Set during the dark and tumultuous years of the 14th century, A Plague Tale: Innocence is testament to the fact that narrative driven first person adventure games are still the best medium for storytelling to date.
With most of Europe in the grip of a devastating pandemic that will ultimately claim some 200 million lives, A Plague Tale: Innocence breaks down the unimaginable horror of the Black Plague by telling the story of a young noble girl and her five year old brother. You are cast in the role of Amica de Rune, a young girl of noble breeding, who must care for her five year old brother Hugo while avoiding the religious fanatics of the Inquisition, surviving the early years of the 100 Years War and fighting off the plague of rats that will ultimately reduce Europe’s population by some 60 percent. A Plague Tale: Innocence is a combination of stealth, puzzle solving and combat that still manages to create a strong emotional bond between the characters and the player. A bond that we haven’t experienced since playing The Last of Us on both the PS3 and PS4.
Developed by the – hitherto- little known Asobo Studio, A Plague Tale: Innocence expertly combines all of its individual parts to create one of the most unique and memorable games of the year. Armed only with a slingshot, you are always reminded of Amica and Hugo’s vulnerability whenever facing danger. Your best bet is almost always to hide beyond line of sight. Or, failing that, using your sling shot or potions to distract enemies. As you progress through A Plague Tale: Innocence, Amica becomes more adept at tackling enemies as you upgrade her equipment and craft new items. Despite your growing arsenal, however, Amica never transforms into a superhuman killing machine that shrugs off danger without even breaking a sweat. Instead, each confrontation, whether it’s with human enemies or rats, is a tense gripping affair which requires you to combine items, craft new weapons and study the enemies movements for gaps and areas of weakness.
During your journey Amica and Hugo are joined by a number of characters including a thief, an alchemist and a blacksmith. Each of these characters offer skillsets and eventually craftable items that are critical for your progression through A Plague Tale: Innocence. Graphically, this game is perhaps one of the most impressive we’ve seen since The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Forget the fact that this is an indie production and look at the screenshots. Every item and character in A Plague Tale: Innocence is detailed to an astonishing and, often eerily beautiful level.
The games lighting effects, particularly in its forest and character animation, has to be among the finest to grace any console. In fact, this game is so gorgeous that, while playing it, we had to fight off the temptation to lick the screen. Closely tied to this is the games incredible musical scores provided by the legendary French composer Olivier Deriviere, celebrated for his work on Alone in The Dark, Obscure and Remember Me.
The mavericks at Asobo Studios clearly went out of their way to ensure that every second of A Plague Tale: Innocence is an immersive experience that will stay with you long after the game ends. We enjoyed every minute of playing A Plague Tale: Innocence and, if you like story-driven adventure titles, we’re sure you’ll love it too. Go buy.
