I’d forgotten how stressful A Plague Tale can be.
These kids really don’t get a break do they?
They’re killers, and that changes things a bit, but I’ll come to that.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
The stress: it’s a good and bad thing.
Part of it is absolutely intended, I believe.
Developer Asobo wants us to feel the relentlessness of the challenge Amicia and Hugo face in staying alive.
Their existence is one escape from death after another.
The point is, they don’t get a moment to relax so nor should you.
And that’s fine, but when the game is frustrating to play, problems arise.
A Plague Tale: Requiemis, likeA Plague Tale: Innocencebefore it, a stealth game.
She faces grown men in armour, soldiers, so toe-to-toe encounters are a bad idea.
The game reminds you of this often.
I don’t know why it needed to do that.
I’m not trying to say A Plague Tale: Requiem is a hard game.
I don’t think the encounters are hard in that sense.
The enemies aren’t particularly clever or aggressive or anything like that.
And that’s where the bad kind of stress comes in.
But, there’s hope, and it comes in the form of new toys to play with.
Let’s look at Amicia first.
Hugo has a more reliable way of killing people, on the other hand, and it is rats.
Rats are back in Requiem with a vengeance.
And it’s through that Ratsense he can find swarms of rats and possess them.
Amicia calling on a helping hand in combat is a central feature in Requiem.
You will meet a soldier called Arno who will join you.
And he’s good: he’ll reliably win one-on-one duels in a few moves.
But if you let him get surrounded, you’ll need to help or he will die.
And if he dies, it’s as though you have died: game over for both of you.
So towards the end of the game, the stealth game might be a treat.
It’s like a historical postcard from France or a history lesson.
And it’s mesmerising.
The weather is as much of a character in the game as anyone.
Speaking of character: I like where the game is headed.
There’s a lot to like.
There’s also a sliver of time left before the game comes out in October for fine-tuning.
