A Plague Tale: Innocence

So, I love stealth games and I found this game's mix of stealth and horror elements to be a fantastic experience. You move from location to location with a set goal in mind, though there are some collectibles to find along the way. The narrative is tight, and I don't think there's any wasted time or fat to trim. All that said, some of the stealth might be kind of finicky or unforgiving, depending on your take. I found it to be kind of finicky - there are fewer opportunities to escape guards once you've been spotted and, once they catch you, they kill you instantly. Some of their alert ranges seemed kind of wide, but this got less noticeable the further I progressed. Once I did adjust, I noticed that the AI wasn't especially bright. Still alert enough to be challenging or cultivate tension, and definitely not the same level of dense as Bethesda NPCs. The puzzles revolve around shooing rats away with light, or using rats (such as dousing a distant light to make rats swarm the nearby guards). Puzzles aren't complex, but they're also not tedious. They land pretty firmly in the 'enjoyable, not frustrating' territory for me. I played it with French voice over, but the English voices seemed fine. 4/5 rats

Wish I had waited and seen some reviews. The game is fully linear, almost like a visual novel with some movement added. Graphically it’s pretty. The kid is terribly annoying, I would have handed him over. Where it falls apart though is being termed action/adventure. There is very little interaction, run there, hide, throw stone, run. That is it. Also, there are some annoying issues silly things like rats erupting from the ground, the dad having his sword (sheathed!) when facing the inquisitor. Just some noticeable niggles. And when did the whole “press space” floating text thing become necessary, seems to be in all games now, the on screen clues are simply enough, does it need to be extra highlighted? Anyways, if you like creeping around following a set path and baby sitting one of the most annoying characters, you might like this. Me, I found it highly annoying, simple, and linear.

TL;DR: it ends up being a PITA at too many occasions, totally getting you out of the story/characters drama. Which could be fixed by a rather simple update, but I doubt it will be done, concidering the age the game. Good: - Art - Tech - Voice actors Average: - Story - Gameplay (basic but some good ideas in some sequences) Bad: - Movement list restrictions through many half gameplay/half cinematic sequences (ex: can't run) - Can't pass In Game cinematics... which is infuriating after the Nth time you have seen it - Worst save system I've seen for long: it saves when you FIRST reach a FIXED location. And "see ya next location sucka". Which means if you have not picked up or done something which would start a cinematic 1 or 2 m away from this point, hell, you have to REDO it all after each reload/death... having to suffer the same cinematic or game sequence again. Welcome in "It's 2019/2020 and we don't know how to properly implement CheckPoints because nobody did before us in videogame history".

This is my first review on GOG. I bought this game again as soon as I saw it on this store because I felt it deserved support for bringing it for us DRM free and because this was a surprisingly good game. I'm not very much into games that try to bring emotions forth on the players as I am one of those gameplay-first type of gamers and this one is not free of cliches. While compelling by the end, it leaves a few plot-holes. It's very linear and won't let you try anything that would potentially produce alternative outcomes. Gameplay-wise, combat is very basic and also a bit non-sensical in the way that you are supposed to beat some enemies. I struggled to figure out how to beat the first boss because of how absurdly the whole fight actually plays out. Stealth is the way the go but don't expect this aspect to be very strong either. It's there to get the story moving. I wanted to go for the full pacifist walkthrough but I sadly, the game forces you to fight in many occassions. Other elements like the upgrade system can be ignored as it won't do much else but make an already easy game all the easier. What blew me away was the game's fantastic setting. The medieval, oppressive, plague-ridden environments. Visually the game is stunning with amazing set pieces that really immerse the player into this horrific time in history. I kept wondering what the experience would be like to have souls gameplay on this superbly crafted world. Suffice to say I took lots of screenshots to use as desktop wallpaper. This game is beautiful to look at and the setting is one if not the best I've seen. Also, please consider reading subtitles, I thought the French voicing was awesome. Overall I think this is worth a couple of its 15-20 hour walkthrough mainly to observe in awe the visual set pieces the devs have put together here. Some flaws hold it from being an amazing experience but it is still great for what it accomplishes.

I truly hope that there is a sequel to this beautifully gritty art piece. Story wise : Set in the medieval- literally rat invested, evil Templar's, and worried common folk- times. The story itself felt fully original to me which is always a plus in my book. Each character that you meet along the way felt welcomed, not weak, and you actually cared about them in this gritty world (especially Amicia & Hugo- their bond throughout their journey really touches at your heat). Music wise: Imagine the story itself already being a really nice freshly made triple layered cake. Olivier Deriviere created the awesome frosting to go with that cake. Olivier has a very nice track record for video game music like Vampry and more which is pretty dope. Both the music & game play confidently shake hands. Game Play wise: With being a fan of linear story driven games (and Metal Gear Solid aka stealth)- THIS was right up my alley. Amicia has her trusty sling shot that's she really good with. What I liked about this was that as you progress throughout the game she comes across a occasional workbench within every chapter. She can upgrade her arsenal to deal with any puzzle and/or enemies in the duos way. To me this was pretty fun and not boring to me at the slightest. Also for those wondering Hugo is not a burden for the most part. He actually adds to some of the puzzles and you actually want him to be safe among all the death. Cons? Honestly I can't remember any gripes I had while playing. No bugs, boring chapters, no average boss battles except for one very little nick pick(imo of course). I kind of wish the end boss had more UMPH to him. Don't get wrong very cool fight though. All in all this game comes highly recommend to anyone willing to give it a try. It's on the short end game play wise (unless you work a lot like me) but that's okay. The game knows when to end- it's focused and compact. Will be looking forward to a sequel if one one comes.