are some, like Aspity, who cling to the old ways, refusing to change as the world changes around them, rejecting the new world in its entirety –
there are others, like Oyun, who attempt to engage in the new world whilst applying the values of the old, and remain lost and confused.

English: 
is sacrificed to preserve the past, or the
past is lost, to make way for the future.
Tradition against Progress
An interrelated, though subtler conflict,
is that of Tradition against Progress. Although
often those closer to Nature, such as the
Kin, are more inclined to stick to tradition,
and the Utopians vie for Progress, this is
a conflict that is experienced more on an
interpersonal and internal level than a societal
one.
The Kin, as a whole, are undergoing a societal
and cultural shift; their original culture
of nomadic steppe-herding is no longer viable,
and in its place they have taken on work in
the industrialised abattoir – uprooting
their heritage in the process. There are some,
like Aspity, who cling to the old ways, refusing
to change as the world changes around them,
rejecting the new world in its entirety – there
are others, like Oyun, who attempt to engage
in the new world whilst applying the values
of the old, and remain lost and confused.
The fact that the future of the Kin rests

English: 
The fact that the future of the Kin rests with a small, five year old girl is significant –
Taya represents their only salvation, a move away from their stagnation whilst also not representing an outside, unwanted influence on their culture.
The Kin, divided amongst a confused series of loyalties, quickly become fractured, and draw you into their internal violence –
however, you, too are affected by this ideological conflict.
The ideals of the Menkhu, the sacred surgeons, are also changing; the traditional roots of your father, Isador, are of dubious value in the modern world.
In an effort to adapt and change, you, Artemiy, were sent to modern medical school in the capital, prior to the start of the game –
and yet, this change is seen as an alienation from your culture.
You have one foot in both worlds – looking towards the future, the prosperity of the town and of its people –
and one in the past, of the Kin, of shamanistic practices, of blood sacrifices, magic and miracles.

English: 
with a small, five year old girl is significant
– Taya represents their only salvation,
a move away from their stagnation whilst also
not representing an outside, unwanted influence
on their culture.
The Kin, divided amongst a confused series
of loyalties, quickly become fractured, and
draw you into their internal violence – however,
you, too are affected by this ideological
conflict.
The ideals of the Menkhu, the sacred surgeons,
are also changing; the traditional roots of
your father, Isador, are of dubious value
in the modern world. In an effort to adapt
and change, you, Artemiy, were sent to modern
medical school in the capital, prior to the
start of the game – and yet, this change
is seen as an alienation from your culture.
You have one foot in both worlds – looking
both towards the future, the prosperity of
the town and of its people – and one in
the past, of the Kin, of shamanistic practices,
of blood sacrifices, magic and miracles. Many
of your acts within the game are in efforts
to balance these – of appealing to the Kin
and their culture, whilst also trying to protect

English: 
them with modern means. Your understanding
of the plague and its cure all come from the
old world; of herbs, and blood, and panaceas
composed of mythic chimeras of Man and Bull,
of knowing the sacred lines. However, those
your father has asked you to protect – the
children – are the representatives of the
future, of the change to the new world.
The final choice in the game is essentially
this dichotomy; as Isador presents to you,
you can look towards the future, and look
towards the past, but you may never have both.
The Diurnal Ending, composed of a new dawn
and a bittersweet last look at the town, is
the story of survival, grief, and rebuilding.
The Nocturnal Ending, composed of twilight,
darkness and magic, is a story where a future
is torn from the town, replaced by its old,
lost world.
Childhood against Growing Up
The children of the town also present a similar

English: 
Many of your acts within the game are in efforts to balance these – of appealing to the Kin and their culture, whilst also trying to protect them with modern means.
Your understanding of the plague and its cure all come from the old world;
of herbs, and blood, and panaceas composed of mythic chimeras of Man and Bull, of knowing the sacred lines.
However, those your father has asked you to protect – the children – are the representatives of the future, of the change to the new world.
The final choice in this game is essentially this dichotomy;
as Isador presents to you, you can look towards the future, and look towards the past, but you may never have both.
The Diurnal Ending, composed of a new dawn and a bittersweet last look at the town, is the story of survival, grief, and rebuilding.
The Nocturnal Ending, composed of twilight, darkness and magic, is a story where a future is torn from the town, and is replaced by its old, lost world.

English: 
The children of the town also present a similar conflict of past and future; that of wishing to remain in childhood, or allowing oneself to become an adult.
Childhood in “Pathologic 2” represents many complex things, although innocence certainly is not one of them –
the children of this game are, much like Nature, presented as complex, violent, and oftentimes cruel.
The very first interactions you have with the childhood gangs of the game involve an act of traipsing into the Steppe to sentence an adolescent to death –
a teenager who, himself, was violent, and slaughtered innocent animals as a means of a gang-warfare power-plays.
Notkin’s gang is also perceptive, too;
Notkin himself is one of the first people to see past the rumours of your patricide, and seems to instinctively know your innocence of that particular crime –
whilst also holding no illusions about the other blood on your hands.
However, despite this, there is still a certain sense of naivety and wonder –
half the children of the town are infatuated with the enormous Polyhedron superstructure –

English: 
conflict of past and future; that of wishing
to remain in childhood, or allowing oneself
to grow up.
Childhood in Pathologic 2 represents many
complex things, though innocence certainly
isn’t one of them – the children of this
game are, much like Nature, presented as complex,
violent, and oftentimes cruel. The very first
interactions you have with the childhood gangs
of the game involve the act of traipsing into
the Steppe to sentence an adolescent to death
– a teenager who, himself, was violent,
and slaughtered innocent animals as a means
of a gang-warfare power-play. Notkin’s gang
is also perceptive, too; Notkin himself is
one of the first people to see past the rumours
of your patricide, and seems to instinctively
know your innocence of that particular crime
– whilst also holding no illusions about
the other blood on your hands.
However, despite this, there is still a certain
sense of naivety and wonder – half the children
of the town are infatuated with the enormous
Polyhedron superstructure – a tower composed

English: 
a tower composed of dreams and miracles, of wishing to stay within childhood forever.
Khan, himself, is an interesting figure in this regard – an arrogant king of the children, yet also somehow halfway a Peter Pan figure –
commanding and imperious like his sister, yet also still a child, still with simplistic and naïve hopes of a childhood takeover of the town.
Both gangs of children, Notkin’s and Khan’s, participate in a game of finding secret caches, which you can participate in too.
The laws of this game are both very innocent and very serious, all at once, in the way of all children’s games –
their rules are clear that you must leave something of equal value to what is taken, which they implore you to listen to.
The other games you run into are all equally filled with naivety and earnestness –
the children even bid you to “summon a train”, which, if you try to do, may surprise you with the results.
The other games the children play are not merely frivolity; they mimic the behaviours of the adults around them.

English: 
of dreams and miracles, of wishing to stay
within childhood forever. Khan, himself, is
an interesting figure in this regard – an
arrogant king of the children, yet also somehow
halfway a Peter Pan figure – commanding
and imperious like his sister, yet also still
a child, still with simplistic and naïve
hopes of a childhood takeover of the town.
Both gangs of children, Notkin’s and Khan’s,
participate in a game of finding secret caches,
which you can participate in. The laws of
this game are both very innocent and very
serious, all at once, in the way of all children’s
games – their rules are clear that you must
leave something of equal value to what is
taken, which they implore you to listen to.
The other games you run into are all equally
filled with naivety and earnestness – the
children even bid you to quote unquote “summon
a train”, which, if you try to do, may surprise
you with the results.
The other games the children play are not
merely frivolity; they mimic the behaviours
of the adults around them. On more than one

English: 
occasion, the actions that adults have taken
– such as the harassing of steppe girls,
or the burning of suspected Witches at the
stake – are then play-acted by children
the following day. These become increasingly
morbid – play-acting at murder and violence,
or even harassing other children for the actions
of their mothers and fathers.
Though it is debatable whether any of the
children are truly innocent, they are certainly
the products of their parents. The town’s
future rests on their shoulders - and though
there may be some changes, many cycles of
ignorance, violence and confusion merely seem
to replay themselves, over and over.
This is not only shown with the children in-game,
but with the young adults, too; nearly every
character is prone to making their parents’
mistakes. Younger Vlad, in his efforts to
bring progress to the butcher business, ends
up locking up and inadvertently killing nearly
all the Kin – continuing Big Vlad’s callousness.
Capella, in her efforts to be the maternal
influence on the town’s lost children, begins

English: 
On more than one occasion, the actions that adults have undertaken – such as the harassing of steppe girls, or the burning of suspected Witches at the stake –
are then play-acted by children the following day.
These become increasingly morbid – play-acting at murder and violence, or even harassing other children for the actions of their mothers and fathers.
Though it is debatable whether any of the children are truly INNOCENT, they are certainly the products of their parents.
The town’s future rests on their shoulders – and though there may be some changes,
many cycles of ignorance, violence and confusion merely seem to replay themselves, over and over.
This is not only shown with the young children in-game, but with the young adults, too; nearly every character is prone to making their parents’ mistakes.
Younger Vlad, in his efforts to bring progress to the butcher business,
ends up locking up and inadvertently killing nearly all the Kin – continuing Big Vlad’s callousness.
Capella, in her efforts to be the maternal influence on the town’s lost children, begins to literally become and channel the soul of her own mother –
as does Maria Kaina.

