Why you should play A Plague Tale as your next story game

Story addicts spend most of their free time chasing their next narrative high by looking for a new book, film, show, or even video game. After they get through a piece of media they loved, they experience a feeling of sadness wash over them, believing that they'll never feel the way that that thing made them feel again. But then they find that next thing, and the cycle hopefully repeats itself. As cringe as it is, you’ll hear this feeling of hopelessness a lot in the The Last Of Us community. Gaming, as unique as it as for stories, is arguably an even more complex platform for storytelling than the others due to the players' expectations for actual gameplay elements. A Plague Tale is an example of a series with a heavy focus on its story elements and visual presentation, and decides to kick gameplay to the curb. Some gamers hate this, but story lovers would adore it. It covers the journey of a teenage girl named Amicia and her little brother Hugo as they endure unimaginable challenges thrown at them in a fictional 14th century Europe. With a beautiful plot stretching across two games, you'll regret and appreciate that you spent about 40 hours with these incredible characters.

Note: I'll try to be somewhat spoiler-free in this casual review, but I recommend you go in blindly and play both games.

Not so Innocence

In the A Plague Tale: Innocence, the cheerful intro quickly turns to a horror story during Amicia's hunt with her father, and it progressively gets worse the further you make it into the game. The Macula, the dark magical substance in Hugo's veins, reveals itself soon after the intro, and the story kicks into high gear. As Hugo and Amicia work through the world-ending challenges they face together, you start to feel the emotions of the characters as if you're there with them. Great voice acting combined with hard-hitting lines in the most sensitive moments makes every gain or loss they have so much more impactful. In terms of gameplay, there isn't much to talk about. There are some puzzles, but they're very simple in nature (I don't like puzzle games). Movement and combat mechanics are pretty basic, and while there are enough weapon types and stealth covers to make strategy a part of dealing with enemies, it's very clear that it was never the focus of the game. If you're into high-stakes, pedal-to-the-metal gameplay, stay far away from this series. But if you enjoy getting lost in good stories, you should give A Plague Tale a try.

I've played my fair share of story games, and I always say that the best story games are the ones that succeed in putting you in the shoes of the character you're playing as. The Last Of Us did it, Life is Strange did it, and so did Firewatch and God Of War. They all managed to make people feel the character's emotions and connections at points throughout their journeys, and these games ended up being among the greatest story titles of all time. A Plague Tale: Innocence achieves this effect by making players feel responsible for the safety of Hugo. As the story progresses, and you're connecting to the crew, you begin to feel protective of Hugo and even want to comfort characters when they go through something horrible. This brings a whole new level of depth to the experience and makes you want to invest more into the plot as the player.

They did it again, and better

A Plague Tale: Requiem took pretty much everything good Innocence did and cranked it up to 11. I frequently compare Requiem to how Jedi: Survivor felt after playing Jedi: Fallen Order in terms of its noticeable difference in overall polish and player enjoyment. However, without Fallen Order's world-building and character intros, Survivor wouldn't have been nearly as great as it was. Requiem's plot structure was a stark contrast from the first game. While Innocence was more mysterious in tone and introduced threats gradually, Requiem throws out the end goal in simple terms: Save Hugo. This simple goal allowed the experiences and feelings of the characters marinate for longer, as everything got more and more intense towards the final fight. When you’re done the series, you might get that “I’ll never feel this way from a story again” feeling, but just remember that you will. There are plenty of amazing stories out there.

Conclusion

Play it.