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Childhood haven becomes stealth-game terror
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Having cHildren in games is often a bad
idea, as things have the distinct chance of
going all Ned Umber at the end of Game
of Thrones S8 E1. And no one wants
that. Brave of French dev Asobo, then,
to not only put children front and center
in Innocence, an adventure with lots of
stealth set in medieval France, but to pit
them against hordes of flesh-eating rats.
Siblings Amicia and Hugo live in
some spectacular French countryside,
hunting boar and worrying about the rain
that’s ruining the harvest. Hugo has a
mysterious illness for which his mother is
researching a cure, and it’s this, as well as
the boy, that brings soldiers to their home.
After sneaking out with their mother, the
pair is left alone with vague directions to
seek a doctor and follow the river.
The first thing you notice about
Innocence is how good it looks. The forest
is a step above what we’ve seen before
in Edith Finch or Kingdom Come. The
visual fidelity means that when the rats
appear, they’re as fearsome as the trees
are beautiful. A scurrying, writhing mass
of red eyes and long tails, they’re not thebe hidden. Even worse are the “boss”
encounters that end certain sections,
which see you circling around and around,
trying to pick off weak points with your
sling. To have something that reminds
you so strongly that you’re playing a
videogame plopped in the midst of some
atmospheric and involving action snaps
you out of your suspension of disbelief
almost immediately.
While the rats, and the impressive tech
that powers them, are the main draw,
what keeps you playing is the need to keep
sympathetic characters alive against the
monsters in the darkness. –ian evendenAfter a tutorial with
your mom, you’re on
your own in the world.The rats act almost like
a fluid, scuttling and
washing over each other.friendly pet kind. Using a lit torch pushes
them back, but what this reveals might
be worse—the half-consumed bodies of
whatever had got in the rats’ way last.
Innocence casts you as Amicia, leading
Hugo, occasionally leaving him alone or
sending him on errands through gaps
only he can fit into. Leave him for too
long, and his cries attract soldiers. You’re
helpless in the face of armored men, the
slingshot you carry initially only useful
for distraction. Eventually, you learn to
craft potions with which to direct the
tide of rats, or force soldiers to remove
their helmets with a chemical burn. Once
bareheaded, a stone can be used to crack
their skulls, at the cost of making noise.
Controlling a pair of characters who
hold hands and frequently hug together
out of fear is a new experience, and the
relationship between the siblings is
real and touching. However, the game
suffers from a slow beginning, the
one-hit kills starting to grate until you
perfect your route through a level, and
with environmental puzzles that are more
stressful to complete when you need toA Plague Tale: Innocence
Ratty Realistic familial
relationship; amazing looks;
moments of utter terror.
tatty High specs for 4K; rats will make
your skin crawl; occasional poor design.
Recommended specs i5-4690/FX-8300;
16GB RAM; GTX 970/RX 48.
$45, http://www.aplaguetale.com, ESRB: M8
verdictSkin textures are
beautifully handled.maximumpc.com aug 2019 MAXIMUMPC 91