Pathologic 2

Great game, but after a point it gets kinda difficult running around hungry, thirsty and exhausted to complete time sensitive tasks, only to then come back home and play this game

Best game I have ever played after Disco Elysium. I can't even call it a game. It is a unique experience, one of a kind. I believe this game is not for everyone. If you enjoy reading every sentence of beautifully written dialogues, Dostoyevsky-like philosophical questions about life/death/religion/sin and complex game mechanics that replicate the hardship of a real life experience - this is for you.
Huge recommendation - don't watch/read anything. It will affect your gameplay. Just try it for 2-3 hours and reach Day 2. If it is for you, you will be absorbed. If it is not, forget about it - it's just not for you and this is perfectly fine.

This game is an ADHD simulator and worst nightmare all in one. There's a million things you have to do, with very little way to know what to prioritize and constantly getting distracted by new quests or finding items in trash cans or delicious egg. The roads are as confusing to navigate as possible and by the time you realize you forgot something important you need to pick up, you're already like halfway across town. And the clock is constantly ticking and you always feel like you're too late for things as time literally gets faster every day. Still less stressful than my life without my meds tho so 10/10.

there three games that gave me that "this is Literature" vibes.
planescape torment, disco elysium, and this

An engrossing, surreal exploration of a strange town in the Russian steppe that I absolutely had no fun playing. By design. Its constantly stressful, you're mostly just walking around expect when you have to engage is the awkward combat, and its so difficult that you'll often have to repeat sections of it to make progress. This is the intended experience and its great because it will actually instill in you empathy and understanding for the people that inhabit the town and what their own lives are like. That's kind of the magic here, there isn't really much "fun" about playing this game, but you still want to play it. The mysteries are so intriguing and the writing is so compelling that you'll want to push through. In a medium that usually measures value in fun per hour that's pretty significant I think.

Originally when my friend told me about this game I wasn't really interested in the premise. But they got the game for me and so I tried it. . .and strangely I found that, unlike a lot of people, I genuinely enjoy this game's difficult survival mechanics, to the point where its the most fun I've had with a game. On intended difficulty too! Although that's probably just me, I doubt its that enjoyable for many other people. That same friend thinks I'm a masochist for liking it so much. There's this rush I get from frantically running around trying to just get enough to scrap by while also trying to complete tasks.
And when you play it all the way through it is an experience like no other. It's like a rare, beautiful, but thorny flower atop a giant mountain, that so few will sadly be able to see because of the dangerous journey that is required. But going through the trials of that journey is what makes it so beautiful. Only the flower is the journey.
At times this game creates a sense of desperation that, like a horror movie, is exhilarating, and then in those very rare moments where you actually succeed despite the odds, your achievements and the story become so much more meaningful. Though failure is more common and you shouldn't expect success. But failure is a part of the journey.
This has to be my favorite game, and not by choice.

I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings about this game. Every time I play it, I catch myself wondering, why the hell am I even playing this? And then it hits me that’s the point. The game fully commits to simulating dread, despair, and hopelessness.
I went in determined to save everyone, to have the most optimal playthrough possible. Instead, I kept failing, failing to save those around me, and failing to save myself. That cycle of failure isn’t just frustrating, it’s thematically intentional, and it forces you to reflect. There’s a surprising amount to take away from the experience it even made me question my own worldview, and it’s rare these days for a video game to push me that far.
As for the gameplay itself, it’s serviceable at best. The combat feels like Skyrim with an even worse stamina system, especially when you’re starving, thirsty, and some lunatic decides to test you. But despite all that, I keep coming back. I’m on my fourth playthrough now and still haven’t completed the game in the “traditional” sense.
The art direction is really good, and encapsulates the themes of the game. Whoever designed some of the building's though has got to have a history with psychedelics, cause they are crazy to say the least.
This game is absolutely for a niche audience. Honestly, I don’t think most people will enjoy it because it isn’t really designed to be enjoyed. It’s designed to be endured, to be experienced.