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Medieval horror with heart

Now comes a game that surprised me. Even though I've only heard good things about it. The reason? I had just played through the mediocre Vampyr and wasn't exactly looking forward to the premise of another action adventure game that was all about biting again - apparently the publisher Focus Home Interactive is currently collecting games on the subject. But what Asobo Studio has achieved really deserves a lot of respect. And because I think the game is so good, this review will be more extensive, more detailed and, above all, more critical. After all, the devil is in the detail when it comes to good work. Warning in advance: there might be some spoilers.

In a land before our time

Let's start with the story. It takes place in 14th century France. We take on the role of Amicia de Rune, daughter of Robert and Beatrice de Rune, who, as we have already heard, belong to the nobility and call a stately estate in the country their own, complete with servants, country side and hunting dog. The first impression: man, this place looks gorgeous. As we ride out with our father, the autumnal landscape glows in golden colors, light and shadow effects look fantastic and the character models also cut a fine figure. The medieval family seat evokes an impression of authenticity, and the representation of the past generally looks realistic. This impression runs through the entire game as we roam through landscapes, villages or even abandoned battlefields. Everything looks believably staged and very lifelike thanks to the really great graphics.

But I'm getting ahead of myself a little, back to the start of the game and our outing with the father of the year, who seems so likeable that you can only guess what could tarnish this idyll. First, however, the controls are explained to us and we are given the only two abilities that we use throughout the game: Sneaking and slinging. While the first is fairly straightforward, the second requires some explanation. Protagonist Amicia has a slingshot, which she can use to shoot stones at targets with surgical precision. Anyone who ever thought David versus Goliath was unrealistic should put their faith to the test here. Sword? Dagger? The game answers no.

We follow our eager hunting dog Lion and track down a wild boar, which we shoot out of existence with a well-aimed throw against the turnip. What a good doggy. Yes, what a good boy you are. Yes, you're a good boy, yes, I've already taken you to my heart and if anything happens to you, I will- The dog is pulled into a hole in the ground by an unknown force and dies. The day is ruined. As is the idyll breaking apart around us. Our dad Robert drives us back home, while the colorful forest slowly gives way to 'menacing backdrop 101' from the Hollywood box of tricks for horror novices. Once home, we meet our mother, who is still looking after our younger brother Hugo. It seems that Amicia hardly knows him herself, as Hugo grew up in isolation due to an illness and was not allowed to leave his room.

As soon as we are introduced to our brother, chaos breaks out. The Inquisition arrives and demands the surrender of the young descendant. As our father refuses, the protagonists are cut down in Game of Thrones-style. We flee with our sibling while our family and friends are mercilessly massacred. The children barely escape the massacre and do what anyone would do in this situation: they look for a doctor. Not for a certificate, but to have Hugo's mysterious illness treated. Mama de Rune was an alchemist and was developing an antidote for her loin sprout. Her final instruction: to visit the doctor with whom she had been researching the disease. An odyssey begins that takes us to various places over 17 chapters and several hours, just like those described above. I don't really want to give any more away, because the story is one of the highlights of the game.

Odyssee meats Star Wars

14th century, the name plague tale - of course, it's about the Black Death that plagued Europe at the time. But this is where the historical depiction of the Middle Ages ends and gives way to a kind of fantasy story, with Amicia and Hugo as the protagonists. In the course of the story, they meet other children, such as Lucas, the alchemist's apprentice, and Roderic, the blacksmith's son. In best Goonies-style, the gang joins forces and searches for a cure for Amicia's little brother. This narrative works really well, the childlike perspective allows a curious view of the scenario, and Hugo in particular, who can explore the real world beyond his childhood bedroom for the first time, brings a refreshing lightness to what is actually a very dark world. Unlike other companions in games, the boy is not annoying; instead, you develop a protective instinct when the five-year-old grabs his big sister's hand.

