Review of A Plague Tale: Innocence

Early in A tale of plague: innocenceyou control a girl who is holding the hand of her scared little brother running down a street full of people trying to kill them both. This is perhaps the most stressful experience I have ever had in a video game. It's also the norm in the game. It's about two brothers and sisters trying to survive in absolutely horrible conditions. Unlike most video games, A tale of plague, you rarely have moments when you feel powerful. It's a fight, especially when it seems that everything you encounter – be afraid of adults or swarms of sick rats – is trying to catch you. Its frightening nature can make it a challenge, but it's also one of the most memorable games I've known for a while.

A tale of plague star Amicia, a girl who lives in a large estate with her family in medieval France. (She also looks remarkably like Aloy, the main Horizon Zero Dawn.) His relationship with his family is curious. While she is close to her father – an early scene shows the two chasing together – she rarely sees her mother, who spends her time trying to find a cure for Amicia's brother, Hugo, who suffers from a mysterious disease. Still, this seems to be an essentially peaceful life – until very early in the game, when the Inquisition besieges the estate in search of Hugo. The brothers and sisters eventually escape, but they are forced to go out alone, where they have to find a way to survive, while seeking to know why, exactly, the Inquisition wants Hugo.

The outside world is not a nice place. The plague ravaged the country and the few lucky ones who did not succumb to the disease became crazy about paranoia. At first, when Amicia and Hugo go to a nearby village looking for help, everyone they meet immediately tries to kill them. It's a frightening and panicked run towards safety. Even worse, at night, flocks of murderous rats come out and the Inquisition guards are constantly on the lookout for their siblings. The world feels almost completely hostile to your presence.

A tale of plague is probably better described as an infiltration game, although the way you interact with it depends on the situation. In humans, it's a lot of things to do, to use distractions like broken pots to divert attention so you can pass. As for the rats, they are terrified by the light. You will find yourself using fire to create passages through sick swarms. Sometimes you will have to face both at the same time: a guard wielding a lantern could prowl and keep the rats away. It's a slow experience, until it's not the case – and you find yourself in a panicked race for survival.

The game is mainly a simple path, but you have a lot of freedom to solve problems. Amicia's main tool is a sling that she can use to throw stones, but during the game, you'll unlock new tools that allow you to extinguish a flame or summon a group of rats. The only thing you can not avoid is doing horrible things to survive. Initially, Amicia is reluctant to kill, and the first time is a traumatic experience. She goes until praying in a church. But it does not last long.

In the end, she is forced to kill several times and A tale of plague offers really disturbing ways to defeat enemies and solve problems. Most involve the use of rats to kill for you; it's never good to see a guard spayed, even if it's about pretty awful people. In general, A tale of plague is just a brutal game. You will pass in front of huge piles of corpses, humans and animals, sneaking into huge pools of blood and you will discover all kinds of horrific killing animations. Unfortunately, you will see Amicia being stabbed to death a lot before the last draw of the credits. This can be a bit difficult to take from time to time, and I had to take regular breaks while I was playing.

Although it may sound overwhelming, this macabre tone is largely necessary for the darker story of the game. And the best part of A tale of plague is the way he combines play and narration. There are cinematics, but the most powerful narrative moments are those that occur in the game, when you watch Amicia and Hugo – and, later, helpful friends – who work together in awful situations. They discuss and develop strategies, and siblings almost never stop holding hands during this time. The few moments when you lose track of Hugo are among the most stressful of the game.

A tale of plague It covers 17 fairly lengthy chapters, and for the most part, it manages to maintain this excellent mixture of stealth problem solving, coupled with a dark and mysterious story. I kept moving forward in uncomfortable moments because I loved the characters and wanted to know what the big secret had become. Unfortunately, the game loses some of its momentum towards the end when its challenges are more like trial and error than a puzzle resolution. Sometimes it even turns into a simple action game. There are a number of times when you have to die over and over in order to understand the patterns needed to get you safe, and this is especially true in the case of a great boss battle final that really pumps some of The dynamic.

In the end, it is not enough to mitigate what A tale of plague proposes to do. While many elements of the game, such as the focus on stealth and craftsmanship, may seem familiar, it is wrapped in a story and a world unlike anything I've ever played before. There is a sense of urgency and danger that never really disappears. You can never really relax. It's a dark world, but watching a group of kids understand how to flourish is worth exploring.

A tale of plague: innocence is now available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.