In general, I completely immersed myself in the topic and became a full-fledged fan. On the third week of this kaleidoscope, I even thought about getting a polyhedron on my shoulder. Indeed, none of the ice pick games, either before or after, caused such a storm of emotions.
True, in the end, the fact that I became a fan only prevented me from conveying everything properly in my review. I wanted a trilogy of notes about Pestilence, similar to what the RPS website had and symbolically coincides with the three heroes in the game. Moreover, the author there, judging by the text, did not completely complete the game, saw everything only from the point of view of the Haruspex. As a result, I came to the following plan: “What is this”, “How to do this” and my chaotic thoughts on this matter. A little stupid and straightforward, but that's how it works.
In the first note I wanted to briefly and in simple words describe what the game is and why it is good. I hope this is noticeable in the first part of the text. But then, as a fan, I started listing everything that fascinated me about the game. It turned out sweeter than I wanted. But okay, I'm not ashamed to praise a game that I sincerely love. Moreover, there are not as many such laudatory articles on the Internet as we would like.
Second note - practical instructions. On the streams that I watched about the game, I often noticed mistakes and misunderstandings of some mechanics. At the same time, the only truly good walkthrough is on Steam, but it contains spoilers, and there is too much literature in the article from LKI. I didn’t find any spoiler-free advice that I wanted, so I decided to write it myself. It’s a shame I didn’t write down in detail what people have problems with. It turned out not as concise and clear as I wanted, but I hope it will help some.
In the third note, I wanted to criticize the game, especially since the first part turned out to be too sweet. I recorded the game's bugs, unpleasant and annoying moments. Those moments in which history could not convince me to believe in itself, although I had already penetrated headlong. But it always turned out too chaotic and unclear.
And it’s already a little wrong to talk about the decisions of the game. This is a historical fact; it cannot be taken away. The studio hasn’t done many things like this for a long time; they have been corrected in the following games. In the remake, everything will obviously be different, with different points of contact. Based on the podcasts, the lead designer now has more narrative assistants to help balance the quests. And the studio team is no longer the same, back then they were young, daring game makers who were doing something new and didn’t know how to take on it. More than ten years later, it is now an experienced and iconic studio.
And my indignation will not change anything. But still, there are several things that I want to write about, even if it is wrong to rehash the old.
I understand why sometimes quests seem cut off. We didn't have time to do it. Or when the dialogues promise something, but then it doesn’t come to fruition in the game. For example: a description of goods in a store, where they promise that some may be contaminated. I avoided them the whole game, and then I realized that it just didn’t work. Also, most likely, they didn’t have time or couldn’t.
Moreover, such unfinished pieces greatly harm the game. It’s already muddy in places, so here you get even more confused. The task says “it needs to be done faster.” But what does it mean? It could just be artistic expression speech that doesn't affect anything. There could be a hint that if you don’t make it in time, the mission will fail. Or it could be that they simply forgot to attach a timer to the mission, nothing will happen. You won't guess what they want from you.
The same with forks and a variety of solutions. There are few of them, everything is very linear. But the fact that there is a feeling of forks, and those branches that exist - this is already quite a lot for those years. It was probably even ahead of its time. Because many quests still look convincing if you don’t look at them carefully.
You can remember the manifesto and principles that the ice pick studio stated during the production of its first games. But it’s stupid to argue with them; they guessed very accurately, even if they completely failed to use their foresight. Games have long been an art and always have been, hardcore and survival are now in fashion, randomness and chaos are the key to the popularity of games. The player as a co-author is successfully used in games. But I still have the feeling that somewhere out there, in 2005, the malicious Dybovsky is sitting with the thoughts: “I pressed buttons here, and now you’re sitting there, freaking out, inventing something for yourself, working as a co-author.”
The companies of the Haruspex and the Imposter are clearly not finalized. At first I thought that everything would be very different for the Haruspex. At first it was like that. But in the end, many characters in this world practically did not communicate with us. Then I had to spend the night with the Bachelor every night and engage in his missions. Again, there was almost no communication with the children close to us. It feels like even the Bachelor saw them more often than Burakh. But okay, maybe you didn’t have time again, and maybe it’s not necessary to communicate with those you are protecting. The story is logical and works. Unlike The Bachelor, where he seemed to be replaced at one point.
