Just over three years since the memorable A Plague Tale: Innocence was released, Asobo Studios has returned with A Plague Tale: Requiem to continue the adventures of the de Rune siblings and their unfortunate relationship with a blood plague, hordes of rats, and secret societies. The result is an epic and ambitious sequel, but also a very traditional sequel that, for better and worse, sticks close to the template laid out by the original.
New setting, new villains, same old problems
As a cinematic action-adventure, with no shortage of cutscenes and sequences dedicated to simply walking and talking, the narrative always has an oversized impact on the experience. As such, the first question you need to ask yourself is whether you’ve played A Plague Tale: Innocence yet. It’s hard to imagine how A Plague Tale: Requiem would work in isolation. The shared trauma that Amicia and Hugo experienced; how that shaped their bond; their relationship with the secondary cast; the state of the world, the factions in it, and the overarching threat – A Plague Tale: Requiem spends very little time recapping past events and assumes you know what’s going on.
As for what is going on? Six months after the defeat of the Inquisition forces, the de Rune family and budding alchemist Lucas are on the road south to Provence, hoping to find members of an ancient alchemical order that can cure Hugo’s “Macula” infection. Despite the hopeful ending to the first game and everything the de Rune’s endured, it’s clear the plague, rat swarms, and social unrest are spreading through France and they’ve only just kept ahead of the chaos or, more worryingly, they’re bringing it with them. It’s not long before they’re in the midst of another outbreak and caught between uncaring mercenaries, vicious town guards, and ravenous rats. Amidst the chaos, Hugo keeps dreaming of an island, a Phoenix, and a magical pool that will cure him. It’s a dream that quickly becomes Amicia’s goal but, with both their physical and mental health deteriorating, the question is whether they can survive long enough to find it.
Unfortunately – and this will be a running theme in this review – the narrative recycles a lot of ideas from the first game. Secretive organisations with questionable intents; self-serving rulers willing to purge entire towns with an endless supply of murderous guardsmen; villainous knights in massive suits of seemingly impenetrable armour. The sequel even follows the same three-act structure: flee from an overwhelming threat, regroup and gain new allies, and go on the offensive with a new plan. There are some inconsistencies too, like Amicia and Hugo responding to several traumatic events that they already hardened themselves against in the prior game. Now that said, the narrative experience improves considerably from the end of the first act and I enjoyed it as a whole – especially as it’s not afraid of going to some weird places – again – and features some spectacular set pieces that wouldn’t look out of place in Uncharted 4 or Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Have I been here before?
Now, whereas playing A Plague Tale: Innocence feels essential to appreciating the narrative, it’s a double-edged sword when it comes to the gameplay. It takes the “if it ain’t broke” approach, which means the core gameplay loop and pacing can feel very, very similar – especially if you played the first game recently (which I did when the next-gen update was released last year). The good news is that the gameplay remains engaging, is refined and streamlined compared to its predecessor, and eventually evolves beyond what was on offer in its predecessor with new combat and puzzle variations. As with the first game, it still excels at generating moments of tension and excitement as you just reach an exit with rats or guards in pursuit.
You’ll once again be alternating between light exploration and narrative-heavy sequences; set piece moments in which missing a prompt or taking the wrong turn means a reload; solving fire- and light-based puzzles as you circumvent rat swarms; and surviving encounters with patrolling humans through stealth or creative violence using alchemical agents and hungry rats. During the most chaotic, challenging, but enjoyable encounters, there’s a little bit of everything thrown together and the rats are frequently your greatest weapon and greatest threat. The experience is closest to that of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted or The Last of Us games, engaging, exciting, and immersive – just so long as you don’t slow down and start noticing the seams.
Talking gameplay refinements, many ensure encounters with humans involve less time hiding in the grass and watching patrol routes. Amicia has more counters and takedown options, a “quick distract” ability can buy her a few seconds to find cover if spotted at close range, and she unlocks a powerful crossbow to drop armoured enemies and those at range (like archers on overwatch). Larger zones also offer a few more options for stealth, taking out enemies with hazards, and more chests with crafting or upgrade materials tucked away in corners. Talking crafting and upgrades, the menus are simpler, various alchemical agents can be applied to more projectile types, and while the gear upgrades still require rare tools, you now use generic scrap for any upgrade path. Another major improvement is that while your companions still comment on your stealthy or lethal actions, your approach now has a direct gameplay impact as you automatically advance along prudence, aggressive, and opportunism skill trees – think stealth, combat, and alchemy respectively – with milestones unlocking new abilities or perks
Overall, I found A Plague Tale: Requiem had a good balance between narrative- and gameplay-dominated sections and held my interest over what is easily a 15+ hour casual playthrough. However, it was difficult not to feel like I was replaying sequences from A Plague Tale: Innocence at times – especially during the opening act. Sneaking through high grass to avoid unhinged bandits; activating ancient machinery in a rat-filled catacomb; sneaking through an infected slum being purged by merciless guards – too many moments felt far too familiar. It doesn’t help that the gameplay pacing – like the introduction of new enemies or alchemical formulas – is similarly gradual as the sequel effectively resets Amicia’s abilities and gear.
Consistency and refinement!
One constant highlight – aside from a few animations and lip-sync bugs a patch can hopefully squash – is that A Plague Tale: Requiem looks incredible, runs well, yet also adheres to the style of its predecessor so closely my brain sometimes ignored the increased model detail, more natural lighting, and improved animations. Much of the visual impact comes from the use of photorealistic textures and a fantastic contrast between light and dark. During the day, harsh light and vibrant colours dominate; while below ground or out at night, subdued and desaturated environments are lit by torches and the glow of several thousand rat eyes. On the audio front, the atmospheric and often haunting music enhances every scene and excels at creating a sense of lingering dread. The voice actors for the main cast return and do a (mostly) great job of sounding natural and believable, despite the horrific situations they find themselves in. The rare exceptions are a few cheesy lines that probably belong in a light-hearted, swashbuckling adventure.
A Plague Tale v1.5
I’ve probably come off more negative than intended in this review as A Plague Tale: Requiem leaves me conflicted. It is, without a doubt, a solid and more ambitious sequel that furthers the narrative while refining the gameplay and presentation but there were times the experience felt uncomfortably familiar – even for a direct sequel. To be fair, I’ll split my conclusions to cover four potential scenarios: 1) If you’ve not played A Plague Tale: Innocence, pick it up cheaply and experience an excellent game that still holds up and will give you a strong impression of what to expect in the sequel; 2) If you played and enjoyed the first game back in 2019 and haven’t returned to it, you can pick up the sequel without hesitation; 3) If you’ve played or replayed the first game recently and enjoyed it, the sequel is still recommended – just be warned it takes half the game to truly differentiate itself; 4) If you didn’t enjoy the original because of its mostly linear environments and tightly scripted gameplay designed to serve its cinematic aspiration, the sequel doesn’t stray far from that template and won’t change your perception.
Developer: Asobo Studio
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
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