English: 
Khan, retreating into the Polyhedron and establishing a Utopian Kingdom, is acting out the fantasies of his father and grandfather, and every other Kain before him.
Even your childhood friends are not immune; Griff is mimicking the role of a crook, playing it out like a childhood game.
Lara, in her increasing desperation, takes to the attempted murder of the military general –
an act that would entrench her in the same position of court marshal and execution as her father, if it weren’t for your intervention.
Stakh Rubin, and, of course, your player character, Artemiy Burakh, are both acting out the same role,
and making the same mistakes as your father figure, Isador –
on one hand, accepting responsibility for the town and its survival, and on the other, continuing on the legacy of the Kin and the Menkhu.
The struggle between childhood and adulthood is not a simplistic one of past and future;
it is one where adulthood often represents the same mistakes of the past, yet to remain in childhood represents stasis.

English: 
to literally become and channel the soul of
her own mother – as does Maria Kaina. Khan,
retreating into the Polyhedron and establishing
a Utopian Kingdom, is acting out the fantasies
of his father and grandfather, and every other
Kain before him. Even your childhood friends
are not immune; Griff is mimicking the role
of a crook, playing it out like a childhood
game. Lara, in her increasing desperation,
takes to the attempted murder of the military
general – an act that would entrench her
in the same position as her father, if it
weren’t for your intervention. Stakh Rubin,
and, of course, your player character, Artemiy
Burakh, are both acting out the same role,
and making the same mistakes as your father
figure, Isadore – on one hand, accepting
responsibility for the town and its survival,
and on the other continuing the legacy of
the Kin and the Menkhu.
The struggle between childhood and adulthood
is not a simplistic one of past and future;
it is one where adulthood often represents
the same mistakes of the past, yet to remain

English: 
in childhood represents stasis. To grow up
is to try to forge your own path to a new
future, yet also to act in the way the adults
before you have done, and make their mistakes,
too.
What can a future mean, when it is rewritten,
over and over, with the same mistakes of the
past?
I would argue, though, that the game still
presents a hopeful view of the future – at
least in its Diurnal Ending; although these
children are re-treading the ground their
parents walked, their cycle, their view of
where their town should go, is eminently more
positive than their plague-ridden past. With
the catastrophe has come awareness, in many
ways greater than that of the adults they
interact with – and with that awareness,
more compassion.
Agency against Fate; The Absurd
The debate of free will and agency against
the concept of destiny and predetermination
is an ancient philosophical question. It is
played out, in full, in the events of the
game, and reflected in the narrative and ludonarrative,
engineered into the mechanics of how the game
works.

English: 
To grow up is to try to forge your own path towards a new future, yet also to act in the way the adults before you have done, and potentially make their mistakes, too.
What can a future mean, when it is rewritten, over and over, with the same mistakes of the past?
I would argue, though, that the game still presents a hopeful view of the future – at least in its Diurnal Ending;
although these children are re-treading the ground their parents walked,
their cycle, their view of where their town should go, is eminently more positive than their plague-ridden past.
With the catastrophe has come awareness, in many ways greater than that of the adults they interact with –
and with that awareness, more compassion, and perhaps a better future.
The debate of free will and agency against the concept of destiny and predetermination is an ancient philosophical question.
It is played out, in full, in the events of the game, and reflected in the narrative and ludonarrative, engineered into the mechanics of how the game works.

English: 
The emotional impact of the game’s systems contribute to an increasing sense of hopelessness, fear, and inevitability;
survival becomes increasingly desperate as the game’s days progress forward,
and you find yourself starving, infected, and barely able to save anyone else, let alone yourself.
The difficulty is not within the technical skill of performing tasks, but in the management of the daily grind, and in sustaining the will to keep going –
the game is designed as a marathon, not a sprint – and yet, in that marathon it is often difficult to see the light at the end of it all.
Failure is not only expected, but intentional.
The player is INTENDED to feel like there is no means to fight their destiny; even the cover art specifically advertises the fact that "you cannot save everyone".
The game itself is set out to make sure that you know that the ending is, in some manners, already written;
you begin in a nightmarish version of the game’s ending, where the plague has won, and the world is collapsing.

English: 
The emotional impact of the games systems
contribute to an increasing sense of hopelessness,
fear, and inevitability; survival becomes
increasingly desperate as the game’s days
progress onward, and you find yourself starving,
infected, and barely able to save anyone else,
let alone yourself. The difficulty is not
within the technical skill of performing tasks,
but in the management of the daily grind,
and in sustaining the will to keep going – the
game is designed as a marathon, not a sprint
– and yet, in that marathon it is often
difficult to see the light at the end of it
all. Failure is not only expected, but intentional.
The player is intended to feel like there
is no means to fight their destiny; even the
cover art specifically advertises that you
cannot save everyone.
The game itself is set out to make sure you
know that the ending is, in some manners,
already written; you begin in a nightmarish
version of the game’s ending, where the
plague has won, and the world is collapsing.
You already know how the story is going to

English: 
go – you know it’s going to be a tragedy,
and you know you can’t avert fate. You are
even told this by multiple members of the
backstage crew, including the Fellow Traveller,
and Mark Immortell - and, with each failure,
each death, the game’s difficulty increases;
the likelihood of this Bad Ending is increased
at every turn.
Yet, as a player, you’ll still naturally
try, regardless. The act of continuing to
play the game is an act of rebellion against
this inevitability.
You are not the only character in the game
to wage this fight against Fate Itself; Aglaya,
the Inquisitor, also plays against her fate.
She knows, from the start of her role, that
her fate is to die – and yet, despite this,
continues to try to escape. She does not submit
to inevitability, despite seeing the strings
that bind her, and despite understanding that
she is merely a puppet in a theatre. Instead,
she convinces other characters of the strings
that bind them, notably Griff, and tries to
manipulate them. When performed on you, the

English: 
You already know how the story is going to go – you know it’s going to be a tragedy, and you know you can’t avert fate.
You are even told this by multiple members of the backstage crew, including the Fellow Traveller, and Mark Immortell –
and, with each failure, each death, the game’s difficulty increases; the likelihood of this Bad Ending is increased at every turn.
Yet, as a player, you’ll still naturally try, regardless. The act of continuing to play the game is an act of rebellion against this inevitability.
You are not the only character in the game to wage this fight against Fate Itself; Aglaya, the Inquisitor, also plays against her fate.
She knows, from the start of her role, that her fate is to die – and yet, despite this, continues to try to escape.
She does not submit to inevitability, despite seeing the strings that bind her, and despite understanding that she is merely a puppet in a theatre.
Instead, she convinces other characters of the strings that bind them, notably Griff, and tries to manipulate them.

English: 
player as Artemiy, however, this does not
immediately work – Artemiy, too bull-headed
to care that he is being manipulated, represents
a freedom from these ties of fate; if he is
being manipulated by the play’s directors
into doing what he always wanted to do anyway,
it is not real manipulation.
Aglaya, however, is still not immune to her
fate; regardless of whether she convinces
you to escape with her or not, she will still
be executed. Much as Oedipus could not escape
his destiny, Aglaya’s role is like that
of a tragic Greek hero – the more she attempted
to escape her death, the closer she stepped
towards it.
The sense of inevitability – the sense of
unavoidable pain, and loss, and suffering,
compounded with a raw sense of chaos, and
utterly uncaring gods in the form of The Plague
and the Stage Crew, leaves a sense of meaninglessness.
In a world where there is only death and suffering,
the struggle to find meaning starts to become
lost; how can one find meaning as a citizen,
in a state tearing itself apart? How can one

English: 
When performed on you, the player as Artemiy Burakh, however, this does not immediately work –
Artemiy, too bull-headed to care that he is being manipulated, represents a freedom from these ties of fate;
if he is being manipulated by the play’s directors into doing what he always wanted to do anyway, that is not REAL manipulation.
Aglaya, however, is still not immune to her fate; regardless of whether she convinces you to escape with her or not, she will still be executed.
Much as Oedipus could not escape his destiny, Aglaya’s role is like that of a tragic Greek hero –
the more she attempted to escape her death, the closer she stepped towards it.
The sense of inevitability – the sense of unavoidable pain, and loss, and suffering,
compounded with a raw sense of chaos, and utterly uncaring gods in the form of The Plague and the Backstage Crew, leaves a sense of meaninglessness.
In a world where there is only death and suffering, the struggle to find meaning starts to become lost;
how can one find meaning as a citizen, in a state tearing itself apart?

