A Plague Tale: Requiem (PC, GamePass, PS5)

~by Manhalt (December 2022)

Introduction

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence and takes place right afterwards as you continue to follow Amicia and her little brother Hugo. It turns out that Hugo has a disease called the Macula which is directly related to the plague and the rats. He has some type of power that allows him to interact with rats, but he is also causing the Plague. The first game ends with Amicia finding a way to ease the pain and suffering Hugo endures from the Macula. They managed to escape the plague of rats in France and travel south which is where the second game picks up. They are searching for a complete cure for Hugo.

Gameplay

The gameplay was an improvement over the first in every way. It’s a mix of stealth and stealth combat. The game is linear from set piece to set piece, but each set piece gives you several options on how to tackle the area which is filled with soldiers trying to capture you or rats that want to bite your ankles until you die. The first game is more of a stealth game with some interactive combat and it continues in this one, but they give an option to be a bit more violent. After a specific chapter, you are awarded with a crossbow that allows you to shoot enemies to take them out. This opens up the game allowing the player to take a more direct approach on getting through enemies rather than sneaking around. I personally found myself sneaking around more until later in the game when I felt like switching it up and I used the crossbow more. The other weapons at your disposal are the sling from the first game and pots of alchemy. The alchemy allows you to concoct several different types of effects. All of the effects can be used in both combat and sneaking scenarios and it really gives the player many options on how to move forward.

Besides stealth and combat sections, there are several running sections that are there to keep you on the edge of your seat as you escape various impending dooms. I personally felt like they didn’t add anything, but it didn’t also hurt the game. The one section I wasn’t a fan of, is sneaking around someone trying to capture you while you can’t use weapons. I felt like it wasn’t obvious what you needed to do to get away so it was mostly me trying something, dying, restarting and trying something different. Rinse and repeat until I escaped.

Gameplay Grade: A

Visuals

I am lucky enough to own a 3080 so I did not encounter technical glitches that many have on console or older GPUs. But I did want to mention that the game does not go over 30fps on both Series X and PS5, which is unfortunate. I do think it is worth playing even with that as a negative. On the other hand, I can see why it can’t hit those numbers on the consoles. The game is beautiful and the details to the backgrounds, and the foreground is impressive. I don’t think I entered any area without being astounded by the view. It really brings the game to life with the details of the cities, the small towns, and even the cliff sides you visit in the game.

The other intensive component has to be the amount of rats on screen. There are so many of them in certain areas and I can imagine spawning those objects with an AI can be costly. I am not a game developer but I am a developer so depending on how they implement it, this could be what is costing the game the ability to run over 30fps on consoles.

Visual Grade: A

Story (Spoilers)

I am mostly of the thought that a games’ gameplay mechanics are slightly more important than the story. Storytelling is great but if I can’t enjoy the gameplay then I can’t get through the story. Certain games always make me question that opinion and this is one of them. I honestly think if you dislike the stealth aspect of this game, it is well worth pushing through to enjoy the story.

This game continues the tale of Hugo and his unfair life of being born with the Macula. The struggles he suffers to just get a cure while also causing suffering for those around him when he is just trying to live his life. He knows the plague follows him and it causes death so it wears on him that he causes all this damage, but his faithful sister pushes him forward to look for a cure. She knows it isn’t his fault and he doesn’t deserve this responsibility so as his big sister, his protector, she is doing everything she can to make it right. The game asks the player, is what she is doing too much at the sacrifice of others? The ending made me tear up and I was surprised at how it ended and I don’t want to give more away because the story is special.

Besides the two main characters, there are several characters you meet through your adventure that help and hinder you along the way. The entire cast is great and really fills out the world to make it lively. Arnaut is probably my favorite. He starts off trying to capture you, makes a deal to work with you to get away from the plague, and then is a friend until the rest of the way. He is a man who lost something to war and found it in these two siblings.

Overall, the characters and the story come together in a special way that really shine and make this game a GOTY contender.