A Plague Tale: Requiem Reviews
A Plague Tale: Requiem is a sometimes compelling adventure weighed down by poor technical performance, and simple, frustrating and repetitive gameplay. While the stealth action can be enjoyable, and the puzzle elements of using the impressive hordes of rats to your advantage can be engaging, it’s a game that introduces compelling ideas but never really capitalizes on any of them. Pair that with some dodgy AI and it’s a game that’s at its best when the characters are simply walking through the world, talking to each other.
A Plague Tale: Requiem serves up a sprawling adventure across a plague-ravaged, rat-infested France, though the simple tale and mechanics at its core can’t bear this sequel’s bloat.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is relentless in its depiction of misery. It imparts the troubling message that no matter how hard we try, we can’t change the future, and trying to do so only invites more pain and suffering than willingly submitting to our eventual demise. A series about two children losing their innocence and being corrupted by the evils of the world is one I welcome, but not when it teaches us to give up instead of fighting for a future all our own. The world may seem hopeless right now, but if we give in to the despair we’re choosing doom, and I’d rather go down slinging.
With its striking production values and next-gen rat rendering, it's hard escaping the notion that A Plague Tale: Requiem is, like Microsoft Flight Simulator before it, more of a tech demo or portfolio piece for Asobo Studio. But for fans of the original, the prospect of more of the same – only bigger and flashier, and without the 'Allo 'Allo! accents – is certainly enticing.
A Plague Tale: Requiem has seemed to me an exercise as remarkable visually as irregular mechanically and narratively. A competent videogame that will please those who enjoyed the first one, but that repeats, and I would even say that it intensifies, some of the mistakes that were pointed out to the original.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Asobo's decisions on the technology behind A Plague Tale: Requiem cause a "one step forward and five steps back" route.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Several issues gnaw away at Requiem's greater potential, but its panoply of technical and creative positives connect consistently enough to thoroughly appreciate Amicia & Hugo's rat-ical journey.
What started out as a humble new series has expanded into something much more ambitious. But while that ambition is admirable and sometimes extraordinary, it’s also the root cause of many of its problems since it lacks focus and seems like Asobo spread itself thin going this much larger.
the game has a lot of good things going for it. The narrative, puzzles, combat and new game mechanics make for an interesting and worthwhile experience but the extended game length is unnecessary and makes it feel like the story is being padded out to breaking point.
By the time A Plague Tale: Requiem concludes, it will feel like being dragged by a pick-up truck across miles of concrete. The world depicted is a bleak and cruel one with no light at the end of the tunnel. Players will be getting their money's worth, as this is a very long game that is punctuated with lots of gimmicky sequences that add value to the package. The story does have a lot for fans to discuss, and the visuals are amazing, even if they came at the cost of a high frame rate. The gameplay is technically better than the first, but it was never amazing to begin with. The over-reliance on prebaked contextual actions and the rigidness of simplistic stealth is something most could expect from a seventh gen console title, not a ninth gen console release.
https://www.saudigamer.com/review/a-plague-tale-requiem/
Review in Arabic | Read full review
A Plague Tale: Requiem outdoes its predecessor in many ways. Its story, for example, manages to be even more engaging and touching, while numerous gameplay enhancements make it a deeper, more varied affair. It’s just a shame that its first quarter isn’t better paced, relying too much on you manipulating rats with light, and that its combat sections just aren’t fun at all. Add in a myriad of performance issues and bugs, and you have a game that somewhat squanders its phenomenal potential, but is still very much worth playing.
It’s a game that will stay with you long after you’ve put down the controller, a haunting reminder of the fragility of life and the encroaching darkness that lurks just beyond the edge of our perception.
Unfortunately not much has changed where that sentiment is concerned. And if we’re looking solely at the studio’s technical and artistic strengths, it doesn’t need to prove this aspect of its game anymore, but looking at things purely from a gameplay perspective, Asobo might need to come out of the Dark Ages.
A Plague Tale: Requiem's trump card is the variety of gameplay sequences between which it alternates. At its best, it spices up the original's stealth action-adventure formula with new ways of eliminating foes or holding rats at bay. At its worst, it has you slogging through tedious or frustrating stealth sections.
And so what? I’m not a huge fan of how bulky the environment feels at times, and the walking sections can become tiresome, but the truth is, Requiem had me engaged from start to finish. Sure, the game has its flaws, and it’s not a very malleable experience, but that doesn’t stop it from being a good time all the same. At its heart, A Plague Tale is a narrative-driven atmospheric experience. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
A Plague Tale: Requiem improves on its predecessor with gorgeous visuals and more varied gameplay, but it struggles to balance its increased action and morally nuanced storytelling.
Hugo and Amicia's story remains just as compelling as it was in Innocence, but A Plague Tale: Requiem swings for the fences by offering more of almost everything that made its predecessor great. Some curious design choices dampen its impact a little, but overall, it's a great return for a duo that are fast becoming some of our favorites.
Asobo Studio has done well to continue the story of Amicia and her brother Hugo in A Plague Tale: Requiem. The narrative excels at exploring Amicia’s internal strife balanced against the need to protect and help her brother. Unfortunately, while the puzzles, lighting, and rat swarming systems are neat, they are weighed down by the tedious stealth sections and clunky controls. Those who enjoyed the first game will likely want to see it through to the end, but those who are new may find the experience lacking.
A Plague Tale: Requiem eventually expands in scope and improves upon its predecessor's stealth action, but the heartrending story of two siblings battling against the odds is where it truly excels.