A Plague Tale: Requiem Review (Dwuuds)
Just as with the first game every time I thwack a dude in the head with a rock, I am compelled to yell "BAP".
Honestly though if you enjoyed the first game, you'll love this one. Its Plague Tale Innocence dialed up to 11, and the first 30 minutes just feel like the devs wanted to dunk on everyone who doubted they'd be able to pull off a sequel. The visuals are STUNNING, the landscapes are packed with detail, and then there are the rats. There are so many rats in certain scenes that you'll die just because you can't help but stand there in awe while a literal pyroclastic flow of rats comes at you. Another twist I wasn't expecting is that the player is left to decide if Amicia wants to become the Terminator and embrace the PTSD, or retain what is left of her soul. It's a surprisingly heavy choice to have to make, and you will be making it on a regular level.
I have yet to finish the game, but I will update once I do.
Verdict? So far this is 100% a yes. If you were at all a fan of the first game you will feel right at home, the developers once again showing that this is an IP that they actually care about. You will see some of the most disturbing violence in any game ever, as well as some of the deepest emotional connections between characters. It's obvious that these actors enjoy working together, and they have a deep understanding of who these characters are.
Seriously, even if you aren't a super fan of these games they are worth a play through, and the devs are also worth supporting. Games like A Plague Tale are labors of love that just seem to apparate out of nowhere. The last game I can think of that left me feeling that way was Disco Elysium, you look at the surface and its like "meh", but if you let them get their hooks in you, they transcend into a space that only a game can reach as an "art" form.
It's so incredibly compelling to become these characters, characters that act human and express themselves and the story in a way that IS human. The good, and bad, the horrifying, with the beautiful, the joy after the pain, the inevitable death, and the eventual rebirth. The love that can sour into hate in moments. These are what make stories human, the mundane moments and the after effects. Not how do these characters shape events, but how do these events shape these characters?
It's such a refreshing feeling when a game is made by a group of people who have a story that they WANT to tell, not a story they want to SELL. On those rare occasions where you do happen across one like "A Plague Tale", or "Disco Elysium", or "Stray" (meow). Take a moment and savor them for the actual works of art that they are.