Pathologic 3 stars Daniil Dankovsky a prodigy doctor

Pathologic 3: Dankovsky Returns to Steppe To Cure A Medical Horror

ByMusu Murray

If you’ve played an Ice-Pick Lodge game, you know it means confusion, stress, and likely dying of hunger while a mime laughs. The cult-classic survival horror series Pathologic returns, putting us in the shoes of Daniil Dankovsky. Pathologic 3 is officially announced, ready to threaten our emotional state once again.

Protagonist and Story Details

Pathologic 3 has Dr. Daniil Dankovsky as the main protagonist, an arrogant but brilliant doctor
Screenshot of Daniil Dankovsky in Pathologic 3, Courtesy of Musu Murray via Steam

In Pathologic 3, players take on the role of Daniil Dankovsky, a prickly, arrogant physician from the capital. He’s a researcher and a prodigy who arrives in a remote town in the eastern steppe with a singular goal: to find a man who is rumored to be immortal. Unfortunately, the immortal man is dead, a plague is eating the town alive, and you have already failed.

Dankovsky must repeatedly “return to the beginning” to fix his mistakes. The game introduces a clear time-loop mechanic: each failed attempt to save the town within the 12 days causes time to revert to day one, giving you another chance to alter your choices and outcomes until you succeed or fail again.

Clinical Hours with Dr. Dankovsky

Pathologic 3's Daniil Dankovsky must diagnose patients but not all are forthcoming with the true about their symptoms
Screenshot of Dankovsky’s Patient Notes in Pathologic 3, Courtesy of Musu Murray via Steam

While the survival elements of eating, sleeping, and avoiding harm are staples of the series, Pathologic 3 introduces a much more complex medical system. Since Dankovsky is a real medical doctor (unlike the Haruspex), the gameplay reflects his clinical approach to the outbreak, having you examine patients up close.

The developers tease a mechanic where patients will lie to you, omit truths, or hide their motives. You have to separate fact from fiction to diagnose the real symptoms. It sounds almost like a detective game wrapped in a biohazard suit. You’ll be visiting patients, trying to develop a vaccine while navigating a web of lies.

Town Management And Decision Making

Pathologic 3 has a 12 day time limit for you to find a cure for the plague
Image of the 12-day Time Clock in Pathologic 3, Courtesy of Musu Murray via Steam

This is perhaps the most stressful addition to the series. In Pathologic 3, you seemingly get to play god—or at least, a very authoritarian mayor. To ensure the town survives, you can impose martial law-style rules, enforce quarantines, confiscate medicine from the healthy to give to the sick, deploy patrols, and suppress riots.

Of course, great power comes with great cost; the citizens might survive the plague, but they will absolutely hate you for how you saved them. This imposes the human morality conundrum, where you have to make logical choices to find the cure at the cost of public scrutiny and, maybe, humanity.

Pathologic 3 Sanity System

Pathologic 3 mental state mechanic ranges from apathy to mania
Image of the Mental State and Decision Making Choices, Courtesy of Musu Murray via Steam

It wouldn’t be a psychological horror game without something to mess with your head. The game features a mental state system where your psyche directly influences how the game plays out. Dankovsky’s mental state changes how you interpret events in the game. It might lead to new insights or your death. It forces players to question his reality and wonder if he really is seeing supernatural beings or if it’s all in his head.

Dr. Dankovsky’s Battle Has Begun

Pathologic 3 is currently available for PC via Steam, ready for you to walk through the foggy town streets. This installment puts you to the ultimate test as the leader against a deadly plague, making you choose the greater good over human morals. Can you withstand the pressure of holding the life of a town in your hands, or will you doom the town to a horrible death?

Musu Murray is a graduate of Winthrop University with a B.S. in Multidisciplinary Chemistry & B.A. in Illustration Visual Communication. She can understand the technical jargon but prefers writing easy-to-digest reports that get straight to the point. She is a massive horror fan and loves the arts. When she's not writing, you can find her either at her easel desk painting, or bundled up in the dark watching cult classics. From gaming to gardening, she will get her hands on whatever topic she finds.

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