The idea of the Imposter in its concept now looks disgusting in many ways. I understand that the game is old and the situation was not like that then. But in this moment I’m trying in every possible way to abstract myself from how her line is similar to archaism and obscurantism. I’m trying to imagine that she has nothing to do with this, looking for an excuse for these unpleasant associations. For example, in the joke that the Imposter is a libertarian. That it's all thanks to will free people, not a demonic-Christian solution to the problem that allows the city to continue to rot in its contradictions.
But let's return again to the Bachelor. Annoying Cains, I hated them the entire game. Every day my hatred for them only grew stronger. Playing the Bachelor, I understood Vlad and Saburov more than this family. Although, according to the logic of this story, I should have loved the Cains. Because in the second half of the game the Bachelor seems to be replaced. He immediately believes in miracles and trusts the Cains. No matter how you resist, the hero is led in this direction.
The beautiful Stamatin brothers appear in the plot only towards the end, like jack-in-the-box. It was already possible to forget who it was and that they were our confidants. It's as if the priorities during the quests were set incorrectly all this time. I would guess that this is my problem personal experience, but I saw other people's passages. Everything happens exactly the same there.
Theoretically, I wanted to keep the polyhedron, even if I only saw it twice during the game. I saw slaughterhouses more often, and they seemed to me a much more mystical and special place. I understand why for the Bachelor this polyhedron is more important than a small town. But the fact that I was helping the Cains for his sake gave me unpleasant feelings. Perhaps this is a hint from the game that if you want to lay down the lives of many people for the sake of one idea, then there will always be unpleasant despots in charge.
The ending of the game is frustrating in the same wrong order. Especially during the first playthrough, when you are as serious as possible. The fact is that if you reached the end, then most likely you did everything Additional tasks. This means you can cure some of the people close to you. Or didn’t reach the finals at all. These are my playthrough statistics. Either they pass as a whole set with additional missions, or they don’t pass at all.
As soon as the player has mentally prepared for the decisive stage, then at that moment they send a letter and we learn about the “sandbox”. For many people, including me, this was terribly frustrating. It ruins the mood and prevents you from enjoying the ending. It's like they're stealing independent decision ending, prove the meaninglessness of existence. At this moment, most of all I want to spit and choose the ending where everyone dies. Because none of this matters, and you just give up.
Achievement in the game hints that this sensation may have been planned. He could understand and accept the rules of the game, and then still make a choice. But this does not change the vile theft of my first final.
But how powerful it would be if these children were shown only for the second playthrough! You have already made an honest decision once, saved the city, and the second time you play as a cheerful explorer. And then they give you this plot twist.
It can only save you from frustration if you accidentally save all the people close to you. But this is not always possible. Only then does the final letter from the theater arrive, which calms the player. Because it's honest, it helps remind you that this game was always real, even if it's just a game. “I just wanted to save the city, even if it was a toy city.”
I can’t get the thought out of my head that if the polyhedron were always visible from anywhere in the city, then everything would be different. Imagine that it could be seen from afar anywhere in the city. Every time you move around the city, you might see that on the other side of the river there is a large amazing structure. This would set off the terrible old and massive slaughterhouses. A Bachelor player would always be inspired by this. This would constantly remind the Haruspex player that his beloved city has a poisonous sting stuck in it. I understand that it was impossible to realize such a range. But because of this, the polyhedron is practically not felt in the game.
And wind. There really isn't enough wind here. Without them, the steppe turns out wrong, empty.
I myself grew up in such a small steppe town. Three blocks, which were built under one factory in the middle of the endless steppe. I also smelled wormwood if the wind blew from the fields. I remember that I got an awkward disc somewhere at the local market and tried to beat this game in August. It’s a pity that back then the dates differed slightly by day. I looked out from the balcony and felt strong wind and looked in one direction. A factory chimney towered over the city and could be seen from anywhere. I imagined that there could be a polyhedron there instead.
Then I didn’t really understand that here, ironically, it turned out to be a game with the questions “who is to blame” and “what to do,” with a classic passion for death in dramaturgy. With no less classic curvature and grayness. I just enjoyed this atmosphere, where everything is the same, but dramatic and cool, and instead of a dull factory chimney there is a cool ugly structure sticking out there.
