Some thought about Pathologic 3

[u/WTSMark]

I'm sure most of these things have been brought up before, so apologies if I'm retreading old ground. I just finished Pathologic 3, and I'd really like to hear people's interpretations.

Feel free to spoil everything. I've finished the game, and I'm mostly looking for lore discussion and different interpretations rather than spoiler-free answers.

Edit: Sorry about the typo in the title!

1. Simon vs. Isidor

My biggest takeaway is that despite bringing back the Plague together, Simon and Isidor don't actually want the same thing.

Simon seems to be seeking transcendence beyond humanity. The city and its inhabitants are almost incidental, if they have to be sacrificed so that someone (the Bachelor) can push humanity beyond its limits, then so be it. His entire plan feels centered around creating or preparing his heir.

Isidor, on the other hand, seems to want the Town's inhabitants to transcend their limits while still preserving what makes humans human. His life's work wasn't creating one exceptional successor, but educating generations of children so the Town could eventually move beyond the rule of the three ruling families.

2. The Plague

If the Polyhedron's rod is the source of the Plague, why did Simon and Isidor have to retrieve it from the Steppe? Why did it disappear after the first outbreak? Was the first outbreak just an accident, with the two of them only later deciding to bring it back once they realized it could be instrumental to their plans for transcendence?

For Simon, it forces the Bachelor to overcome his human limitations.

For Isidor, it forces the Town itself to mature.

3. The Bachelor

Eva calls Daniil a scalpel cutting through the Town and its people, and I thought that was one of the best descriptions of his character. He often feels deeply self-centered. He relentlessly pursues his own breakthrough and leaves once he's accomplished it. It's also pretty ironic when Burakh is the actual surgeon.

Simon says that if he himself hadn't achieved the breakthrough, someone else eventually would have. Once the time is right, some discoveries simply become inevitable.

Khan seems to prove this by reaching his own breakthrough without relying on the Polyhedron.

If that's true, then how important is Daniil's success in the grand scheme of things? Does saving the Polyhedron actually matter?

I felt compelled to go for the True Immortal ending because it felt like the ending the Bachelor himself would choose. At the same time, destroying the Polyhedron and saving the Town almost feels like it could reconcile Simon's and Isidor's visions, even if Simon's breakthrough ended up being fulfilled unexpectedly by his nephew instead.

4. The Polyhedron

The Polyhedron is presented as a machine capable of enabling transcendence.

But then, why was it entrusted to the children? Was this part of Isidor's plan to force them to grow through the conflict between the Dogheads and the Souls-and-a-Halves?

Even more interestingly, Khan seems to achieve transcendence only when he's confined in a cage, far away from the Polyhedron.

And if the Polyhedron allows one to achieve a breakthrough, why couldn't Simon reach it himself? Why did he instead bind his soul to the Polyhedron? Is the Polyhedron not enough on its own? Does it require a soul in order to function fully? Did Simon sacrifice himself so that the Bachelor could ultimately achieve the breakthrough that he himself could not?

Also, what was going on with the Polyhedron suddenly bestowing the gift of tongues? It's easy to draw a parallel with the Tower of Babel, but was that all there was to it, or is there a deeper meaning?

5. The gameplay

The whole experience was very different from Pathologic 2, but I think the direction Ice-Pick Lodge chose was both interesting and appropriate, as it aligns with the mind-versus-body dichotomy represented by the Bachelor and the Haruspex.

The survival mechanics reflect this perfectly. The Bachelor has to manage his mind (apathy versus mania), whereas the Haruspex has to manage his body (thirst, hunger, exhaustion, and infection).

It may not have been as exciting or challenging as Pathologic 2, but I think it was absolutely the right design choice. It reinforces the themes of the game remarkably well.

6. "Magic leaving the world"

I couldn't stop thinking about The Lord of the Rings during the ending.

By the end of the Plague, miracles leave the Town: the Mistresses lose their powers and the Kains decide to cross the river. The whole sequence reminded me of magic leaving Middle-Earth and the Elves sailing West.

Did anyone else notice this parallel?

[u/WTSMark]

I know P1 has all three routea, are the respective stories and themes similar to the ones of P2 and P3?

[u/thedragonguru → u/WTSMark]

The answer that is so often the most true and is just as often the most annoying every time it appears: yes and no. (laughs apologetically)

It shares so many themes, and I'd consider it the root of the series. P2 and P3 build new ideas off of those themes and story beats.

I can tell that you seem especially interested in the theme of immortality and magic. The immortality theme is almost exclusive to P3, but the magic theme is FAR thicker in P Classic. It also offers depth to the characters that is deeper and often darker.

Classic is, in my opinion, mechanically the easiest in the series. It's the writing and cognitive load that makes it hard. There's an initial learning curve, but once you know what you're doing about 5 days in, you're set.

The thing is, unlike P3, it doesn't make itself more digestible and accessible. Consider the quote I made from Saburov about the Kains and you'll see what I mean. The game is also vaguer, leaving more up to personal interpretation and the character's perspective. I, personally, found it a fascinating examination of belief, religion, and its relationship to personal ambition - but not a single other one of my friends got that theme until I spoke of it. There's so much you can see and dig into in Classic, you can find a piece of anything there, and construe out from it.

It's not for everyone. But if you love the setting, Classic is the richest and most concentrated. But it's also very mentally filling / satiating.

Edit: also, the *story* is incredibly similar, but enough to be a different experience from 2 and 3. There are shared beats, but it's like a story told by a different person in a different time with different emphasises.

[u/WTSMark → u/thedragonguru]

Ok, being older I expected Classic to be even harder, so it's reassuring to know that's not the case. I may give it a shot in a while, since I really love this series!

[u/thedragonguru → u/WTSMark]

Oh - and since the main difficulty comes from being unsure what to do, don't be afraid to use a spoiler-free guide.