A Plague Tale: Innocence, a game where innocence doesn’t last forever.
I think the title drew me in, and then the cover image of the game itself.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of rats, but I don’t mind them. They make a pretty cool enemy, especially given the day and age this game takes place in. What’s even more impressive with them is the fact that they are smart. Maybe not the in-game ones, but rats in real life can be trained to do anything a dog can be trained to do.
I had to deal with them for the time I worked at a pet store.
You’ll find several guides and walkthroughs through the A Plague Tale: Innocence tag, if you’re looking for help.
- Developed by Asobo Studio
- Published by Focus Home Interactive
PC
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PS4
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Xbox One
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Gameplay
A Plague Tale: Innocence consists of a pretty linear concept.
Your sole focus is going from one place to another, without getting caught by the enemy. The enemy in this game’s case, has many faces. The Inquisition, for one, and rats, for another. Where are you headed? Wherever you need to go to find a cure for your brother’s ailment.
It’s a story of bond, of trust, of friendship, and as such, you have to have each other’s backs.
That means relying on them to do specific things, while you do your thing as well. So one of the biggest things is building up your arsenal. You need to up your bag space of items. Upgrade your weaponry–which is basically a slingshot. I love the concept. No guns, no bow and arrows, no swords…a slingshot
That’s the combat system, as well as the trick to getting out of some squeaky situations.
Graphics
One of the things I love regarding the graphics and movement is Amicia’s braid will fall over her shoulder to the front side and fall back as well, depending on where she turns her head. It’s subtle movement, but one that I find somewhat adorable, given all the frantic situations.
The items that you need to upgrade things at a crafting station, as well as the collectibles, and objects you can strike all have a metallic sheen to them that happens every several seconds.
This makes it a lot easier to see them, so you don’t have to actively hunt them down in an area while fearing your ankles will get gnawed on by the nearest rat.
The scenery is gorgeous to look at–well, moreso in the beginning, with being in the forest and the variety of colors of the trees. But even past that amazing setting at the beginning, as things turn darker for the siblings, so too do the graphics of everything, which again is what I like.
The lighting and the different areas you go through really set the mood of what’s going on.
Navigation
As far as progressing through the game, you’ll need to avoid the rats. You need to keep to the light, because they don’t like the light. Symbolism, maybe? I don’t know. But there are some cases where you get a little too close to a cluster of rats and they’ll attack, even though it seems like you’re sticking close enough to the light to keep them at bay.
Other times when you have to move quickly, the game doesn’t give a clear sign of where to go…so you basically end up dying trying to figure it out.
Stuff like that can be annoying.
If you get close enough to the humans, there’s an alert that goes up to give you notice. With the rats? Eh, you get a moment to stumble back to the light, but they’ll kill you if you’re not quick enough.
Overall, despite it being very linear, there are still some areas you might miss if you don’t keep an eye out and at least try to explore what little the game allows you to explore.
Soundtrack
The sounds of the game are pretty damn spot on. From you running through different terrains, to the ambiance of nature, to the sounds of wildlife around you. Then there are the sudden alert sounds when an enemy spots you or gives chase, plus when the rats come up from the underground or through holes in the walls.
Oh, the sounds of the rats.
You’ll learn to hate it, but not in the terrible-to-listen-to sense. More like, god I wish these things would go away.
All in all, the soundtrack and noises really put you in the moment.
It’s a pleasure to listen to.
