Pathologic 2

люблю и ненавижу этот мор. Сидишь с опухшими глазами от напряга, думалка не варит, жизнь и иммунитет на нуле. Степняки затирают на своём языке и ты пытаешься вычленить из этого сюжет, в очередной бочке нет воды, Ноткин снова заразился, из-за угла на тебя бегут три головореза, а дыхания нет. Это балдёж

At time of writing 73% of people started the game but only 25% made it to day 3. This is tragic. I bring this up to warn curious eyes that this game has a particularly obtuse and disjointed prologue. However, if you can push past it (and if you aren't scared of reading :o) there is a fantastic, narratively rich and mechanically satisfying game here. There is also hands down the best trade/barter system of any video game. There is an economy that changes with the story. You will scrounge junk and barter it up to food and bullets. Every game has recycled character models for civilians - this game uses that as a game mechanic. You know generally what each type of townsfolk will have to trade and what items they want just at a glance. This might sound like a cop out on paper but in practice it adds so much to the immersion and perfectly triggers the suspension of disbelief in your brain. Also the narrative is pushing the idea that the townsfolk are all linked so it fits in the story. It's so hard to describe effectively but there is no other game like this plague ridden hobo simulator. The structure of the game being 12 days is implemented really well also. The first few days are just getting your bearings and meeting people (probably why a lot of people haven't made it to day 3). But once the story kicks off you don't have time to think, you don't know who to trust and you become aware you cannot save everyone. If you allow yourself to get pulled into this world over the first 3 days this game will latch on and keep you hooked all the way to the end. You will feel the urgency and futility of your character. You're probably noticing a trend; the way this game blends game mechanics and narrative is expertly done. Player / NPC death is part of the story, cheating is part of the story, even your own personal willingness to engage with the material is part of the story. This is a game that knows its a game but pulls off the magic trick of not disappearing up its own ass. TLDR: This is such a hard game to pick up and get invested. But if you do it's absolutely worth it. If you're like me and play games for challenge and immersion - there is so much to love here.