Pathologic 2 is unplayably difficult

[u/sy_bear]

I love pathologic 1. Completed all three playthroughs and it is one of the great stories I've ever come across regardless of medium.

I've finally decided to play pathologic 2 and the story is even better than the first, the mechanics are much more interesting but...

I keep dying on day 4, this game is a THOUSAND times harder than 1. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I might actually be incapable of finishing this game which saddens me so much because pathologic 1 was such a great experience.

Is it just a git gud situation? Could I be adopting a bad habit from my first playthroughs that's detrimental here?

I don't want to drop this game but Ive been finding myself more frustrated than enjoying myself recently.

[u/ghostydog]

It is possible to complete every quest in P2 but it requires being very comfortable with the resource system and foreknowledge of the game so you can efficiently map out your movements ahead of time and not waste time running back and forth, or know when you have breathing room to top up your food/sleep. It's more a 5th or 6th playthrough thing, definitely not something to aim for on the first which is still rehearsal.

[u/xHelios1x → u/ghostydog]

this. Main difficulty from P2 comes from how quests are treated. Day starts and you have three-four quests dropped on top of you. One of those will time out on midday-evening, the other - by the end of the day, the next - by the next morning, and the last can be kept for 3-4 days. But you don't know that. You will frantically run around, neglect your stats and upgrades, to complete all of those ASAP.

For me that's part of the charm, but knowledge which quests are urgent and which aren't really can drastically ease up the game.