A
miciaDeRuneis
outona huntwith
herfatherandthe
familydog,a scene
sowarmandtranquilyou
justknowthingsaregoing
togoverywrongverysoon.
Thatdoesn’tmakeitany
lessshockingwhenAmicia
suddenlycomesfacetoface
withthePlague,which
manifestsitselfnotonlyas
a horribledisease,butasa
teemingmassofratsthat
devourseverythinginits
wake.Amiciaandher
fathermaketheirway
home,onlytofindthe
Inquisitionattheir
doorstep.Forreasons
unknowntheywant
Amicia’slittlebrother
Hugoandarenotabove
slaughteringtheirway
throughtohim.
APlagueTalestartsoff
strongwitha completely
heartrendingintrotothe
linearstealthaction-
adventurethatseesthe
siblingssneaktheirway
throughthefamilyestate
whileInquisitionsoldiers
makeshortworkoftheir
lovedones.
It’salsoaneffective
introductiontoyourtools
andresponsibilities.As
AmiciayoukeepHugoclose
during sneaking passages,
notlettinggoofhishand
unlessabsolutelynecessary
andshieldinghimfromthe
mostgruesomesights.If
there’sclimbingtobedone,
Hugogoesupandoverfirst,
andhehelpsopennew
passagesbysqueezing
throughopeningshissister
won’tfit.Amicia’sslingisa
multipurposeitemthatcan
beusedtodistractsoldiers
bythrowingstonesat
nearbymetalitemsor
destroysimplefasteningsof
drawbridgesandthelike.
Unfortunatelyyour
actionsinAPlagueTalefor
themostpartdon’tsupport
theoppressiveatmosphere
thenarrativebuilds,mostly
becauseit’sa gamethatisn’t
challengingtobeginwith,
and only becomes easier.Thesiblingsandthe
friendstheymakealongthe
wayprovideaninteresting
perspectiveonthemany
horrorsofthe14thcentury,
andtheirevolving
relationshipwitheachother
isAPlagueTale’sgreatdraw,
buttheplottakinga bizarre
turntowardstheendmakes
fora botchedlandingatthe
lastminute. Malindy
HetfeldVerdic t
Beautifulandemotionally
affecting.$44 | PC, PS4, XB1 | WWW.APLAGUETALE.COMA Plague Tale
Face the devastation of 14th century France.
Spek.Takl
Terror hits hardest
at home.
FREE | PC | BIT.LY/
SPEKTGAME
In Spek.Takl you wake up
one day in a flat that you’re
unable to escape from,
and where a TV set plays
ancient propaganda films
on a loop. These freaky
videos are unsettling
artefacts in their own
right: evidence that
someone or something
has been in the flat before
you, or worse, that they’re
in it right now. But they’re
also a clever tool to guide
the player from room to
room, as clues to your
next objective are hidden
inside the footage.
As you investigate
further – as you obey
the videotapes, but
also puzzle-solve by
using items found in the
environment – you’ll
finally reach its beating
heart, where brick walls
have transformed into
pulsating flesh.
As you delve into its
fleshy core, the walls
begin to shudder, to warp
horribly around you, as in
an early PlayStation game.
It’s an arresting, unnerving
visual effect. There are
some wonderfully creepy
sights, especially in the
latter part of the game
whichis trulyoneofthe
freshesthorrorgamesin
ages. To m Sy ke s