4/5 ★ – sirreldar's review of A Plague Tale: Requiem.

(Review covers both Innocence and Requiem) It is a rare chance that a game and its sequel are similar enough that I feel both games can be fairly and adequately reviewed in a single review, but the Plague Tale games are just such a case. Most things I have to say about these games are equally applicable to both games, and when not, I will specifically mention so. I’ll begin by saying I generally do not enjoy stealth games (or at least, the stealth elements of stealth games). It quickly becomes boring and tedious for me to sit in a dark corner and wait for a guard to patrol a predetermined loop so that I can time some action. Throwing some small object to create a distraction, just so a guard can lackadaisically wander over, only to conclude that “It must have been the wind” 5 seconds later feels nothing short of an immersion-breaking trope at this point. The inconsistent and illogical detection and line-of-sight rules are frustrating and unfun for me, especially when the penalty is often just an “Oops, you failed” screen and returning to some prior checkpoint to try again, eventually devolving into this sort of trial and error or bruteforce loop. To be clear, these complaints are not specifically about the Plague Tale games, and more about the stereotypical stealth genre in general. However, Plague Tale falls nearly squarely into the stereotypical-stealth-game box. It did have some neat stealth-related gimmicks, but the stealth generally felt on-par with every other stealth game. I will say that my complaints are not egregiously applicable. The stealth felt relatively well done, compared to the small handful of other stealth games that I have played, and the many other strengths of the Plague Tale games easily made up for my dislike of the stealth portions specifically. But ultimately, the stealth itself felt pretty boilerplate. Otherwise, the Plague Tale games were fantastic. The 14th century France setting was fun to experience, and felt authentic. From the buildings, to the characters, every aspect of the game felt believable and immersive, presenting the world beautifully. The gorgeous graphics were a delight to just “take in” and admire. Ultimately, minute to minute gameplay was enjoyable, even during mundane portions of the game, if for no other reason than such a wonderfully crafted world. The story was unique, interesting, and intriguing. The characters were well-written, mostly believable, and generally relatable. It can be challenging to build genuine, emotional connections between a player and characters, but both Plague Tale games did this very well. The characters had depth and nuance, and I almost always felt empathetically connected to their motivations. A few moments came off as a bit cheesy, or dramatic, or cliche, but overall I found myself invested in the characters, the story, and discovering its resolution. I will note that the story was sometimes difficult for me to keep up with. As the cast of characters grew, and the mysterious plot points started asking tougher questions, it became easy for me to forget details and harder to keep the “bigger picture” organized in my head. The pacing felt good, and the variety between stealth sections, action sections, story sections, and light puzzle sections felt well balanced. The games usually gave me a bit of each one every time I played, which was fun and engaging. But no review is complete without some specific criticism. The crafting was tedious for me, and sometimes even downright annoying. Consumables were sometimes required to progress past certain points, and materials for those required consumables were always found near where they were needed. At the same time, I was always paranoid that I would run out of materials and wish I had saved them for later, so I rarely used consumables unless it was necessary, even though it might have made a part easier. This caused the consumable crafting to really just feel like an extraneous step to pass some parts. I think a much better system would have been to make the alchemical recipes permanent, and with unlimited uses. Yes, that would almost entirely deprecate the crafting, and yes it might have made some areas of the game much easier, but I think such a change would have overall been a good one. Some characters were annoying or had annoying traits. Amicia’s airy, trembling, whispery voice became grating quickly. It felt appropriate during the emotional or stressful situations, but it was often conspicuously present in odd or unexpected places. Lucas sometimes felt like the annoying, useless sidekick who was present only to ask prompting questions and praise us when we make progress. Hugo… acted like a 6 year old. Though sometimes distracting or annoying, the characters’ quirks nonetheless made for a diverse and interesting cast. Overall, I would very highly recommend both Plague Tale games to anyone who enjoys an engaging and compelling story. Even if someone generally does not enjoy stereotypical stealth mechanics, the epic, cinematic story will easily overshadow the unenjoyable parts. For someone that DOES enjoy stereotypical stealth mechanics, these would absolutely be must-play games.