
Amicia soon discovers it is a plague of rats that killed Lyon, thousands of them, and they show no signs of stopping. Paranoid Inquisitors storm her family's estate, demanding custody of her brother Hugo, a five-year-old boy suffering from a mysterious illness. A menacing knight in black armor, studded with spikes because he's the Big Bad, kills Amicia's father. Soldiers begin killing servants and looting the estate as Amicia, Hugo and their mother sneak their way towards an escape. Their mother doesn't make it, leaving Amicia to hold Hugo's hand and set off for help.
This is where you get introduced to the stealth basics for A Plague Tale , which largely revolve around tossing rocks or clay pots to distract guards. It's a bit basic to start, but soon the game introduces crafting elements, including various alchemical potions, which ups the complexity. The guards are fairly predictable, but sharp enough that it isn't a cakewalk. Amicia is no fighter, either; get caught, get killed. She only has a sling to defend herself, which is largely useless in combat but can do a lot when it comes to solving environmental puzzles, which are the other major system at work in A Plague Tale. And this is where the rats come in.

A Plague Tale: Innocence tells a fantastic story that grips you right away and never lets go. Credit goes to the careful writing and talented performances behind Amicia and Hugo (note: I played in French with English subtitles for added immersion. Highly recommended). To put children in a game so inherently dark and violent is a risky choice. If the children seem too cavalier, the atmosphere deflates. If children aren't afraid of this world, why would we be afraid of it? Conversely, if the children cower at every shadow it becomes a chore to escort Hugo and the narrative falls apart if you no longer care about Hugo. But you do care about Hugo, and Amicia, who is doing her level best in an awful situation. You meet some allies along the way, too, and soon have a ragtag band of brave children focused on surviving, and maybe even solving, the plague.

Plenty of games are fun, flashy and free, but as the medium evolves there needs to be a higher standard when it comes to what we consider the pinnacle achievements. A Plague Tale: Innocence from Asobo Studios is such a standard. A near-perfect single player experience it manages to drive the player through 20+ hours of gameplay in a world that is immersive and exciting. There are a few sequences that slow the game down, and it gets a bit too reliant on QTEs at key moments, but if you're looking for a single-player story that offers drama over destruction, then A Plague Tale: Innocence is a must-play.
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