A Plague Tale: Innocence Review (Theoran)
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a great story-driven, linear, stealth, puzzle game with a bit of clunkiness when it comes to the controls. Most of the puzzles are somewhat easy to figure out and if you get stuck, the characters give hints as to the solution. The puzzle in Chapter 9 was the only one that had me guessing a few times. Combat is not as smooth as I would have preferred but most scenarios favor a stealthy approach until the end. I feel there is a sense that each scenario needs to be completed how the developers intended as opposed to creatively solving things. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, just that often while playing I thought to myself, “how are they wanting me to do this?” instead of “let me try to do it this way.” I will mention that the combat difficulty ratchets up a lot in the final chapter and I died several times in the final few combat scenarios until I learned how to approach each one. I felt the final boss fight was a good and rewarding battle once I figured out what to do and it left things slightly ambiguous if it was truly over.
The plague-ridden, rat-infested, war-torn countryside of France is beautifully realized. The outside areas, though linear, feel open while the town areas feel cramped and desolate. The game does a great job of conveying the absolute horror of the plague and the 100 Years War. Decomposing bodies litter the dirty streets, dead animals lay everywhere, rats are everywhere, and people are filled with despair and distrust of others. The world in this game is grim and oppressive and the swarms of rats are unnerving.
I enjoyed the main characters, Amicia and Hugo. I’ve seen comments about people’s disdain for Hugo which I don’t really understand. Maybe it’s because I am a father of 4, but I didn’t feel Hugo acted any different than a typical 5-year-old. Amicia is brave and overprotective of a brother she barely knows and probably resents. She is not portrayed as a Mary Sue, but she can stand on her own but also relies on others for help. Supporting characters Lucas, Rodric, Arthur, and Mélie all have their own skill sets and each has a role to play and I appreciate that the developers allowed each character to have their moment.
I would absolutely recommend A Plague Tale: Innocence. It’s a great 15-hr game filled with interesting locations, resilient and brave characters, and a menacing villain.