A Plague Tale: Requiem Review (Xbox Series X)

STAFF REVIEW of A Plague Tale: Requiem (Xbox Series X)

Friday, October 21, 2022.
by Adam Dileva

Requiem: A song, chant or poem for someone who has died, generally in an act of remembrance. I never really thought about the title of the latest Plague Tale, but it certainly is fitting after a thrilling and emotional journey with Amicia and Hugo once more. A Plague Tale: Innocence released in 2019 and took me completely by surprise. It initially wasn’t on my radar and by chance fell in my lap for review, turning out to be my Game of the Year that year. Since Innocence had a satisfying ending without any real massive questions needing answering, I don’t think many were expecting a sequel, especially this soon. While Innocence was more of a hidden gem at first, it eventually reached cult status from those that played it and were astounded with its quality from such a small studio, myself included.

While Asobo has a handful of titles under their belt, Plague Tale is easily their crown jewel, and now the sequel being better in virtually every way from its predecessor. This is in part due to A Plague Tale: Requiem (simply referred to as Requiem here on) being a next-gen (current gen now?) only title, and it’s clear they’ve been pushing the hardware to the best of their ability. With improved visuals (which is very impressive given how good Innocence looked), the gameplay has also had many additions and improvements, and the narrative and storytelling is as strong as ever.

It’s been six months since the events of Innocence. Amica and Hugo defeated the Grand Inquisitor Vitalis and left to find a new home since Guyenne is all but gone due to the rats and events that took place. With Hugo’s illness and curse now seemingly under control, the de Rune family travel south in search for a new home. They find a large and seemingly happy village and seem to have a lead on an actual cure for Hugo’s ailment. If you played Innocence, you know that Amicia and Hugo’s luck and happiness generally doesn’t last long, and it’s no different in Requiem. It appears Hugo once again becomes taken over by the mysterious Macula curse that causes all of this heartache and death in the first place. If you thought that there were a lot of rats in Innocence, that pales in comparison to what you’re going to have to deal with as the de Rune siblings in Requiem.

When Hugo’s powers reawaken and the rats return, death and destruction follows them again, once more causing them to do what they can to simply survive. Hugo has a vivid dream though, seeing an island with a large bird and some water that surrounds a massive tree. Does this dream mean more or is there a clue to a potential cure for Hugo’s curse? Discover the cost of saving those you love. I don’t want to delve much further into the narrative as it’s an amazing journey that is expertly told with just enough action, drama, sadness and other emotions. The Macula caused a lot of death and destruction before, but the events of Innocence will be nothing compared to their latest journey. Interestingly, this story actually goes into the history of the curse more in depth than before along with a very emotional journey.

If you played the original Plague Tale, you’ll know what to expect for the core game mechanics, primarily focused on stealth based action and some puzzle solving, all while enemies and guards are trying to kill you both and a horde of rats could bust through the nearby walls at any moment. You’ll need to heavily focus on the stealth aspects, sneaking around guards, distracting them, or even killing them with your trusty Sling and alchemy skills.

There’s a few different difficulty choices, even an easy Narrative choice for those that want to experience the story without much of the challenge, and also offering an invincibility option deeper in the settings if needed for accessibility reasons. This doesn’t make you invulnerable to rats, fire and forced stealth sections however. When you first see the rats on screen you’re going to be absolutely astonished at how Asobo Studio went from having a staggering 5000 rats on screen in the first game to now being able to somehow have 300,000 completely collapse city walls and more. I’ve never seen anything like it before in a game and I don’t know what coding wizardry they’ve done to make it happen, but it’s absolutely astounding when a horde of rats appears like moving water.

Just like the previous title, the rats are still unable to be in the light or near fire, your only saving grace when surrounded. This is where many of the puzzle elements will come into play, going from lighted section to section to stay safe. How you do so will be up to you, as there’s not always a single linear solution in many situations. Beware of spoilers if you’ve not completed Innocence yet, but just like near the ending of the first game, Hugo will once again be able to control nearby rats, though with limitations. How you do so is up to you. Do you move a large batch of rats out the way to get by or snuff out a guard’s torch and send the rats after them instead as a distraction?

Combat is very similar to Innocence, and even though you primarily need to rely on your stealth and not engage in direct battles, Amicia has learned some new alchemic tricks to help her along the way. Stalk enemies in bushes, sneak past, set traps and more. Each of these sections are strung together with a narrative reason too, not simply just placing you in an area against guards to prolong the gameplay. While some may tire of the heavily stealth based sections, especially the forced portions where you can’t be seen or it’s an instant Game Over, those that enjoyed the core gameplay from Innocence will most likely enjoy the new additions and improvements overall.

Take the time to explore and you’ll find plenty of collectables and extra crafting and upgrade materials, though many of these will require some careful planning and patience to not be spotted while doing so. Do you take out the unhelmeted guards in a single shot with Amicia’s sling to thin the ‘herd’ of enemies or simply try to sneak by unnoticed? Thankfully when you are spotted you are able to get away and find a hiding spot if you’re careful, but you’re going to have to be quite careful the more heavily armed the guards are.

The combat is familiar at first, but once you’ve learned some of the new mechanics and alchemic options available to Amicia, you’ll see how improved it’s become in this sequel. There’s generally four different types of sections you’ll encounter. The first is simply fighting (or sneaking) against a handful of guards. The next is guards as well as rats, where the the rats can be a danger to avoid, but also used to your advantage if you have Hugo control them in the shadows. Next is some puzzle centric sections where you’re usually trying to find a way into a building or area, figuring how to get from point A to B while staying in the light so you don’t die to the bloodthirsty rats. Lastly is the running or chase sections where you need to get away, usually from a literal waterfall of rats or destruction as you try to survive.

