A Plague Tale: Innocence, our review

A story told by the Brothers Grimm.

The developer Asobo Studio prepared for the launch of A Plague Tale: Innocence for a long time and now that the game has finally hit the shelves, hard work and constant dedication, in this bleak narrative of death, greed, loss and dark secrets, have certainly given the hoped-for results. When the layers of decay and atrocity are finally removed, what A Plague Tale: Innocence it really shows is that the power of unconditional love and hope will ultimately overcome and destroy all kinds of darkness and evil.

Immersed in the French rural countryside in 1349 during the first phase of the Hundred Years War and Black Death, the first scene that is presented to us in A Plague Tale: Innocence sees as the protagonist, Amicia De Rune: a girl of about fifteen who walks carelessly and lightheartedly alongside her father, Robert and his dog, Leo, through a dense and luxuriant forest. While they both enjoy some free time together, Lion, after hearing the cry of a wild boar, walks away. What unfolds in the next few minutes is just the beginning of a nightmare real hidden under their feet, in the depths of the subsoil, hungry infected rats. The happiness between father and daughter is soon turned into a terrible tragedy; this was probably the last day of normalcy for young Amicia, as what follows will inevitably lead her to carry the weight of her entire family on her young shoulders.

Amicia returns to the family home to tell her mother what happened, but in the midst of it all, all hell breaks loose, the Inquisition makes an appearance. The life he knew is now a distant memory, now replaced by fear and uncertainty of what will be. She is forced to flee the mansion with her younger brother, Hugo, who suffers from a mysterious disease. Since he was kept hidden from the world around him by his mother due to his strange illness, he led a very sheltered existence for about four years. In search of the safety that they can get away from the terrors of the night and from the forces of the Grand Inquisition, which for an unspecified reason, want to capture little Hugo, the two brothers run away!

I'll protect you!

Not only do we control Amicia, but we can also take complete control of Hugo as he squeezes his big sister's hand tightly. At first, this might seem like a cumbersome, redundant and boring mechanic but overall it works very well. Both move smoothly as a whole; Hugo will only release his hand when he has to slide into small spaces to access other areas, for example to open a door on the other side and help Amicia get through. A Plague Tale: Innocence is pronominally oriented around stealth mechanics and puzzle solving skills, in which it is necessary to analyze the best possible path to survive also bearing in mind that you have a vulnerable child at your side. In this way, we will have the awareness of not being able to face all the enemies we encounter. Luckily, Amicia is armed with a sling which he uses as a distraction method by throwing rocks at metal objects to attract soldiers. It can also throw pots that rattle as they shatter in whatever direction they are thrown.

As we make our way through a beautifully rustic but sick village, the townspeople will assault the young siblings believing the children have brought the plague. Thus begins a sequence of breathtaking chases through the cobbled streets that are as terrifying as they are exhilarating. The brothers finally find shelter in a critically dangerous time that will then allow Amicia to fix her battered sling on a workbench to make it stronger as soon as it is discovered that she will necessarily need it.

Asobo Studio did a flawless job in implementing fear and tension, especially when Amicia is faced with the killing of her first enemy. Let's not forget that while imbued with courage, they are still just children and the implications of death on such innocent minds present themselves to the player as a really difficult time. When Amicia encounters her first Goliath boss as she leaves the village, this is where the player gets a real taste of how the combat system works. There are no great aids, apart from a semi-assisted aiming system. It takes a moment to get used to in the first moments of the game, as the slingshot is not the easiest weapon to maneuver, but once you are able to swing it, aim for the right point and dodge, the fight becomes much less. disheartening.

Hateful rats!

Moments later, in a nearby church, after meeting a priest for some advice, Amicia and Hugo finally come face to face with the dreaded rats in a crypt after another brutal scene. The infected horde goes mad at the smell of blood and fresh flesh. These rats carrying bubonic plague seem impassable, but luckily, Amicia understands that their "kryptonite" is represented by fire. As we move heart-pounding through dozens of crypts and corridors, we will constantly need a permanent flashlight. Sometimes we will have a flaming stick with us, but of course, this quickly burns out leaving Amicia in complete darkness. So it's just a matter of finding the best path through the mice, releasing the braziers with the slingshot and lighting them with the torches.

Making our way through the rat nests at the end is a truly horrifying experience with blood dripping walls and floors crammed with death. The art direction in A Tale: Innocence is exceptional at portraying a true sense of terror and the true impact these almost supernatural rats seem to have brought to the unsuspecting world.. After finally clearing the crypts, the brothers return to breathe in the lush French landscapes. As we have to get past more and more armed guards using the stealth and distraction mechanics and, of course, avoiding being eaten by rats when darkness falls, Amicia and Hugo encounter a farm where a doctor who has worked with his brother's mother lives. find a cure for Hugo.

The rotting cattle are a "good" indicator that life is not going too well here and the brothers will soon face new problems that will force them to flee the farm with a new friend - a young boy named Lucas. who has extensive knowledge in alchemy which has been handed down to him by the doctor himself. Just before the trio left, we ran into the first glitch that occurred in the barn while solving one of the game's many puzzles. The glitch sees Lucas jump into an enclosure full of hungry rats and die for no reason. It wasn't until we walked away from the barn that the problem seemed to be corrected, but it was pretty frustrating after the multiple times it happened.

Thanks to Lucas, Amicia will have an alchemy system at hand which can be used to create useful potions in a variety of situations, especially against the Grand Inquisition. We will be able to collect the resources found around which can then be used to extinguish the flames or create a substance that, once launched, attracts hundreds of ravenous rodents to that specific area. Fortunately, using the alchemy system is really simple and the ingredients to create all kinds of elixirs are easily identifiable and available in every area we are in.. Determined to find a cure for Hugo, Lucas tells Amicia about an ancient book kept in a university library that contains the cure for his disease. It is at this point that the narrative really opens up.

A little pearl

The linear storyline of A Plague Tale is immediate and compelling. We will be constantly encouraged to go to the next area to find out more and no moment has turned out to be boring or uninspired, on the contrary, adrenaline and full of suspense. Stunning graphics and lighting they are ideal for a photo mode that unfortunately has not been implemented and this was rather disappointing due to the amount of artistic work done to make every single detail realistic. The narrative is deeply emotional and exposes both extreme sides of the human psyche - fear, greed, love and hope - while this dark story reveals that humans are the real monsters, not mice. One aspect that we found slightly untreated is related to facial animations. The lack of compelling facial expressions erected a slight wall in situations that would have created more empathy with the characters and the narrative itself, but that didn't particularly affect the enjoyment of the story in its entirety.

The puzzles in the game are well thought out and, at times, quite frustrating, but not in a bad way. It is mostly a question of understanding the situation that has arisen before us and understanding what the best solution might be. Asobo Studio also did an outstanding job of making death really important to the player. It is not something that was inserted in the title just to fill a space or increase the expectations. Some of the scenes that took place made us shiver. They were brutal and tragic for a reason and they played in a way that really shocked us despite the many kills that transpire immediately before and after.