Aww, rats!
The original Plague Tale was a surprise to say the least. Team Asobo crafted a genuinely compelling adventure that was accompanied by stellar visuals and a story that had players captivated until the end. With the sequel the developers have opted to double down on everything that made the original so good. This is a double-edged sword as those looking for advances in the series will be disappointed, but those that enjoyed it will still find plenty to love here. It also takes its toll on the performance of the game even with it only being available on new consoles (except Switch, but that is running on Cloud.) Still Requiem continues the trend of proving that Team Asobo is an extremely talented studio.
Requiem once again follows siblings Amicia and Hugo as they make their way across an alternate version of 14th century France. The sequel digs deeper into the mystery behind Hugo’s special powers and of course his ability to interact with the thousands of rats. I am not going to go into details for those that have yet to finish the original game. The biggest change to the sequel is that the story feels like it has more hope, especially among Amicia and Hugo. It is still a very oppressive world, but the narrative is delivered so well yet again, that it is still highly captivating.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
What makes this world so compelling are the characters. Outside of Amicia and Hugo everyone I came across was incredibly well-written. Whether they demanded empathy or simply wanted to murder me and my brother. There is no doubt this is a dark and macabre world where anything and everything feels depressing. This is what makes it so compelling though. Team Asobo has a masterful writing staff that makes everything in the world feel realized and genuine.
For anyone new to the series, A Plague Tale is a stealth-focused action adventure game. It mostly involves moving between areas sneaking around with a mix of puzzle areas involving the massive amounts of rats. These are designed around light as this is the only way to move through the hordes. The core of the action involves sneaking past guards or straight up murdering them. Requiem offers a few new tricks to help with handling the massive amount of enemies that want to kill you.
There are now also NPCs that can add a bit of use to stealth. Some characters that accompany Amicia and Hugo will have special abilities to aid along the way. This keeps things fresh at first, but again feels like things we have seen before. I do enjoy the interaction with these characters though and anything to spice up the ‘hide in tall grass’ mechanic is always welcome.
The upgrades are mostly mechanical or quality of life. Amicia can still distract guards with rocks while taking them out with her sling, crossbow, or even some alchemy. The crafting system returns, but feels much more streamlined. This game isn’t doing anything revolutionary or even much different than the original game. It feels more like an evolution and refinement than anything else. Still the exposition between areas is interesting enough and what truly sells the game are its world and characters.
It also helps that this game is stunning. The world of Requiem is simply jaw dropping at times. The environments are littered with colorful vistas that simply shine in HDR. The characters look fantastic and their animation is top tier. The amount of rats on screen has been upped from the previous game and it is a sight to behold when they are all running around. This does take a hit on performance though. The game runs at 30fps on normal screens, and can get up to 40fps on 120Hz monitors or TVs. This is disappointing as it never feels quite as responsive as other games we have become accustomed to on these consoles. I cannot even imagine what this game looks like on Switch cloud.
Sequels are hard. Team Asobo has managed to make a more compelling world with even more compelling characters and wrapped it in a gorgeous bow. There are issues for sure. The game doesn’t innovate nearly enough and performance on next-gen consoles is disappointing, but this game continues to prove that this team of developers is extremely talented. I hope we continue to see them flourish and create new experiences. A Plague Tale: Requiem is a truly exceptional experience that everyone should check out. It is on Game Pass so the barrier to entry is lighter. Definitely give it a shot.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
