A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a refreshing video game experience. It nails the graphics, the story, even if a bit straightforward, is still gratifying, the characters are very good (except maybe for the Sauron like right hand of the villain, which lacks a bit of depth), even some gamplay aspects are original and pleasing. So why not giving it the full 5 stars you ask? Well, the gameplay never takes off. There are a few good mechanics introduces (light/dark, the stealth, shooting and crafting mechanics) but they stay way too simplistic to be gratifying. This is a set piece, a story first experience which introduces some light gameplay elements. For what it tries to do it does it very well, but as an interactive experience it could have been better with a more refined gameplay. All in all, highly recommended, it's better than 99% of the AAA stuff that comes out these days.

The gameplay reminded me of Hellblade in that there were quite a few walk&talk/reminesce sections between more actiony scenes. There are puzzles that rely on your companions' abilities ala Tale of Two Sons, while the protagonist sneaks around and uses a sling and different flavour of amunition thereof. I do feel it suffers in the latter part of the game with the addition of "Heavy" enemies which can only be taken down in two specific ways, both of which were very wonky and caused me to have to repeat a few encounters numerous times. The game is very linear and self-contained levels, which to me is a big plus as you don't have to agonize over where to go next or wander through generic locations. There's not that many collectibles to gather, but we only found half of them (If that!) Graphics wise, Plague Tale is simply a gorgeous game with excellent music and sound design. It gives off the illusion of a world beyond the narrow confines of the map far better than any open world game ever did. Or ANY game, in fact. The story is pretty engaging, but it gets very wacky and increasingly supernatural towards the end (Culminating in a final confrontation that neither me nor my partner could take seriously with how ludicrous it was). Still, even with the latter goofiness, the story was enjoyable, in huge part thanks to the likable and well voiced characters. Of note is the fact that you can freely swap the language of the game audio, subtitles and game menus separately. Overall, a great purchase!

I enjoyed Plague Tales and would recommend especial if on sale - but I'm a tight-wad and would hardly buy any game full price. Yes - it is linear. However it is a small studio and it allows them to put all their resources into the areas where the player is. Yes - it isn't a quillgillion hours long (my complete play time 16 hours) . Personally I'm over bloated open worlds with loads of busy but meaningless work, and enjoyed the focus of the game. The sound design and visuals are great, as is the animation. The voice acting both of major and minor NPCs and the protagionists is excellent. The rats are handled really well, the way they swarm and run. Ocassionally they get caught on handrails and form a 'rat-pole' but meh. The protagionists are sympathetic, having relatable motives and are well draw and realised. Perhaps they could be a little more deeper/well-rounded (as too the main antagionist) for example via snipets of over-heard conversation but that is a niggle. The autosaves are plentiful and in good places. You can't back-track often so make sure to fully explore an area before moving on. Also there seems to be only a single save (though there are three save slots... ???) - so pray that it doesn't corrupt. All the areas seem to have resources plentiful enough so that if you haven't been looting your brains out you should still be about to complete the area. If you are only into Dark Souls-esk challange or only game mechanics rather than story, maybe this won't be your thing. All in all I enjoyed my time with this game. High 80s out of 100

This game is for all those that like atmospheric and immersive singleplayer stories. I dived deep into the world and really bonded with the characters. Also the music greatly adds to the oppressive atmosphere and I highly suggest to use a headphone.

Nice adventure/story, but the game is VERY linear! Lots of hidden walls where you think you should be able to leave the road for the forest, but you can't. Stealth parts are very scripted, and you are (almost) never in any hurry, and (almost) never feel any real stress/fear, since you know the AI goes on rails and the game will (almost) always "wait for you". This game is the total opposite of Alien Isolations free hunting AI, and it's the opposite of Far Cry freedom. But as a slow adventure it is really nice, and you team up with lots of people on your journey that you'll probably like and care for. Some action parts are a real pain though (myself I ended playing with 40 min left and watched the rest on youtube). Also the story is a little too much, as in way to unrealistic. As someone else in the reviews here, I would have prefered a more realistic setting instead. Graphics are nice, but hair and faces look pretty bad, and that sadly ruins the immersion quite a bit.