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A Plague Tale: Innocence - Review Roundup

Some reviews for A Plague Tale: Innocence.

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Wccftech 8.8/10

A Plague Tale: Innocence is definitely among the gaming surprises of 2019, exceeding expectations in the best possible ways. With its gripping tale, charming characters and solid gameplay mechanics, the game is a must-have for those who like single-player games with a strong focus on story and character development. Even if the tale does not take in you, A Plague Tale: Innocence still offers a solid third-person stealth experience that fans of the genre will surely appreciate.

RockPaperShotgun No Score

I've been very positive about A Plague Tale so far, and it is indeed a good game. After a couple of scenes you'll notice the same corpse models being reused as rat set dressing, things like that, but those aren't the sorts of things I care about. What does let A Plague Tale down is three boss fights that interrupt the flow of a game that otherwise seems to have a strong sense of what it is. The first is, I suppose, getting you to understand how to use your sling offensively. The second is, likewise, teaching you a new skill. I can allow these. But the third is just annoying. And, worse, funny! It ends up making the rats, who were previously such a malevolent presence, look silly. Come on, man.

GameWatcher 8/10

The scene of crossing a battlefield, with hundreds of lifeless bodies piled over each other, only to see a swarm of rats bursting out of a horse's bloated corpse is just one of multiple sights that A Plague Tale: Innocence inevitably etches into your mind. Although its stealth and puzzle mechanics aren't exactly fresh, having what's, quite possibly, the most powerful representation of the Black Death in the medium, even if stylized, is reason enough to see Amicia and Hugo's journey to its end.

Twinfinite 4.5/5

Of course, the game isn't without its flaws. For all of the variety the gameplay provides in terms of dealing with enemies, its puzzles are all fairly easy and straight forward with few that require more than a passing glance to understand and solve.

There's also the considerable gap between the quality of Amicia and Hugo's story arc and characterization compared to the supporting cast's.

OnlySP No Score

Asobo Studio has crafted an exceptionally dark atmosphere that brings the journey of its innocent characters to life. Both action and stealth-oriented players will find something to love in the mechanics despite their leading nature towards a particular playstyle. Those that love an immersive experience will be engrossed by the highly detailed, grim world. Some frustration with later levels may hinder the impact of the ending, but, regardless, A Plague Tale is a gorgeous game with endearing characters and smooth gameplay that showcases the potential of Asobo Studio.

VG24/7 No Score

There's a lot lifted from other games in A Plague Tale, but somehow there's nothing cynical about it. This is a full-hearted reach for the big time of AAA storytelling that succeeds in the most important departments, thanks to its sparkling polish and subtle characterisation. It's one of a handful of games for which I could tell you the personality traits and motivations of not just the protagonists, but four or five secondary characters. Consider this review a carrier: Asobo Studio is a name that's going to spread.

Player2 Score: A

Apart from that though there is very little to dislike about A Plague Tale. It is a game that excels in the areas of storytelling and atmosphere, has rock-solid gameplay, engaging puzzles and some exceptional voice work that brings it all to life. This is a game that burrows under your skin, seeps into your mind and won't leave you until the final credits roll. Frankly, any adventure gamer out there shouldn't hesitate to buy this game, it is wonderful.

Thanks Farflame!

More information.

I posted some more reviews here.

Another sleeper hit. So many great games, so little time…

I think I'll have to pick this up. I'll be amazed if it's anywhere near as good as Last of Us, but I do salute anybody making good quality single-player experiences.

Bloated rat filled corpses not being my cup of tea, I'll pass, but it's nice to see Focus Home produce another hit.

Storytolders… The great value of life in vid products.

I've now finished this game so what I can tell from my experience is that it's worth it. Comparing it to The Last of Us is inevitable, and personally, I like this one most. I find the characters more charming and inspiring and the narrative more compelling, although not by a long margin, as I loved Ellie and the Last of Us as well.

To say some negatives, it's not a very long game, something between 8-15 hours depending on how fast you move and how hell bent you are into finding every secret. The AI is very bad, but I think the game isn't really designed around a realistic AI and more about setting some well defined behaviour rules that you can manipulate as if each level was a puzzle, much like the bishop piece in chess isn't really a bishop or behaves like one; it just does what the bishop pieces does. Similarly, you'll see A LOT of dumb guardsmen that don't act like guardsmen.

I won't speak about the plot to not spoil anything, but it teases a bit much into the supernatural to my tastes in the later stages. Again, matter of personal taste.

