Popular Horror Open-World RPG Is Getting a Sequel

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Popular Horror Open-World RPG Is Getting a Sequel

Key Takeaways

  • Open-world survival horror RPG Pathologic 3 has been announced for 2025, having been confirmed for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
  • The game will star the Bachelor, one of the three playable characters from the first Pathologic who was missing from its 2019 reboot.
  • Aside from graphical improvements, Pathologic 3 will introduce a time travel mechanic that will add even more complexity to its gameplay loop and feed into its surrealist themes.

As a long-time fan who has weathered the storms of the enigmatic world of Pathologic since its inception back in 2005, the announcement of Pathologic 3 sends chills down my spine and a shiver through my soul. The tantalizing hints of surrealist themes, time travel mechanics, and graphical advancements have me yearning for the day when I can once again step into the disease-ridden town, this time as the elusive Bachelor.

The long-awaited game, Pathologic 3, has now been formally unveiled! As a follow-up to the widely acclaimed open-world horror RPG, it will further expand the collection of unusual role-playing games available on PC and consoles.

Originally released by Russian studio Ice-Pick Lodge in 2005, the game Pathologic gained a devoted fanbase for its captivating ambiance, gripping narrative, and unique concept about saving a plague-stricken town. This psychological horror game ran on a proprietary engine. A remake of this title, featuring additional features but also some omissions, was produced using Unity by the same studio and published by TinyBuild as Pathologic 2 in 2019.

Pathologic 3 Announced for 2025

The open-world horror role-playing game series is gearing up to carry on with “Pathologic 3”, an official announcement of which was made in early October 2024. Despite a new publisher, HypeTrain Digital, the creators remain the same for this third installment in the franchise. Expected to release in 2025, it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms.

Pathologic 3 Stars the Bachelor

In the original “Pathologic”, players could control three distinct characters. However, the reboot-sequel, “Pathologic 2”, only allowed control of one character, known as the Haruspex. Now, in “Pathologic 3”, it is the Bachelor who will take center stage. This new game can be viewed as an extension of Ice-Pick Lodge’s work on “Pathologic 2”, which aimed to reimagine all three stories from the initial series installment. By releasing the Bachelor’s campaign separately instead of as paid DLC, the Russian studio finds it easier to implement significant graphical improvements, as demonstrated in the game’s reveal trailer.

In regards to unique gameplay elements, Pathologic 3 will incorporate a time-travel mechanic, a concept that developers have previously tested in Marble Nest, a DLC expansion for Pathologic 2 released towards the end of 2019. This time-travel capacity is reportedly the Bachelor’s primary tool in his battle against the epidemic plaguing the enigmatic town where the game is set, enabling him to revisit crucial moments and alter them to his advantage.

Our aim is to create an experience for the player that showcases time as something richer and more intricate than our everyday understanding, presenting it not just as a straightforward timeline.

Beyond enhancing the conventional time management mechanic in the game Pathologic, the inclusion of a time rewind feature further strengthens the eerie, surrealist aspects of the survival horror genre. As stated by Ice-Pick Lodge founder Nikolay Dybowski, “Our aim is to make players feel that time isn’t just a simple, linear path as we commonly understand it.” Given Pathologic 2’s reputation as one of the finest nonlinear horror games, the announcement of its intricately tangled sequel is undeniably exciting news for many fans of the genre.

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2024-10-08 13:43