English: 
How can one find meaning as a parent, when ones’ child has abandoned them for Utopian Polyhedron Dreams – or has maybe even died?
How can one believe in a sense of justice when good people are becoming infected and perishing in the streets –
and you’re finding yourself becoming a looter and criminal, just like all the rest?
This sense of meaninglessness and despair in the face of inevitable suffering is The Absurd – and “Pathologic 2” depicts a perfect emotional portrayal of it.
The Absurd, as a philosophy, came into its own at the turn of the 20th century – around the time of the First World War.
The industrial revolution was displacing traditional work and values,
the horrors and completely meaningless suffering of the war caused most assumptions about values in Europe and elsewhere to be heavily questioned,
and the "Death of God" brought with it both terrifying insecurity and new freedom.
These are all themes represented in “Pathologic 2”; the setting, approximately at the turn of the century, is significant;

English: 
find meaning as a parent, when ones’ child
has abandoned them for Utopian Polyhedron
Dreams – or has died? How can one believe
in a sense of justice when good people are
becoming infected and perishing in the streets
– and you’re finding yourself becoming
a looter and criminal, just like all the rest?
This sense of meaninglessness and despair
in the face of inevitable suffering is The
Absurd – and Pathologic 2 depicts a perfect
emotional portrayal of it.
The Absurd, as a philosophy, came into its
own at the turn of the 20th century – around
the time of the First World War. The industrial
revolution was displacing traditional work
and values, the horrors and completely meaningless
suffering of the war caused most assumptions
about values in Europe and elsewhere to be
heavily questioned, and the quote-unquote
“Death of God” brought with it both terrifying
insecurity and new freedom.
These are all themes represented in Pathologic
2; the setting, approximately at the turn
of the century, is significant; one culture

English: 
one culture is giving way to another, rural life is becoming defunct, and native peoples and cultures are becoming swallowed by a newer, industrialized life.
The machinery of heavy industry means that people are only so much cheap meat –
the disposability of many of the factory workers and other poorer peoples of the town serve to reinforce this,
as does the vast wealth inequality between them and the bourgeois Vlad Olgimsky.
A needless, enormous slaughter, en-masse occurs – and the townspeople all display different responses to find meaning in such a cacophony of slaughter –
some look for someone to blame, others look to establish justice,
and many are merely becoming atomized as the greater society they’re in falters and breaks down.
The game’s version of the Death of God is displayed in more than one way –
in its most literal, the Earth itself, the great god upon which the world sits, has had its heart pierced and is slowly dying –
and in its place, a fabricated paper deity of mirrors and dreams, the Polyhedron.
[T]
 
and in its place, a fabricated paper deity of mirrors and dreams, the Polyhedron.
and in its place, a fabricated paper deity of mirrors and dreams, the Polyhedron.

English: 
is giving way to another, rural life is becoming
defunct, and native peoples and cultures are
becoming swallowed by a newer, industrialised
life. The machinery of heavy industry means
that people are only so much cheap meat – the
disposability of many of the factory workers
and other poorer peoples of the town serve
to reinforce this, as does the vast wealth
inequality between them and the bourgeois
Vlad Olgimsky. A needless, enormous slaughter,
en-masse occurs – and the townspeople all
display different responses to find meaning
in such a cacophony of slaughter – some
looking for someone to blame, others looking
to establish justice, many merely becoming
atomised as the greater society they’re
in falters and breaks down. The game’s Death
of God is displayed in more than one way – though,
in its most literal, the Earth itself, the
great god upon which the world sits, has had
its heart pierced and is slowly dying - in
its place, a fabricated paper deity of mirrors
and dreams, in the Polyhedron.
At heart, much of the game is about facing

English: 
At heart, much of the game is about facing existential dread and death itself, and the absurd, and coming to one’s own conclusions about how to wrestle with it.
Within any game, there is often a sense of a narrative – the same as in any plotline in a movie or a book – which you, as a character in it, are SUPPOSED to follow.
Though any game does offer some player agency in HOW the script is followed,
ultimately, there remains the question of how much agency one can truly have when merely filling a role – thus dividing Player from Character.
“Pathologic 2” outright lampshades this issue by showing that you are, quite literally, following the script of a play;
the game itself is framed as a play, performed by actors upon a stage.
The unique thing about this play, however, is that its main character – you – are also its main audience.

English: 
existential dread – death itself, and the
absurd – and coming to ones’ conclusions
about how to wrestle with it.
Reality and The Stage
Within any game there is often a sense of
a narrative – the same as in any plotline
in a movie or a book – which you, as a character
in it, are supposed to follow. Though any
game does offer some player agency in how
the script is followed, ultimately, there
remains the question of how much agency one
can truly have when merely filling a role
– thus dividing Player from Character.
The game outright lampshades this issue by
showing that you are, quite literally, following
the script of a play; the game itself is framed
as a play, performed by actors upon a stage.
The unique thing about this play, however,
is that its main player – you – are also
its main audience.
The effect of this is to imply that you are

English: 
not exactly Artemiy Burakh – that you are
merely an actor, playing his role. Death is
presented as a failure to adequately play
the role – and that you should return to
the stage to re-play that part correctly.
This directly addresses one of the main issues
dividing players from their character avatars;
the player knows that they are not the same
person as the character, and that whatever
the character suffers isn’t necessarily
what they, as people will suffer. However,
in acknowledging the difference, and in allowing
the player to see the backstage, the game
blurs the distinction between player, player
character, and the worlds they operate in.
There is more inherent emotional investment
as you, The Player, are just as much a character
as Artemiy Burakh is.
Once this is established, the game is able
to hit home with further themes that strengthen
its emotional impact; though you are stepping
into Artemiy’s shoes, the game is presented
from the outset as a “re-do”; you are
merely another actor, playing the same role.
You are not special. You, despite your efforts,
are not heroic. You are no more inherently

English: 
The effect of this is to imply that you are not EXACTLY Artemiy Burakh – that you are merely an actor, playing his role.
Death is presented as a failure to adequately play the role – and that you should return to the stage to re-play that part CORRECTLY.
This directly addresses one of the main issues dividing players from their character avatars in any video game;
the player knows that they are not the same person as the character, and that whatever the character suffers isn’t necessarily what they, as players will suffer.
However, in acknowledging the difference, and in allowing the player to see the backstage,
the game blurs the distinction between player and player character, the worlds they operate in and the real world itself.
There is more inherent emotional investment as you, The Player, are just as much a character as Artemiy Burakh ever is.
Once this is established, the game is able to hit home with further themes that strengthen its emotional impact;
though you are stepping into Artemiy’s shoes, the game is presented from the outset as a “re-do”; you are merely another actor, playing the same role.

English: 
You are not special. You, despite your efforts, are not heroic. You are no more inherently meaningful than anyone else.
The meaning you come to in the face of the absurd – in the face of death and senseless suffering – is entirely your own.
Though, perhaps, the Stage Play narrative’s greatest strength lies in its Brechtian aspects.
Brecht, a playwright who lived through the upheaval of the 20th century, including both World Wars,
wrote a method of theater that questioned established norms, highlighting internal contradictions within society.
Whilst many aspects of “Pathologic 2” could be analyzed with a Brechtian lens,
the one that most stands out to me is Verfremdung, or the process of making the familiar seem strange.
This process is carried out effectively within the ludonarrative;
the design of the town streets seems akin to any other town – until the odd back-alleys and stairways that lead to nowhere start to build a sense of the alien.
The people themselves seem like any other NPC townsfolk in any other game,
until their strange customs and outward hostility make the player feel isolated and alone.

