A Plague Tale: Innocence Review
A Journalistic Review by DefiantParrot
*Warning: May Contain Spoilers*
Originally Written: 01/12/2020
Developer: Asobo Studio
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platform: Playstation 3
Genre: Adventure, Stealth
Release: May 14, 2019
I don't ordinarily pick up games when they first come out. Money's usually tight and I love to collect for my older systems. For my newer consoles however, I more than likely just wait before I buy a newer game. With some exceptions mind you, I bought Dragon Age: Inquisition the day it came out and my excitement for Kingdom Hearts III speaks for itself but a new game has to really catch my attention for me to get it day one.
I originally heard about this game from the one and only Jim Fucking Sterling Son, and after hearing his glowing praise for the game I had to check it out.
Ever heard of Asobo Studio? Neither have I, I thought they may have been an Indie developer at first but apparently they've been around since 2002. Making The Crew and that ReCore game, but mostly titles like the video game adaptation of Toy Story 3.
And then there's Focus Home Interactive which I'd also never heard of but they've been around a while too even publishing that recent Call of Cthulhu game. So I was very interested in this game here, so let's look at A Plague Tale: Innocence.
So you take on the role of Amicia de Rune a young noble girl living with her family in their rural estate. Amicia is the older sister of a boy named Hugo, a brother she's barely been allowed to see since he was born.
See Hugo is sick. With what? Well that's one of the driving mysteries of A Plague Tale: Innocence. What we do know is the plague is spreading, Amicia's father is so nice that he might as well have an expiration date on his forehead, and their the mom is a cunt.
But soon The Inquisition show up and butcher the family in search of little Hugo and Amicia must flee with her little brother into the cold and unforgiving world.
So gotta say I love the opening to this game from hunting with your father and trusty dog (RIP) to running for your life while... something attacks the soldiers following you. It immediately got me hooked and I just couldn't put this game down.
And the story here is fantastic! A Plague Tale is a very linear game, you've got your different chapters and the path you should be taking. But a game doesn't have to be an open world to be good and A Plague Tales linearity works in its favor with a fantastic story.
Learning more about the world and Hugos illness and just why The Inquisition want him is fascinating. I've stated several times before that I'm a big fan of the storytelling a video game can accomplish and this game is a shining example of what I mean.
The voice acting is superb from everyone here. Every character delivers their lines, I don't wanna say perfectly but there was never a performance that took me out of the situation we were in. But extra props have to go to Charlotte McBurny as Amicia and Logan Hannan as Hugo. There were times their performances had me choking up and one in particular made me actually shed a tear. I'm serious.
The atmosphere in this game is wonderful, from the moment the kids leave the estate you never feel safe and of course you're not. Deranged and broken people will attempt to kill you for little to no good reason, of course the aforementioned Inquisition is tracking you and then there are the rats.
The plague is so bad that literally hordes and floods of these rodent bastards can gobble a man in seconds and the very first time I saw a tidal wave of hungry rats descending on me I had to reclean the birdcage.
Amicia is initially not armed with much just a sling and early on your only means of getting around guards are distractions. Amicia isn't a warrior her name isn't Geralt she gets killed in one hit so stealth is the name of the game here.
Hugo will hold onto Amicias hand be default and the two of them need to try and get through the obstacles without being turned into french pincushions.
Now I will say this, I was afraid that this game would fall prey to the dreaded escort quest and while yes Hugo and any of the other companions who join you along the way can be killed and you'll be forced to restart, it rarely happened to me.
Hugo never attracted too much attention and stuck close with me every time I told him too, and the AI for companions is pretty well done.
But as you continue playing Amicia will begin unlocking different alchemy abilities and can unlock the skills to ignite lanterns or bales of hay, extinguish flames, knockout powder and various other abilities. Some that make killing enemies much easier but of course you never lose that risk of one hit kills.
The environmental puzzles in this game are great. I never got stumped or irritated in a section and the game teaches you everything you can do well. There were even a situation or two where I knew I solved a problem in a way the game didn't intend for me too.
But there were a few times I tried to solve a problem and the game wouldn't let me because again that's not what I was supposed to do. These only happened twice from what I can recall but it did lead to... issues. Sorry Lucas.
Oh speaking of him, I also love how at the start of our adventure Amicia and Hugo are all alone but as the game progresses they start making friends and allies until this game turns into French Goonies with Rats. I loved it and I loved all the characters.
