Thanks Ice-Pick Lodge

[trias]

Just want to say thank you for creating this game. I tried to play the original and struggled with it, but The Void was one of my favorite games of all time, so I was looking forward to this and backed it. I've now been totally sucked into this game, probably not like anything else since I played The Void years ago. I'm just so happy it exists. Thank you!

[alphyna]

thank you for the kind words!

[Utopian]

I agree! They have truly outdone themselves with this. They took the original and expanded in every single direction. I cannot wait for other scenarios!

[Demonocrat]

[Romitas]

[Basz]

I finished my first playhtrough of Pathologic 2 yesterday (I only tried pathologic 1 for 2-3 hours before) and I just want to say the same. This game was so unique and interesting I couldnt stop even if you so desperatly wanted me with all the death penalties haha. Totally loved it and hope it does well enough for us new fans to be able to experiance Batchelor and Changeling soon enough!

Thanks for a fantastic experiance and I wish the devs the best.

Looks like I will have to check out the Void also :)

[NoTimeToWait]

I would like to thank developers for allowing us to experience this atmosphere of dread again after so many years. I never expected this game to be such an outstanding rework and rethinking of old concepts. It is so much better in so many ways, that I can't stop appreciating it. The addition of local encounters, dreams and new "ideas" tab was a masterpiece decision. Every part of the game now feels complete and the overall integrity of the experience is astonishing. Seeing, how Ice-Pick Lodge expanded Haruspex story, I think that decision to divide the game into three parts was brilliant. Now can't wait for Bachelor storyline to come out, since he is my favorite (yeah, I know he is somewhat obnoxious). And maybe I'll finally be able to appreciate the Changeling's storyline inside this brand new town.

[Lantantan]

Greatly enjoyed it. Looking forward to the other characters!

[Gared]

Indeed, the fate of this game could've been very different

But one day someone decided that it's a good idea to make a re-do of the game and set off a fresh start. Thank you to the whole team for such dedication, effort and passion!

[pomson gaming]

I agree. Can't wait for Bachelor and Changeling storylines to be added in the future

[JackWalters222]

Yup, I'm very happy this got made, and am very happy with the product I have gotten, and am already hyped for the day the game is wholly complete, *and* am totally dismayed that its reception is not unlike the first game. Unfortunately for Pathologic 2, survival mechanics have actually successfully been gameified since the first Pathologic. "An interactive survival experience" no longer obviously means "but, really, it IS more of an experience, and NOT a game in a traditional sense," and I suspect this is largely what spelled the doom of any hope to sell this game in such a way that it was obvious what people would be getting into. The result, tragically, is reception that almost completely mirrors the reception of We Happy Few ("great story, world, and mechanics--shame the actual game by which we enjoy them is nothing but a slog"), even though this game very much does not have any of the identity crisis that title seemed to have. This makes me fairly hopeful for the difficulty slider, though. While I do understand that the game is meant to be experienced the way it has been released,--where taking care of your needs is a fairly large part of it and you are not even remotely meant to experience everything on a single playthrough--I have nonetheless genuinely wondered what this would be like if it were balanced in a more, erm... "traditional" sense. It would totally kill a lot of the oppressive nature that is the point if it was balanced in the way I'm imagining, but I still think "Pathologic, but not completely out of your control in the same sense that you have a semblance of control in other survival games" would still be something worth toying with even if it could never be considered the core or intended experience. It's a testament to the uniqueness of the experience, as well as the quality of the constructed world that being unable to experience even most things feels like an oversight or mistake on the part of the developers even though it's very much intentional and is absolutely required for it to properly ask the questions it wants to ask.

Also, would like to give a shout-out to the developer responses in the Steam discussion pages here. If what one person said is true and that releasing the game episodically was indeed not the original intent (and instead something they had to do due to finances, an explanation which seems plausible since the Bachelor was always the logical starting point and presumably would have been released first if they had all the time and money in the world), then their activity in the discussion boards here make me more than happy to say that they seem to be making the best of bad circumstances. They're clearly using this experience to tune it such that, when the game can be called "complete," we'll likely be able to say "truly, definitely complete." As it stands, anyone who is coming later for a full release will have the benefit of a difficulty slider, and likely other amenities that will become available as a direct response to feedback, so I imagine the person who will be buying the full game will have *much* to look forward to. This is also to say nothing of its planned release on consoles, which is something I'm always glad to see of any game if not just because it generally means the game will, for one, be brought to a wider audience and, for two, have to be made at least *somewhat* accessible for such an audience (as a person who loves himself some game controllers, I am not the sort of PC player that is discouraged by this frequent aspect).

Truly, a "thanks" is the most appropriate thing I can give the developers beyond my patronage. Pathologic isn't a fun game. It isn't an enjoyable experience. There isn't much it does that can't be found in a more fun form elsewhere. But that's the thing: there aren't many products on Steam which are *deliberately* a pain so as to best immerse you in the experience. While this will often be an inexcusable goal that should rightfully be suicidal, the actual nature of what the game explores more than justifies it for me. It would be less of the experience it is if I were in control. It would not let me answer, "how would I do in town beset with a plague which somehow blends Lovecraftian horror with a Kafkaesque nightmare," if it were anything but what it is now. I'm happy that this was not only a vision that people had, but a vision that got made with as much success as this. While we'll have to wait and see for the full release of Pathologic 2, I can still say that, based on what we have so far, it seems to be far closer to what the first game was meant to be and has significantly fewer parts of the game where it was unclear if something was deliberately obtuse or thoughtlessly so.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, I am very pleased with my purchase, and plans to allow a bit more user-definition to the experience make me even more excited in spite of me being well aware that such tuning is not the intended experience. Thank you for this.

[J_Whatever]

Thank you for sticking to your vision and creating a game that's unlike anything else I've ever played. The punishing nature of this game has created more immersion than any game in recent history. Can't wait to see what else this game throws at me and I'm looking forward to the Bachelor and Changeling paths.

[Captain Goor Porplo]

Pathologic 1 was my favourite game of all time, and I'm amazed by how good Pathologic 2 is. No other game can create this kind of immersion for me and the difficulty makes it satisfying and works so well to reinforce the plot. You've done great work and thank you for making this. The game right now has more than enough content to be called a full game and personally I wouldn't mind if bachelor and changeling were to be paid DLC, especially if it helps with production.

[Silly Clown]

Pathologic, this game amazes me how much it stood out from other horror mystery games in term of difficulty and story.

Ice Pick Lodge, you did an amzing job with the sequel/remake. Also, love your choice of music!

[KVAS TARAS]

Hey Ice Pick Lodge, any ETA on when the other characters arrive? :)
Or at least I'm wondering about how they're gonna be implemented in the game regarding monetization. They're gonna be purchasable DLC-styled like Telltale or Life is Strange episodes? Or they will be unlocked from the start?

[veever]

Thank you so much.