This A Plague Tale: Requiem review contains minor spoilers.
A Plague Tale: Requiem picks up where its heart-rending predecessor left off – not only in its story but in its innevitable legacy, too.
A Plague Tale: Innocence was, by all accounts, a pretty great video game. It was fun (if repetitious), technically sound, looked great, and told a tremendously written yet tragic story. However, it came and went almost unnoticed.
This new sequel improves on the first title in a number of key ways. And while it should be one of the can’t-miss games this season, a few disappointing draw backs and lessons-not-learnt prevent it from reaching such heights.
Still, A Plague Tale: Requiem is – like the first game – really good.
Its incredible story and immaculately realised setting make it worth experiencing. I just wish it did more with its gameplay to claw its way out of obscurity and into the limelight where it should belong.
A Plague Tale: Requiem Review – Story & Setting
A Plague Tale: Requiem‘s standout feature is its story. It is primed and ready to rival any of the greats like The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption II.
Following on from the events of the previous game, we re-join siblings Amicia and Hugo de Rune in 14th century France as they leave Guyenne and journey to their new home in Provence.
Setting
I cannot emphasise enough how well realised the 1300s are in A Plague Tale: Requiem.
The first game did a sterling job. But this sequel left me awestruck at times. Not only does it look staggeringly gorgeous – but its level of historical detail rivals any Assassin’s Creed game.
The plague-ridden medieval period does not feature enough in video games. But Asobo Studio has set an unquestionable benchmark for bringing the period to life.
Villages, markets, ports, festivals – all of it is there to absorb and enjoy. There were numerous sections in A Plague Tale: Requiem (usually in its fleeting joyous moments) where I would simply wander around soaking in the beautiful world that Asobo has created. The island of La Cuna is particularly stunning and its introduction is a highlight.
While it contains moments of great beauty, A Plague Tale: Requiem is also fittingly brutal and grim.
From piles of burning corpses to putrid pools filled with culled animals, the game expertly recreates the most gruesome features of the disgustingly unrepentant Black Death as it would have been.
Story
A Plague Tale: Requiem deals with Hugo’s heavy burden as the Carrier of the Prima Macula and his sister Amicia’s efforts to save him at any cost.
The Macula is a blood curse that is linked to the onset of plague outbreaks. The Carrier slowly gains an uncontrollable power to guide hordes of plague rats. Unfortunately, the Macula carries a significant risk of death and disaster as it progresses.
Rats tearing down whole cities and eating people alive makes for particularly grotesque viewing. But the medieval brutality of soldiers and the squalid conditions of ordinary people create a more grounded and nuanced terror.
After resorting to killing in the first game, Amicia (the player character), is slowly losing control of her anger in Requiem. She is sick of the pain her brother suffers and the violence inflicted upon her family and friends as a result.
Amicia’s tragic arc in Requiem is so well crafted I felt each emotion as she did.
When she was angry, so was I. When she wanted vengeance, my blood was boiling for it also. And, most prominently, I felt crushed at the numerous hardships she and Hugo endured.
The few moments of unadulterated happiness make the overall tragedy of Requiem all the more heart-breaking. And I know that’s how Amicia and Hugo felt, too.
Themes of family responsibility, religion, death, sacrifice, and the battle between right and wrong permeate throughout A Plague Tale: Requiem.
The game’s cast of characters and their voice actors do a great job of carrying its themes. Supporting characters like Arnaud serve to broaden the scope of Requiem‘s tale, and I found myself almost as invested in them as I was in the de Rune siblings – which is a tremendous success for the writers.
A Plague Tale: Requiem Review – Gameplay
While I can’t heap enough praise on the game’s setting and story, its gameplay doesn’t quite meet the same standard.
To be clear, there is nothing particularly wrong with it. Its many puzzles are mostly fun and satisfactorily challenging (at least, to begin with). However, just like the first game, there is simply far too much repetition that turns the fun into a tedious chore at times. And, once again, the combat is not fleshed out as much as I’d have liked.
