A Plague Tale: Innocence Reviews
A Plague Tale: Innocence delivers so many wonderful attributes to make this a near-perfect game.
A Plague Tale: Innocence – Cloud Version is an incredibly well-written, well-designed immersive game that blends stealth, survival and puzzles in a rich historical setting with an intense story of family, war and magic.
A Plague Tale: Innocence sees you playing as Amicia running through the plagued streets of France with your brother Hugo. Set in the 1300’s, you’re running from soldiers of the inquisition and the terrifying hordes of rats that are ravaging the streets. There are a few different themes that run throughout: at the forefront of the story you’re surrounded by death and decay which is something you will quickly get used to seeing.
It kept me from enjoying the game that much sooner. Chalk it up to impatience but if you have another way to try this game, you should. It's worth the time; I'm just not sure if it's worth the Switch edition.
The 9th-gen upgrade treatment doesn't remove any of its tougher fleas, but A Plague Tale: Innocence remains one harrowing ride.
Overall, the upgrade for A Plague Tale: Innocence is a hugely successful one. I’m so glad I waited to experience the game on more powerful hardware. While I’m not sure it does enough to warrant a second playthrough, anybody who has not yet played the game is missing out on a treat, and the PS5 version is the definitive way to play.
What more can we say about this upgraded version of A Plague Tale? It was a great experience when it came out in 2019, and it still is two years later. It is not made better in any major way, but it cannot be improved without fundamentally changing the game, which I am thankful it did not. If you have not played this game, you are doing yourself a disservice.
With improved graphics and fantastic use of the DualSense, the PS5 is the best place to play A Plague Tale. This is a unique, interesting story which is well worth your time. I just with that playing it was more interesting. Long sections of the game are only saved by strong atmosphere and your connection to these characters. Linear gameplay and controls that don’t hold up well in intense moments lead to frequent frustration and a game which feels like it goes on longer than it needs to. If you know what you’re getting into, however, there’s still enough good in A Plague Tale: Innocence to be worth your time.
Gameplay is unchanged, retaining the linear nature that guides you through a crafted campaign full of surprises and standout sequences. The English army of 1348 and rodent infantry burrowing underground create environmental puzzles with inventive solutions while combat is almost always a life or death situation. Miss your shot and doom is likely right around the corner. But so too is one of the most underrated experiences of the past few years. A Plague Tale: Innocence has always been a great game. PS5 makes it that little bit better.
While I've been having a bit of a struggle trying to sort out whether I consider this a true indie game or a AAA title, also taking into account the fact that it is played in the cloud and those complications, I will say that regardless of those questions this is quite an engrossing title to play through...
A Plague Tale: Innocence is imperfect. The repetitious and unoriginal nature of its gameplay does hold it back and might be a deal breaker for some. Even if it is technically sound. But I would still recommend it for its story and atmosphere alone.
With its well designed stealth mechanics, unique setting, captivating story and stifling, often terrifying atmospherics, in A Plague Tale: Innocence, Asobo Studio might well have crafted the best and most pure horror title of the year.
Many other games can learn a lot from A Plague Tale: Innocence. It features a superb story with realistic characters and nice coming-of-age parts as well as a world with a superb atmosphere. While there are some mechanic hiccups here and there, gameplay is a well-done mix of the elements and remains fresh. There's also a top-notch visual and technical quality that I would like to see in more games.
Review in German | Read full review
A stimulating linear adventure, offering a welcome change of page from the usual open-world games.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Aside from the basic gameplay and a few rough edges, A Plague Tale: Innocence tells an incredibly gripping story about a couple of kids in the most grim circumstances imaginable. It nails the horrifying setting with standout visuals and a thick atmosphere that is worth experiencing at least once. If you're looking for the next great story to play through, A Plague Tale is definitely it.
In an endless sea of looter shooters, multiplayer battle royales and microtransaction-riddled titles, Plague: Tale Innocence is a breath of fresh air. With a simple, 10 hour narrative and a well paced story, Plague Tale backs up its compelling plot line with some cleverly evolving gameplay, with each of its deliciously dark chapters an absolute delight to play through. Created by a passionate team of 40 or so people, Plague: Tale Innocence is a reminder of what this medium can produce with a bit of creativity and passion, leaving this reviewer saddened when the journey ended. Despite the visuals not quite matching traditional blockbuster game standards, the atmosphere and general aesthetic of the game more than makes up for this, making Plague Tale: Innocence one of the best games of the year.
The depiction of childhood innocence takes off thanks to the dialogues and the performance which also show the gradual deterioration of this innocence.
Review in Greek | Read full review
A Plague Tale: Innocence is undoubtedly one of the best games of this year and perhaps one of the best story-focused titles. The game puts us well in the dark times of the middle ages and the pandemic of plague, and gives us the fate of a child and a teenager who are looking for survival. Despite the simplicity of riddles and gameplay, it is the fear of killing Amicia and Hugo and the narrative style of the game that makes it memorable
Review in Persian | Read full review
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a linear game which balances stealth, escort mission, and puzzles perfectly. To top it all off, the story is phenomenal. Though the character animations may sometimes look stiff and robotic, the overall presentation makes up for these minor nitpicks.