I had reviewed A Plague Tale: Innocence when it released back in 2019, making for one of the most surprising and underrated games of that year. So it’s safe to say that A Plague Tale: Requiem had me excited to dive back into 14th century France to experience the continuation of this story based on the Black Plague and the implications behind its existence and origin. A Plague Tale: Requiem is indeed an improvement over its already impressive predecessor, expanding on almost every front you can think of, from world building, to character development, combat and visual polish. A few hiccups linger in parts, but I still believe A Plague Tale: Requiem makes for one of the more admirable action adventure titles in recent memory.
Rollicking Rodents
Set six months after A Plague Tale: Innocence, siblings Amicia and Hugo have survived the plague are reunited with their mother Béatrice and friend Lucas as they look to move forward with a new life. However, after an introductory and turbulent series of events, Amicia and Hugo are left scrambling for survival, with the subsequent trauma reactivating the Macula, a rare disease that flows through Hugo’s blood and is closely connected to the aforementioned plague. Amicia must team up with Lucas to help Hugo at all costs to find a cure, all while dealing with the sudden return of the plague, which has seemingly followed in young Hugo’s path. While A Plague Tale: Innocence placed our protagonists at the forefront of the story, the sequel feels a little more balanced in expanding on the nature of the surrounding world and mysterious origins of the plague itself.
There’s plenty of interesting character work folded in, but it all feels set on grander sense of scale and higher stakes, given we see the destruction of the surrounding towns and civilians more frequently. The 15 or so hour story is evenly paced and cinematic in its presentation, weaving well-acted cutscenes into gameplay. Amicia and company consistently find themselves in all types of trouble at every turn, and while it feels like the worst day of their lives, makes for a driven and focused narrative that might feel incredibly linear at times, but equally consistent as a result.
A Plague Tale: Requiem attempts to dive deeper into the motivations of our protagonists as Amicia struggles to deal with the frustrations of Hugo’s dicey road to recovery, further pushing her into moments of either uncontrollable rage or anxiety. I only wish that these character beats were touched upon more frequently, as they are introduced very early on and then left alone for large portions of gameplay. While there exists a satisfying amount of payoff towards the latter stages of the narrative, it could have been more consistent. That being said, Amicia is rarely alone and her accompanying allies do well to steer her in the right direction as they engage in nuanced conversations that allow the player to gain a broader context of their motivations. Lucas and Sophia also help out where they can ,complete with their own abilities for use in both traversal and combat.
Fight For Your Life
Gameplay feels very much the same as it did in A Plague Tale: Innocence, with a few adjustments and enhancements thrown in. Amicia is once again equipped with her trusty sling, with various pots and rocks to throw about to distract enemy soldiers. However, unlike A Plague Tale: Innocence where stealth and combat sections were usually contained and held apart, Requiem blends both stealth and combat into larger open environments with an added sense of freedom. For as linear as Requiem is, the player is no longer punished for being caught out in stealth sections. Instead, soldiers will advance on your position as you’re given a fighting chance to fend off your enemies. Certain soldiers will be equipped with helmets, making Amicia’s sling ineffective, so you’ll need to think outside the box and search for and craft items where necessary. Much like the shivs in The Last of Us, Amicia can now find single-use knives to kill almost any soldier either in stealth or combat.
However, I can’t deny that the added emphasis on combat only highlights its clumsiness. The sling is perfectly functional, even if the aim assist is a little overpowering, but the melee combat is confusing. Amicia can now counter and strike certain enemies, allowing her to daze tougher helmeted enemies or outright kill standard soldiers without helmets by strangling them to death. The only issue here is that the button prompts associated with such commands are inconsistent. An enemy will sometimes approach with the opportunity to counter, and sometimes approach so quickly that the prompt never shows, making you feel like you’ve missed an unfairly small window of chance. Thankfully, it’s not so consistent that it deters from the overall experience, as the game does throw new weapons your way over the course of the narrative, giving you the edge as Amicia gains confidence.
When you’re not fighting or sneaking around enemy soldiers, you’ll be navigating around or running away from waves of rates. Yes, literal waves of rats. There are certain chase sequences which truly highlight the power of the next-gen systems as rats scurry over and around each other as if to compete for a piece of your flesh. For the most part, rats will block your way forward, with fire being your only way through or around. Amicia and friends will able to utilise torches, lamps, explosives and animal carcasses to ward off and distract the rats, culminating in almost all of the puzzle-based levels and sections. These portions are consistently tense, but do lose their appeal in the latter stages of the game as you’ve more than likely been either introduced to or have figured out how to breeze past them.
Beyond this, Amicia can craft ammunition for use in combat and and materials use in stealth, each with various intentions. While you’ll need incendiary ammunition to create fires, you can also utilise salt to put out flames where necessary, encouraging the rats to feast on unsuspecting enemies that think they’re otherwise safe in the warmth of a flame. The remaining puzzles not based on weaving through waves of rats are simply too easy. Certain puzzles might have your turning pillars to align various signs in a specific order. Unfortunately, Lucas basically talks you through the entire thing, with each pillar intentionally halting once you’ve turned it to the correct sign.
Look the Part, Play the Part
Amicia will also develop certain skills as you progress through the narrative, which are automatically applied depending on your style of play. The Prudence tier will improve based on stealth, making you quieter and more evasive. The Aggressive tier will develop the more you engage in combat, making your sling more effective. Finally, the Opportunism tier will improve the amount of resources gained from exploration for enhanced crafting. Amicia will also be able to collect resources to use at workbenches in order to improve her gear. However, this rarely extends beyond being able to hold additional ammunition and resources.
Finally, it’s worth noting that A Plague Tale: Requiem looks good. Like, really good. Textures pop and draw distances are magnificent, giving the world a grander sense of scale and illusion of openness, given the linear nature of the experience. Character animations are also incredibly detailed, down to the way Amicia’s hair blows in the wind or flings about as she changes direction. Environments are also lush and vibrant, which means something given you’ll be treading about the muddy streets of 14th century France for most of the way.
Final Thoughts
A Plague Tale: Requiem is truly a step forward for the series, presenting an engaging story that builds on both the emotional state of the charterers and lore of the world. The consistent pace and lean run time ensure that the experience never overstays its welcome, allowing you to forgive some of the shortcomings that accompany the wonky melee combat and basic puzzle design.
That being said, the improved cinematic nature of the narrative along with stellar visuals make this a much more mature and seasoned offering than its predecessor; and a rat-infested ride I won’t soon forget.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Stellar visuals; Engaging story; Waves of rats are a wonder to behold
Lowlights: Wonky melee combat; Repetitive puzzle design
Developer: Asobo Studio
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch via Cloud
Available: Now
Review conducted on Xbox Series X with a pre-release code provided by the publisher.
