I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I first booted up A Plague Tale. From trailers, I had watched in the lead-up release the game had at times looked right up my alley, with an emphasis on narrative and stealth rather than confrontation. However, there were also warning signs that I could be about to embark on a 15-hour escort mission. In a game like this, the writing has to be spot on. You need to care about the characters or you won’t get invested in them reaching their end goal. Thankfully Asobo Studio did a wonderful job making you care about not only the two main characters but the supporting cast as well.
Set in 1349, you play as Amicia, a 15-year-old girl suddenly thrust into the role of protecting her 5-year-old brother Hugo who has been ill since birth. The Inquisition, led by Lord Nicholas, are hunting you both in search of the Hugo and you will need to deploy many creative ways of eliminating and circumventing both the Inquisition and deadly swarms of rats. The journey takes you to many different locations in the French countryside; some stunning and many gruesome.
I would classify the game as a stealth, action, puzzler. Both Amicia and Hugo are no match for the towering Inquisition soldiers and the swarms of rats are eliminating everything they come into contact with. As such you will spend the bulk of the game trying to remain unseen. You do have a few weapons at your disposal though. A sling which can be used to both attack enemies or to fire at areas in the world as a method of distraction. You can also launch sulfur stones to ignite braziers which will clear rats from the immediate vicinity and later you acquire other helpful tools which I won’t spoil. I enjoyed the gameplay from the first moment until the last, it was a great change of pace from a protagonist massacring thousands of enemy AI. You do dispatch soldiers along the way, but there is a clear sense that this is only being done as and when is necessary.
While character models and player movement can at times leave a little to be desired, the voice acting throughout the game is brilliant. You get a real sense of the relationship between Amicia and Hugo building as you progress and this is used as the vehicle to tell the bulk of the story. A story will take you around 12-15 to complete depending on your competency at solving some of the navigational puzzles. This felt like the perfect length to me as it gave me ample time to grow attached to the characters and watch one of the best stories in gaming this year play out. It also didn’t overstay its welcome, which is key for me in narrative-heavy games.
Trophies for the most part are straightforward. A mix of completing chapters, finding collectables and various crafting requirements topped off with around ten misc trophies for completing specific tasks in the world. If you are a completionist and want to go for the platinum trophy you won’t find anything too challenging here, just some chapter select post-game to mop up some collectables and crafting materials. In terms of difficulty, I would give the platinum a 2.5/10 and estimate around 20 hours to get it all done.
Overall A Plague Tale is one of the stand-out games of 2019 so far. The largely stealth and puzzle-based gameplay won’t be for everyone, but if you are looking for a captivating and enthralling story I highly recommend picking this up. It really is great to see smaller studios put out top-quality titles as this and Asobo Studios should now be on gamer’s radars going forward.
-Jessica 🤩
A review copy was provided by the publisher. Game reviewed on PS4 Pro.