It's hard to recommend this game. After finishing Schindler's List there really is no great desire to rewind the tape, crack open another beer and watch that sucker again. It's not 'fun'.

The thing is that video games have an incredible untapped potential in the field of negative emotions. Just as the lowest common denominator of any art form appeals to 'positive' emotions, whether it's humor, arousal, or excitement, so it is that our young games industry is obsessed with the idea of 'fun'.

One of the core reasons that the games industry hasn't had its Casablance or Citizen Kane- we're still in the era of musicals and slapstick comedy. No games developer's going to try and make its audience feel sad, or lonely, or pathetic, at least not for long stretches. You might get games that dip their toes into that water from time to time, but by and large game developers are keen to keep you smiling.

However, Pathologic, fearlessly wields desperation, brutality, hopelessness, exhaustion, cruelty, even ignorance and pain, and, -if you can stomach it-, the result is nothing short of phenomenal. The game creates an interesting, desperate situation and brooks no compromise it letting you experience it. And in unflinchingly making you suffer, you identify with it, the world, and the characters you control to the point of becoming them.

In my opinion it is a masterpiece that defies the standard characterization of what a game is. However, with the games industry being what it is, and gamers being what they are, very few people need, and fewer want, games like this. Recommending Pathologic, is a lot like recommending your friend to go through a torturous, sickly, flu-induced fever dream. It cannot possibly be called 'fun', but it can be an experience that may move you in a way you never thought a game could.

It's hard to recommend this game. After finishing Schindler's List there really is no great desire to rewind the tape, crack open another beer and watch that sucker again. It's not 'fun'. The thing is that video games have an incredible untapped potential in the field of negative emotions. Just as the lowest common denominator of any art form appeals to 'positive' emotions, whether it's humor, arousal, or excitement, so it is that our young games industry is obsessed with the idea of 'fun'. One of the core reasons that the games industry hasn't had its Casablance or Citizen Kane- we're still in the era of musicals and slapstick comedy. No games developer's going to try and make its audience feel sad, or lonely, or pathetic, at least not for long stretches. You might get games that dip their toes into that water from time to time, but by and large game developers are keen to keep you smiling. However, Pathologic, fearlessly wields desperation, brutality, hopelessness, exhaustion, cruelty, even ignorance and pain, and, -if you can stomach it-, the result is nothing short of phenomenal. The game creates an interesting, desperate situation and brooks no compromise it letting you experience it. And in unflinchingly making you suffer, you identify with it, the world, and the characters you control to the point of becoming them. In my opinion it is a masterpiece that defies the standard characterization of what a game is. However, with the games industry being what it is, and gamers being what they are, very few people need, and fewer want, games like this. Recommending Pathologic, is a lot like recommending your friend to go through a torturous, sickly, flu-induced fever dream. It cannot possibly be called 'fun', but it can be an experience that may move you in a way you never thought a game could.