The game looks fantastic too. This game ran at a consistent 30 Frames Per Second throughout the game. I never had a noticeable dip or snag and obviously no crashes. The game looks and runs even better on PC I know, but I'm a console bird and for how it looks here, no complaints.
Well I guess a very small complaint, the character models and everything look stellar most of the time. But the lip synching is all fucked up and can be down right atrocious at times.
And the in-game models look a little too much like dead-eyed mannequins to me. In Cutscenes they're much better but it's just something I noticed here.
The music is also sublime. Adding to the atmosphere and feeling of dread this world contains but also hints of hope. There's a beauty here no doubt and the music reflects that really well. The music was composed by a Olivier Deriviere apparently and he did a magnificent job.
There are a handful of boss fights here and while the first one is a bit clunky the final one is goddamn brilliant. In fact let's talk about the endgame a bit, spoilers obviously.
When you learn that Hugos abilities are tied to the rats and begin controlling the little fuckers it's a bit clunky at first but you get used to it.
So by the final chapter when instead of lighting fires to get rid of the vermin you're actively extinguishing the fires to use the rats to your advantage and can even walk through unharmed it's a fantastic role-reversal to what you've been doing this whole time. Keeps the entire gameplay section here fresh and rewarding.
Now of course there is a problem with the story and someone will bring it up. There's a point in the story where Amicia and Lucas set off to find a cure for Hugo. You do eventually find it, give it to the poor boy and then the game proceeds as normal. Hugos disease is still an issue and the cure is never brought up again as far as I can remember. Yeah this is an issue I assumed that they were going to mention that all the cure did was slow it down but no, I don't recall that ever happening.
I gotta be honest though while this is a flaw I would tear any other game apart for, it didn't hamper my enjoyment all that much. I pieced together what I thought had happened and continued enjoying this game. It is a flaw I will absolutely say that but personally, it didn't stop me from enjoying what I was playing.
So all in all was this game worth my time? Hell yes actually and I think it's worth yours. Even if you're not a fan of stealth gameplay I think this is a game most people could play and enjoy. It's not overly long but not dreadfully short either. About 11 hours for me and I felt the story, characters, and gameplay definitely made it worthwhile.
So mark your calendars folks because today I give A Plague Tale: Innocence my very first
Gold Seal of Satisfaction
Now let's be clear here, there is no such thing as a perfect game. But none of the issues I mentioned here detracted from my enjoyment of the story, the characters, the immersion, or gameplay.
Facts are facts and in the end I had a big smile on my face from beginning to end I had a fucking blast with this game and it is easily the best game that I have reviewed thus far. In my opinion of course.
In fact quick story time I'm currently writing this the morning after having finished the game and while asleep last night I had a nightmare. About rats, this game freaked me out so much I think I might just have musophobia now. No game has ever done that to me and that certainly makes this game stand out.
*Warning: May Contain Spoilers*
Originally Written: 01/12/2020
 |
| We're gonna need an assload of cheese |
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platform: Playstation 3
Genre: Adventure, Stealth
Release: May 14, 2019
I don't ordinarily pick up games when they first come out. Money's usually tight and I love to collect for my older systems. For my newer consoles however, I more than likely just wait before I buy a newer game. With some exceptions mind you, I bought Dragon Age: Inquisition the day it came out and my excitement for Kingdom Hearts III speaks for itself but a new game has to really catch my attention for me to get it day one.
I originally heard about this game from the one and only Jim Fucking Sterling Son, and after hearing his glowing praise for the game I had to check it out.
Ever heard of Asobo Studio? Neither have I, I thought they may have been an Indie developer at first but apparently they've been around since 2002. Making The Crew and that ReCore game, but mostly titles like the video game adaptation of Toy Story 3.
And then there's Focus Home Interactive which I'd also never heard of but they've been around a while too even publishing that recent Call of Cthulhu game. So I was very interested in this game here, so let's look at A Plague Tale: Innocence.
So you take on the role of Amicia de Rune a young noble girl living with her family in their rural estate. Amicia is the older sister of a boy named Hugo, a brother she's barely been allowed to see since he was born.
 |
| As a father I already had an overwhelming urge to protect these two |
But soon The Inquisition show up and butcher the family in search of little Hugo and Amicia must flee with her little brother into the cold and unforgiving world.
So gotta say I love the opening to this game from hunting with your father and trusty dog (RIP) to running for your life while... something attacks the soldiers following you. It immediately got me hooked and I just couldn't put this game down.
 |
| This game became an obsession of mine |
Learning more about the world and Hugos illness and just why The Inquisition want him is fascinating. I've stated several times before that I'm a big fan of the storytelling a video game can accomplish and this game is a shining example of what I mean.