English: 
meaningful than anyone else. The meaning you
come to in the face of the absurd – in the
face of death and senseless suffering - is
your own.
Though, perhaps, the Stage Play narrative’s
greatest strength lies in its Brechtian aspects.
Brecht, a playwright who lived through the
upheaval of the 20th century, including both
World Wars, wrote a method of theatre that
questioned established norms, highlighting
internal contradictions within society. Whilst
many aspects of Pathologic 2 could be analysed
with a Brechtian lens, the one that most stands
out is Verfremdung – or, the process of
making the familiar seem strange.
This process is carried out effectively within
the ludonarrative; the design of the town
streets seems akin to any other town – until
the odd back-alleys and stairways that lead
to nowhere start to build a sense of the alien.
The people themselves seem like any other
NPC townsfolk – until their strange customs
and outward hostility make the player feel
isolated and alone. Even the mechanical acts

English: 
Even the mechanical acts within the game – like the autopsy of a body – are rendered strange, even as the player has become used to them;
after a certain number of player deaths, organs are replaced with cotton wool – and, within the Abattoir, replaced with spindles and junk.
The counterbalance to such hostility are other methods employed by Brecht –
the direct address of the audience by the Tragedeans, acting as characters’ consciences,
is a stylistic choice that allows a character to be hostile to Artemiy, yet still sympathetic to the player.
This serves a dual function;
it both emphasizes Artemiy’s return to a culture that he no longer fully identifies with, immersing the player deeper into his emotional state –
and it serves to make the game’s world feel more hostile and enigmatic to the player themselves.
Further elements of this process – of engendering strangeness in previously familiar scenes – are found in the backstage;
where, should you fail the game entirely, you will find the Bachelor and the Changeling – no longer as their aloof and enigmatic characters respectively, but as actors,

English: 
within the game – like the autopsy of a
body – are rendered strange, even as the
player has become used to them; after a certain
number of player deaths, organs are replaced
with cotton wool – and, within the abattoir,
replaced with spindles and junk. The counterbalance
to such hostility are other methods employed
by Brecht – the direct address of the audience
by the Tragedeans, acting as characters’
consciences, is a stylistic choice that allows
a character to be hostile to Artemiy, yet
still sympathetic to the player. This serves
a dual function; it both emphasizes Artemiy’s
return to a culture that he no longer fully
identifies with, immersing the player deeper
into his emotional state – and it serves
to make the game’s world feel hostile and
enigmatic to the player themselves.
Further elements of this process – of engendering
strangeness in previously familiar scenes
- are found in the backstage; where, should
you fail the game entirely, you will find
the Bachelor and the Changeling – no longer
as their aloof and enigmatic characters respectively,
but as actors, nervously rehearsing their
lines on the stage, alongside the ghosts of

English: 
nervously rehearsing their lines on the stage, alongside the ghosts of those who died – those, under your care, whom you failed to save.
The purpose in all of this is to present an emotionally harrowing experience;
it is not only jarring to see the backstage so abruptly, but also harrowing to see what could have been,
to have all your failures laid bare – and their cost, the cost not only of lives, but of futures, presented so directly.
You are at once in Artemiy’s shoes, feeling a sense of discomfort alongside him at such failures,
and also being spoken to separately, as a player, and as an audience; you have failed.
It is now time to try again.
The final theme to be addressed is selfishness against selflessness.
This is an ongoing tension within the game, and is found on every level of its design;
the narrative of being a doctor presumes a sense of altruism and ethics, yet the survival horror setting presumes selfish self-defence.

English: 
those who died – those, under your care,
whom you failed to save.
The purpose in all of this is to present an
emotionally harrowing experience; it is not
only jarring to see the backstage so abruptly,
but also harrowing to see what could have
been, to have all your failures laid bare
– and their cost, the cost not only of lives,
but of futures, presented so directly.
You are at once in Artemiy’s shoes, feeling
a sense of discomfort alongside him, and also
being spoken to separately, as a player, and
as the audience; you have failed. It is now
time to try again.
Selfishness vs Selflessness
The final theme to be addressed is selfishness
against selflessness. This is an ongoing tension
within the game, and is found on every level
of its design; the narrative of being a doctor
presumes a sense of altruism and ethics, yet

English: 
the survival horror setting presumes selfish
self-defence. The rewards of altruistic actions
may serve to further the plot, yet may also
place the player at a precarious step closer
to failure and death, prompting them to hoard
their resources. Hitherto unethical acts – like
looting houses, or roaming the streets at
night as an armed thug – are often justified
by violent characters as a means to care for
dependents, as their society and its normal
protections start to crumble. Conversely,
seemingly noble acts, like the rescue of a
baby, are rendered cynical and cheap, when
they are merely false appearances of altruism
for personal profit.
There are certain all-pervasive themes within
the games of Eastern Europe, especially when
compared to similar Western titles; in many
Western games, it’s very easy to be the
Big Hero – the narrative and game design
are crafted for you to have the biggest guns,
run the fastest, achieve the most cool-looking
feats, swing the shiniest sword. Heroism does
not often get this portrayal in Eastern European
games; titles such as STALKER are famous for
their desperation and poverty – scrabbling

English: 
The rewards of altruistic actions may serve to further the plot,
yet may also place the player at a precarious step closer to failure and death, prompting them to instead hoard their resources.
Hitherto unethical acts – like looting houses, or roaming the streets at night as an armed thug –
are often justified by violent characters as a means to care for their dependents, as society and its normal protections start to crumble.
Conversely, seemingly noble acts, like the rescue of a baby, are rendered cynical and cheap, when they are merely false appearances of altruism for personal profit.
There are certain all-pervasive themes within the games of Eastern Europe, especially when compared to similar Western titles;
in many Western games, it’s very easy to be the Big Hero –
the narrative and game design are crafted for you to have the biggest guns, run the fastest, achieve the most cool-looking feats or swing the shiniest sword.
Heroism does not often get this portrayal in Eastern European games;

English: 
together what little resources you can to
make it as far as you dare.
Whilst this is a sweeping generalisation,
this still applies to Pathologic; in many
Western games, being a Good, Altruistic Person
is easy – any player sacrifices are minimal,
and any gain from selfishness is often unnecessary.
Altruism is, ironically, often rewarded. Playing
the figure of the hero, you are responded
to as a hero – you are praised and rewarded,
given gratitude and gifts for your actions.
Selflessness is easy when there is no risk
to the self. Heroism is easy when you have
the means to be heroic. The reverse is also
true; heroism is truly difficult, and often
hardly seems worth it, when you lack material
means to be a hero. Is selfless heroism even
possible when mired in an environment of poverty
and hand-to-mouth survival? Yet, if you aren’t
the selfless hero, what are you? What can

English: 
titles such as “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” are famous for their desperation and poverty – scrabbling together what little resources you can to make it as far as you dare.
Whilst this is a sweeping generalisation, this still applies to “Pathologic”;
in many Western games, being a Good, Altruistic Person is easy – any player sacrifices are minimal, and any gain from selfishness is often unnecessary.
Altruism is, ironically, often rewarded in these kinds of games.
Playing the figure of the hero, you are responded to as a hero – you are praised and rewarded, given gratitude and gifts for your actions.
Selflessness is easy when there is no risk to the self. Heroism is easy when you have the means to be heroic.
The reverse is also true; heroism is truly difficult, and often hardly seems worth it, when you lack material means to BE a hero.
Is selfless heroism even possible when mired in an environment of poverty and hand-to-mouth survival?

English: 
your role, as a doctor in an outbreak, truly
be, if not altruistic and boundlessly compassionate?
Who are you, if you aren’t attempting to
do good and save lives?
Narratively, the game pushes you to make multiple
difficult decisions; even when you finally
have resources, how do you spend them? Do
you choose to heal yourself, potentially increasing
your capacity to save more lives, or do you
use what precious cures you have on the kids
you’re supposed to protect? Do you burn
out your other resources saving the townsfolk
you don’t even like? Do you steal food from
a family’s home to survive another day – likely
damning someone else to starve in the process?
Or accept and use the food that the orphan
kids give you – likely letting them starve,
too? Will you submit to the plague, massively
crippling yourself, to keep it from claiming
Murky's life?
I should be clear, though; the game is not
presenting selfishness as morally evil – but
often a basic necessity. Without looking out
for yourself, you will die. The oft-used metaphor

English: 
Yet, if you aren’t the selfless hero, what are you? What can your role, as a doctor in an outbreak, truly be, if not altruistic and boundlessly compassionate?
Who ARE you, if you aren’t attempting to do good and save lives?
Narratively, the game pushes you to make multiple difficult decisions; even when you finally have resources, how do you spend them?
Do you choose to heal yourself, potentially increasing your capacity to save more lives,
or do you use what precious cures you have on the kids you’re supposed to protect?
Do you burn out your other resources saving the townsfolk you don’t even like?
Do you steal food from a family’s home to survive another day – likely damning someone else to starve in the process?
Or do you accept and use the food that the orphan kids give you – likely letting them starve, too?
Will you submit to the plague, massively crippling yourself, to keep it from claiming Murky’s life instead?
I should be clear, though; the game is not presenting selfishness as morally evil – but often a basic necessity. Without looking out for yourself, you will die.

