An Epic Escort Mission Set in a Historical Horror

Amicia and her brother Hugo await a return in Requiem; meanwhile, Kratos and his son finally get a PC port to God of War. This updated game has us wondering if the original A Plague Tale: Innocence holds up after three years? The Load Screen team reviews the title by Asobo Studio to see how it stands against its next-gen competitors and if it will maintain relevance.

That continuing significance starts with the narrative built by the developer. The tragic story of the de Rune siblings sees their family and friends destroyed by mysterious knights from The Inquisition. Soon after, a bloodthirsty swarm of rats overwhelms what remains of the town, leaving the older sister to lead her sickly and undersized little brother to safety while finding him a cure. The brutal narrative continues as the soldiers and rats battle each other while the young protagonists unravel the true evil behind all the devastation. We don't want to give away the ending, but this dark narrative stands as one that will pass the test of time.   

Next, the historical accuracy within A Plague Tale: Innocence is secretly very educational, which adds to maintaining the game's relevance. How developers represented the Kingdom of France in 1348 is astonishing for any title with historical settings outside of the Assassin's Creed series. The daily life and equipment used by the villagers show what is required to maintain such a sprawling estate, like the kitchen stations and extensive equipment around a working blacksmith. Often a game will only cover briefly how day-to-day living happens in a brief cutscene or two, not with this game. The developers layered clues everywhere about living in the middle of the 1300s. Details like this help any title hold value well beyond the originally intended systems because of the historical insight into what it was like to be alive back then.

But what about the graphics? Story and historical accuracy can help, but a jarring look with stuttering animations could quickly make this game outdated. Luckily, Asobo Studio updated the title last year for a more consistent framerate of 60 fps, leading to a next-gen update for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, as noted in this Eurogamer A Plague Tale Innocent Next-gen Patch tested article. The game continues its visually stunning depth despite its dark and foreboding story, especially with consistent graphical updates from the developers.

The gameplay is the weakest point for A Plague Tale: Innocence. It focuses on dragging around an NPC, which is tedious, but the developers balance this out with the extremely moving storyline and a simple crafting system. Also, the stealth mechanics and distraction system are both worthy of an Agent 47 Stealth Assassin award when used. The basic crafting felt essential to completing later sections and was never overwhelming. By limiting the scope of the gameplay, the developers allow the narrative and history to shine.

The extensive photo mode added in an update bolsters the game's longevity. Developers used A Plague Tale tweet announcing photo mode to show off the players' love for their game and their desire to add a picture mode. The photo mode is wide-ranging and made all the screenshots taken for this article. It is among the better features that make the game long-lasting since content creators can always generate new and interesting pictures.

A Plague Tale: Innocence contends with recent next-gen competitors and their intense graphical requirements. However, Asobo Studio's first title featuring Amicia and Hugo has a story matched with a focus on historical accuracy that far exceeds even its more recent next-gen competitors. While the game may have some weak aspects to its gameplay, the graphics, story, historical accuracy, and photo mode make it worth playing for quite a long time. At least we have something great to enjoy on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch while we wait for the sequel A Plague Tale: Requiem.

A Plague Tale: Innocence

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

• Developer: Asobo Studio

• Publisher:  Focus Entertainment

• Release Date: 5/14/2019

• Played on PC and PlayStation 5