New Steam horror game is like Silent Hill meets No, I'm not human

There has been an amazing range of horror games released Steam in recent years that have tried to capitalize on psychological horror classics such as Silent Hill. Indie horror games on Steam have the freedom to experiment with unusual and unsettling mechanics while evoking the oppressive atmosphere and cerebral horror of Silent Hill series, and this new game seems to capture that feeling with a twist. Pathological 3 is a title that horror fans will not want to miss, especially if they enjoy the atmosphere 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 are the decisions players must 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 arise. Pathological 3 employs a similar mechanic that binds the gloomy, Silent Hill-like environment together for a tense gaming experience.

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Pathologic 3 is a Steam horror game that combines the Atmosphere of Silent Hill with the gameplay of No, I'm Not a Human

Pathological 3 is set in a small Russian village in the midst of the outbreak of a devastating plague known as the “Sand Plague”. The players' goal is to try to cure the villagers of this plague by finding its source and developing a cure. The twist is that they only have 12 days to do so, and time will advance regardless of how much progress the players have made on their main quest.

The Pathological the series is notorious for its tough 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 overpriced goods with limited inventory, and there's a constant risk of being attacked by desperate villagers or of players themselves contracting the plague. These factors total to do Pathological a stressful experience that is not for the faint of heart.

How Pathologic 3 fits into the Pathologic series

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

Pathological 3 will be released on Steam on January 9, 2026.

Pathologic 3's gameplay loop pushes players to diagnose and cure a mysterious plague

In contrast to Pathological 2's Haruspex, the Bachelor's training, and ethos as a Doctor allow the game to evolve somewhat differently. Players will need to use their medical training to see through the lies of the villagers and determine if they have contracted the Sand Plague. For this purpose, Pathological 3s gameplay consists of activities such as:

Examines patients to determine their diagnosis
Order quarantines, curfews, decrees and roadblocks
Gaining the trust of the villagers and the city's ruling families
Fight the plague and suppress riots
Use time travel mechanics to undo mistakes

Another key component i Pathological 3s gameplay is the candidate's ability to go back in time to make a different decision and see the outcome of an alternative path. This gives players some freedom over their game choices, as 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 humans defining game mechanic is the investigation and subsequent decision to kill or spare an NPC if they are suspected of being a visitor. Pathological 3 will force players to make decisions of similar importance, such as whether to give a sick villager medicine or save it for another if they believe the villagers are lying, or quarantine a district of the village and potentially stop the spread of the plague at the cost of the residents' lives. Add the bleak environment, bizarre folk images and the need to deal with the candidate's mental state, and Pathological 3 is a game made for players looking for a stressful psychological horror gaming experience.