A Plague Tale: Innocence

I think it's important to understand what you're walking into with A Plague Tale.
It's not a stealth game - it has stealth mechanics, sure, but the path through the game is totally linear and most rooms have only one solution, which may or may not involve stealth.
You might think to call it a puzzle game - figure out which of the tools you have to use to make it to the next area - but if characters don't immediately call out the solution while giving you a prompt to zoom your camera in on it, most times they'll do so after ~20 seconds. The puzzles are also *often* extremely simple, like "here's a single interactable in a room with one entrance, one exit, and one guard" simple.
You might also be tempted to call it a resource management game. There's a nominal crafting system and different ammo types and technically you can shoot and miss; but while crafting ingredients for inventory upgrades are quite scarce, ammo crafting ones are extremely plentiful and the game makes sure you're never in a situation where you lack the resources to progress (which is necessary, because again the whole game is linear with typically one right solution, so punishing players for poor resource management would softlock them).
I am thus forced to conclude that this isn't really a "game" in any of those senses - it's almost more of a visual novel, where the point is not so much skill expression or engaging with mechanics as it is seeing the next scene in the story. And that's ok! It just means that A Plague Tale leans heavily on the story to carry the experience. So how's that?
. . .I mean it's not great. The villains are comically villainous, and probably over half the guards have throwaway ambient dialogue about how they have no remorse and are evil, to morally absolve you of killing them. The protagonists fare a little better, being all kids (so lapses in judgement are wholly excusable), but outside of the main brother and sister (very quickly) learning to trust each other there aren't any big character arcs that I recall offhand after beating it. We don't study the philosophy of characters or really critique how their worldview helps or hinders them, nor is there much to dig into with the broader plot.
The moment to moment writing is not particularly strong, mainly in that it takes very noticeable shortcuts whenever is convenient. Hugo is a clueless, frightened little boy when he needs to be, and then 5 seconds later in the next room will be an observant, precocious, happy-go-lucky child so he can say something topical and cute. A character you meet a third of the way through the game calls alchemical powder worthless, then straight up teaches you an alchemical formula in the very next level. If you focus only on the immediate it's all fine, but it starts to fall apart if you try to tie the package together.
Overall the game looks very pretty and there are some cool environments and locales. You can't look too close nor think too deep here, either, or you'll start to notice doors with no handles, or equipment racks in centuries-old castles that are the exact same model as all the others, or uncanny valley spaces that make no sense. There's an overall lack of verisimilitude that makes the whole setting feel a little shallow, a thin veneer over the parchment of the game's story, which I think would bug me less if the writing really impressed me. I'm fond of historical fiction and if the game had leaned really hard into the life and times of French peasantry or the mechanics of medieval villages or castles or churches or what have you, that would add a lot of enjoyment to the game. As it stands it's all just set dressing meant to evoke a certain time period and setting, not truly live in it. Still, hard to complain about the lighting and overall visual style, it punches pretty high and looks suitably cinematic.
The voice acting deserves some special mention. SIDE did the English version and knocked it out of the park, as they often do. Amicia and Hugo in particular had really great performances that elevated their characters, but the rest of the lineup was generally solid too.
All in all I'm pretty mixed. There's nothing really *bad* about A Plague Tale. It plays fine and is inoffensive and has a lot of polish, it's just not particularly inspired as a game or a story or an art piece. I certainly don't regret my time with it, but I don't think I'll ever go back to it and it's certainly not worth full price (in a cosmic sense, relative to other things you could get for the same money). If you're interested, though, it's probably worth picking up on a discount.

This game is criminally underrated. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it more than makes up for it with superb art direction that will stand the test of time for years to come. The visuals, complemented by the music and its charming characters, create an eerie, anxiety-inducing atmosphere that pulls you in completely.
The narrative builds in intensity right up to the very end. Highly recommended and I’ll be diving straight into the sequel immediately.

---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Paint.exe

---{Gameplay}---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Starring at walls is better
☐ Just don‘t

---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ Earrape

---{Audience}---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Human
☐ Lizards

---{PC Requirements}---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boiiiiii
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{Difficulity}---
☐ Just press ‚A‘
☑ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{Grind}---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isnt necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second live for grinding

---{Story}---
☐ Story?
☐ Text or Audio floating around
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☑ It‘ll replace your life

---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{Price}---
☐ It’s free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{Bugs}---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

A Masterpiece & An Emotional Rollercoaster
Rating: 10/10
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a gut-wrenching, beautifully crafted experience that manages to be both deeply personal and terrifyingly epic. It is a game that succeeds on every front: narrative, visual design, sound, and pacing.
At its core, this isn't really a game about the plague or the rats; it’s about a sister protecting her brother in a world that wants to tear them apart. It has one of the most compelling sibling arcs in gaming history. The writing is tight, the stakes are always high, and the emotional payoff is earned in every single chapter.
The interplay between the blinding radiance of torches and the absolute, crushing darkness of the rat swarms is not just a gameplay loop; it’s a masterclass in composition. The game looks like a painting come to life, utilizing a gritty, period-accurate palette that makes 14th-century France feel hauntingly real.
Technologically, the way the game renders thousands of rats in a single frame without losing performance is a feat of engineering. They aren't just an obstacle; they are a character in the game, a tide of fur and teeth that feels like a natural disaster. The game is a linear experience where every scene advances the character development or the plot.
The music/playlist is a chef's kiss.
What's not good
I encountered two bugs: One, when following someone out of a tent, there is a virtual wall, so you cannot exit the tent. You are basically stuck there. This wall disappears after toggling vsync in settings. It was super annoying that this bug still exists. Secondly, the curiosity achievement is bugged, and you need to restart the game after collecting all.
Time?
The story is between 11 and 20 hours, depending on your pace. It took me 25 hours to 100%. There are missable achievements in every chapter, but you have a chapter select and skip cutscenes feature. Achievements are on point, and I did not find any to be out of place. Pretty perfect.
Final Verdict
A Plague Tale: Innocence manages to be both horrific and breathtakingly gorgeous. It has perfect pacing, impeccable atmosphere, and a story that sticks to your ribs. This is how you do linear narrative gaming: A perfect 10/10. Must play! Make sure your room lights are off, and the sound is good enough for a superior experience!
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8.5/10 - a rare stealth puzzle-adventure story rich game that continues to wow 7 years after release. Reminds me of a blend of The Last of Us and Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice. Haunting and fitting soundtrack (particularly "Father" and "Beyond the Horizon"), emotional story, impressive cinematic visuals, unique setting (France 1348 Black Death), interesting game mechanic (rat physics and models), and memorable characters (the growth and forging of the bond between Amicia and her little brother Hugo).
It is important to know beforehand that the navigation is linear, stealth/combat on the simpler side, some chapters move slowly, and AI is a bit befuddling at times (I moved a light away from you and you didn't notice etc). These could be potential turn offs for those expecting more or something realistic.
For achievement hunters, this is one of the easier completions (3/10 difficulty and 15-20 hours completion). There are collectibles and various missables to be mindful of. Fully equipping the sling/equipment will require you to be thorough in exploring the level for materials and only crafting ammunition when you absolutely need.

Babysitting Horror of a Game..
Imagine The Last of Us, but instead of zombies, it’s 3 trillion rats… and instead of Ellie, it’s your snotty little brother.
10/10 would babysit again..

This game is really underrated, I'm happy my crappy laptop managed to run it very smooth, the game is very interesting and addictive at the same time currently at chapter 14, not hard to play and very manageable with a game controller. I highly recommended it!