Many of the combat sections has your objective reaching a specific area or door to progress, but how you actually get there and do so is up to you. Sure, the overall progression is linear, but these sections are usually large enough that there’s two or three different main ‘paths' you could sneak or fight through. If Hugo is going to use his powers to control the rats, he can now also ‘ping’ enemies and have them show through walls, like a radar. This Echo ability is also explained through the narrative in a clever way as well, not just adding it for no reason. While he can control rats, there’s also a limit to his ability with how far, how many and for how long, on top of the light restrictions of course.

Amicia has learned a few new concoctions with her alchemy skill too that will give you even more options in combat. One of these is being able to craft tar, expanding the light radius when ignited or being able to douse enemies with it and then setting them on fire. Eventually you’ll also gain access to a Crossbow, a very powerful weapon that can not only kill the most heavily armored enemies in a single shot, but also being able to combine your alchemic properties like you do your Sling's shots. Want to make a permanent fire source, use one of your Crossbow bolts with fire on specific wooden spots and it will lodge and stay there, offering a new spot of respite. The bolts are far and few in between though, so you need to use them sparingly.

There’s also an upgrade system, much like the first game, where you can craft upgrades if you find enough tools and materials along the way, making exploring each nook and cranny generally worth the hassle and effort. This is how you’ll be able to upgrade Amica in different ways, like being able to carry more alchemy ingredients you need to craft specific elements for your attacks and distractions, being able to upgrade your knife to be able to take down larger heavy enemies in a single sneak attack and more depending on your specific playstyle. There are even skills you can unlock simply by playing that will enhance how you play. For example, the more you sneak around you’ll earn perks that further help you to play stealthy, where those that play more aggressively will earn more skills to make Amicia even more formidable in combat.

While I normally would dedicate a paragraph for a game’s visuals and audio, I’m probably going to have to use more here to even try and describe the engrossing and astonishing world that Asobo Studio has crafted, even if much of it is dark, grim and full of death and rats. The choice to make Requiem next-gen only has paid off from a visual standpoint. Innocence looked amazing for the time on Xbox One, and now Requiem on a Series X is a whole other level. Level design is hand crafted with purpose, as the environments are much larger than before. When you see a building far in the distance along the beach you need to get to, you would naturally think that’s a few Chapter’s worth, but no, levels here are absolutely huge at times. Draw distance is basically as far as you can see which is impressive in its own right, but the lighting as a whole is so photorealistic sometimes that I couldn’t help but stop numerous times and just take it all in.

This is where the included Photo Mode added probably a good hour or two to my playthrough timer, as I don’t think my screenshot button ever got such a workout in a game before. There’s so many amazing vistas that I had to constantly stop and take some photos of the beauty from many angles. There’s even plenty of extra options to make that photo absolutely perfect. You’re able to hide Amicia, Hugo, other NPCs, enemies and plenty of more camera options, and I’ve already seen some amazing game photography online from Requiem from other players.

There’s so much light and dark contrast that works so brilliantly with its naturally dark aesthetic that certain sections and areas really can appear to be photorealistic at times. One Chapter you might be in a bright and colorful city filled with vendors in a market, the next you’re slugging through a swamp or beach trying to find a light source to keep the rats away.

Cutscenes really showcase how lifelike the cast can appear, and there are so many different animations for even small movements that it just adds another layer of realism. For example, when you go up a ladder, since Amicia rarely lets Hugo out of her sight, he actually goes up first but then she does so as well, almost on top of him, covering him like a shield. The way they hold hands, how she keeps Hugo close has so many minor details that you might miss if you don't take the time to take it all in. Small details like this really reinforce their relationship and add that realism, like when she has to catch him jumping down a tall platform and the way she braces his for the drop and catch. My only complaint is that the facial animations during gameplay, not dedicated cutscenes, can be a little stiff, but that’s me looking for things that stand out. On an Xbox Series X I had no real framerate issues, even when there was a literal flood of rats on screen.

While visuals generally always overshadow the audio, sound plays just as important role in an immersive experience. The soundtrack is absolutely astounding. The musical score fits the setting you’re currently exploring and knows how to set a scene and tone. When the music changes and has a tense tonality, you know there’s something wrong up ahead and that you’re going to have to sneak or fight. Olivier Deriviere produced an amazing soundtrack that elevates the experience to another level. Enough fantastic compliments also can’t be said for the voice actors, especially from Charlotte McBurney (Amicia), Logan Hannan (Hugo) and Anna Demetriou (Sophia). Their performances are absolutely flawless and the emotion they bring to their performances made characters I already cared about even more human and believable the deeper the story unfolded. Not an easy feat.

Over the 15 to 20 hours the campaign will take to complete you get completely entranced into Amicia and Hugo’s struggles, becoming attached to the returning siblings and astonished within the world they explore. The contrast of the dark and deadly world versus the goodness from within the cast is a great juxtaposition that isn’t always easily executed. Asobo Studio has performed magic, crafting a tale worth telling that’s emotionally charged and enthralling to experience from start to finish. Everything from Innocence is improved upon, from its combat, gameplay, visuals, audio and even narrative. A Plague Tale: Innocence was my Game of the Year in 2019 and they’ve taken that title again in 2022 with A Plague Tale: Requiem.

**A Plague Tale: Requiem was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**

Overall: 9.8 / 10
Gameplay: 9.5 / 10
Visuals: 10.0 / 10
Sound: 10.0 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of A Plague Tale: Requiem (Xbox Series X)

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