English: 
The oft-used metaphor of securing your own oxygen mask before helping another is present –
and yet, in this world, if it were only possible to help others after achieving safety and security for yourself,
you would never help anyone, and all would die to the plague.
Every mechanic within the game is designed to make the player feel fragile, and I will discuss them in brief in the following section;
how they contribute to the overall sense of desperation – and, by extension, how these push the player into facing the tension between selfishness and altruism.
There are six major survival counters to manage within the game; health – which is self-explanatory, and serves as hit-points;
hunger – a meter that is constantly trickling downward, and if left unaddressed will cause you to starve to death;
thirst, which determines your max sprint-meter, and thus how effective you may be in a fight;
exhaustion, which also trickles downward, and will cause you to collapse and die if you ignore your need for sleep;

English: 
of securing your own oxygen mask before helping
another is present – yet, in this world,
if it were only possible to help others after
achieving safety and security in yourself,
you would never help anyone, and all would
die to the plague.
4: Mechanics and Ludonarrative
Every mechanic within the game is designed
to make the player feel fragile, and I will
discuss them in brief in the following section;
how they contribute to the overall sense of
desperation – and, by extension, how these
push the player into facing the tension between
selfishness and altruism.
Survival and Starvation
There are six major survival counters to manage
within the game; health – which is self-explanatory,
and serves as hit-points; hunger – a meter
that is constantly trickling downward, and
if left unaddressed will cause you to starve
to death; thirst, which determines your max
sprint-meter, and thus also how effective
you may be in a fight; exhaustion, which also
trickles downward, and will cause you to collapse

English: 
immunity, which provides you some resilience to the plague, though will start to burn low in infected areas;
and, finally, infection – a tracker that only starts to appear once you have been infected with the plague.
Aside from your own survival statistics, you also have your reputation to consider – if your reputation is high, people will allow you into their homes –
if your reputation is low, you will be chased away, shops will refuse to trade with you, and people will assault you in the street.
Each of these counters has a complex relationship with the others;
your ability to keep going in the game is often limited by the necessity of eating – your precious little cash is often spent on trying to find food.
If you can’t find enough in time, you may find yourself sacrificing your sleep – which, also, will eat away at your health if left unchecked.
If you choose to sleep and manage your exhaustion instead, your hunger will still increase, and potentially kill you.
You could take a gamble and satiate your hunger by eating higher-risk foods looted from infected houses,
but this may well destroy your immunity, or even cause infection.

English: 
if you ignore your need for sleep; immunity,
which provides you some resilience to the
plague, though will start to burn low in infected
areas; and, finally, infection – a tracker
that only starts to appear once you have been
infected with the plague. Aside from your
own survival statistics, you also have your
reputation to consider – if your reputation
is high, people will allow you into their
homes – if your reputation is low, you will
be chased away, shops will refuse to trade
with you, and people will assault you in the
street.
Each of these counters has a complex relationship
with the others; your ability to keep going
in the game is often limited by the necessity
of eating – your precious little cash is
often spent on trying to find food. If you
can’t find enough in time, you may find
yourself sacrificing your sleep – which,
also, will eat away at your health if left
unchecked. If you choose to sleep and manage
your exhaustion instead, your hunger will
still increase, and potentially kill you.
You could take a gamble and satiate your hunger
by eating higher-risk foods looted from infected
houses, but this may well destroy your immunity,
or even cause infection, by doing so. You

English: 
You could fight other crooks and criminals and steal what foods they have, or loot burnt-out houses –
but the likelihood of being severely injured or dying to knife-wounds in the process is high –
and, even if you get away without being stabbed in return, fighting and sprinting will drain your thirst, limiting your ability to run away from other fights.
Should you decide instead to steal food from an uninfected house, and uninfected family, instead,
the fall in your reputation may make the town impossible to traverse – where townsfolk, and later even soldiers, will attack or shoot you on sight.
Thus, the simple act of finding enough to eat in a day becomes steadily harder;
like a house of cards, any single measure of your survival, if disrupted or left unchecked, can cause all the others to fall apart.
Like most millennials know; self-care can be incredibly difficult, and once the first few pieces fall apart, the rest often follows.
This can often lead to a death spiral – where a player has backed themselves into a corner, and find themselves starving, destitute, exhausted and alone.

English: 
could fight other crooks and criminals and
steal what foods they have, or loot burnt-out
houses – but the likelihood of being severely
injured or dying to knife-wounds in the process
is high – and, even if you get away without
being stabbed in return, fighting and sprinting
will drain your thirst, limiting your ability
to run away from other fights. Should you
decide instead to steal food from an uninfected
house, and uninfected family, instead, the
fall in your reputation may make the town
impossible to traverse – where townsfolk,
and later even soldiers, will attack or shoot
you on sight.
Thus, the simple act of finding enough to
eat in a day becomes steadily harder; like
a house of cards, any single measure of your
survival, if disrupted or left unchecked,
can cause all the others to fall apart. Like
most millennials know; self-care can be incredibly
difficult, and once the first few pieces fall
apart, the rest often follows. This can often
lead to a death spiral – where a player
has backed themselves into a corner, and find
themselves starving, destitute, exhausted,
and alone.
The steep difficulty of this survival matches
the narrative themes of the game; life is

English: 
The steep difficulty of this survival matches the narrative themes of the game; life is often cheap and survival is not guaranteed – even for major characters.
You are fragile, and your ability to keep yourself alive hangs by a thin thread –
one in which you need to take every resource and advantage you can get, even if it means sacrificing your altruism or other morality to do so.
Even if you do take advantage of everything you can, death and failure are still practically an inevitability; your destiny is to die, and die again.
With such an emphasis on raw survival, the town’s material conditions and economy also become a central focus of the game.
The most obvious example can, again, be found in dealing with hunger and food.
Between the first and second days of the game, prices for essential resources, including basic food and medicine, skyrockets.
As the town is isolated from the outside world and external trade halts, it becomes apparent that whatever the town has is ALL it has.
The townsfolk panic-buy what little consumable resources there are, and money stops having meaning;

English: 
often cheap and survival is not guaranteed
– even for the major characters. You are
fragile, and your ability to keep yourself
alive hangs by a thin thread – one in which
you need to take every resource and advantage
you can get, even if it means sacrificing
your altruism or other morality to do so.
Even if you do take advantage of everything
you can, death and failure are still practically
an inevitability; your destiny is to die,
and die again.
The Faltering Economy
With such an emphasis on raw survival, the
town’s material conditions and economy (MARX
MARX MARX) also become a central focus of
the game. The most obvious example can, again,
be found in dealing with hunger and food.
Between the first and second days of the game,
prices for essential resources, including
food and basic medicine, skyrockets. As the
town is isolated from the outside world and
external trade halts, it becomes apparent
that whatever the town still has is all it
has. The townsfolk panic-buy what little consumable
resources there are, and money stops having

English: 
meaning; when the price of bread is thirty
coins on one day, and nearly ten times that
on another, cash only has as much value as
people’s faith in it. This steadily goes
further and further out of control, and eventually,
by the mid-point of the game, cash is dispensed
with altogether for buying food, and replaced
only with Food Coupons.
Of course, the daily reward in coupons, given
by the shambles of governmental authority,
is not actually sufficient to trade for enough
food to survive. The various authorities are
shown to attempt to divide what little remaining
resources there are equitably, but as scarcity
increases it becomes apparent that they are
unable to provision even basic necessity.
You find yourself selling whatever you have
on you, just in order to feed yourself.
Once more, as noted in the reviews for the
original 2005 Pathologic, you may often find
yourself in a position where you’re trading
away your only gun, just for a loaf of bread.

English: 
when the price of bread is thirty coins on one day, and nearly three hundred on another, and three thousand on the following,
cash has only as much value as people’s faith in it.
This steadily goes further and further out of control,
and eventually, by the mid-point of the game, cash is dispensed with altogether for buying food, and replaced only with Food Coupons.
Of course, the daily reward in coupons, given by the shambles of governmental authority, is not actually sufficient to trade for enough food to survive.
The various authorities are shown to attempt to divide what little remaining resources there are equitably,
but as scarcity increases, it becomes inevitably apparent that they are unable to provision even basic necessities.
You find yourself selling whatever you have on you, just in order not to starve.
Once more, as noted in the reviews for the original 2005 “Pathologic”,
you may often find yourself in a position where you’re trading away your only gun, just for a loaf of bread.

