Oh D-RATS - Here We Go Again.
THE SEQUEL TO THE AWARD-WINNING A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE
Embark on an emotional and breathtaking journey. Follow Amicia and her brother Hugo on a perilous new quest, doing whatever it takes to survive a brutal, uncaring world.
Story
A Plague Tale: Requiem takes place directly after the events in A Plague Tale: Innocence, where Hugo and Amicia are on the run again after the Macula in Hugo has awoken again. After the events of the first game, the De Rune family goes into asylum within a religious cult called the Order. A skirmish with some angry bee-keepers cause the Prima Macula to resurface, a rat- quake ensues and the family is forced to go to the Order HQ in Marseille. What happens in-between basically involves a religious cult run by a Count and Countess who decided that Hugo is a God -Child that needs to be worshipped.
The cornerstone of this game is the bond between Amicia and her younger brother. Amicia is ferociously protective of Hugo, and will even stand up to her mother about what she thinks is best for her brother. However, we also see that this desire to protect Hugo almost comes at a cost of her own humanity. She doesn't show any regret when she takes a life, but instead shows an intense disdain to enemies who for the most part are just following orders. When she has a companion, like Lucas or Hugo, they will be critical of her actions and remind her that the ultimate goal should always be finding a cure for Hugo. I am immediately reminded of Lara's Croft's character change in the Tomb Raider trilogy - where she started out as a survivor but eventually became an almost seasoned killer. Of course you can still completely choose stealth, but sometimes offense is the best defense - and the reactions Amicia has is such a contrast to her character in the first game.
Graphically, this game showcases some beautful but also not so beautiful locations. From the lively markets of Guyenne, to the most colorful field of flowers in Lacuna Island, to the most macabre, rat-aclyptic city of Marseille. It is definitely a visual design upgrade in comparison to the ashen style of the previous title.
Combat
Technically, there really shouldn't be a section called 'Combat' in this review, because the game's story really emphasizes stealth - as our main girl Amicia is not (in the traditional sense) a warrior / fighter. However, that being said the game does slowly build up multiple ways you can take down enemies - usually as loudly as possible.
I have generally found the stealth approach extremely challenging ( on Normal mode), with enemies literally detecting me within seconds. As the levels got bigger and bigger, with a bigger variety of enemies it became harder to navigate safely into tall grasses where you can catch a breath and plan your next move. Also, no matter where you run you are almost never able to avoid thrown spears or arrows, and you will get hit no matter what which gets really frustrating really quickly. Whilst you don't die immediately, you can still counter a direct attack by swinging the sling across an enemy's face, which stuns them for a bit giving you a chance to escape. I am kind of grateful that Amicia gets 'killer' weapons in later levels of the game because I find myself thinking "stealth isn't working so I'm just going to kill everyone". Lucky for me Amicia gets introduced to a Crossbow, perfect to take down armoured enemies when there's no other option.
Speaking of new weapons, there are also new ammo types. In addition to our usual Ignifer (sets things on fire) , Exstinguis (puts out fires) and Odoris (attracts rats to a targeted point), we also get Tar! Tar is extremely versatile and perfect for crowd control; combine it with a Pot and you can make quite a splash when you throw it, slowing down enemies if they walk in it; throw it on a fire source and it'll generate a sparky spectacle that will pretty much blind everyone ( and send the rats running); use some Ignifer on a sling ( or a Pot) and you can set everyone on fire! One thing to be wary of though, if you are in tall grass and set this fire close by, everything in the vicinity will burn - including you - and you probably won't have time to run before you are detected. Also, you can combine any of those ammo types with arrows ( you will find the Ignifer / arrow combo the most useful). Another skill that comes in handy is Echo. Straight out of The Last Of Us playbook, Hugo can 'see' heartbeats of closeby enemies and rats, can control a group of rats and finally send them to unsuspecting enemies for a little snack (thanks Macula). Bear in mind that communicating with rats will weaken Hugo so you'll need to be strategic about when to use this skill. Lastly, Amicia can use a knife as a last resort to defend herself, its a one-time use for a single kill. This single-use knife tactic has saved my ass so many times. Additionally you can use the knife to unlock workbenches where you can upgrade your weapons.
Gameplay Mechanics
In A Plague Tale: Requiem, we see a new progression mechanic that is dependant on your actions and play style rather than gathering XP. There are 3 Skills: Prudence, Aggressive, and Opportunism. Prudence relates to stealth, Aggressive relates to, well, aggression and combat, and Opportunism related to using the environment and your ammo to your advantage. In my playthrough I had almost fully unlocked the Opportunism skill tree, because my favorite thing to do was extingiush enemy torches when there are rats close by, despite my companion's condemnatory comments. As the skill tree progresses based on your actions, you don't really have an indication as to when you'll be unlocking your next skill, so I don't feel it really made any difference. Additionally, the skills themselves are not really game changers once you stick with the Ignifer and Exstinguis.
Similar to its predecessor, crafting is a core game mechanic. You move from area to area, unlocking secret chests and crates, collecting tools and resources. Crafting allows you to make the alchemical projectiles mentioned previously, and it will also level up your Opportunism skill.
Verdict
With the mediocre (and frustrating) combat mechanics that has left alot to be desired, the game delivers on a beautiful brother-sister story that really had me asking "how far will you go to protect the ones you love?", and the answer to that question truly lies in the ending.
Game Details
Platform: PC (Available on Xbox Game Pass and Fanatical )
Genre: Action Adventure
Mode: Single Player
Release Date: October 18, 2022
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