A Plague Tale: Requiem – Stunning, Heartfelt and Relatable

The Tale of Hugo and Amicia continues in the much-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s A Plague Tale: Innocence from developer Asobo Studio. Can they shine a light again, or will they fade into darkness?

Game Name: A Plague Tale: Requiem
Platform(s): PS5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S (also on GamePass), Nintendo Switch (Cloud Version), PC
Publisher(s): Focus Entertainment
Developer(s): Asobo Studio
Release Date: 18th October 2022

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a third-person stealth action-adventure game, set months after the events of the first game. Requiem sees the De Rune siblings Amicia and Hugo continue their quest, searching for a cure for the dreaded Macula coursing through Hugo’s veins.

A Stunning Tale 

I can’t talk about Requiem without mentioning the story, a tale of love, hope, and despair. I won’t spoil it here, but only a few games have made me feel the way this one did with its’ storytelling. A story that explores the relationship between siblings and the need for one to protect the other. It was an emotional rollercoaster that puts family and interpersonal relationships at its centre. We know the influence of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (TLOU) had on the original A Plague Tale, and Requiem’s story is no exception in that regard. The story is the driving force behind Requiem, and I loved every second of the eighteen hours it took me to finish.

Stay In The Light

Anyone who played A Plague Tale: Innocence will be immediately familiar with the gameplay in Requiem. It remains essentially the same with four main pillars, Stealth, Combat, Puzzles, and Set Pieces. The most expanded of these is Combat, which sees both new enemies and new ways to kill them, with my favourite being the Crossbow, which can be upgraded at workbenches, by finding pieces (scraps) and tools.

Perhaps the most significant change for this sequel is introducing a skill system, which is a pretty good one! It is somewhat limited to three categories; Prudence, Aggressive, and Opportunism which each have four skills attached. The way you play decides the skills you will unlock.

Stealth also sees improvement, with players now able to re-enter stealth after being spotted. Combined with the larger areas and great level design, Stealth just feels better, even if it is somewhat more optional.

One thing that, of course, isn’t optional…Rats! They are back in a BIG and SCARY way; they can be used in Combat. Just like in Innocence, they are most prominent in Puzzles. Often being a puzzle themselves, as before, Amicia and Hugo must stay in the light to avoid the bite! Players achieve this by lighting different lamps and torches, using their alchemy skills and Amicia’s trusty sling. All sounds familiar, right? Well, it’s way more terrifying because this time, you will see hundreds of thousands of them. This is never more apparent that in some of the Set Piece moments, nothing induces fear, like three hundred thousand rats chasing you. I won’t spoil the Set Pieces here, but a few of them will stick with me for a long them, they are spectacular.

Presentation

Speaking of spectacular, the presentation here is phenomenal both audio, and visuals are top-class. The environments are highly detailed, from vibrant markets to dark rundown slums. Everything is so stunning that it feels alive, dare I say, even the unfortunate victims of the rats look haunting superb. Not to mention the great lighting, which is also crucial to gameplay. Requiem has visuals I would personally put on par with many of the industry’s top games.

Then we have the audio, which is so important, and most important of all is the game’s excellent score from composer Olivier Deriviere. A score that is haunting, loving, peaceful, and terrifying at all the right moments. It amplifies and, at times, dictates the emotion you are feeling, just as any great musical score does. The score isn’t the only audio that shines, as the voice acting is also great. When combined with superb facial animations, it drives the emotions even further. Harry Myres (Horizon Zero Dawn) as Arnaud really stood out to me, but every performance was brilliant, and it’s hard to pick just one. However, I will admit Alistair Petrie (Sex Education) popping up as Count Victor was a pleasant surprise!

I can’t mention audio and not talk about 3D audio; I played the game using a  3D audio-supported headset most of the time. It adds an excellent depth to everything, but it stands out in set-piece moments and when the score kicks in. The few hours I played without a headset were fine, it just didn’t add as much immersion as the 3D audio did. If you can, I definitely recommend using a 3D audio headset while playing the game; you won’t regret it.

If you play on PS5, you’ll also get some light use of the DualSense features, such as haptic feedback for rain and the rumbling of rats. Having completed the game on PS5 and then gone to test the Xbox for performance. I’d say these features are nice but so light I didn’t notice them not being there while playing on Xbox.

Technical Performance

While playing on PS5, the performance mainly was rock solid, with a momentary loading hitch at the start of each chapter being the most noticeable issue. Despite the game being capped at 30 frames per second, I did experience some frame drops here and there, which was surprising. Given the nature of the capped frame rate, I didn’t expect to see any frame drop whatsoever. On the other hand, I did get a chance to play the Xbox Series X version, and nary a frame rate drop was to be found. But that’s just me being picky, and the frame rate drops didn’t affect my enjoyment of the game.

Summary

A Plague Tale: Requiem is not only the best game I’ve played in 2022, but it’s also pushed into my all-time Top 10. Through a powerful story that affected me in a way that not many games have been able to do, with its excellent gameplay and presentation supporting this fantastic tale. It’s a massive step up from 2019’s A Plague Tale: Innocence in every possible way! A true shining light for single-player linear games.

Review Disclosure Statement: A Plague Tale: Requiem was provided to us by Publisher for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.