The voice acting is superb from everyone here. Every character delivers their lines, I don't wanna say perfectly but there was never a performance that took me out of the situation we were in. But extra props have to go to Charlotte McBurny as Amicia and Logan Hannan as Hugo. There were times their performances had me choking up and one in particular made me actually shed a tear. I'm serious.
The atmosphere in this game is wonderful, from the moment the kids leave the estate you never feel safe and of course you're not. Deranged and broken people will attempt to kill you for little to no good reason, of course the aforementioned Inquisition is tracking you and then there are the rats.
 |
| I have officially shit myself |
Amicia is initially not armed with much just a sling and early on your only means of getting around guards are distractions. Amicia isn't a warrior her name isn't Geralt she gets killed in one hit so stealth is the name of the game here.
Hugo will hold onto Amicias hand be default and the two of them need to try and get through the obstacles without being turned into french pincushions.
Now I will say this, I was afraid that this game would fall prey to the dreaded escort quest and while yes Hugo and any of the other companions who join you along the way can be killed and you'll be forced to restart, it rarely happened to me.
 |
| This game can be downright terrifying at times |
But as you continue playing Amicia will begin unlocking different alchemy abilities and can unlock the skills to ignite lanterns or bales of hay, extinguish flames, knockout powder and various other abilities. Some that make killing enemies much easier but of course you never lose that risk of one hit kills.
The environmental puzzles in this game are great. I never got stumped or irritated in a section and the game teaches you everything you can do well. There were even a situation or two where I knew I solved a problem in a way the game didn't intend for me too.
 |
| My bad mate |
Oh speaking of him, I also love how at the start of our adventure Amicia and Hugo are all alone but as the game progresses they start making friends and allies until this game turns into French Goonies with Rats. I loved it and I loved all the characters.
The game looks fantastic too. This game ran at a consistent 30 Frames Per Second throughout the game. I never had a noticeable dip or snag and obviously no crashes. The game looks and runs even better on PC I know, but I'm a console bird and for how it looks here, no complaints.
Well I guess a very small complaint, the character models and everything look stellar most of the time. But the lip synching is all fucked up and can be down right atrocious at times.
And the in-game models look a little too much like dead-eyed mannequins to me. In Cutscenes they're much better but it's just something I noticed here.
The music is also sublime. Adding to the atmosphere and feeling of dread this world contains but also hints of hope. There's a beauty here no doubt and the music reflects that really well. The music was composed by a Olivier Deriviere apparently and he did a magnificent job.
There are a handful of boss fights here and while the first one is a bit clunky the final one is goddamn brilliant. In fact let's talk about the endgame a bit, spoilers obviously.
 |
| What a dick |
So by the final chapter when instead of lighting fires to get rid of the vermin you're actively extinguishing the fires to use the rats to your advantage and can even walk through unharmed it's a fantastic role-reversal to what you've been doing this whole time. Keeps the entire gameplay section here fresh and rewarding.
Now of course there is a problem with the story and someone will bring it up. There's a point in the story where Amicia and Lucas set off to find a cure for Hugo. You do eventually find it, give it to the poor boy and then the game proceeds as normal. Hugos disease is still an issue and the cure is never brought up again as far as I can remember. Yeah this is an issue I assumed that they were going to mention that all the cure did was slow it down but no, I don't recall that ever happening.
I gotta be honest though while this is a flaw I would tear any other game apart for, it didn't hamper my enjoyment all that much. I pieced together what I thought had happened and continued enjoying this game. It is a flaw I will absolutely say that but personally, it didn't stop me from enjoying what I was playing.
So all in all was this game worth my time? Hell yes actually and I think it's worth yours. Even if you're not a fan of stealth gameplay I think this is a game most people could play and enjoy. It's not overly long but not dreadfully short either. About 11 hours for me and I felt the story, characters, and gameplay definitely made it worthwhile.
So mark your calendars folks because today I give A Plague Tale: Innocence my very first
Gold Seal of Satisfaction
 |
| For when you win a Parrots heart |
Facts are facts and in the end I had a big smile on my face from beginning to end I had a fucking blast with this game and it is easily the best game that I have reviewed thus far. In my opinion of course.
In fact quick story time I'm currently writing this the morning after having finished the game and while asleep last night I had a nightmare. About rats, this game freaked me out so much I think I might just have musophobia now. No game has ever done that to me and that certainly makes this game stand out.
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