Ice Pick Lodge, the Russian game studio who first made waves in the mid 2000’s with their debut title Pathologic, have announced they are making a new entry in the series set to release in 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series and PC (Steam).
After a few days of cryptic posts on their social media, which alluded to the new time travel mechanic being added in Pathologic 3, the studio dropped the announcement trailer on Monday 7th October.
The Pathologic series are Ice Pick Lodge’s most well known games, growing in fame over the years for its’ dense meta-narrative and punishing gameplay, all set in an enthralling yet harrowing world heavily inspired by Slavic mythos.
The premise of the series is simple: take control of one of three characters and try to save a town gripped by a plague that cannot be stopped, with only 12 days to do it. Heavily focused on time and item management, understanding the people and culture of the town, and making decisions to the deal with their consequences, Pathologic is unforgiving to the point of being cruel, much like its’ world and story.
In the same way that Pathologic 2 and its’ expansion The Marble Nest followed the same story and characters as the first game, Pathologic 3 looks to do the same, albeit with some small changes and a time traveling twist.
Choosing to focus on just one of the characters and their story, the young doctor Bachelor Daniil Dankovsky, gameplay will have a more character-centric focus. As detailed in a press release from the publisher HypeTrain Digital:
“Immerse yourself in the role of a physician. Diagnose and treat patients based on examinations. Use a microscope and research pathogens to develop treatments and save your patients. Fight the epidemic by implementing quarantines and deploying patrols to lock down the spread of disease.”
With the addition of time travel allowing the player to see future events and change past ones, but all within the 12 day timeframe, it will be interesting to see how it is implemented and affects gameplay, the story and the already pretty obtuse meta-narrative. As stated from the same press release, this new mechanic “offers a fresh perspective on a familiar story for both veteran players and newcomers alike.”
If you are new to the Pathologic series I highly recommend trying them out; I cannot honestly think of another game like them, and I suggest going in with no prior knowledge for the genuine experience, before falling down a lore rabbit hole.
Sadly, with no access to any sort of time travel powers, we will have to wait for a firm release date, which gives you plenty of time to check out the links below and get a sense of what Pathologic 3 has in store.
Watch the announcement trailer on Youtube, HERE.
Wishlist the game on Steam, HERE.
