If you’ve completed A Plague Tale: Innocence, you know that Amicia and Hugo have been through a lot together. And from what I’ve seen of the sequels so far, A Plague Tale: Requiem has cemented their bond, but they’re still trying to completely cure Hugo. After the happy ending, trouble seems to have caught up with the pair again, and they must use every tool in their arsenal to survive. The full range is included, with some new tricks and friends willing to help.
My preview went as far as Chapter 6 where Amicia’s new ferocity was introduced, and Hugo’s Rat enhancements were escalated to 11. endangering him and his sister. Having already previewed this section, I just want to say that I’m very impressed with the visual progress as Amicia and Hugo look more realistic than ever before. Everything looks clearer than its predecessor, with the team pushing Unreal Engine to make this world pop all the right way. It looks like there is
Additionally, the somewhat open battle area does a great job showing that the team isn’t afraid to expand the map much further than before. At least don’t expect chapters 6 or 7 that I played. Instead, the area to cover is more open and harder to stealth. I could barely escape many of the stealth/combat sequences – and I loved it, giving these two characters a balance of vulnerability in case they chose to go the violent route At the same time, it introduces new abilities.
Visually, I really liked the wonderful use of Quixel Bridge, a tool used by Unreal creators to make community assets available in their games. For Requiem, it’s been used to create a wide range of landscapes, from lush and gorgeous fields filled with flowers and pebble walkways, to rocky landscapes that blend into a shipwreck-filled beach. In , there are several branches you can explore, but the pieces of the set do a lot to stick in memory for their beauty, ruins, or a mixture of both.
The new puzzle content still has the four slingshot abilities available, but also adds a crossbow with the same set of options. You’ll find yourself using this in combat puzzles in combination with other options, such as making Arnaud sick with lone targets. Hugo also has the ability to control rats at will, keeping them away from areas you need to cross, You can eat enemy guards as a snack, but there are limits to that. But both of these, along with Amicia’s stun or stealth his takedown options, give you a lot of options when entering combat. There are more guards at this point than before, and one mistake can end the journey, so it’s possible that you’ll have to use them all to solve each puzzle.
On the other hand, the goal of Chapter 7 is to obtain a ship from Sophia, the leader of the pirates. I hope her fate is a little better than the others these two have encountered. We were introduced to her by Arnaud, a beast with whom Hugo has a quick affair, but due to past altercations we are not given any further insight. Each character has an enigmatic nature that makes me want to know more about their backstory, but I’m also cautious about their involvement. I was excited enough to see how it unfolded as it went along.
Arnaud also offers a hint of what collaborative puzzle-solving might look like, as there’s a great section where he shoots his shield with flaming arrows and travels through a rat-infested cave towards the exit. It’s all based on the beloved rat-focused puzzles from the original.
Our journey ends with us heading out to sea during a storm. Honestly, I can’t wait to see where this puts Hugo, Amicia, and the others who joined them on their journey. and does not need to be changed to be foreign or overwhelming. I can’t wait to see where this crew’s adventures go when Plaguetale Requiem lands this October.
