izigame.me

A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a thriller and horror game with elements of stealth.
Set in the Medieval Era.
You control Amicia, a young woman who needs to protect her brother Hugo from soldiers of the Inquisition and from a plague that ravages the place: rats and more rats...

Strong plot that impresses

Most games with a theme set in the Medieval Era always bring the same elements: sword fights, RPG systems and magical powers. A Plague Tale: Innocence arrives to escape the sameness a little and show that the period is too rich in plots, and that titles don't always have to follow these rules.
In it, you control Amicia, a young woman who, after having her family destroyed by soldiers of the inquisition, needs to survive with her brother Hugo. The problem is that the little one was never a healthy child, having never even left his room during his entire five years of life. The reasons for everything are revealed throughout the plot, which has its small holes, but convinces and even surprises in many moments.
Still on the plot, attention is drawn to the ruthless way in which many elements are presented. In other words, even though I'm not a person who is easily impressed by heavier scenes in games and movies, I confess that A Plague Tale: Innocence left me with my stomach churning or teary-eyed at many times. A beautiful construction of the narrative that deserves to be highlighted.

Stealth works, but suffers from "disobedient" characters

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a third-person game that doesn't invest much in direct combat. Much of its gameplay is geared towards stealth and solving small puzzles. But this should not be seen as a problem, on the contrary, it is one of the elements that most pleases in the context of the game.
Amicia has a kind of slingshot, whose projectile is used 80% of the time, either to attack your enemies or to solve puzzles. With an item crafting system, it is possible to combine elements and create different "ammo" that, for example, burn or stun your opponents. This crafting system also expands to expand your slingshot's item and load storage, making the player in the habit of exploring environments to collect items.
In the stealth part, it works very well most of the time. In control of Amicia, I had no trouble sneaking through alleys, digging into tall grass, and using the slingshot to get attention or hit your enemies.
But in Hugo's control, there is a huge difficulty for the character to obey his orders. I missed an option to control it yourself, even though it has more complex controls. Because, in the control of the CPU, there is a huge delay for the little one (Hugo) to carry out his orders, which in many cases comes to compromise and cost him his life. To top it off, other allies also suffer from this problem and make the puzzles complex to solve not because of their difficulty in solving the question, but because of the lack of A.I. of the uncontrolled characters.

Stunning visuals amidst mice and some bugs (small, nonetheless existent).

The atmosphere of the game is very pleasant. There is a lot of diversification of elements and the proposal to take you to the Medieval Era works, with a scenario that reproduces the period very well, along with elements that refer to the old time, such as clothing, housing, customs, among other factors.
The characters are well characterized and have a beautiful structure. But I confess that their features and facial expressions did not convince me, especially in moments of pain and suffering, whose faces cannot reproduce what the scene proposes.
And the mice, which are the main point of the debate, divided my opinions. At the same time that I found the sensation of fear and dread sensation sensational when the rats appear breaking walls, cracking the floor and with an uncontrollable rage to devour you, in many moments I saw bugs that make this feeling give way to a naughty giggle. I can cite cases of rats crowding and catching fire without any contact with flames, and others that, although they are thirsty to attack me, pass inside the character as if they were with another objective or on another plane.
It is to be admired the proposal and execution of the producer to bring this amount of elements to a game. On the other hand, it needs to learn from mistakes, and if you have a sequel in mind, or someone in the industry decides to copy the formula, you'll need to review the insertion mechanism so that those moments of anguish and dread don't turn into a comedy scene. slapstick.

Sound that makes you shiver!

The sound elements of the game also divided me in terms of opinions. The dubbing of the characters is very diversified, for example, while the voice of Amicia manages to reproduce the protagonist's feelings in the most varied situations, Hugo and his allies suffer from a lack of tonality for the moment. In other words, for many, the voice of the little one seems more of a rush than one who is facing death or suffering from pain.
The sound effects deserve a lot of praise. If the scene with millions of mice scares the eyes, imagine the sound of them all around you where the slightest slip will make you mouse food? The rat squeals are really terrifying, and at this moment, even away from the game, it gives me goosebumps just remembering the noise!

Very Good

Plague Tale: Innocence arrives without much fanfare and becomes one of the biggest surprises of the year. (2019) With elements of stealth and suspense, the game creates a unique atmosphere of horror of those who need to survive amid an infestation of millions of rats and other problems. Even with limited gameplay and small bugs, the game brings a plot that entertains and manages to get out of the sameness of current games that drink more and more from the same sources.

Positive

⁕ Graphics.
⁕ Gameplay.
⁕ Narrative/Story.
⁕ Fun.
⁕ Sound.

Negatives

⁕ There are almost none, in fact.
⁕ Small bugs but nothing that interferes with the gameplay or is of great relevance.
⁕ A certain delay in I.A. also occurs, but it is not 100% recurrent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_uBQti0bAo