English: 
As “legitimate” means of survival are slowly taken from you, you may find yourself treading steadily less and less ethical grounds;
you can trade away the antibiotics and tinctures that you should be using to save people.
You can go into infected districts, and trade basic medicine to sick townsfolk, at extortionate prices.
Worse still, you may find yourself prowling the streets, breaking into houses just to find SOMETHING to eat for another day,
or mugging people for what little resources they have.
With just the slightest push, you find yourself acting just as violently as the night-time thugs, or the soot-covered looters.
This, also, links back to the game’s themes of selfishness and altruism, and to the sense of the absurd;
in facing such abject suffering, where basic survival requires compromising your morality, what can you hang your identity on?
If one’s own morality and external material conditions are so intimately linked, can you truly claim to be a good person?
Who ARE you, if you are merely acting a role – a role entirely subject to external circumstances?

English: 
As quote-unquote “legitimate” means of
survival are slowly taken from you, you may
find yourself treading steadily less and less
ethical grounds; you can trade away the antibiotics
and tinctures that you should be using to
save people. You can go into infected districts,
and trade basic medicine to sick townsfolk,
at extortionate prices.
Worse still, you may find yourself prowling
the streets, breaking into houses just to
find something enough to eat for another day,
or mugging people for what little resources
they have. With just the slightest push, you
can find yourself acting just as violently
as the night-time thugs, or the soot-covered
looters.
This, also, links both back to the game’s
themes of selfishness and altruism, and to
the sense of the absurd; in the face of such
abject suffering, where basic survival requires
compromising your morality, what can you hang
your identity on? If one’s own morality
and external material conditions are so intimately
linked, can you truly claim to be a good person?
Who are you, if you are merely acting a role
– a role entirely subject to external circumstances?

English: 
Combat within “Pathologic 2” is, as Hobbes put it; nasty, brutish and short.
You are a doctor, not a soldier, and fist-fighting thirty men singlehandedly is not within your capabilities.
You are fragile. Often, you are exhausted or starving – you are not the superman-style hero of most video games.
Combat is unforgiving – though, not in the "Dark-Souls" sense of difficulty-and-then-triumph – but in that it is unfair, dishonourable, and extremely real.
Street fighting is, much as it is in real life, dangerous, ignoble and unnecessary. As soon as a weapon is brought out, the fight is already over.
Every person is fragile – and even a dulled knife will take a grown man down in seconds, yourself included.
Fighting is, more often than not, about hiding in the shadows and getting the drop on your opponent, or running away from a fight altogether –

English: 
(on-screen text; “this is the basis of a
Brechtian analysis”)
Fragility and Fighting
Combat within Pathologic 2 is, as Hobbes put
it; nasty, brutish and short. You are a doctor,
not a soldier, and fist-fighting thirty men
singlehandedly is not within your capabilities.
You are fragile. Often, you are exhausted
or starving – you are not the superman-style
hero of most video games. Combat is unforgiving
– though, not in the Dark-Souls-style sense
of difficulty-and-then-triumph sense – but
in that it is unfair, dishonourable, and extremely
real.
Street fighting is, as in real life, dangerous,
ignoble and unnecessary. As soon as a weapon
is brought out, the fight is already over.
Every person is fragile – and even a dulled
knife will take a grown man down in seconds,
yourself included. Fighting is, more often
than not, about hiding in the shadows and
getting the drop on your opponent, or running

English: 
or, if you’re displaying some measure of bravado, bringing a gun.
Every scuffle is therefore laced with desperation;
only a few hits will disorient and damage you, any wounds from a knife are likely to be fatal,
and even if you don’t immediately die, the damage to your health only makes you MORE vulnerable to the hunger, the exhaustion, and the plague.
Oftentimes, a “successful” fight, where you best or kill your opponent and make off with the loot, is still a loss;
the damage to your health, even if you survive, is the recipe for your later demise when the other survival meters catch up with you.
If you do decide to fight, the act of doing so is still costly;
every slash of a knife degrades its quality, and eventually they become blunt and broken, forcing you to spend your own resources acquiring a new one,
or to spend other resources re-sharpening the one you already own.
Guns, too, suffer degradation with every shot fired;
and, beyond this, each bullet you waste is worth a small fortune – which you may have instead spent on medicines or food.

English: 
away from a fight altogether – or, if you’re
displaying some bravado, bringing your gun.
Every scuffle is therefore laced with desperation;
only a few hits will disorient and damage
you, any wounds from a knife are highly likely
to be fatal, and even if you don’t immediately
die, the damage to your health only makes
you more vulnerable to the hunger, the exhaustion,
and the plague. Oftentimes a “successful”
fight, where you best or kill your opponent
and make off with the loot, is still a loss;
the damage to your health, even if you survive,
is the recipe for your later demise when the
other survival meters catch up with you.
If you do decide to fight, the act of doing
so is still costly; every slash of a knife
degrades its quality, and eventually they
become blunt and broken, forcing you to spend
your resources acquiring a new one, or to
spend other resources re-sharpening the one
you already own. Guns, too, suffer degradation
with each shot fired; and, beyond this, each
bullet you waste is worth a small fortune
– which you may have instead spent on medicines
or food. Fighting is expensive; protecting
yourself is often better served with your

English: 
Fighting is expensive; protecting yourself is often better served with your feet than with your fists.
The nature of this harsh combat explores, further, themes of selfishness; is it cowardice to not intervene when the townspeople are lynching one another?
Is it possible to be brave, when the only reward for such bravery is either immediate death, or significant injury, or a slower death later?
It forces, further, the themes of the absurd; there is no meaning in a fight without honour – it is merely desperation over dwindling resources.
To hang one’s sense of self and one’s sense of morality over such a petty act seems childish, at best.
In a game that features such consistent depictions of suffering, violence is handled as another tragedy, not as glory.
This difficulty in daily survival is increased by several orders of magnitude if you become infected;
the plague will increase the rate at which your exhaustion and your hunger run out, enhancing the sense of desperation.

English: 
feet than with your fists.
The nature of this harsh combat explores,
further, themes of selfishness; is it cowardice
not to intervene when the townspeople are
lynching one another? Is it possible to be
brave, when the only reward for such bravery
is either immediate death, or significant
injury? It forces, further, the themes of
the absurd; there is no meaning in a fight
without honour – it is merely desperation
over dwindling resources. To hang one’s
sense of self and morality over such a petty
act seems childish, at best.
In a game that features such consistent depictions
of suffering, violence is handled as another
tragedy, not glory.
Infection; Inevitability; Infirmary
This difficulty in simple daily survival is
increased by several orders of magnitude if
you become infected; the plague will increase
the rate at which your exhaustion and hunger
run out, enhancing the sense of desperation.

English: 
When infected, your health drains at a constant
rate, placing you at constant risk of death;
this rate at which you die increases, as the
level of infection increases.
In turn, the rate at which infection increases
is determined by immunity – a temporary
buffer against clouds of infection and touching
dirty objects or infected people – but it
is an easily-consumed buffer. Often, the mere
act of walking through an infected district
of town will entirely eat away all your immunity,
rendering you extremely vulnerable to the
plague. The plague, in turn, renders you extremely
vulnerable to all manners of death; starvation,
exhaustion, or fighting in the street become
much, much more dangerous. And, once infected,
there is nearly no cure - certainly not one
that can be found easily, and certainly not
without significant cost.
Catching this deadly disease has its other,
non-physical costs, too; if you are identified
as a carrier, arsonists will throw Molotov
Cocktails at you in the streets. People will
treat you as a pariah, shunning you away,
refusing to trade with you, or, as the army
arrives, may attack you, or target you in

English: 
When infected, your health drains at a constant rate, placing you at constant risk of death; this rate at which you die increases, as the level of infection increases.
In turn, the rate at which infection increases is determined by immunity –
a temporary buffer against clouds of infection and touching dirty objects or infected people – but it is an easily-consumed buffer.
Often, the mere act of walking through an infected district of town will entirely eat away all your immunity, rendering you extremely vulnerable to the plague.
The plague, in turn, renders you extremely vulnerable to all manners of other death;
starvation, exhaustion, or fighting in the street become much, much more dangerous.
And, once infected, there is nearly no cure – certainly not one that can be found easily, and not without significant cost.
Catching this deadly disease has other, non-physical costs, too; if you are identified as a carrier, arsonists will throw Molotov Cocktails at you in the streets.
People will treat you as a pariah, shunning you away, refusing to trade with you,
or, as the army arrives, may attack you, or target you in the sights of their flamethrowers.