This is the moment I actually miss most about The Sea. So that I can always see the polyhedron towering over the city. This moment is not enough to make the game even more wonderful.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he asked me after we’d both finished day three.
“I needed to see the infected organs” I told my friend, realizing as I typed that this defense probably wouldn’t hold up in court.
View from different sides for some events, probably one of the main timeless diamonds of this game. It's a pity that only a few will get to it.
Big game
Autumn is coming, incessant rains, factories are standing still, Detective story about a guy in a raincoat, guns, frilly young ladies, deep meanings. Then despair, fatigue, pain, hardcore, alcohol tinctures, the desire to do everything in time and incessant deaths in an attempt to solve the question “who is to blame?”, and then “what to do?”. Not a drop of lubricant, but very much in the spirit. “Desease. Utopia" is a classic Russian game, gray and gloomy, which tries to contain more than it can bear. The most amazing thing is that she sometimes succeeds.
Ice pick games manage to predict and use their creative instincts to find the right gameplay solutions, even if they rarely manage to implement them pleasantly. An attempt to give a feeling of freedom. However, this is understandable; there is always a narrative at the head of the game, for the sake of which such gameplay solutions have to be implemented. And then these solutions work on their own, without their help. This is somewhat reminiscent of the film "Andrei Rublev", where the director was simply trying to convey the idea correctly, but because of this it turned out more historical film than most historical paintings.
There are a lot of cool moments that are memorable one way or another. And they were not made according to scripts, these are absolutely gameplay moments where people act under the pressure of circumstances. Either you make serious decisions, then you get out of difficult circumstances, then you solve a riddle, or simply go through difficulties like a terminator. I remember it as if I personally took part in an epic confrontation. And he loaded the revolver, treated people, killed them using stealth, then twisted the young ladies. At one point I realized that the soundtrack was missing a little Russian rap. Weapons, ubiquitous hunger, money, danger, depression, streets and young ladies.
1. What is Mor. Utopia"
2.
3.
In my opinion, the film turned out magical. Of course, the future attitude towards the trilogy will depend entirely on the ending. In the cinema, I fell out of reality, falling asleep, for only about five minutes, which is a record for me. My wishes came true. It would only be better if Rey killed Luke with her own hands, and in the next episode all the main characters had an orgy in the style of 8sense. It would be 10 out of 10, but so far it's good.
Day one, by the end of which the Bachelor will have to confront a truly invincible killer.
Location: "Whirlpool".
Time: 6:00 am.
Mission: It is necessary to examine Simon Cain, a local long-liver, to confirm the theory about the patterns of life processes.
Fulfillment: As soon as control of the main character passes directly into your hands, you will have to start completing the mission without wasting a single minute, because if at 23:59 you don’t know who the killer is, in a minute your character will die without knowing , which was the cause of his death. Therefore, after examining your room, go down to the first floor and talk to the mistress of the house. Eva Jan will tell you where you can find the estate where Simon Cain lives. But first, she will advise you to visit his brother George and niece Maria, who live in “Gorny” on Most Square.
When you go outside, pay attention to the Tragedian and the Performer standing at the gate. They will tell you about some features of the game (time, reputation, relationships with NPCs, etc.). Also near the pond, by the fire, Factory and Worm are sitting, about whose presence Eve complains. But you shouldn’t kill them - it won’t affect either your reputation or the contents of your wallet. Perhaps these extras will be useful to you in the future.
Once on the road, turn left and walk to the Cathedral. In order not to get lost, use the city map (default “m”), on which all three houses of the Kain family are marked. Along the way, you will meet a number of passers-by from whom you can ask for directions, find out the latest news, repair and change things.
First you should talk to Georgiy, since Maria will not tell you about her prophetic dream before you find out what happened to Simon. George, in turn, will stun you with the most unpleasant news about the sudden death of Simon Cain. He will also ask you to find your brother's killer and say that you need to talk to him younger brother Victor, who has some thoughts about the murder. A new entry will appear in your diary.
Task of the day: Chasing the killer.
Main objective: Finding the killer of Simon Cain.
Completion: Head east to the house of Victor Cain, who will tell you about the circumstances of Simon’s death and recommend visiting Isidore Burakh - last person who saw Simon Cain alive. It was from him that you received a letter of invitation. Added a new diary entry.
