TL;DR if you don't want to read my incredibly pretentious, artsy nerd review: If you think you'll like it, you will. Play it regardless.

Reviewing, describing, and even just talking about a piece of media to someone can be difficult sometimes, since tastes are always different and what could be a positive for one person is a negative for another. It's impossible to view something in a wholly objective light, because even that can be skewed by personal views. Now, of course, this is known to anyone who's tried their hand at speaking to something's strengths or weaknesses, especially on a public platform like this. So why bring it up? Simply put, because this game's traits are so subjective to the core that it would be completely out of my hands to even attempt to try and speak from a non-biased point of view. That being said, this game is all about overcoming seemingly impossible odds, so let's try.

Pathologic is a challenge. Not just in the sense of the game's notorious difficulty, but in the way that it acts as a reflection of how you specifically would go about solving problems with no solutions and deciding on things that can not be decided on. The game sometimes even resists your choice, by giving you dialogue options with no clear "right" thing to say, as compared to other games that tend to give you the options of "good, bad, or neutral" with no deviation. Of course, it's all just a game, so why does it matter? Why does the inability to say what you want to say affect you at all? After all, it's not you, it's just a character. But, try as you might to suppress the feeling, you still feel that twinge of pain when you end up saying something that hurts a character in grief or suffering. Why?

Blanket statement, I know, but I truly don't know of another piece of media, of any type you choose, that could match the immersion this game provides. It's been described as Kafkaesque in many circles, and while some would say that term has been beaten into meaninglessness, I would say that there has never been a better piece to file under it. From the kickstart of being thrown into the deep end of a situation you barely understand, to the suffocatingly oppressive nature of the town around you, to the dream-like architecture and dialogue of certain characters, it wraps you in a tight, engrossing cloth, not letting up until you either quit or beat it. This immersion is what makes everything in the game so meaningful. The realistic disease makes you dread even going near sick areas or carriers without proper protection, your ever-present physical needs don't feel like something tacked on to further the "survival" aspect of the plague, but rather something more devastating to you than the plague itself. By pushing you to your physical, mental, and emotional limits, the game forces you to make choices that cut deep and make you look at yourself when it's done. You don't want your best friend to die, but if you die, then it's all for nothing, both as a character in the game and as a player.

Eventually, you'll have to kill off your desires to save everyone or to even fully protect yourself because you just don't have the choice, not because the game didn't provide you with it, but solely because it provided you with the choice. Everything you do has consequences, minor or major, sooner or later, and it makes for an experience in which even your own inventory management can be seen as a choice, depending on the circumstances. The game lets you act exactly how you want to act, yet somehow simultaneously refuses to budge from how it wants you to play, again reinforcing its confusing, mind-warping tone that never ceases until you quit resisting and play your part. But then that begs the question, how do you feel about playing your part?

The lore of the game, while not necessarily its focal point, is something I would feel ashamed of not at least bringing up. It is so meticulously carved out throughout the game that, despite me completing it, I still feel like I only know a fraction of what there is to learn. The Steppe's history, its traditions, its meanings, almost everything is not handed to you, but rather something you pick up through finding out for yourself. The logic of the town is revealed slowly as time moves on, in unnoticeable increments; rather than having a revelation, a moment of clarity, you steadily build up your knowledge of how the people around you function and think until eventually, you feel as though you're one of the town's own, living and breathing right next to them, furthering the game's grasp on your mind in the best possible way.

I feel as though I've exhausted all I can say without going into spoiler territory, which is not something I want to do, I'd much rather try to sell you on the game by praising its brilliance and pulling you in to try it than to spoil the experience of learning the world for yourself. I want to end on this note, though. If you play it and you don't finish it, that's alright. If you play it and you don't like it, that's alright. If you don't even want to play it to begin with because you hate every detail about it, that's alright. Some things are challenging to get enjoyment out of, and it's only human for you to not want to go through hardships, especially one as optional as a game. I don't view myself as better for finishing it, and I don't view you as worse for giving up or avoiding it. However, I do ask that you try. Even if you think it's too much, keep trying. It took me over a year to finally beat it, and I could not have been happier to see it through to the end. Everyone deserves to experience the reflection this game provides, and seeing it through to the very end is an incredibly rich, rewarding experience.

Some scattershot thoughts I wanted to tack on and found no place to do so naturally:
- The imperialist themes are incredibly well-done and were a huge driving factor in how i dealt with certain situations
- This might have the best sound design in any game; the soundtrack itself is fantastic but the constant incomprehensible noises from around the Steppe are so effective
- I deeply care about the worms
- I don't think the ending(s) was fantastic in a vacuum but in the grand scheme of the game, I think it works perfectly
- This game occupied my brain for the entire time I was playing it to the point where I was struggling to sleep, thinking about how I would survive the next day once I played it again
- I really, really hope the other two routes come soon, this is already a near-perfect game as it is, having the other two would earn it a spot in the hall of fame