The siblings' adversary is the cruel Inquisition, which wants to use Hugo's blood for its own purposes. That sounds exciting and is also staged very well, but unfortunately the villains in particular lack a little depth. They are strongly reminiscent of the Star Wars duo of the Emperor and Darth Vader, but their backgrounds remain uncertain. The always helmeted Vader counterpart Lord Nicholas is our direct enemy, as he led the raid on the manor house and also leads the hunt for us. Cruel, bad-tempered and with a tendency to pursue us very slowly when a few quick steps would have made the whole thing much easier. That's all we learn. The same applies to the head mobster, Grand Inquisitor Vitalis, who looks pretty nasty and laughs spitefully from his throne. The 'always shoot the messenger' type. The lack of character building may be annoying, but it fits in with the narrative. After all, we are in the role of children being chased by big, bad men. A tragic background story could almost be distracting.

In addition to the human enemies who want to get their hands on us, there is of course the eponymous plague, which manifests itself in the form of visually impressive swarms of rats that devour anything within seconds that gets too close. The only antidote is light, which keeps the beasts at a distance. This results in a logical game mechanic, which sees us frequently moving from light source to light source, from fire basket to lantern. The puzzles are quite shallow: Sometimes we have to sneak inconspicuously behind a guard with a torch, sometimes we have to shoot a chain with our slingshot so that the chandelier falls to the ground. The puzzles are fun, entertaining and rarely really challenging. Anyone expecting Lara Croft-style puzzle passages will be disappointed here.

But A Plague Tale: Innocence has taken inspiration elsewhere from the archeology prime: Memorabilia and collectibles are scattered throughout the levels, which, like in Tomb Raider, are noted in our codex and present short, historical facts about the past. Nice for collectors, but if you don't feel like searching, you can simply ignore it.

There is also crafting. In addition to the collectibles, we can find raw materials throughout the levels that we need to improve our equipment or produce ammunition. In addition to simple stones, Amicia also shoots other projectiles, such as Ignifer, which ignites fire, Devorantis, a kind of acid that forces enemies to take off their helmets, or Odoris, which attracts rats. There are no major blunders in crafting either, collecting is nice to have, but not decisive for the war. If you don't use a workbench once, you'll have a slightly harder time, but no serious disadvantages.

Creepy rat story without a bite

Overall, the game isn't really difficult - in fact, there aren't even different difficulty levels. Admittedly, I have seen the game-over screen several times, but this is more because the game partly relies on trial and error, especially if you are impatient. Once detected, you immediately bite the dust, whether by man or mouse. Later on, we do get an emergency weapon in the form of a sleeping powder for humans and a firebomb for the rats, which we can use to save ourselves from the predicament, but they cost a lot of resources - making virtual death more 'worthwhile'.

While masses of enemies always lead to death, individual enemies are not a problem. We can take out guards without helmets with a well-aimed shot, even if I mostly avoided it. This in particular made me realize that A Plague Tale is a good game: I didn't want to turn Amicia into a cold-blooded murderer, especially with her little brother watching. However, this role-playing game didn't have any real influence on the story.

However, the fact that individual enemies are not really dangerous to us is also due to the poor AI. It stubbornly follows its fixed routes and chases the noise of our stones, which we throw at metal objects as a distraction. Even if a comrade falls down right in front of them, the initial alarm is quickly followed by indifference. This brings back memories of Skyrim . But even if we are spotted, it is usually enough to dart around a corner for the interest to fade. At several points I was even able to hop over the wall, right next to the guard who thought I was on the other side. On their way back, I quickly hopped back again and let bygones be bygones. In general, I often just didn't understand the enemy's behavior, especially when we were crouching right in front of them. Conversely, they tend to spot us in a flash before we even know where they are coming from.

