Difficulty slider being added to Pathologic 2

After receiving feedback for their new title Pathologic 2, developer Ice-pick Lodge has released a statement on Steam about the game's difficulty levels. The post states that "Pathologic 2 was always intended to be gruelling, stressful and bleak," and shared an insight into why the developers chose such a tough experience for their game.

"We've always believed that games are a medium capable of delivering all kinds of compelling experiences and that said experiences don't need to be conventionally pleasant to be interesting and fulfilling," the post reads.

Pathologic 2 has always been balanced around three main points, according to the statement, the first being that players are always meant to be on the verge of death but always with an opportunity to drag themselves back. The second principle is that players should be forced to sacrifice "cool and interesting" content due to their survival needs, which may seem controversial for a paid gaming experience, although it does add to the realism of the title. Last of all, the players are meant to do things that feel clearly wrong, this is because the game is supposed to be "an exploration of selfishness".

With these points being said, Ice-Pick Lodge has acknowledged a lot of its community is struggling right now, and will be implementing a difficulty slider to Pathologic 2 within the next two or three weeks. This slider will allow portions of the game to be tweaked, although they will only be mild alterations, in order to protect the sanctity of the game.

Still, the developer has encouraged players not to utilise the slider and to play the game as it stands right now. "We concede that everyone has their own limits to push. But we strongly advise against making the game easy for yourself," they explain.

What do you think about a difficulty slider being added to Pathologic 2?