A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence presents a tightly constructed linear journey which is more enjoyable than many open-ended experiences.

A Plague Tale: Innocence tells a magnificent story about hope shining through no matter how bleak life might be.

I can’t really explain why without massive spoilers, but I do wish that A Plague Tale had found other methods of communicating these moments to players. Would a nice cutscene or ending sequence, in a game that has good voice acting and strong story sensibilities, have done just as well? Yes, I think it would. But I’ll love Hugo no matter what.

Developed by Asobo Studios – a studio most known for its work on Disney and Pixar games – A Plague Tale: Innocence is a stark departure from their previous ventures, delving into the story of a young girl and her sick little brother during the 100 Years War as they attempt to survive the wilds of war-torn France, the Inquisition, and the outbreak of the plague. Their journey is one of sorrow, pain, and a sobering realism for what people have endured in the past, yet it effortlessly manages to introduce an air of the supernatural while maintaining its grip on your attention as it drags you thro...

A Plague Tale: Innocence, developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive, caught my interest right away when it was revealed in 2017. A moody adventure-like game using the famous Black Death as its setting, with a supernatural bent? Sign me up. I went in expecting more of a horror experience, what with the dark imagery and hordes of rats featured in most of the marketing. Instead, A Plague Tale is more of a calmly-paced series of puzzles, with urgency fueled by several hours of thoughtful, character-driven drama. It’s more comic book than historical fiction, and a little jan...

Every so often, a game comes along that is way better than anyone expected, successfully bringing something new to the table while wearing its inspirations on its sleeve. A Plague Tale: Innocence is one such game.

A Plague Tale: Innocence wasn’t even on my radar and I’m ashamed because I would have missed out on this great game and now that I’ve told you, don’t make the same mistake I almost made.

I previewed A Plague Tale: Innocence back in March, declaring after only a couple of hours that it may well be Game of the Year material. I don’t regret saying that. It isn’t perfect, but A Plague Tale: Innocence‘s combination of gripping storytelling, excellent characterisation and varied gameplay, all tied together in a package with outstanding audiovisual design, makes for an experience you won’t forget in a hurry.

Despite the confinement in bog-standard AAA conventions and set-piece tropes on occasion, the same can not be said for the execution of its story and of its characters, which -- barring the next six months -- may go down as one of the best and most surprisingly unique examples you're likely to find this year. A Plague Tale: Innocence is more than justified in its focus on the narrative presented and of the journey its main protagonists Amicia and Hugo go through over the course of the game's events. While the core gameplay's puzzle-solving and stealth aren't wholly inventive from a structural ...

Two siblings face the devastation of 14th century France.

A Plague Tale: Innocence has some clunky writing in places, and its play gets stale after a time, but it prevails with a compelling mystery and a beautiful world.

Republished on Wednesday 30th June 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.