This tarnishes the overall impression somewhat, especially because the game makes it clear to us how it wants to be played. We can also simply shoot everything and everyone and save ourselves a lot of stealthy passages. This is much quicker, but takes away a lot of the atmosphere. In general, you shouldn't overanalyze the game, as otherwise the game mechanics open up holes in the logic. Why are some rooms flooded with rats while the room next to it is rodent-free? Why can we only ever take one stick with us, which acts as a torch for a short time? Why don't we build our own torches with all the crafit material such as fabric and oil that we need for crafting? Why can a child lift a medieval portcullis on their own? And why the hell is Amicia the Legolas-turned-Olympic champion when it comes to slingshots? And I haven't even started on the 'ratnados', the rat tornadoes - yes, they really do exist, no kidding!

Powerful scripts instead of a sleepy open world

Nevertheless, I have to say: what bothered me about Vampyr , I forgive A Plague Tale: Innocence. For one thing, it doesn't want to be a realistic game. It places too much emphasis on atmosphere over logic. When we roam across a deserted battlefield littered with corpses and the swarms of rats persistently want only to eat us. Or when we sneak past incredible mountains of slaughtered grazing animals. Or an overly complicated defense mechanism that spans a castle courtyard makes us puzzle. All of this is far from realistic. But it just looks damn impressive and, above all, coherent! The many locations that we visit are all well done and the fantastic lighting and shadow effects set the scene beautifully. One level in particular, in which we sneak through an evacuated city, is reminiscent of the Thief-series in the best sense of the word. And the whole of Chapter 13 was simply top-notch for me.

On the other hand, the game also compromises a lot in favor of an exciting narrative. The story of the estranged siblings, who grow together over the course of the adventure, is full of twists and turns and told in a great way. Amicia blames Hugo for the fact that she rarely saw her mother, while he later hates her for lying to him, even though she only wanted to protect him. Nevertheless, she does everything she can to keep him safe, while he faithfully grabs her hand as they roam side by side through the various locations. Emotional level Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Asobo Studio has created a dynamic, lively relationship and the great voice actors do their bit to give the whole thing the necessary authenticity.

There is also the soundtrack by Olivier Deriviere, who composed the music for Vampyr as well. Both games sound very similar, Deriviere has probably found his hobbyhorse in the menacing strings. However, I like the music here a little better because it also works very well with the linear narrative structure and can accentuate special moments better. Nevertheless, I would have liked some of the melodies to be more memorable and at one point I actually found the music inappropriate.

What is unfortunately not working in this game, just like in the much-cited Vampyr , are the facial animations. While there is at least some movement in the facial expressions during the cutscenes, the faces in the rest of the game are largely wooden. This is a real, real shame, because this is exactly where the game fails to make the leap into the premier class. Far too often it becomes clear in the conversations that the team didn't have a AAA budget at their disposal - which is a shame, because apart from the facial animations, there's nothing to suggest that A Plague Tale: Innocence is not a blockbuster title. It is cleanly programmed and ran smoothly throughout. Apart from 3 crashes, which may have been due to my hardware, I had no problems at all. There were also no bugs or other errors that I encountered, although it should be noted that the game was released six months ago and the worst has probably been fixed.

Are you man or mouse?

Let's move on to the final score. Despite initial skepticism, the game immediately cast a spell over me and gave me some wonderfully entertaining and emotional moments. The graphics are fantastic, with the exception of the facial expressions, and are reminiscent of 2015's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is still pretty today. The soundtrack is harmonious and underlines the action, the medieval setting is credibly implemented, while the fantasy touches bring back pleasant memories of classics like Thief.

While the actual story is kept quite simple, it only serves as a vehicle to guide the protagonists and the player through various opulent locations. The focus is on the de Rune orphans and their journey together to discover their relationship. A fairy tale in a pretty guise, a horror game as well as an action adventure. I would like to see a possible sequel with more background stories, even more depth and a slightly more challenging puzzle mechanic. And of course with decent facial animations. Otherwise, and I don't say this often, the game is actually perfect as it is.