A Plague Tale Requiem is beautifully somber stealth adventure game that is a sequel to A Plague Tale Innocence, which is set in 14th century France during the Black Death. A Plague Tale follows the adventures of Amicia and Hugo, two siblings who are pursued by the Inquisition and a horde of plague rats. The game masterfully combines stealth, puzzle, and action elements to create a tense and immersive experience.
The game starts from where the first one ended, with Amicia, Hugo, Lucas, and Beatrice trying to leave France and find a new home. However, their journey is full of challenges, as they face new enemies, new dangers, and new secrets along the way. The game takes them through multiple beautifully designed environments and regions, from a busy village to a far away island. The game also introduces new gameplay mechanics, such as more involved combat if you don’t want to stealth around everywhere, controlling rats with Hugo’s power, and fighting alongside allies.
The game’s graphics are stunning, with realistic and detailed environments that create a strong sense of atmosphere. The game also features dynamic lighting and shadows that enhance the mood and the gameplay. The game’s sound design is equally stunning, with realistic and immersive sounds that make you feel like you are in the game world. The game’s voice acting is also superb, with convincing and emotional performances from the main characters and the supporting cast.
While the graphics in A Plague Tale Requiem are stunning, the game does struggle with performance issues, particularly on PC. Even with high-end hardware, players may experience frame rate drops, stuttering, and other graphical glitches.
For example, during my playthrough of the game, I also noticed occasional performance drops, especially in the first town hub area. Despite having a powerful gaming PC with a RTX 3080 and a 5900x CPU, I noticed some moments where the game struggled to maintain a consistent frame rate, causing some choppiness and graphical stuttering. These issues were not severe enough to ruin my overall enjoyment of the game, but they did detract from the immersion and visual quality at times.
It’s worth noting that performance issues may vary depending on players’ hardware configurations and settings, as well as the specific areas of the game. However, it’s clear that the game could benefit from further optimization to improve its performance and stability. I would not recommend this on something like the Steam Deck which I tried and struggled to maintain even 30 fps at low settings with below native rendering resolution.
Overall, while A Plague Tale Requiem’s graphics are impressive, players should be aware that the game may struggle with performance issues, particularly on PC. However, these issues should not detract too much from the overall experience of the game, and players can still enjoy the stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere that the game has to offer.
The game’s story is engaging and emotional, with well-written characters and dialogue that make you care about their fate. The game explores themes such as family, friendship, loyalty, survival, and morality. The game has multiple different endings that depend on the choices you make throughout the game. The game’s story is not perfect, however. Some of the plot twists are predictable or clichéd, some of the characters are underdeveloped or stereotypical, and some of the scenes are too melodramatic or unrealistic.
The gameplay is fun and challenging, with varied and creative scenarios that test your skills and strategy. Stealth is well-designed, with different ways to distract or avoid enemies. The puzzle system is also well-designed, with clever and logical puzzles that require you to use your surroundings and your tools. The game’s action system is also well-designed, with satisfying and visceral combat that requires you to use your weapons and your allies. The game’s gameplay is not perfect, however. Some of the stealth sections are too easy or repetitive, some of the puzzles are too simple, and some of the action sections are too chaotic or unfair.
In addition to these aspects, I also liked how the game developed the relationship between Amicia and Hugo, as they grow closer and more mature through their hardships. I also liked how the game showed the impact of the plague on the society and the environment, as well as the historical references to the Hundred Years’ War and the alchemy. I also liked how the game used rats as both enemies and allies, depending on Hugo’s power and Amicia’s tools.
However, there were also some things about the game that I didn’t like. For example, I thought that some of the character movements looked weird or unrealistic, especially during important story scenes or conversations. I also didn’t enjoy using certain weapons or throwing objects during combat because it felt awkward or unresponsive. Additionally, technical problems like the game freezing or crashing made it hard for me to fully enjoy the game.
Overall, A Plague Tale Requiem is a great sequel to A Plague Tale Innocence that offers a thrilling and touching experience. The game has stunning graphics, impressive sound design, engaging story, fun gameplay, and multiple endings. The game also has some flaws, such as predictable plot twists, underdeveloped characters, melodramatic scenes, easy stealth sections, simple puzzles, chaotic action sections, strange character animations, limited combat, and technical issues. However, these flaws do not overshadow the game’s strengths and do not ruin the game’s enjoyment. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes stealth adventure games or historical fiction games.
Score: 8/10
If you like this review, check out our review of The Last of Us Part II https://reviewmonger.com/2020/06/19/the-last-of-us-part-ii-a-masterpiece-in-storytelling-and-emotional-depth/