With all that said, I'd rate it between 8.5/10 and 9/10 depending how much you value the fact that controls and framerates are fully designed and optimised for PC gaming.

Two more:

https://www.windowscentral.com/plagu…ence-pc-review
https://entertainium.co/2019/05/14/a…ll-out-of-you/

They praise it a lot

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The game's superb narrative stands out against most other stealth titles like a shining beacon, and this, alongside the fantastic gameplay design and gorgeous visuals and music, solidifies A Plague Tale: Innocence as one of 2019's best gaming experiences.

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Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur (Post 1061568287)

Storytolders… The great value of life in vid products.

This way you can simply watch it on Twitch! Isn't that how you "play" most of your games? :biggrin:

The product shows SJW anti white propaganda agenda.

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Originally Posted by BoboTheMighty (Post 1061568450)

This way you can simply watch it on Twitch!

It is the way anyone can simply watch it on Twitch. Playing it or watching it being played makes no difference.

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Isn't that how you "play" most of your games? :biggrin:

Streamers protect. This is how avoiding to play those kind of products.

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The product shows SJW anti white propaganda agenda.

Lol..wut? Clarify more this ( for the lols, of course)

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It is the way anyone can simply watch it on Twitch. Playing it or watching it being played makes no difference.

Of course it does. Being directly involved in how experience plays out, is defining aspect of video games. That also includes even completely linear, narrative driven games.

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Streamers protect. This is how avoiding to play those kind of products

Come to think of it, I don't remember you actually ever posting anything in "Last game finished/currently playing game" threads? ( outside of comments on everyone else's)
Backlog: 0

OpenAI's system improved demo is now available to everyone. It generates text on any topic. Feel free to test it yourself:
https://talktotransformer.com/

This AI called GPT-2 however, cannot play games.

EDIT:
This post should have been in "you don't need to know" thread. But it also fits here a bit, so I'm leaving it.

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Originally Posted by BoboTheMighty (Post 1061568496)

Lol..wut? Clarify more this ( for the lols, of course)

Would be spoilers.

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Of course it does. Being directly involved in how experience plays out, is defining aspect of video games. That also includes even completely linear, narrative driven games.

Doing stuff is not enough to be directly involved. Actually, getting a game, a story to be involving requires work.
Gameplay is way too light to achieve involvement. Involvement is achieved through story, which is received as well when watching someone else play that product.

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Come to think of it, I don't remember you actually ever posting anything in "Last game finished/currently playing game" threads? ( outside of comments on everyone else's)

Would mean no game played since join date, 8 years ago. Solid.

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Backlog: 0

This is what can be achieved when a gamer is focused on playing games. Video games do not disappear overnight, it is pointless to stock on them. Never on an inbetween, in a kind of race to finish a game so that to rush toward another game that is already in the backlog.
No desire of twisting a product made for other audiences despite a humongous backlog. Because a game is being played, already filling the time allocated to gaming.

Playing a game in the present, not wishing to browse through a product so it is put in the past to rush to a product that is already acquired and must be played.

Backlog 0.

Not really interested never was, but it's good to see a game get decent reviews.:clap:

I'm actually getting more interested the more I hear/read about it. I think I might be playing this sooner than later.

Played for a couple of hours now, my impressions:

The graphics are nice, especially nature. Characters are so-so but not awful.

Gameplay mechanics are really a 100% clone of Last of Us, with the upgrades and tool benches and moving of crates, lure enemies with noise etc.

It's nowhere near Last of Us when it comes to dialogue, characters, overall story (really weak imo).

Kind of lame to even copy the story element of getting a special kid to certain place, just like in LoU.. wish they could have shown a little bit more creativity for the story. I was surprised that the whole plague thing is some type of super natural thing, i was under the impression that they were going for realism with this game and not fantasy.

It's silly overdone when it comes to how grim everyone is and just want to absolutely slaughter the cute little kids who never hurt a soul lol.. kind of bordering to comedic. Again this removes some of the immersion, it's a world where things are either 100% good or 100% evil, so the typical and nonsensical game world we've seen since the first beat em ups, basically. No effort into making things a little more believable.

I'd say it's a solid 7/10 so far. Not great but also not too bad at all. I wish it has better stealth and more interesting A.I, that could have made it really fun i think.

Edit: also, the "levels" are really super cramped.. at the beginning it feels rather open but it gets smaller, it's 100% linear pathways that you just follow. LoE was at least a bit less cramped. Maybe it opens up again.