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DISCLAIMER

The review you are about to read is based on my experience with the game, my judgment, and the rating system! This review is also 100% spoiler-free.

Gameplay and Interaction (20 out of 20)

Plague Tale: Requiem brings a lot of changes to the gameplay. Everything from the new skills that adapt to the player to a wide variety of new interactive elements and more freedom in the traversal. The game offers the player a few ways to approach each situation. It's up to the player to decide how and what to do. New gameplay elements bring a whole new dimension of approach, and I found each engagement unique and entertaining. Yes, you can do everything silently or go full Rambo mode. Hide and seek is probably my favorite gameplay mechanic as it requires a more tactical approach. I'd be lying if there weren't situations where I went full Rambo mode on purpose and destroyed everything in Amicia's path. It felt satisfying to do so at times. The rats were impressive in the first game, and even more so in this one. The game went from displaying 5K rats in Innocence to 300K rats at times in a single scene, making for some breathtaking and visually impressive sights. There are new so-called souvenirs, flower and feather collectibles. Souvenirs are engaging as they provide some interesting interaction between the characters, and they can be re-lived through the codex menu with commentary replay and cartoon-ish presentation.

Graphics and Sound Quality (18 out of 20)

Graphics are one area where Requiem leapfrogs Innocence. Requiem is, by far, the most environmentally detailed video game I've played. From dark harbors to sunny sandy beaches to dense forests and open fields full of swaying grass and beautiful flowers, Requiem doesn't stop to impress visually from the opening scene to the last. Obviously, there are some areas that aren't as beautiful or complex, but clever use of visual effects such as depth of field hides the difference. The amount of detail in each scene is astonishing. I often just roamed around to admire the amount of detail on display. Photo mode offers almost unrestricted movement, letting you see how the developers have gone around designing the world, revealing, at least for me, interesting things about level design. Something like this might not impress some people that don't understand games at a more technical level, but I appreciate seeing stuff like this. It's always interesting to see developers tackle the same problems in their own unique ways, and I'm all here for it.
Sound design is a step up from Innocence in so many ways. One issue I had with Innocence's soundtrack is that it was overexaggerated sometimes, and Requiem solves all of that. Charlotte McBurney (Amicia) and Logan Hannan (Hugo) are the stars of the audio presentation once again. While some people find Amicia and Hugo annoying, you must put yourself in their shoes to appreciate the emotional swings they're going through. I'm all for the credit where the credit is due, and this review wouldn't be complete without showing appreciation for the voiceover cast. Everyone did their job and made the characters believable. Amicia's death screams are on another level too. The emotional conversations and bond between the two main characters are nearly unmatchable, and I'd go as far as saying that Requiem's relationship between Amicia and Hugo goes neck in neck with The Last of Us' bond between Joel and Ellie. It's just as good, and no, I'm not biased in the slightest.

Performance and Optimization (20 out of 20)

Since the game's announcement, all I've seen around the web is that Asobo's ditching their in-house technology - Zouna engine - and switching to UE5. As a big fan of unique tech, this information made me question the decision as it meant another unique game engine was shutting down. I'm all for an easier time for the developers if that's something Unreal Engine brings - but it's getting to the point where everyone's using the same tech and bringing the same fundamental issues to the video game industry. While the Zouna engine has its limitations, it came as a pleasant surprise to see that Asobo continued to use the in-house tech compared to the pile of other games using Unity or UE. While this fact doesn't change much for a casual gamer, I'll just show my appreciation for the in-house tech.
As far as the performance and optimization go, this game is quite heavy to run, and rightly so. The sheer amount of detail and environmental density takes a toll on GPU and CPU. Simulating 300K rats isn't a small feat, especially considering that the first game had only 5K on display and used some interesting tricks to make it happen. This is a modern video game with no ties to last-gen consoles, utilizing every piece of Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 hardware. It's evident from the beginning that the developers didn't hold back and used all the resources at their disposal and I'm glad they did. Older graphics cards are going to have a hard time running Requiem at a higher framerate and considering that this game runs at 30 FPS on the current-gen consoles, I'll just say that I'm glad the cross-gen didn't hit this game. There's no need to say that it could've been better or that the developers didn't do their job, because they did a GREAT JOB optimizing this visual masterpiece. Stop expecting to run current-gen games on last-gen hardware and everything will be alright.

Story and Content Value (20 out of 20)

It took me 25 hours to complete the game with no stone left unturned. I'd say that a playtime of 15-20 hours is more realistic, as I spent a good amount of time just roaming around and appreciating the game's visuals. Requiem does offer NG+ mode as well, which I haven't played through at the time of writing this review. It's a linear video game with some semi-open exploration. Requiem's story is an emotional and heartbreaking rollercoaster that attempts to balance different emotional states, like happiness with sorrow and joy with misery, to the point where emotion and care for one another is the only thing left. At the same time, you're put in the shoes of a heroine and a villain. On one side, you're a protector of the carrier, a heroine trying to make things right, and on the other side, you become this villain that makes everything collapse.
The story focuses strongly on a relationship between a sister and a brother, so much so that certain events in the game make even the player realize how fragile everything in life is and how things someone cares about so much can disappear in a moment of desperation. Amicia's character goes through so much change over the course of two games. She went from an innocent kid to a protector and a warrior. The emotional connection Innocence introduced continues throughout this game and is turned up to the max. Requiem demonstrates the sheer willingness and determination of what one sibling would do and what it means to another. A story like this simply wouldn't work with any other medium. Depending on your mental state, the ending will either destroy you emotionally or do nothing at all, and there's no in-between with this one.

Animations and Movement Controls (16 out of 20)

The animation work and the gameplay fluidity is improved over the previous game. I'd say this is the weakest point of this game. While not as amazing in this department as some AAA games, it shows that it means nothing when a studio is determined to achieve the same on a much smaller scale.

Final Score and Conclusion (94 out of 100)

Requiem is an emotional continuation of the story from Innocence, and a journey not everyone will appreciate and enjoy. It's an emotional and heartbreaking rollercoaster on par with the likes of The Last of Us that will make you appreciate certain things in life more.