Arktix Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Review

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy might be the most underrated game of 2026. As of its release in August, there are a still a number of great games to come this year, but it's my personal game of the year so far. For me, a great game needs excellent gameplay, a beautiful world to get immersed in, and a great story with interesting characters that make me want to care about them and the world. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy checks all those boxes for me and goes even further in many areas with thoughtful storytelling and creative touches that were a pleasure to experience. Not to mention, the game is just gorgeous and has an amazing soundtrack! My only complaints are that I wish the game was a bit longer and that the combat/gear system was a little deeper. But hey, it's intended to be a tight narrative experience and it excels at that. Existing Plague Tale players may find the change to Sophia's aggressive, proactive melee combat jarring compared to Amicia's stealth/ranged approach in the first 2 games. Just come in with an open mind and understand you're not playing as Amicia. For new players, you certainly don't need to play the first 2 Plague Tale games before playing this one. Resonance is actually a great introduction to the series because it's a prequel that takes place before the first game. You also play as Sophia, who is a companion character to Amicia in the second Plague Tale game (Amicia is the main character in the first 2 games). Don't hesitate to dive in if this is your first Plague Tale game! Though just be aware that, if you decide to play the other two, they will be much more stealth focused compared to this one. Some highlights: Great characters. Not just Sophia, but her companions, too. The voice acting AND dialogue writing is very good as well. Cool and unique story. I won’t say more because you do NOT want to be spoiled (be careful of spoilers if you want to play. It would be very easy to get spoiled). The story is dark and heavy, like previous Plague Tale games, but it has its own unique twists and turns. If you haven't played PT games before, the best popular comparison I can give is The Last of Us, though it's a different "flavor" of dark. Beautiful world. Very cool mix of sunny Mediterranean island and dark, creepy cave systems. The level/environment design is fantastic and the art, animation, lighting, and SFX teams did an amazing job bringing this world to life and giving it a very distinct feel. Fast, fluid combat. Parrying is satisfying and Sophia has some cool mechanics like a grapple hook and “the sphere” you can use on enemies. Combat is similar in feel to Ghost of Tsushima/Yotei (though the gear system is much simpler because it's a smaller, linear game). Very cool puzzles and "the sphere" is a cool puzzle mechanic. The puzzles and environments definitely give Tomb Raider vibes, but they have their own unique twist. I wont say more as I don’t want to spoil that either. There is a SUPER unique and creative enemy that you need to deal with throughout the game. I don’t want to say much about it because it’s a major spoiler, but if you’ve played a Plague Tale game before you know how the rats are something you have to deal with throughout the game. It's kinda like that, but also very different. It's seriously one of the most unique enemies I’ve ever experienced. Fantastic sound track! This is one that ended up in my "Game OST" playlist for sure! The game is fairly short (15-25 hours). It’s also very linear (think GoW or TLOU if you haven’t played the other PT games). But I was surprised how much it sucked me in for a short game.