Plague Tale Requiem review: Innocence is a thing of the past

As soon as I saw its nauseating trailer, I knew I wanted to write our A Plague Tale Requiem review. As a lover of all things dark and creepy and a historian with an eccentric fascination with the Black Death, the rat game’s predecessor Innocence was a dream – a nightmare? – come true in the best possible way. It set high standards for any potential sequel, but Asobo Studio lived up to those standards with Requiem.

It’s a relief because I wasn’t feeling so confident after the hands-on preview at Gamescom. I came away from the experience feeling a bit empty (although my interview with lead level designer Kevin Pinson is still one of my favorites from the event). Why? The game snippet I tried looked more like the same. More stealth, more projectiles to throw at unsuspecting guards and much more rats. So what has changed?

It’s not about gameplay, as Requiem is very similar to Innocence in that regard. You’re still encouraged to use stealth, you don’t get many chances to get close to enemies (unless you’re looking for them, of course), and you still avoid rodents every turn. I was wondering how Asobo could innovate this formula that appeared in Requiem, and the answer is no, apart from adding some new disposables.

The real difference is in the character. “Innocence” was so named because the main characters, Amicia and Hugo, were literally innocent: they were an ordinary girl and boy whose lives were caught up in a tragedy. They were children in Innocence, but not in Requiem.

Amicia clearly suffers from multiple forms of PTSD, as we see her hands shake constantly throughout the story. When she is asked about it, she aggressively erases the anxiety from her, but this internal trauma affects everything she makes of herself. In the episode of chapter three, she Amicia faces a squad of guards who are looking for a certain herb to help Hugo. As her partner Lucas hides in a corner, she suffers a brief psychotic attack and yells at her opponents that she is “a girl who kills.” [them]» throwing stones with a slingshot and hitting heads. Amicia Innocence is gone, replaced by a young woman whose desire for revenge has broken her.

Requiem can play as Innocence, but this version of Amicia is battle-hardened and bloodthirsty; a stark contrast to her previous personality of hers. She adds a sense of tension to the slaughter of hordes of soldiers. Whereas in the first game you wanted to blend into the shadows and shoot enemies from afar, Amicia’s rage in Requiem is contagious and tempts you to walk up to the guards and open them up or order the rats to tear them apart. The sweet satisfaction Amicia feels as the guard falls to his knees is exhilarating; her hate is your hate and the taste of justice right. It adds a new dynamic to combat, which is welcome, as I admit my interest in Innocence waned a bit despite the game’s setting and story.

However, Requiem is not lacking in narration either. From the beginning, it seems that something is simple. incorrect. The game begins in a seemingly idyllic field where Lucas, Amicia, and Hugo play together as knights in shining armor among the abandoned runes of a once proud castle. However, things quickly deteriorate, forcing the family to leave for the royal fortress, known simply as “Red City”, which becomes their new home. In this strange world, the streets are full of people milling around the traditional market, seemingly unaware of the horrors that lurk just outside their doors. It is immediately suspicious and disturbing.

As you uncover the secrets of the region, you realize that this facade of civilization is just a facade and that Hugo’s presence spells the collapse of this supposed haven of wonder and excitement. I won’t share details for fear of spoilers, but the story that follows is masterfully crafted and rich in insight.

It also has a soundtrack that made me cry a time or two and great sound design that brings Asobo’s 14th century France to life. Torches splash and flicker around you, and the ground rumbles ominously before the rats attack. Lorsque le parasite infected by the plague éclate in fin, les cris et les grattements sont presque écrasants – vous avez du mal à entendre quoi que ce soit d’autre tout en jouant sur vos écouteurs – ce qui vous donne la chair de poule et votre estomac becomes. At one point, Amicia and Lucas land smack dab in the middle of a meat dump, where entrails and cloudy bodily fluids lap up like quicksand, sucking up their legs and making me relish my lunch again. The story itself is strong, but without atmosphere it’s nothing, and Asobo has perfected that with the Plague Tale series. It’s exciting, it’s scary, and in some cases just plain gross, and I love all of it.

The only things that dovetail with Requiem’s ​​masterfully designed world are a few visual and gameplay glitches. For example: Extinguish’s crafting tooltip (actually a smoke bomb that also extinguishes flames) refused to disappear throughout the chapter, breaking menus and game navigation. Another bug prevented me from solving the second act puzzle, which Asobo has admitted and intends to solve before the game is released. Weird translations, but we’re still a long way from Cyberpunk 2077 territory.

Despite these minor bugs, A Plague Tale Requiem overtook Metal: Hellsinger as my favorite game of the year. In fact, I think it’s even better than Innocence. I stayed up until 2am playing this game and I’m one of the few players who had never done this before (yes seriously, I need my perfect sleep).

Other reviewers might say it’s a bit too similar, but the character development, story, and rats galore make this game more polished (pardon the pun) than its predecessor. There is a twist at every turn, a tragedy for every triumph, and a real sense that our main characters are not just virtual creatures, but two children with fears, thoughts and feelings.

The Requiem is a “dead mass” and it is unclear if this marks the end of Amicia and Hugo’s journey. Either way, Plague Tale Requiem is an RPG you’ll want to sink your teeth into.