Puzzles
As mentioned, plague rats play a huge part in A Plague Tale: Requiem. Most of the game is spent navigating around hordes of them by lighting braziers and torches to create a safe path. And while the level of thought that has gone into this simple premise is impressive, I was bored of it by the half-way point.
Often, when rats would appear, Amicia screamed words to the effect of “NO! Not again!” And I felt that. Because I was so throughly fed up of having to light fires to get around them.
While the concept grows tedious, thankfully the diversity in Requeim‘s puzzles kept me from losing interest entirely.
Combat and Stealth
Outside of puzzles and problem solving, A Plague Tale: Requiem is mostly a stealth game.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t do anything new for the genre. It simply relies on old tropes like throwable distractions and hiding in tall grass to get by. It’s not bad – but it’s not innovative, either.
The combat is also frustratingly one-dimensional.
In Requiem, Amicia no longer dies after one hit from an enemy (she can counter now!). But she is still uncharacteristically weak for someone so strong-willed.
As a smaller woman facing off against heavily armoured soldiers, it would’ve been great if her speed and agility would’ve played a bigger part in the game’s combat. Something not dissimilar to The Last of Us Part II‘s approach to Ellie’s fighting style would’ve worked great. But instead it’s a missed opportunity.
Amicia’s main weapons are her trusty sling (which is still satisfying) and a new crossbow.
When I saw Asobo had chosen to give Amicia the crossbow in preview materials, I was excited for how it would enhance the game’s encounters. A more mature weapon for a more grown-up protagonist, I thought. Disappointingly, it doesn’t really add much. It isn’t unlocked until too late in the game. And when you do have it, bolts are too few and far between.
Nevertheless, functionally, it all works well. And as a complete package, it rivals the quality of most top games. Still, Requiem missed the opportunity to move A Plague Tale‘s gameplay forward in a meaningful way.
Graphics and Performance
A Plague Tale: Requiem‘s launch was overshadowed by some disappointing news regarding its performance on current-gen consoles. It doesn’t offer any switchable graphics modes.
Unfortunately, Requiem is limited to 30 frames-per-second and 1440p resolution.
Most PS5 and Xbox Series X games offer the choice between 60FPS+ performance modes at 1440p, or 30FPS modes with 4K resolution.
A Plague Tale: Requiem doesn’t hit the benchmarks on either the performance or resolution fronts and that’s a huge let down in 2022.
Despite the frames being capped, I still experienced frequent dips below 30FPS on PS5.
Overall, the performance and lack of graphics modes are a sizeable disappointment. And they are two of the things that hold A Plague Tale: Requiem back compared to more popular releases.
Thankfully, the game still looks incredible. In fact, it is one of the best looking games I’ve ever played – even without the 4K resolution. For those wondering, it is a noticeable improvement over the visuals of A Plague Tale: Innocence.
The incredible graphics play a vital part in creating the fantastically realised world of 14th century France. So, if the limited performance was unavoidable, at least it was somewhat worth it.
A Plague Tale: Requiem Review – Verdict
A Plague Tale: Requiem more than justifies its existence thanks to a brilliant continuation of the series’ story and general improvements all round.
Luckily its compelling setting and enticing narrative do enough to help you overlook the small (but not insignificant) gameplay failings that have carried over from Innocence. However, those who were left wanting more action after the last game won’t find it here.
Nonetheless, A Plague Tale: Requiem is a story-telling triumph. It rivals any of the best narrative driven games. And Amicia and Hugo deserve to be considered among the very best video game duos ever.
Ultimately, you will have to pick yourself up off the floor at the game’s conclusion. And you will come away remembering its master-class in story-telling instead of its so-so gameplay.
After a shocking ending and an interesting post-credits scene, I’m fascinated to see where A Plague Tale goes next.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Reviewed on: PS5
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