A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE
You won’t camembert-lieve how good it is
Labelled ‘that rats’ game by many, the more we see of Asobo Studio’s historical adventure the greater we appreciate A Plague Tale is much more than a pile of writhing, hungry rodents. There’s an emotional story to tell, and the visual design to match the narrative aspirations.
To recap, A Plague Tale: Innocence casts you in the 14th-century shoes of Amicia, a 14-year-old girl on the run with her five-year-old brother. At the start of the game the pair barely know each other, but are thrust together as tragedy strikes their family and the Inquisition hunts for them. It’s a simple setup that raises many questions, which are answered as the story unravels over the course of the siblings’ trek across the French countryside, ravaged by war, disease, and superstition.
“They’ve entered a situation in which they seem to have nothing left but each other,” explains game director Kevin Choteau. “As in classic folktales like Hansel And Gretel or Tom Thumb, they must learn more about each other, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and do what it takes to preserve their fragile bond in such a hostile and brutal world.”
BRIE-ZZY NARRATIVE
In terms of storytelling the dev confirms there’s a simple beginning and end. There’ll be no alternative endings or choices that could wrench you away from the meaning of what you’re experiencing. That’s not to say you can’t affect situations, or the characters’ bond. At times you can make moral choices or solve puzzles in a way that can kill or harm others. Doing so will affect the emotional stability of the characters, in particular Hugo, who as an impressionable child will react to his sister differently depending on how you choose to solve a situation.
Choteau explains: “The friction between the innocence of children and such a brutal world was a key driver. How would children react to facing adversity alone? How will they feel? What would they do to preserve their family?”
The realistic Middle Ages setting serves to heighten the tension and connection between the pair. While people at this moment in history had different habits and customs, their core fears were the same as ours today. Playing in this world feels simultaneously fantastical and real, as if observing our universal anxieties through the prism of medieval beliefs.
ROQUEFORT-ABLY REAL
“Immersion is key […] The setting of the game has to be relatively grounded, which helps a lot: the world must provide players with all the information and tips they need to move ahead, though they must watch and be clever. Observing the environment to progress does make up part of the puzzle aspects of our game,” reveals Choteau.
The puzzles we try involve guiding Amicia and Hugo past Inquisition soldiers, often using packs of rats as makeshift traps. Knocking out lamps with Amicia’s slingshot encourages rats to run to the dark areas, nibbling and killing whoever’s standing there. If you leave Hugo alone for too long (which you need to do on occasion to solve a puzzle) he’ll become scared and make noise, drawing rats and soldiers to him. Leaving him unchaperoned provokes genuine anxiety. In these moments, as the pair clasp hands and you guide your innocent brother from danger, A Plague Tale hints at Ico-like levels of dramatic poignancy.
“[The rats] are definitely a constant threat, particularly in dark areas” says Choteau, adding cryptically, and teasing a broader story: “That said, our young siblings will also face other great dangers throughout their journey, even in bright locations where rats can’t flood the area.”