Going into A Plague Story: Requiem, developer Asobo Studio’s follow-up to 2019’s A Plague Story: Innocence, I used to be ready for the standard bounce in high quality and scale that the majority sequels embrace. I underestimated simply how important that leap can be, although. Calling Requiem an ordinary sequel is a disservice; Asobo has created a Plague Story epic. It feels Odyssean in scope and storytelling prowess. Though a lot of it got here collectively for me by the top of my 20-plus hour journey by way of medieval France, the sport feels strained by its sheer dimension, particularly in its first half. Nonetheless, I’m extra impressed by Requiem’s boldness and close to across-the-board enhancements than not.
Requiem begins roughly six months after the occasions of Innocence, and whereas it’s doable to piece collectively what’s occurring if you happen to’re new to the sequence, I’d actually advocate taking part in Innocence or at the very least getting caught up on its story earlier than Requiem. Siblings Amicia and Hugo de Rune are searching for a semblance of an bizarre life, regardless of Hugo’s rat-infested Macula situation. And for a while, the sport demonstrates what that normality is like for Amicia, Hugo, and their mom. Nonetheless, as you would possibly guess, the Macula plague begins to rear its ugly head as soon as extra, forcing Amicia again into protector mode. This shift sees Amicia, Hugo, and returning alchemist Lucas journey south to a mysterious island, trying to find solutions and a remedy.
I used to be enthusiastic about this variation in setting and all of the “new” it brings to the sequence, nevertheless it takes far too lengthy to achieve it. No less than half of this sport is spent escaping your new residence to achieve a ship that sails to the island. Don’t get me incorrect, these 10 to 12 hours are good Plague Story enjoyable, however they resemble Innocence a lot that, at instances, it hardly felt just like the contemporary expertise I anticipated from a sequel. It largely dragged on, despite the fact that I used to be assembly characters that may change into a few of my favorites within the sport, like battle-hardened however soft-hearted Arnaud or pirate queen Sophia. It didn’t assist that I skilled numerous technical points like distracting (however not game-breaking) framerate drops, visible bugs, and one full onerous crash.
Upon reaching the island, although, my ideas modified totally. The story ramps up in tempo and pleasure, introducing new allies and villains, a cult, intriguing lore, and a brand new thriller to wrap my head round. Even mechanically, the isle represents a miniature open world to discover that’s extra sprawling than another space within the sequence. The best way the sport’s narrative pulls you right here and there on this island is nice enjoyable, whether or not you’re fixing the thriller of historical underground ruins or preventing off secretive slavers awaiting the Youngster of Embers. By the top of my playtime, I felt like I intimately knew its format.
This a part of the sport impressed me probably the most as a result of all the things is firing on all cylinders. Ingenious puzzles that allow you to manipulate the rats’ aversion to fireside to make them stealthily take down enemies all the time glad me – utilizing a particular projectile to extinguish an enemy’s sole flame, permitting the rats to feast on their reside physique, by no means grew outdated. The story’s twists and turns stored me guessing, as did the island’s central thriller.
Requiem is visually beautiful, too, as Asobo has crafted an virtually painterly search for the sport with distinctive and playful coloration palettes that complement the medieval setting excellently. I recall a second when it appeared like all the things across the de Runes was crashing down atop them, and Requiem represented that visually with a novel, virtually grayscale, palette that heightened the enclosing metaphorical darkness. In different moments, I discovered myself stopping to tinker with photograph mode to seize the colourful great thing about blooming flowers on the coast of this scenic island. Requiem actually is a deal with for the eyes.
Elsewhere, Crash Bandicoot-like sequences that see Amicia fleeing from large hordes of rats towards the display screen, or sprinting in the wrong way to security, had been particularly welcomed breaks from the sport’s in any other case quieter however aggravating stealth moments. These segments communicate to the extra bombastic nature of Requiem, which at instances goes to locations I may outright spoil right here, and I don’t assume you’d consider me anyway. Once more, I wish to stress how epic Requiem’s scale and dimension are – it’s greater than Innocence in each method. Even past the story, new additions to Amicia and Hugo’s arsenal, like a one-hit-kill crossbow (don’t depend on it an excessive amount of, although, as a result of arrows are powerful to come back by) or Hugo’s capacity to regulate rats and feast on the enemies round you, up the ante of the moment-to-moment gameplay.
Nonetheless, regardless of what I loved upon reaching the island, I can’t assist however really feel that Asobo may have lower a big portion of this sport. That’s to not say the sections I need trimmed are unhealthy – they’re good attributable to A Plague Story’s high quality gameplay and storytelling – however they really feel extra like pointless padding that hinders Requiem’s pacing.
I used to be relieved when Requiem’s second set of credit rolled. Not as a result of I didn’t take pleasure in taking part in the sport, however as a result of the de Runes’ journey on this sport is tense and aggravating for a lot of it. At instances, it feels too lengthy and oddly sadistic in its deal with inflicting fakeouts, ache, and struggling on the de Runes. Different instances, I admired Asobo’s command of this sequence, its rat-infested stealth mechanics, and its grandiose storytelling. Fortuitously, the latter edges out the previous, and Requiem seems like way more than only a follow-up. With this journey behind me, I’m enthusiastic about the place the sequence would possibly go from right here, but when Asobo plans a break for the franchise, relaxation assured that Requiem goes out with a formidable bang.
