A Plague Tale: Innocence

May 14, 2019

>

Review Breakdown

A Plague Tale really gives you a rare experience in games to explore the world through the eyes of a child. Very vulnerable ones at that. The game didn't hold back as it played with my senses and emotions almost immediately. It took me from enjoying a peaceful moment, to sadness, then fear, ending with desperation and the feeling of being alone. Putting myself in the shoes of these kids, the situation continues to manifest into one of the darkest nightmares you could experience as a young child without anyone to lean on. This entire game I couldn't help myself but to feel bad for Hugo's misfortune, while at the same time envious of his innocence with his ability to block out the real terrors that lurk in the world and being able to be a kid. Running, jumping, exploring, and finding It certainly puts things in perspective as an adult with children that the way children see and feel things are raw without any experience of how to handle them. Something to admire during my play through was Hugo's innocence, as he explores the world as a gigantic sandbox. Appreciating the little things that bring joy that we all as adults take for granted. Hugo has a stop and smell the roses perception while walking through the blight of the world. Something so simple as plucking a flower from the ground and running the stem through his sister hair to make it look pretty. Amica was shoved hard not only into a survivalist, but a parent/guardian of her little brother after the brutal showdown at the families estate. Thrown into adulthood as she takes on the responsibilities of protecting her brother. There are two plot issues I struggle with. One of the plot points I struggle with is trying to figure out the true purpose and effect of the Macula. At first I thought it was some sort of curse, but then Grand Inquisitor Vitalis could harness the same or an upgrade version of it through blood transfusions. This made me switch my opinion I'm more confident that's more of a rare family blood condition. I'm not 100% sure if it's a curse Hugo can control them but still get killed by them by Vitalis is also unharmed. The playability is your typical play style for movement and action buttons for my experience playing on PC. The inventory gathering is plentiful to continue playing the game as long as you take to time to gather and don't speed through. I think my upgrades stretched a little further as I spent extra time exploring off the paths which allowed me to find extra hidden resources while also in the hopes of finding easter eggs or secret dialogue. Which I did, and it enriched my playing experience by immersing me into the world we were traveling through. Visually this game was done so well there were certain times I could actually smell what I was looking at while making our way through rat caves or blood spilled battle ground. The sound and music is masterful to take each situation to an escalation of feelings or atmosphere. The rat noises alone alerted you to their presence, heightening your senses to be ready to I could see myself coming back to this game at some point in the future. Probably on a harder difficulty to give myself a challenge. The characters wrap a lasso around your heart which makes it difficult not to come back and visit them.

← Back to Game Page