A Plague Tale: Innocence Review in Progress (PS4)
I’m currently about about two-thirds through my playthrough of A Plague Tale: Innocence, but I want to share my thoughts on the game so far.
I am admittedly not a stealth gamer by any means, but A Plague Tale: Innocence is a special exception I made due to the story and environment the game presents. This also means I am a little more careful and less aggressive in my stealth play, which is certainly contributing to my longer playthrough. With that being said, I am finding this game to be very accessible and fun, even for a gamer like myself who isn’t normally drawn to or seasoned in stealth gaming.
A Plague Tale: Innocence centers around Amicia De Rune and her little brother, Hugo De Rune, as they have to run away from The Inquisition and also have to avoid deadly rats infested with the plague. The game is set in France in 1349 during this perilous time, a unique game setting I can’t recall any other game bringing. I will save my complete thoughts for my full review, but Asobo Studio does a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere of fear and constantly being chased, as the game wastes no time in turning the intensity up in the very beginning. Hugo De Rune is the biggest wildcard in this story, as you slowly learn as the story unfolds why the The Inquisition is trying to get him and what is so special about him. From where I am in the game so far, I think I know where the story may be heading, but I am still totally sucked into the story to see where it actually ends up.
One the biggest surprises for me in the game so far is the fluidity of the controls and many tools at your disposal to get past enemies. There are many items to collect and items to craft to help you get past rats and guards. It would be blasphemous to call this a “walking simulator,” as there are plenty of choices for the player to make on how to get past levels, plus there are many segments that require timing. Much of the combat centers around using Amicia’s slingshot, which is done very well and it can also be upgraded, The game also contains puzzles, but I haven’t found them to be too hard to do either.
Everything about A Plague Tale: Innocence so far has been surprising in a good way, especially how it continues to keep up the intensity and atmosphere of the story taking place. The voice acting is easily some of the best I’ve experienced in gaming, from Amicia and Hugo, all the way down to the banter of guards you encounter. The soundtrack also does a good job in keeping the atmosphere and intensity up. As someone who doesn’t choose to play many stealth games, I find the difficulty to be just fine. For a game like this that is really story driven that’s how it should be. I can already say from what I’ve played that gamers should play this story, even if the theme is dark and grim, which may be a turn off.
I look forward to sharing my complete thoughts and full review of a A Plague Tale: Innocence very soon.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtP6mNeN6yE