It's time to chat with the mysterious Maria Kaina. Once outside, go to the house located next door. Maria, in turn, will ask you to protect a certain number of people from among those “close”, on whom your game fate will depend. In moments of danger, you will be able to intervene in the course of events and save their lives. This task must be taken seriously, since right time they will play an important role in the plot of the game. Some of them will openly lie to you, others will guide you on the right path, others will help you not only in word, but also in deed, others will disagree so strongly with you in their opinions that it will be easier to leave them to die, and the fates of the latter are so closely intertwined with yours. that they may have the key to your victory.
List of close associates:
Georgy Kain.
Victor Kain.
Maria Kaina.
Andrey Stamatin.
Peter Stamatin.
Mark Bessmertnik.
Junior Vlad.
After finishing the conversation, you can talk to Maria again, and she will tell you about her prophetic dream. After the conversation, your optimism will diminish, since the prospect looks very gloomy. Fortunately, alternative options for the outcome of events are a dime a dozen.
Going out into the street, you will again encounter the Performer and the Tragedian, who will tell you how the “close ones” will influence the outcome of the game. On the way to the house of Isidor Burakh, you can look into the clothing store located on the starboard side and rummage through the trash cans in search of empty glass containers, which you can then exchange for more useful things from drunks.
Arriving at Isidore's house, you will find the door closed, and on both sides you will see patrolmen stationed. After talking with one of them, you will learn that that night the city doctor was killed by an unknown person, who left a huge claw in his chest. You will not be allowed to examine the crime scene and will be sent to hell, namely to Alexander Saburov.
From Isidore’s house, turn right and go to the fire, where some irresponsible citizens, imagining themselves as exorcists, decided to expel the devil from an innocent girl by burning her. Read the morals to the executors and collect useful things from nearby corpses, including a revolver and several cartridges for it.
Next stop - "Rod". After entering the house, talk to Commandant Saburov. He has every reason to believe that the killer of Simon and Isidore is none other than Burakh the Younger, a student who came from the capital at night to visit his father. Alexander suspects him, citing visions of his supposedly clairvoyant wife. What nonsense! You urgently need to communicate with the only rational thinking person in this city. Fortunately, they are Yulia Lyuricheva, who lives nearby, and is skeptical about all the predictions of the “Mistresses”.
Head to the "Seine" and make sure that it is still pleasant to talk with the only sane person in the city. Julia will advise you to follow in the footsteps of Isidor Burakh and go to the “Clump” to Vlad Olgimsky. A conversation with Big Vlad will not bring much sense, because if the conversation turns to either the household or Isidore, Vlad begins to get dark and tries with all his might to change the subject. The only hope for finding out the truth remains his son Junior Vlad, whose whereabouts his father either hides or really does not know. The only clue in the search for Olgimsky the Younger remains his strange friendship with the inhabitants of the steppe. According to his father, any Worm sneaking around the city goes to meet his son. The nature of such a close relationship with these creatures remains unknown. All you have to do is go out into the street and stand for a while in the middle of the road, waiting for a suitable candidate for surveillance. And indeed, after a while the Worm will jump out from around the corner and rush through the alleys in an unknown direction. Your main task is to pursue the Worm. Try not to lose sight of him, and also not to catch his eye. It will lead to an abandoned house located next to railway station(marked on the map as “House with bricked up windows”). As soon as the Worm stops, it will suddenly turn around and attack you. You can either attack him back or hide in the house. After this marathon, you should catch your breath and talk with Junior Vlad. Unlike his father, he will turn out to be a completely talkative and pleasant young man.
Finally! Now we know who the killer is. More precisely, WHAT. Isidore Burakh came to Olgimsky the Younger at night and said that a plague epidemic had begun in the steppe, which would eventually reach the city. Perhaps already at that time Isidore was infected and, coming to the Cain estate, infected Simon himself. Now it is urgent to find Stakh Rubin. Since he is the last surviving medic, it is he who will have to examine Simon's body. We need to warn him about the danger.
You can find a doctor in the house of Victor Cain. Tell him about a strange disease that he will call Sand Fever, and forbid him to touch Simon's body without the necessary equipment. Then report the progress of the investigation to Georgy Cain. No matter how much you persuade him, he will refuse to examine the body before the due date has expired. This period ends tomorrow. You can visit Victor, and he will explain the reasons for Georgy’s constant refusals.
