A Plague Tale: Innocence answers the hour old question of, “How good could a semi-historical fiction game about a sister and brother surviving a supernatural rat plague as they traverse famine-torn France be?” The answer is… surprisingly optimistic, much unlike the setting. Plague Tale is one of those story-driven, stealth-crafting hybrid games, and one of the better looking ones at that. And if there’s one thing to compliment about the game it’s its visuals. For a studio I’ve never heard of who’s claim to fame is gaming titans like Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, it’s extremely impressive how good the lighting, landscapes, and faces are here. The gothic architecture in particular was so darkly ethereal on its own, doubly so when overrun with mountains of plague-infected rats. Seeing how they would newly present those nasty forces of nature was a sight I never got tired of seeing, and rats or not rats I’m already excited to see how the sequel looks.
The same praises can be sung of the game’s combat and stealth. I went in expecting to tire of the whole babysitting dynamic they set up in the introduction section. So color me presently surprised when it was a quite inoffensive mechanic throughout. The crafting ingredients were well spaced out as well, by the end I had nearly every upgrade, or at least the ones that I wanted. Much like the visuals, the rats take center stage in this portion of the game, creating some neat light-based puzzle segments. Now even with the rats, the gameplay should be very familiar to anyone who’s played a puzzle game for more than five minutes, but I’ll be damned if it’s not entertaining. Especially with how weighty and supremely satisfying my trusty slingshot feels. The two main boss fights were fun with the upgrades to the traditional arsenal, but be careful when fighting the first one, there’s a glitch I encountered that forced me to restart the chapter. Just make sure when you summon the rats to only summon one mound before you move to the next one.
Regrettably, the game is not perfect. I won’t spoil the story here, but by far its weakest aspect is the characters. The brother-sister duo did a good job with portraying that dynamic, the supporting cast on the other hand felt very much like checking a box, with the exception of Lukas. I see what they were trying to do, making a merry-band of young adult misfits in a harsh world. Sadly the writing and characters weren't as fleshed out as the concept. The motivations, and definitely the payoffs, felt rushed and flat for me. Too many of the deaths felt unearned for me to feel their weight. That’s another thing I’m curious about how the sequel improves upon, seeing as it’s one of the few mediocre elements of an otherwise fantastic game.
The same praises can be sung of the game’s combat and stealth. I went in expecting to tire of the whole babysitting dynamic they set up in the introduction section. So color me presently surprised when it was a quite inoffensive mechanic throughout. The crafting ingredients were well spaced out as well, by the end I had nearly every upgrade, or at least the ones that I wanted. Much like the visuals, the rats take center stage in this portion of the game, creating some neat light-based puzzle segments. Now even with the rats, the gameplay should be very familiar to anyone who’s played a puzzle game for more than five minutes, but I’ll be damned if it’s not entertaining. Especially with how weighty and supremely satisfying my trusty slingshot feels. The two main boss fights were fun with the upgrades to the traditional arsenal, but be careful when fighting the first one, there’s a glitch I encountered that forced me to restart the chapter. Just make sure when you summon the rats to only summon one mound before you move to the next one.
Regrettably, the game is not perfect. I won’t spoil the story here, but by far its weakest aspect is the characters. The brother-sister duo did a good job with portraying that dynamic, the supporting cast on the other hand felt very much like checking a box, with the exception of Lukas. I see what they were trying to do, making a merry-band of young adult misfits in a harsh world. Sadly the writing and characters weren't as fleshed out as the concept. The motivations, and definitely the payoffs, felt rushed and flat for me. Too many of the deaths felt unearned for me to feel their weight. That’s another thing I’m curious about how the sequel improves upon, seeing as it’s one of the few mediocre elements of an otherwise fantastic game.
7 Comments
Honestly, that’s completely valid. I think I’m just softer on first entries when it comes to puzzle-complexity, and it felt like here it was more of a vehicle for the narrative than something meant to be truly challenging in it’s own right. It will be a while before I get to the sequel but I do hope for a slight step-up in difficulty.
Appreciate that my man! I actually aim to do just that, so I’m happy that comes across with my reviews. Before I ever write a review for a game I usually just create a basic bullet list of points I want to hit, i.e. •good graphics •generic story •likeable characters •repetitive combat etc. Then I just write in one continuous session, occasionally making sure I hit each point in no fixed order, but go off of what I feel flows with each. Maybe bad graphics makes for poor combat flow, so I’ll start talking about that, or if I’m being particularly negative I’ll try to transition to something I liked to break it up. Afterwards, I’ll reread it once or twice and try to erase any overly repetitive words or awkward transitions. If I’m feeling particularly inspired I’ll even crack open the thesaurus for some more esoteric transitions.
Appreciate that my man! I actually aim to do just that, so I’m happy that comes across with my reviews. Before I ever write a review for a game I usually just create a basic bullet list of points I want to hit, i.e. •good graphics •generic story •likeable characters •repetitive combat etc. Then I just write in one continuous session, occasionally making sure I hit each point in no fixed order, but go off of what I feel flows with each. Maybe bad graphics makes for poor combat flow, so I’ll start talking about that, or if I’m being particularly negative I’ll try to transition to something I liked to break it up. Afterwards, I’ll reread it once or twice and try to erase any overly repetitive words or awkward transitions. If I’m feeling particularly inspired I’ll even crack open the thesaurus for some more esoteric transitions.
Sorry man, you didn't tag me so I never got this notification!
Yeah, that's a good point- the narrative and visuals were definitely a priority above everything else.
That's a very interesting tactic. I have a terrible procrastination problem so it's very hard for me to do it in one sitting, which leads to me wasting a lot of time haha. I guess the real question I should be asking you si how do you do it one-sitting? Cause the bullet format is great only if I can do it in one sitting without interruption to the stream.
Yeah, that's a good point- the narrative and visuals were definitely a priority above everything else.
That's a very interesting tactic. I have a terrible procrastination problem so it's very hard for me to do it in one sitting, which leads to me wasting a lot of time haha. I guess the real question I should be asking you si how do you do it one-sitting? Cause the bullet format is great only if I can do it in one sitting without interruption to the stream.
@RedBackloggd My bad, I hadn’t realized at the time you wouldn’t get notified if I didn’t ping you.
I usually only write whenever I have a good chunk of free time, maybe an hour or two, and some motivation to write. Then I kind of enter a fugue state where I’m hyper focused on reaching a stopping point where either I’m fully through a couple to handful of review or where I feel I can leave off knowing where I’ll want to continue. For the bullet points a lot of times I’ll write them as I play or right after I finish a game and check them off as I get though them.
I usually only write whenever I have a good chunk of free time, maybe an hour or two, and some motivation to write. Then I kind of enter a fugue state where I’m hyper focused on reaching a stopping point where either I’m fully through a couple to handful of review or where I feel I can leave off knowing where I’ll want to continue. For the bullet points a lot of times I’ll write them as I play or right after I finish a game and check them off as I get though them.
All good brother.
Come on man, give me the secret sauce! I need that fugue state recipe b/c it would save me SO MUCH wasted time here.
Come on man, give me the secret sauce! I need that fugue state recipe b/c it would save me SO MUCH wasted time here.
@RedBackloggd lol I wish I knew my man, but that’s the reason I can be on a roll at one point and a month behind at another. As soon as I figure that out though, you’ll be the first one to know.
Haha, I feel ya. Inspiration can be so inconsistent.
RedBackLoggd
7 months ago
Btw man, you've really mastered the art of stream of consciousness. I loved how naturally each of your sentences flowed into the other. Any tips?