English: 
This death spiral caused by the infection is EXTREMELY difficult to manage;
even if you have good sense of using resources and time efficiently,
the antibiotics required merely to keep the pestilence AT BAY – not even to cure it – are expensive, and also damage your health;
the painkillers and other medicines used to increase your health will cause exhaustion, and to manage the exhaustion requires sleep –
which, in turn, allows more time to pass, and allows the infection to return.
It becomes extremely easy to become overwhelmed, and soon you find yourself barely able to complete any of your objectives or quests –
the simple act of Trying To See Tomorrow consumes all your resources and leaves you destitute, emotionally and physically.
There is a sense of degradation in all of this; that this infection renders you less than the person you were before.
This is reflected in the art design; those who are infected become shambling, bandaged creatures, faces covered as their identity is taken from them.
Those who are adjacent to the infection, like the looters and the vandals, attempt to eke out a barely-sufficient survival –

English: 
the sights of their flamethrowers.
The death spiral caused by the infection is
extremely difficult to manage; even if you
have a good sense of using resources and time
efficiently, the antibiotics required merely
to keep the pestilence at bay – not even
to cure it – are expensive, and also damage
your health; the painkillers and other medicinesused
to increase your health will cause exhaustion,
and to manage the exhaustion requires sleep
– which, in turn, allows more time to pass,
and allows the infection to return. It becomes
extremely easy to become overwhelmed, and
soon you find yourself barely able to complete
any of your objectives or quests – the simple
act of Trying To See Tomorrow consumes all
your resources and leaves you destitute.
There is a sense of degradation in all of
this; that this infection renders you less
than the person you were before. This is reflected
in the art design; those who are infected
become shambling, bandaged creatures, faces
covered as their identity is taken from them.
Those who are adjacent to the infection, like

English: 
the looters and the vandals, attempt to eke
out a barely-sufficient survival – all these
people, people who may once have been moral,
or trying to do right by their loved ones,
are reduced to mere roaming beasts – tearing
at each other like some Dante-esque image
of Hell (genuinely perfect metaphor, thank
you for this <33). The Sand Plague, Nature,
and Death itself – which , in many ways,
are all the same thing – bring mankind low
by forcing them into the most base instincts,
abandoning lofty ideals – something that
you, too, will experience. Though you may
cling to whatever ideal you wish and may avoid
becoming a complete monster in the process,
you will still confront yourself as an animal;
mortal, vulnerable, and small.
The fear, apprehension, and sense of despair
induced in the player is entirely intentional;
the game tells you as much in the Theatre
of Cruelty. The sense of inevitability, of
being destined to fail, and almost even finding
some comfort in lying down and accepting fate,
is played out as you face an insurmountable

English: 
all these people, people who may once have been moral, or trying to do right by their loved ones, are reduced to mere roaming beasts –
tearing at each other in some Dante-esque image of Hell.
The Sand Plague, Nature, and Death itself – which, in many ways, are all the same thing – bring mankind low by forcing us to admit our most base instincts,
abandoning lofty ideals – something that you, as a player, will also experience.
Though you may cling to whatever ideal you wish and may avoid becoming a COMPLETE monster in the process, you will still confront yourself as an animal;
mortal, vulnerable, and small.
The fear, apprehension and sense of despair induced in the player is entirely intentional; the game tells you as much in the Theater of Cruelty.
The sense of inevitability, of being destined to fail, of even almost finding some comfort in lying down and accepting fate,

English: 
foe – not even a foe that you can train
and become stronger and face with new knowledge.
Your foe is your own decay. And, to me, that
enemy causes me far more fear than any monster.
Death; The End is never The End
There is one final mechanic I’d like to
discuss here – which, in my opinion, is
one of the most interesting mechanics of the
game. Death, and a Game Over, is normally
a sign that you failed in your role; you did
not succeed, this is not how the story is
supposed to go, reload and retry and do it
right this time.
Not so in Pathologic. You are not granted
such a clean Game Over ending; death is not
The End. Death is merely a part of life, and
a part of the game. And it has permanent consequences;
each time a player dies, they find themselves
backstage – and, after a short conversation
with the infernal master of the Theatre of
Cruelty, they find themselves punished. The
first few deaths seem to pull their punches

English: 
is played out as you face an insurmountable foe – not even a foe that you can train and become stronger and face with new knowledge.
Your foe is your own decay.
And, to me, that enemy causes me far more fear than any monster.
There is one final mechanic I’d like to discuss here – which, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting mechanics of the game.
Death, and a Game Over, is normally a sign that you failed in your role;
you did not succeed, this is not how the story is supposed to go, reload and retry and do it right this time.
But not quite so in “Pathologic”.
You are not granted such a clean Game Over ending; death is not The End. Death is merely a part of life, and a part of the game.
And it has permanent consequences;
each time a player dies, they find themselves backstage –
and, after a short conversation with the infernal master of the Theater of Cruelty, they find themselves punished.
The first few deaths seem to pull their punches –

English: 
until you quite quickly find that your maximum health points are being whittled away to fractions of what it was before –
or your exhaustion or your hunger increases at an even faster rate than previously.
At first this seems phenomenally cruel; if you found the game so difficult as to fail and die, the game’s response is to INCREASE ITS OWN DIFFICULTY.
It also seems impossible to ignore the consequences of this – these penalties are applied retroactively to every save game on your profile.
You cannot save-scum your way out of the punishment of death, and every last death is meaningful.
There are multiple purposes to this; a player may not be so reckless with Artemiy as to throw his life away meaninglessly;
there is also a further sense of immersion when there is a permanent punishment to the player, a greater sense of caution and care –
and, as a consequence, a greater sense of fear and desperation when things are looking bad.
When Artemiy starts to die, the frantic search for a way – ANY way to save yourself becomes that much more real for the player.

English: 
– until you quite quickly find that your
maximum health points are being whittled away
to fractions of what they were before – or
your exhaustion or hunger increases at an
even faster rate than previously.
At first this seems phenomenally cruel; if
you found the game so difficult as to fail
and die, the game’s response is to increase
its own difficulty. It is also impossible
to ignore the consequences of this – these
penalties are applied retroactively to every
save game on your profile. You cannot save-scum
your way out of the punishment of death, and
every last death is meaningful.
There are multiple purposes to this; a player
may not be so reckless with Artemiy as to
throw his life away meaninglessly; there is
a further sense of immersion when there is
a permanent punishment to the player, a greater
sense of caution and care – and, as a consequence,
a greater sense of fear and desperation when
things are looking bad. When Artemiy starts
to die, the frantic search for a way – any
way to save yourself becomes that much more

English: 
real for the player. The game further prevents
you from save-scumming by presenting you only
limited places you can save the game, and
by forcing you to continue on even after you
have died; you cannot undo the consequences
of death, so there is no point in turning
back.
The game forces you, much as in real life,
to live with your decisions – even the mistakes.
It becomes apparent, though, that despite
the fact the game punishes you for dying,
it also expects you to die. You are told not
to fail, yet expected to fail.
This, too, is part of the play. The emotionally
harrowing effect is the intended effect – the
fear and desperation that can only come from
applying permanent player consequences to
in-game failure. Because you cannot understand
the value of hope, or the value of determination,
without encountering the lows of despair.

English: 
The game further prevents you from save-scumming by presenting you only limited places you can save the game,
and by forcing you to continue on even after you’ve died and been punished;
you cannot undo the consequences of death, so there is no point in turning back.
The game forces you, much as in real life, to live with your decisions – even the mistakes.
It becomes apparent, though, that, despite the fact the game punishes you for dying, it also expects you to die. You are told not to fail, and yet EXPECTED to fail.
But this, too, is part of the play.
The emotionally harrowing effect is the intended effect –
the fear and desperation that can only come from applying permanent, out-of-game, player consequences to in-game failure.
Because you cannot understand the value of hope, or the value of determination, without understanding the lows of despair.