There are no particularly important matters left for today. If you quickly identified the killer, then you have a few hours left to complete minor tasks and sleep.
Secondary task: Version: Fugitive with many legs.
Main objective: Remove dangerous drugs from children.
Location: "Shelter".
Client: Lara Ravel.
Reward: 1000 or medicine (2100)
Completion: Visit the "Shelter" of Lara Ravel, who will ask you for one favor. The point is that in Lately cases of poisoning with fatal among children and teenagers who were playing some kind of medical game. Stealing various medications from adults, they mixed them together in unacceptable proportions and tried to cure each other of imaginary ailments. Lara wants you to find an abandoned house where children store their “medicinal” mixture and stop this disgrace. This house is located near one of the ruins. From an overheard conversation between the Olgimskaya Chapel and one of the guys, main sign home is that it can be seen from the windows of Eva Yang's house and its front door must certainly be open.
Go to the "Whirlpool" and, without entering the house, pay attention to the ruins located in the northeast next to the building of the city theater. Next, try to open the doors of all nearby houses. The house you need is located in the south, a few meters from the ruins. Go into the house and talk to Doghead on the second floor. He will say that this cache has already been plundered by small children and now several dozen boxes of formula, one of which you need to pick up from the table on the second floor for a sample, are in the hands of kids walking around the city. Now it’s time for Lara Ravel to return to the Shelter and explain the current situation.
Having arrived at her, you have several options for completing the task:
Tell about the hiding place and give Lara the poison (in in this case you will be enriched by 1000);
Keep the powder for yourself (perhaps it will still be useful for treatment, or you can sell it for 2100 to Grif at thieves' warehouses).
Secondary task: Version: Bestial Fugitive.
Main objective: Kill the escaped butcher.
Location: House with bricked up windows.
Customer: Junior Vlad.
Reward: 2000.
Fulfillment: Olgimsky wants you to protect city residents from a butcher who escaped from the Termite Mound, where a riot began. Vlad suspects that this particular fugitive is the killer of Isidore and Simon. The rebel is hiding in the Damp Buildings quarter in Ospina's house. Talk to her and tell her that you need to talk to the fugitive. She will say that he is in a rooming house, the entrance to which is located with reverse side Houses. Once you go there, don’t even try to talk to the butcher, as you won’t understand his speech anyway, and immediately after the conversation he will attack you. The best thing to do is to go around him from the rear and shoot him. A couple of bullets to the back of the head should be enough. Then return to Younger Vlad and receive 3000 as a reward from him.
Secondary task: Version: Bloodied fugitive.
Main task: Find out if the killer is hiding in "Verby".
Location: Sevod.
Customer: Yulia Lyuricheva.
Fulfillment: Julia will tell you that in the house of a certain Anna Angel, a singer who fled from the capital, a man is hiding from head to toe, covered in fresh blood. Perhaps he is the mysterious killer.
Go to the Seine and, upon entering the house, you will find a bloody body right in front of Anna’s feet. Ask her about the deceased and find out what happened to him. Now you have two options for the development of events:
Tell Victor Cain about everything that happened and end up not getting a penny.
Help Anna bury the victim of the raging crowd.
According to the first option, there is not much work. You just need to report to Victor about the corpse in Verbakh and listen to his instructions about trusting Anna Angel.
If you are attracted by the second option, then you should go to the cemetery, where you can find a caretaker named Laska so that she can send a cart with gravediggers to Anna’s house. But Weasel herself will not be in the guardhouse; instead, the Hunchback and the Grave Digger will be there. They will demand 2000 for funeral services and advise you to sell your belongings in a store. Robbery in broad daylight! Once you've collected the money, simply return to the Hunchback and give it to him. Your diary will update, after which you can return to Anna, and she will promise to reward you over time.
The business is over for today. Buy as much food and medicine as possible, because tomorrow, due to the epidemic, their prices will skyrocket. Now you should get a good night's sleep, as tomorrow will be more difficult, since the Sand Ulcer epidemic is beginning in the city. When you go to bed, you don’t have to worry about dying in your sleep, since you have completed the main task of the day and Stakh Rubin will most likely die in your place.