A Plague Tale: Requiem is a proud, bold and powerful sequel to 2019's beloved title, "A Plague Tale: Innocence." In just three short years, Asobo managed with Requiem to improve upon nearly every facet of its predecessor. Requiem picks up nearly immediately after the events of Innocence, and once again places the player in the shoes of Amicia de Rune.
As Amicia, you traverse the countryside of France and the Mediterranean Sea in a frankly epic journey alongside her brother Hugo. Throughout, Charlotte McBurney delivers a truly phenomenal performance as the voice actor for Amicia (English/French). It is readily apparent that the events of Innocence have hardened Amicia, but also have left her with deep internal turmoil. McBurney does an exemplary job manifesting Amicia's conflict through convincing and emotional voice acting. I would be shocked to not see her nominated for the "Best Performance" accolade at The Game Awards in December 2022. As Amicia contends with her own deeds, Hugo too has developed as a character. He still holds the intrigues of a child throughout Requiem, however at times his maturity and personal understanding of his disease exceeds that of his older companions. Other supporting cast members, both novel and returning, are also well realized and interesting in their own rights. Voice acting throughout Requiem is generally charming, but it should be noted facial capture was done with actors speaking French (thus, it will look 'off' when playing with English-dub).
Sound and presentation are absolute hallmarks of Requiem. On a Xbox Series X with a LG C1 OLED display I was consistently shocked with the visual fidelity and environments of Requiem. The visual spectacle is not just superficial either. Not only are there stunning vistas and environmental marvels, the lived spaces in Requiem are dense. For a game so much about death, it is utterly impressive how much life was infused into the gameworld through the meticulous detail appreciated in campgrounds, city markets, abandoned homes and so on. If Asobo sought out to make Requiem a visual showpiece for current-generation hardware in 2022, I definitely think they have succeeded. Light rendering and shadows were equally excellent. Throughout, Requiem is as gorgeous as it is gruesome. The OST is haunting, iconic and fantastic throughout. The music in Requiem has extensive range, delivering uplifting instrumentals and at-times brooding in a foreboding manner. Audio queues, such as footsteps or the cracking of a pot, are appropriate and useful to the player.
The game feels wonderful to play, with Amicia being granted a good deal of tools to dispose her foes or quietly traverse environments. Unlike many modern big budget games, you can utilize stealth effectively throughout much of Requiem. It remains a legitimate option for most, albeit not all, of the main encounters in the game. Combat feels much improved over Innocence, with appreciable new additions such as the crossbow and some alchemical concoctions. The game remains curated, well-paced, and largely linear like its predecessor. Unlike Innocence, players will be given some more expansive sections littered with alternative paths and secrets. These sections reward players who chooses to meticulously explore their options, but these encounters are brief and intuitive enough to not bog down the game from a pacing perspective.
Requiem is a technically demanding game, but for me the game ran fairly smoothly on XSX with VRR support. The promised 40fps definitely did dip in a few robust action sequences, but generally cooperated throughout my 1.5 playthroughs. Significant performance woes have been noted by others on PS5 and varying PC gaming rigs. While the game is stable and had little in the way of frustrating glitches, I would wager its lack of a performance mode with stable 60fps on console will signal its greatest tarnish. Visual fidelity, as I previously commented on, remained striking throughout.
In the spirit of avoiding spoilers, I will refrain from commenting too much more on the core plot or the overall driving point for Amicia and Hugo's journey. What I will say is that the storytelling here is generally excellent. The themes and overall narrative threads are much darker in Requiem, as compared to Innocence. The raging plague places a heavy toll on the protagonists and the world they reside in. Death in Requiem's world is inveterate. It is recurrently augmented by acts of militaristic, economic, and religious exploitation. Still, the journey is a compelling one, and I found Requiem to be a very difficult video game to put down once I started playing. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone, but do implore folks first play its brief predecessor. Requiem does not do too much to recap the events of Innocence, but I would argue knowledge of that journey makes Requiem infinitely more rewarding.
As Amicia, you traverse the countryside of France and the Mediterranean Sea in a frankly epic journey alongside her brother Hugo. Throughout, Charlotte McBurney delivers a truly phenomenal performance as the voice actor for Amicia (English/French). It is readily apparent that the events of Innocence have hardened Amicia, but also have left her with deep internal turmoil. McBurney does an exemplary job manifesting Amicia's conflict through convincing and emotional voice acting. I would be shocked to not see her nominated for the "Best Performance" accolade at The Game Awards in December 2022. As Amicia contends with her own deeds, Hugo too has developed as a character. He still holds the intrigues of a child throughout Requiem, however at times his maturity and personal understanding of his disease exceeds that of his older companions. Other supporting cast members, both novel and returning, are also well realized and interesting in their own rights. Voice acting throughout Requiem is generally charming, but it should be noted facial capture was done with actors speaking French (thus, it will look 'off' when playing with English-dub).
Sound and presentation are absolute hallmarks of Requiem. On a Xbox Series X with a LG C1 OLED display I was consistently shocked with the visual fidelity and environments of Requiem. The visual spectacle is not just superficial either. Not only are there stunning vistas and environmental marvels, the lived spaces in Requiem are dense. For a game so much about death, it is utterly impressive how much life was infused into the gameworld through the meticulous detail appreciated in campgrounds, city markets, abandoned homes and so on. If Asobo sought out to make Requiem a visual showpiece for current-generation hardware in 2022, I definitely think they have succeeded. Light rendering and shadows were equally excellent. Throughout, Requiem is as gorgeous as it is gruesome. The OST is haunting, iconic and fantastic throughout. The music in Requiem has extensive range, delivering uplifting instrumentals and at-times brooding in a foreboding manner. Audio queues, such as footsteps or the cracking of a pot, are appropriate and useful to the player.
The game feels wonderful to play, with Amicia being granted a good deal of tools to dispose her foes or quietly traverse environments. Unlike many modern big budget games, you can utilize stealth effectively throughout much of Requiem. It remains a legitimate option for most, albeit not all, of the main encounters in the game. Combat feels much improved over Innocence, with appreciable new additions such as the crossbow and some alchemical concoctions. The game remains curated, well-paced, and largely linear like its predecessor. Unlike Innocence, players will be given some more expansive sections littered with alternative paths and secrets. These sections reward players who chooses to meticulously explore their options, but these encounters are brief and intuitive enough to not bog down the game from a pacing perspective.
Requiem is a technically demanding game, but for me the game ran fairly smoothly on XSX with VRR support. The promised 40fps definitely did dip in a few robust action sequences, but generally cooperated throughout my 1.5 playthroughs. Significant performance woes have been noted by others on PS5 and varying PC gaming rigs. While the game is stable and had little in the way of frustrating glitches, I would wager its lack of a performance mode with stable 60fps on console will signal its greatest tarnish. Visual fidelity, as I previously commented on, remained striking throughout.
In the spirit of avoiding spoilers, I will refrain from commenting too much more on the core plot or the overall driving point for Amicia and Hugo's journey. What I will say is that the storytelling here is generally excellent. The themes and overall narrative threads are much darker in Requiem, as compared to Innocence. The raging plague places a heavy toll on the protagonists and the world they reside in. Death in Requiem's world is inveterate. It is recurrently augmented by acts of militaristic, economic, and religious exploitation. Still, the journey is a compelling one, and I found Requiem to be a very difficult video game to put down once I started playing. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone, but do implore folks first play its brief predecessor. Requiem does not do too much to recap the events of Innocence, but I would argue knowledge of that journey makes Requiem infinitely more rewarding.