《瘟疫 3》（Pathologic 3）是以強烈心理壓迫感與道德困境著稱的心理恐怖敘事遊戲，由Ice-Pick Lodge開發、HypeTrain Digital發行，預定於2026年1月10日推出。延續系列一貫的沉重風格，將玩家置於時間、理性與人性全面崩解的邊緣，透過醫療、權力與心理狀態的交織，描繪一場無法輕易拯救的瘟疫悲劇。

遊戲的主角是丹尼爾・丹科夫斯基（Daniil Dankovsky），一名天才醫師與研究者。他因為對「死亡本質」與「不朽」的研究，來到東方草原深處一座與世隔絕的小鎮，尋找傳說中不會死亡的男人。然而迎接他的，卻是一場迅速蔓延、致命且難以理解的瘟疫。那名所謂的不朽之人已經死去，而你也未能阻止疫情的爆發。故事並未就此結束，主角被迫「回到起點」，重新面對自己的失敗，試圖修正過去的錯誤，在僅有的十二天內挽救整座城鎮。

時間在《瘟疫 3》中是一切的核心。每一分鐘都在流逝，而疫情不會等待任何人。玩家必須在極度有限的時間內，做出一連串冷酷卻必要的選擇：是否犧牲少數人來換取多數的生存？是否以鐵腕手段維持秩序，即使這意味著成為眾人痛恨的暴君？遊戲的敘事並非單線，而是一張充滿分歧與後果的敘事之網，任何一個決定，都可能在未來的日子裡反噬你自己。

在操作與玩法上，將「醫療行為」作為核心體驗。必須親自與病患面對面接觸，透過觀察、對話與檢查來進行診斷。每一名病人都不是單純的數值或任務目標，而是一個充滿謊言、隱瞞與動機的個體。他們可能刻意誤導你，可能對症狀輕描淡寫，也可能因恐懼而扭曲事實。玩家需要在真相與謊言之間抽絲剝繭，逐步找出真正的病因，並朝著研發疫苗的方向前進。

除了醫師的角色，同時也掌握著治理整座城鎮的權力。隨著遊戲進展，可以頒布各種法令，例如實施封城與隔離、徵收珍貴藥品、強制施打疫苗、鎮壓暴動、部署巡邏隊，甚至實施宵禁。這些行動能夠延長城鎮的存續，卻也會引發人民的反彈與仇恨。將不斷犯錯、承擔後果，並解鎖新的治理手段。城鎮的未來，究竟是陷入軍事鎮壓下的血腥街道，還是在極權中勉強存活的秩序社會，全都取決於玩家的選擇。

另外的一大特色在於「時間回溯」機制。當意識到某個決定可能導致無法挽回的結果時，允許回到過去重新嘗試。但這並非單純的容錯設計，而是一種敘事工具，在反覆修正歷史的過程中，逐漸意識到「完美解法」或許根本不存在。即使能改寫過去，也未必能逃避代價。

心理狀態同樣是遊戲中不可忽視的要素。主角的精神狀況會直接影響你的行動能力，以及對事件的理解方式。當理性逐漸崩解，陷入冷漠或狂亂時，可能會獲得意想不到的洞見，也可能因此走向死亡。真相並非總是清晰可辨，有時瘋狂本身，反而成為理解世界的另一扇門。

總體而言，《瘟疫 3》並不是追求「爽快感」或「勝利」的遊戲，而是一場關於責任、犧牲與人性極限的殘酷實驗。它要求玩家承受壓力、接受失敗，並在無數錯誤中，親手塑造一座城鎮的命運，以及一名醫師逐漸崩潰或覺醒的靈魂。

Pathologic 3 is a psychological horror narrative game defined by intense psychological pressure and profound moral dilemmas. Developed by Ice-Pick Lodge and published by HypeTrain Digital, it is scheduled for release on January 10, 2026. Continuing the series’ signature bleak tone, the game places players on the edge of collapsing time, reason, and humanity, weaving medical practice, authority, and mental stability into a grim portrayal of a town facing an almost unsalvageable plague.

The protagonist is Daniil Dankovsky, a brilliant physician and researcher. Driven by his obsession with the nature of death and the possibility of immortality, he travels to a remote town deep in the eastern steppe in search of a man rumored to be unable to die. What awaits him instead is a rapidly spreading, lethal, and poorly understood epidemic. The so-called immortal man is already dead, and you have failed to prevent the catastrophe. Yet the story does not end there. Daniil is forced to return to the beginning, confronting his own failure and attempting to correct past mistakes in a desperate effort to save the town within a strict twelve-day limit.

Time is the absolute core of Pathologic 3. Every minute matters, and the plague will not wait. Players must make a succession of harsh, often merciless decisions under constant pressure. Is it acceptable to sacrifice a few lives to save many? Is it worth ruling through fear and force if that is the only way to preserve order? The narrative is not linear, but rather a complex web of branching paths and consequences, where even a single decision can come back to haunt you days later.

In terms of gameplay, Pathologic 3 centers on medical practice as its primary mechanic. Players work directly with patients, examining them face to face and using observation, dialogue, and diagnostic reasoning to determine the nature of their illness. Each patient is not merely a quest objective or a set of statistics, but a unique individual with secrets, lies, and personal motives. They may mislead you intentionally, downplay their symptoms, or distort the truth out of fear. You must separate fact from fiction, identify genuine symptoms, and slowly move toward developing a vaccine that could change the town’s fate.

Beyond your role as a doctor, you also wield significant political and administrative power. As the crisis deepens, you can impose quarantines, confiscate precious medicine, enforce mass vaccinations, suppress riots, deploy patrols, and declare curfews. These measures may prolong the town’s survival, but they often come at the cost of public trust and goodwill. You will make mistakes, face their consequences, and unlock new decrees as the situation evolves. Whether the streets ultimately echo with gunfire under martial law or cling to a fragile sense of order is entirely shaped by your choices.

One of the game’s defining features is its time-rewind system. When you realize that a decision has led to disastrous results, you are allowed to return to the past and try again. However, this is not a simple safety net. Instead, it serves as a narrative device, emphasizing that even with the power to rewrite history, there may be no perfect solution. Some outcomes are tragic no matter how carefully you plan, and every correction carries its own cost.

Equally important is the protagonist’s mental state. Daniil’s psychological condition directly affects what actions are available to you and how events are perceived. As stress mounts, slipping into apathy or mania may unlock unexpected insights—or hasten your death. Truth is not always clear or rational, and at times, madness itself becomes another way of understanding the world.

Overall, Pathologic 3 is not a game about triumph or empowerment. It is a brutal experiment in responsibility, sacrifice, and the limits of human endurance. It demands that players endure pressure, accept failure, and learn through repeated mistakes, all while shaping the fate of a dying town and the fractured psyche of a doctor standing at the boundary between reason and collapse.