A Plague Tale: Innocence

I was very pleasantly surprised by A Plague Tale. Don't let its setting or theme cloud your judgment and keep you from playing this game. It's a fun and rather unique game, and one that will compel you to keep playing it until you reach its end.

A particular strength of the game is that it alternates between perilous action and periods of reflection where the characters process the changes they’ve observed in the world and in themselves.

A Plague Tale: Innocence delivers a brilliant story, innovative mechanics and truly immersive gameplay. Yes, the whole dying and repeating exercise occasionally borders on the the fine line of annoyance. But when you consider the visuals, the audio and the experience as a whole, I would highly recommend this journey into the past.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is grim, dark, and constantly provocative, and yet, it effortlessly manages to remain emotionally radiant throughout. This isn’t just another survival game, it’s a tale that consistently and articulately interlaces beauty with brutality to excellent effect. Whilst the gameplay could have benefited from a bit more depth, the overall journey is mechanically well balanced, and to its credit, unlike anything else. This, is a must have.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a refreshing take on stealth, riddles and RPG elements. Amicia and Hugo's story is well written and, as characters, they show one of finest and strongest relationships in videogames. A Plague Tale: Innocence mixes perfectly fairy tales, death, Plague and 14th century hardness. Just enjoy one of the best AA games of the year.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is an intense story of powerful narrative that engages from beginning to end. The endearing charisma of Amicia and Hugo fuses with a very effective gameplay that blends stealth with action and riddles, resulting in a novel product, pampered in detail, and impeccable artistic direction.

A Plague Tale: Innocence wasn’t even on my radar and I’m ashamed because I would have missed out on this great game and now that I’ve told you, don’t make the same mistake I almost made.

Asobo Studio's new game is a rare gem, with a solid stealth gameplay and a touching and exciting storytelling. Maybe something more could have been done in the enemy A.I. and replayability areas, but it doesn't prevent it from being one of the most interesting games around.

A lot of people are probably going to sleep on, or not even know about, A Plague Tale: Innocence—and that’s a shame. It’s a gripping, touching, emotional, yet at times horrifying experience, one that feels quite unlike almost any other game out there.

A Plague Tale is a beautiful but dark adventure, about fear, death and love. It isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t try to bite more than it can chew, and delivers an experience where nothing feels redundant, and absorbs the player from beginning to end.

The story never lets you settle – it never guarantees the safety of Amicia or Hugo – and, even as some of the mechanics grow a little stale, that keeps A Plague Tale feeling breathless across its 12-hour runtime. [Issue#178, p.88]

A Plague Tale, at times, feels like a missing early chapter of the Assassin's Creed catalogue. Its ability to bend a truly fascinating point in documented history into a fantastical, mythical story that keeps you invested from start to finish is remarkable. It's a cinematic journey that is uncomplicated in its delivery, managing to occupy gamers without distracting from the game's narrative and the bond that develops between the de Rune siblings which, in the end, is A Plague Tale's undoubted strength.

A Plague Tale Innocence is an intense and beautiful tale of Amicia and Hugo De Rune, about bonding and surviving. The solid story of the game combined with the nice level design and gameplay, make for a solid adventure.

A Plague Tale: Innocence brings a really good balance between narrative design and game design. The duo, well written, explores a rich universe during 14 to 15 hours of infiltration, puzzzles and tense sequences.

A compelling plot, grounded characters who aren't instant heroes, crafting and upgrades without arbitrary levelling and some beautiful environments to solve your way around.

One of my favorite moments is when Amicia spots another wildflower in a lone trek across the city, nestled among the decay of the rats’ revolting nests. Without her brother around, she picks it up, and places it gingerly in her own hair--a personal reminder to keep trudging on amidst the hardships, and a testament to her growing strength and tenacity. Despite flashes of predictability, moments like these will bring a lump to your throat, as it did mine.

An adventure game at heart, A Plague Tale: Innocence expertly fuses storytelling, stealth and action to form a coherent, flowing and altogether gripping experience that's hard to put down.

If you don’t mind being “kicked in the dick”, narratively, while having your hand held through gameplay, and utterly enjoy mood, even if it is sonically amplified gloom and dread, A Plague Tale: Innocence does deliver.

The story isn’t terrible, to be fair, but as I said, it’s built around a girl escorting her mostly useless little brother through peril after peril. Even after he gains a few more abilities later in the game, it still doesn’t make for the most compelling gameplay. On a similar note, you’ll really need to enjoy skulking in the shadows and running for your life if you want to get the most out of the game — which, to be completely honest, I just don’t.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a flawed yet thrilling adventure. While we love the characters and mostly enjoy the stealth sections and combat, the game is just too linear and limited; “walk there and do that – or die”. There is little room for exploration, no challenging puzzles and just a handful of fights that will test your skill. However, if you like the premise and don’t mind the linearity and lack of challenge, this game might still be well worth your time.