New Steam Horror Game is Like Silent Hill Meets No, I’m Not…

There has been a fantastic array of horror games released on Steam in recent years that have attempted to capitalize on psychological horror classics like Silent Hill. Indie horror games on Steam have the freedom to experiment with unusual and unsettling mechanics while evoking the oppressive atmosphere and cerebral scares of the Silent Hill series, and this new game seems to capture that feel with a twist. Pathologic 3 is one title that horror fans won't want to miss, especially if they enjoy the atmosphere of Silent Hill and the tense decision-making of No, I'm Not a Human.

One of the draws of the popular indie horror game No, I'm Not a Human is the decisions players will need to make about the survivors they let into their house. The game requires players to test these NPCs for signs that they are a Visitor and not a human, forcing the player to make a judgment call when contradictory symptoms appear. Pathologic 3 employs a similar mechanic that ties the bleak, Silent Hill-esque environment together for a tense gameplay experience.

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By J. Scott Thurlow

Pathologic 3 is a Steam Horror Game That Combines the Atmosphere of Silent Hill with the Gameplay of No, I'm Not a Human

Pathologic 3 is set in a small Russian village amid the outbreak of a devastating plague known as the "sand plague." The players' goal is to attempt to heal the villagers of this plague by finding its source and developing a cure. The twist is that they only have 12 days to do it, and time will progress regardless of how much progress players have made on their main quest.

The Pathologic series is infamous for its tough-as-nails gameplay, where players are forced to manage their own survival as well as that of the villagers with very limited resources. Food is scarce, merchants sell goods for high prices with limited stock, and there is the constant risk of being attacked by desperate villagers or of players contracting the plague themselves. These factors total to make Pathologic a stressful experience that isn't for the faint of heart.

How Pathologic 3 Fits into the Pathologic Series

The first Pathologic game was released back in 2005 with three playable protagonists: The Bachelor (Daniil Dankovsky), The Haruspex (Artemy Burakh), and The Changeling (Clara), and each of these characters plays a different version of the same story. In 2019, Pathologic 2 was released as a remake of the Haruspex route with improved gameplay mechanics to tone down the difficulty a bit. Now, Pathologic 3 is essentially a remake of the Bachelor route, meaning that new players can jump into the series with this entry before going back to play the previous ones.

Pathologic 3 releases on Steam on January 9, 2026.

Pathologic 3's Gameplay Loop Pressures Players into Diagnosing and Curing a Mysterious Plague

In contrast to Pathologic 2's Haruspex, the Bachelor's training and ethos as a doctor allow gameplay to unfold somewhat differently. Players will need to use their medical training to see through the villagers' lies and determine whether they have contracted the sand plague. To this end, Pathologic 3's gameplay consists of activities like:

Examining patients to determine their diagnosis
Ordering quarantines, curfews, decrees, and roadblocks
Gaining the trust of the villagers and the town's ruling families
Fighting the plague and suppressing riots
Utilize time travel mechanics to undo mistakes

Another key component of Pathologic 3's gameplay is the Bachelor's ability to go back in time to make a different decision and see the outcome of an alternate route. This gives players some freedom over their gameplay choices, since they can try a different course of action if they are unhappy with a particular outcome.

Players Will Have to Make Tough Decisions in Pathologic 3

No, I'm Not a Human's defining gameplay mechanic is the investigation and subsequent decision to kill or spare an NPC if they are suspected to be a Visitor. Pathologic 3 will force players to make decisions of similar weight, like whether to give an ailing villager medicine or save it for another if they believe that the villager is lying, or quarantine a district of the village and potentially stem the spread of the plague at the cost of the residents' lives. Add in the bleak environment, bizarre folk imagery, and the need to manage the mental state of the Bachelor, and Pathologic 3 is a game made for players looking for a stressful psychological horror game experience.

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