Developer: Asobo Studio
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified
Rrp: £43.99 (Gog.com and Epic) and £44.99 (Humble and Steam)
Released: 17th October 2022
Available on: Gog.com, Epic, Humble and Steam
Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad
Approximate game length: 16 Hours
When I reviewed the first game in this series (A Plague Tale: Innocence) I gave a warning about the game featuring the death of a dog. This game doesn’t have that, however, I can say that if you aren’t in the frame of mind to be able to experience a very dark story, don’t play this game.
Set in 1349 France, one year after the events of the first game, both the Black Death and the Hundred Years War are still raging. You reprise your role as Amicia and her little brother Hugo, who are hoping to find somewhere they can live a happy and peaceful life while a mysterious (but friendly) group try to cure Hugo of a strange illness.
For those unfamiliar with the previous game, Hugo suffers from a strange illness named the Macula. This illness left him bedridden for many years. However, due to the events of the first game that I won’t go through, it was discovered that Hugo’s disease also allows him limited control over hordes of rats that consume all they come across. The further the disease progresses the more control over the rats he has but also the closer to death he comes. These are no ordinary rats, their swarms flow like water and they destroy or consume anything in their path unless it happens to be in light, though if there are enough rats not even that can save you.
Just like in the first game you’ll not only be encountering the rats but also guards and soldiers. Unlike the rats the soldiers can actually be hurt and are more easily persuaded to move away from their positions temporarily through the use of distractions. The rats on the other hand will only move away from an area for two reasons. Either light is in that area which the rats will avoid but will also swarm as close as they possibly can to it or food. Now food comes in a couple of forms: sometimes it’s the hanging carcass of a lamb or pig that you can drop to them other times it’s a patrolling guard or soldier carrying a torch that simply needs to be snuffed out.
As you play you’ll find resources that will allow you to craft items on the fly or upgrade your equipment at a workbench. It’s with these crafted items that you’ll be able to light braziers, snuff out flames as well as a few other things.
Throughout the game Amicia’s main weapon is a sling and rocks, though it isn’t only a weapon, it’s with this sling that Amicia is able to fling her crafted items large distances or break the weak points on chains.
Combat can be a frantic affair, Amicia can use a basic rock in a sling to kill a guard with a headshot if they have no armour. But it very quickly becomes the case that most guards will have at least a helmet on which means you have to start getting a little imaginative and use what resources you can find, such as jars of tar and flaming rocks. You do get another weapon later in the game in the form of a crossbow which works well on the helmeted foes, but the bolts for it are uncommon and can’t be crafted, plus it’s slow to reload when compared to the sling.
Amicia has three skills that will improve as you play through the game unlocking perks at particular thresholds. In most games you would be given points to allocate into those skills as you see fit but this game works differently. Instead in this game it’s the approach you take to the various situations you encounter that will dictate which of Amicias three skills is increased. These three skills being; prudence, aggressive (I know, I keep wanting to change the work to aggressiveness or aggression but that’s not what the game calls it) and opportunism. Prudence centers around stealth, aggressive focuses on combat and opportunism deals with alchemy and crafting.
In the style of any good story this is very much a game of peaks and troughs. The moments of intense action and tension give way to a more calming scene only to ramp back up again. Every moment of serenity is paid for in blood.
I played this game on a lower graphical setting in order to get a smooth sixty frames a second and even when on a lower graphical setting this game is beautiful to look at, except when it purposefully isn’t, and even then it’s wonderfully grotesque.
Just like in the previous game there are collectibles to find. These come in two forms, both of which fall under the heading ‘souvenir’. There are flowers (and feathers) or… Well, moments. Like finding an olive tree and learning how old it is or being there for a dying woman’s last moments. They provide no mechanical benefit at all, but they humanise the characters and make the world feel more lived in.
I do have one nitpick with this game and that’s regarding the subtitles. Normally I prefer to play games with subtitles on, just so I won’t miss anything. Unfortunately, doing so in this game spoils what I think was supposed to be a twist in the narrative as it gave the name of a character who hadn’t introduced themselves and had only been name dropped by NPC’s previously.
Final thoughts? I’m not sure if I prefer this to the first game or not. They definitely work well together as a pair but when separated… I think the first may have the edge if only because it was the first to do so, meaning that everything was that much more impactful. Still, this is a great game and one well worth playing. Just keep in mind that warning I put at the start of the review.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
A Plague Tale: Innocence
The Last of Us (series)
God of War
