There are few games that have truly emotionally impacted me, A Plague Tale: Innocence is one of those games. Focus Home Interactive and Acobo Studio’s stealth/puzzle game throws players into the perilous era of the Black Death in 1348 France. Players take on the role of Amicia de Rune, the teenage daughter of a French nobleman who is tasked with protecting her young and sickly brother, Hugo, when their village is destroyed by the villainous members of the inquisition. What follows is an incredibly riveting tale of death, destruction, magic, and mystery.
The first thing that I noticed as I began playing A Plague Tale: Innocence was how gorgeous the scenery was. The attention to detail was impeccable and the landscape always managed to look like a painting. The graphics as a whole were beautiful with nice touches such as the swinging of Amicia’s braid or the autumn leaves falling from the trees in the forest at the beginning of the game. In addition to the excellent graphics, the sound and music was also exceptional. All of the characters spoke in-sync with their character in ways that always seemed very genuine and reasonable. The sound was actually part of what contributed so heavily to the realism of A Plague Tale: Innocence, as the tense, orchestral soundtrack managed to provide the desired emotional response in the player based on the location or context of the scene. For example, stealth scenes where Amicia must navigate around hulking Inquisition guards usually has intense classical music, while chase features fast-beating-drums and a terrifying score.
Now on to the best part of A Plague Tale: Innocence, the plot. The storyline of this game was easily one of the most compelling narratives I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. The story of Amicia struggling to protect her brother from the evil clutches of the Inquisition while navigating the ubiquitous death and destruction of the Black Death was fascinating and intriguing to the point that I went into the game with the intention of playing an hour or two at a time, but spent five hours straight playing A Plague Tale: Innocence. This game is marketed as a puzzle/stealth game, however, I would go as far as to say that it is a horror game at heart. A Plague Tale: Innocence is aptly named as the amazing story focused so heavily on the loss of innocence during one of the darkest times in human history. The decisions that you make in A Plague Tale: Innocence have consequences. Amicia and Hugo are primarily forced to adopt stealth-like tactics to avoid the rats and Inquisition soldiers, but sometimes must make difficult decisions in order to survive. Amicia has a sling which she can use to throw rocks or various potions for purposes such as starting fires, extinguishing fires, or attracting rats to certain locations to avoid being bitten. There are times, however, when Amicia is forced to kill some of the soldiers with rocks from her sling in self-defense and the decision definitely weighs on her with the thought of taking a human life, even in self-defense, was something she likely never thought she would have to do. As the story progresses, however, SPOILER: Amicia and Hugo begin to change with Amicia finding killing easier and easier and the sweet, but sickly Hugo changes so much that he turns against his own sister.
The movement and mechanics of the game exceeded expectations as much as every other aspect of A Plague Tale: Innocence. The running and movement of the characters was so fluid and life-like and only added to the incredible realism and quality of this already incredible game. One aspect of A Plague Tale: Innocence that I thought was one of the most subtle yet important details was how Amicia must hold Hugo’s hand for the entirety of the time that they are together. Amicia can ask Hugo or other companions to complete tasks for her such as opening doors or unlocking chests. I also enjoyed the loot collection system that saw the player collecting items along the way such as alcohol, sulfur, or rocks so that Amicia can craft different weapons or upgrade her tools.
Overall, A Plague Tale: Innocence is not only one of the best games of the year, but is one of the best games I have ever had the privilege of playing. The immaculate precision of the graphics, the stellar writing of an incredibly interesting storyline, memorable characters, unique gameplay mechanics, and excellent stealth/puzzle activities in the game come together to create a fine specimen that I expect to be a sleeper hit that will be remembered for years to come. To the creators of this masterpiece, I would like to thank you for giving me a riveting 23 hour experience from a game that easily entered my all-time favorite games list.
Score: 9/10
Take a Look at A Plague Tale: Innocence Accolades Trailer:
A Plague Tale: Innocence is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Xbox One Review
I've been playing video games since I got a Playstation 2 when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The original Star Wars: Battlefront series and the Spyro series initially ignited my interest in gaming, but it wasn't until I got older that I truly appreciated the subtle details that make video games such a unique form of entertainment. My favorite type of video game would have to be any lengthy and plot-driven open world game, with my favorite games of all time being Batman: Arkham City, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Firewatch.
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