How many rats fit in a picture? In "A Plague Tale: Requiem" it's around 300,000. A whole sea of rodents presents itself to gamers in the second part of the action-adventure. The medieval epic also scores with other aspects.
The rats are loose again, or rather back. The sequel "A Plague Tale: Requiem" swings with a brilliant atmosphere, a gripping staging of the story and impressive graphics to become one of the gaming highlights of the year again. "Requiem" would do the same as its predecessor "Innocence" from 2019. However, the second part of the story cannot completely iron out the weaknesses that were criticized three years ago in the first title.
The story of the siblings Amicia and Hugo in France in the 14th century picks up around six months after the events of "Innocence". Unfortunately, "Requiem" doesn't pick up new players with a flashback. Hence the recommendation: Play through part one first. Hugo is still affected by the rare blood disease "Prima Macula". The five-year-old is able to control a huge crowd of hungry rats at times, but at the same time they are sweeping through the country like the plague. Accordingly, the boy's family, Amicia and mother Beatrice, and alchemy apprentice Lucas continue to search for a cure. The journey takes the group to the south of France and later to a mysterious island.
The action-adventure in the third-person perspective only takes small - but fine - steps in terms of gameplay. Basically, Amicia has to sneak past rats and soldiers, assassinate and solve puzzles with the help of Hugo and her friends. However, the combat system is much more flexible. Overall, making a mistake in the game doesn't feel as final as it did in its predecessor: a misstep was tantamount to death. Once spotted by enemies, Amicia now manages to hide from enemies again. The attacks of the French soldiers are also no longer automatically the interim end for the player.
New items, such as the knife and, later, the crossbow, not only make fighting with soldiers a little more interesting, but also make the gameplay more varied. The knife can only be used once, for assassinations, but also for picking locks. The bolts of the crossbow can also be modified like the slingshot wielded by Amicia. Incendiary bolts can be produced with the alchemy kit, which can pave the way through the rat turmoil in areas. There are plenty of resources to produce inflammable ammunition, smoke bombs or tar - in the alchemical combinations "Requiem" remains very clear.
Up to 300,000 small rodents can be displayed in the game at the same time. Again and again they pursue the protagonists, like the plague in this age and customs, the animals show themselves mercilessly, always looking for food. The rats appear even more menacing, but can still be kept at bay with fire and light. That is one of the few points that the game has to be chalked up. Tasks often center around lighting torches, throwing incendiary bombs, and navigating the squeaky sea of rats. As far as difficulty is concerned, there are different approaches to reach the goal, but some passages have only one solution.
Amicia's actions also affect her skills. Depending on the behavior, awareness, attack and subtlety are trained. If Amicia skillfully sneaks past opponents, she becomes more light-footed over time and not so quickly noticed by soldiers. The more Amicia attacks from ambush, the more ways open up for her to eliminate her opponents - from now on she pushes soldiers off cliffs or into a crowd of rats.
The path through the story of "Requiem" is still very linear. Story sequences follow stealth or puzzle sections. It's less action than adventure, that has to be emphasized. The game thrives on its story and dark atmosphere. The enormous level of detail of the game world is impressive and especially on powerful PCs and the new generation of consoles "A Plague Tale: Requiem" becomes a real feast for the eyes - albeit often in the dingy setting of the Middle Ages.
Yes, the Asobo developers play it safe when it comes to gameplay, making the right adjustments without starting a revolution. But "Requiem" doesn't need that at all. The story fascinates with many emotional highlights and sets a balanced pace in the narrative style, which doesn't suffer if you don't get any further at one point or another. It is the balance between music, sound effects, story and well-drawn characters that fully engages the player. "A Plague Tale: Requiem" also comes up with a brilliant ending - a sequel with the hundreds of thousands of little pests is also not out of the question.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is available now for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
