A Plague Tale: Innocence
Childhood haven becomes stealth-game terror
HAVING CHILDREN in games is often a bad idea, as things have the distinct chance of going all Ned Umber at the end of Game
ofThrones S8 E1. And no one wants that. Brave of French dev Asobo, then, to not only put children front and center in Innocence, an adventure with lots of stealth set in medieval France, but to pit them against hordes of flesh-eating rats.
Siblings Amicia and Hugo live in some spectacular French countryside, hunting boar and worrying about the rain that’s ruining the harvest. Hugo has a mysterious illness for which his mother is researching a cure, and it’s this, as well as the boy, that brings soldiers to their home. After sneaking out with their mother, the pair is left alone with vague directions to seek a doctor and follow the river. The first thing you notice about
Innocence is how good it looks. The forest is a step above what we’ve seen before in EdithFinch or KingdomCome. The visual fidelity means that when the rats appear, they’re as fearsome as the trees are beautiful. A scurrying, writhing mass of red eyes and long tails, they’re not the friendly pet kind. Using a lit torch pushes them back, but what this reveals might be worse—the half-consumed bodies of whatever had got in the rats’ way last.
Innocence casts you as Amicia, leading Hugo, occasionally leaving him alone or sending him on errands through gaps only he can fit into. Leave him for too long, and his cries attract soldiers. You’re helpless in the face of armored men, the slingshot you carry initially only useful for distraction. Eventually, you learn to craft potions with which to direct the tide of rats, or force soldiers to remove their helmets with a chemical burn. Once bareheaded, a stone can be used to crack their skulls, at the cost of making noise.
Controlling a pair of characters who hold hands and frequently hug together out of fear is a new experience, and the relationship between the siblings is real and touching. However, the game suffers from a slow beginning, the one-hit kills starting to grate until you perfect your route through a level, and with environmental puzzles that are more stressful to complete when you need to be hidden. Even worse are the “boss” encounters that end certain sections, which see you circling around and around, trying to pick off weak points with your sling. To have something that reminds you so strongly that you’re playing a videogame plopped in the midst of some atmospheric and involving action snaps you out of your suspension of disbelief almost immediately.
While the rats, and the impressive tech that powers them, are the main draw, what keeps you playing is the need to keep sympathetic characters alive against the monsters in the darkness.
VERDICT 8 A Plague Tale: Innocence
RATTY Realistic familial relationship; amazing looks; moments of utter terror.
TATTY High specs for 4K; rats will make your skin crawl; occasional poor design.
RECOMMENDED SPECS i5-4690/FX-8300; 16GB RAM; GTX 970/RX 48.
$45, www.aplaguetale.com, ESRB: M