English: 
This is a fact that most reviewers completely
fucking missed. Yes, I’m talking about you,
Brendan. You’re a fucking moron.
The Theatre of Cruelty is a Theatre of Death
– a pantomime of suffering, and a look,
directly in the eye, at existential dread.
You cannot come to a conclusion of what to
do in the face of the absurd without first
encountering the absurd.
And the game, quite blatantly, gives its conclusions;
though you may die, though you may fail, though
you may be forced to endure and live with
the permanent consequences of your mistakes,
you still are encouraged to pick yourself
up and carry on. Though it presents a scenario
in which it seems victory is impossible, it
encourages you to still keep trying anyway.
Though it presents a world where doing the
right thing and pressing on forward might
have no guarantee of reward, it pushes you
to keep going, regardless.
The game tells you, openly, that you will
lose; that you cannot save everyone, that
it’s a fool’s errand to even try - and

English: 
And this is a fact that most reviewers completely fucking missed. Yes, I’m talking about you, Brendan. You’re a fucking moron.
The Theater of Cruelty is a Theater of Death – a pantomime of suffering, and a look, directly in the eye, at existential dread.
You cannot come to a conclusion of what to do in the face of the absurd without first encountering the absurd.
And the game, quite blatantly, gives its conclusions;
though you may die, though you may [fail], though you may be forced to endure and live with the permanent consequences of your mistakes,
you’re still encouraged to pick yourself up and carry on.
Though it presents a scenario in which victory seems impossible, it encourages you to keep trying anyway.
Though it presents a world where doing the right thing and pressing on forward might have no guarantee of reward, it pushes you to keep going, regardless.
The game tells you, openly, that you will lose; that you cannot save everyone, that it’s a fool’s errand to even try –

English: 
and then, with a wink and a smile, it tells you to BE that fool.
“Pathologic” is, ultimately, a game about hope and determination, in the face of complete existential destruction.
It’s easy to have hope in a world of smiles and rainbows – in a world where you know the future is guaranteed to be fine.
It’s so much harder to have hope when the world is falling apart around you,
and so much harder to persuade yourself to carry on when you’ve already made so many mistakes, and so many are suffering, and everything seems so pointless.
“Pathologic” shows you that, sometimes, you might just have it in you to carry on anyway – you, personally, the player on the other side of the screen.
And that, to me, is the most potent message that any video game has ever had.

English: 
then, with a wink and a smile, it tells you
to be that fool.
Pathologic is, ultimately, a game about hope,
and determination, in the face of complete
existential destruction. It’s easy to have
hope in a world of smiles and rainbows – in
a world where you know the future is guaranteed
to be fine. It’s so much harder to have
hope when the world is falling apart around
you, and so much harder to persuade yourself
to carry on when you’ve already made so
many mistakes, and so many are suffering,
and everything seems pointless.
Pathologic shows you that, sometimes, you
might just have it in you to carry on anyway
– you, personally, the player on the other
side of the screen. And that, to me, is the
most potent message any video game has ever
had.
5: Discussions with the Developers
Pathologic reads as obviously having a lot
of artistic and literary references. Which
were the main inspirations for the game?
Which side characters from the original were
you most excited to flesh out more? And what
were the writing decisions that led to their
changes in character? (e.g. Lara Ravel is
very different from Patho1 to Patho2)

English: 
I hope it’s apparent by now that I truly love this game – I love its scope, I love its literary ambitions, and I love that it challenges me in a genuinely deep, existential way.
For me, the themes of this game spoke to my real, lived experience as an emergency physician;
it portrayed a doctor, not as a heroic power fantasy, or some hyper-intelligent pseudo-Sherlock character,
but as an exhausted, overwrought individual, trying to do their best and save who they can in a universe that, ultimately, does not care about anybody.
It showed the nature of despair in the face of relentless, meaningless suffering,
the frustrations of dealing with abject poverty, and the difficulty that can sometimes be faced in the simple acts of daily survival.
But, more than just this, I feel that it also showed something important, about determination, and about hope.

English: 
(Secondary to the above question) Why were
Stakh, Lara and Grief, specifically, chosen
to be Artemiy's childhood friends?
Which indigenous cultures most shaped the
Kin and the culture of the Gorkhon? What were
the team's thoughts in writing characters
like Rubin, in terms of showing the marginalisation
of those cultures?
What prompted the semi-anachronistic setting
of the time period in the cusp of the industrial
revolution?
How was the Mind Map developed as a "nonlinear"
questlog system? (as opposed to common "Go
to X, do Y" linear questlogs)
Why was a stage play chosen as the framing
device for the game?
Both the original and the remake had amazing
soundtracks that mix both industrial and tribal-like
motifs. Were there any existing pieces of
music that inspired the direction of the soundtrack?
How were the musical motifs and steppe themes
created?
How was the Death Punishment system created
- and were more death punishments originally
intended? / How did the team settle on this
death-punishment system for reducing player
ability to "Save-scum" away the difficulty?
What led to the narrative choice to change
the endings from those in Pathologic 1 to
the Diurnal & Nocturnal endings of Pathologic
2?
What symbolic significance does Fellow Traveller
hold that may not be immediately understood
by a Western audience?
How was the survival system so finely balanced
to keep players in a consistent state of desperation?
(combat / economy / hunger / infection etc)
What were the small/subtle parts of the art
direction that the team enjoyed creating that
may have been missed by the players? (e.g.
the little bull-head designs on everything,
even the playgrounds)
What were the inspirations for the visual/audio
designs of The Plague?
Why is Time (or lacking time / “time is
your enemy”) a recurrent theme in the games
of Ice Pick Lodge?
What is the team's philosophy behind player
“failure” (e.g. repeated death, failing
quests, etc) in Pathologic 2? Is player “failure”
intentional?
How did the team write a world in which players
aren't told all the information (or sometimes
lied to) by the NPCs, but still craft a playable
story?
What were the main difficulties in localising
the game to an English-speaking audience?
Finale;
I hope it’s apparent by now that I truly
love this game – I love its scope, I love
its literary ambitions, and I love that it
challenges me in a genuinely deep, existential
way.
For me, the themes of this game spoke to my
real, lived experience as an emergency physician;
it portrayed a doctor, not as a heroic power
fantasy, or some hyper-intelligent pseudo-Sherlock
character, but as an exhausted, overwrought
individual, trying to do their best and save
who they can in a universe that, ultimately,
does not care about anybody. It showed the
nature of despair in the face of relentless,
meaningless suffering, the frustrations of
dealing with abject poverty, and the difficulty
that can sometimes be faced in the simple
acts of daily survival.
But, more than this, I feel that it also showed
something important, about determination,
and about hope. Despite encountering often-violent

English: 
tragedy and death on a regular basis, I choose
to carry on a very exhausting job – for
reasons that I sometimes find it hard to fully
articulate. Yet, these same reasons are what
kept me coming back to this game – what
kept me going, even after facing inevitable
failure and loss.
My own sense of Meaning, in the face of the
Absurd, is the same sense of Meaning that
Pathologic leads its players to; You have
to live with your mistakes. Things go wrong
– often outwith your control. You can only
do so much. You cannot save everyone. It’d
be foolish to even try.
But hey. Let’s try anyway. And let’s keep
trying, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll make
it through.
Special thanks;
Special thanks in this video go out to Allamander

English: 
Despite encountering often-violent tragedy and death on a regular basis, I choose to carry on a very exhausting line of work –
for reasons I sometimes find it difficult to fully articulate.
Yet, these same reasons are what kept me coming back to this game – what kept me going, even after facing inevitable failure and loss.
My own sense of Meaning, in the face of the Absurd, is the same sense of Meaning that “Pathologic” leads its players to; You have to live with your mistakes.
Things go wrong – often outwith your control. You can only do so much. You cannot save everyone. It’d be foolish to even try.
But hey. Let’s try anyway. And let’s keep trying, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll make it through.

English: 
for some incredibly dedicated editing work.
I’d also like to thank Hbomberguy, Mandalore,
and RagnaRox for reaching out to me or otherwise
giving me a shout-out whilst I was working
on this video. I’d like to thank the entire
talented team at Ice Pick Lodge, with particular
thanks to Khauvinkh, Alphyna and Nickolai
Dybowski for being kind enough to answer my
questions, and Kit for providing extra video
material.
I can’t recommend this game highly enough
– if a three hour video wasn’t testament

English: 
Special thanks in this video go out to Allamander for some incredibly dedicated editing work.
I’d also like to thank Hbomberguy, LordMandalore and RagnarRox for reaching out to me or otherwise giving me a shout-out whilst I was working on this video.
I’d like to thank the entire talented team at Ice Pick Lodge,
with particular thanks to Khauvinkh, Alphyna and Mr. Dybowski himself for being kind enough to answer my questions, and to Kit for providing extra video material.
I can’t recommend this game highly enough – if this excessively long video wasn’t testament to that, then I’m not sure there is anything else that I could do.
But, genuinely, this game is wonderful.
If you have the inclination, I’d really recommend that you buy it. I’ve put the link to its page on Steam and GOG on the description below.

English: 
to that. If you’ve got the inclination,
I’d really highly recommend you buy this
game.

English: 
And, as well as the main game, “The Marble Nest”, which is a standalone DLC covering one day as the Bachelor. I’ll also link that in the description below.
Thank you for listening, and thank you for going through this far, far too long essay.
I wish the team the best, and I honestly really am looking forward to making the next videos about the Bachelor’s and Changeling’s campaigns.
I don’t generally like doing the whole “youtuber call to action” thing,
but if you did fancy giving this video a like or a comment, or subscribing, then please do hit that little “Subscribe” button.
Thank you for watching, I hope you enjoyed this rambling mess!
