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 A Plague Tale: Innocence is a stealth action-adventure game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive. You play as Amicia de Rune, a fourteen-year old girl who must protect her estranged younger brother Hugo after tragedy rips their family apart during the Black Death period in medieval France. On the run from both the Inquisition and a supernatural horde of horrifying rats, Amicia must employ her wits and courage in order to reach sanctuary. This dark and story-driven project features third-person gameplay most similar to what you'd find in The Last of Us or the recent Tomb Raider series. Amicia is armed with a sling that she can use to distract guards, light braziers, and solve environmental puzzles. You can also craft special ammo and concoct alchemy spells, because that sort of thing is in every game now! What I think sets A Plague Tale apart from other contemporaries is its uniquely vulnerable protagonist within the bleak, yet visually striking setting. Amicia cannot overpower the Inquisition guards physically, and so must rely either on staying hidden or attracting the festering rat swarms to her enemies. The constant tension between the omnipresent squealing rats, who dwell in darkness yet fear light, and the Inquisition, who wish harm upon Amicia and Hugo yet are often the only light source, create a consistently uneasy atmosphere. Asobo claims the story will take about 12-15 hours to beat and will include features such as Ansel and enhanced console support.    I didn't know much about A Plague Tale until a couple months ago, but it looks visually stunning. I hope it succeeds because mid-market single-player narratives without some kind of lame live service component or a thousand different pre-order editions are a rare gem in today's industry, and I haven't seen too much hype around it yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlL5F3O1MAQ A Plague Tale: Innocence releases for X-Box One, Playstation 4 and PC for $45 on Tuesday, May 14th. exquisite tea fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 11, 2019 |
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Apr 30, 2019 18:37
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I didn't know it was only gonna be 45 moneys. That makes it an easy Day One for me.
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Apr 30, 2019 21:29
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Here are some interesting developer diaries explaining the design and historical context for the narrative! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvpnDHoauF4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeKgyl-eYGg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdBqt-xKnho
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May 1, 2019 18:42
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New overview trailer explaining some of the crafting and alchemy systems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Jj_G425yU
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May 2, 2019 16:58
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For whatever it might be worth, here's my preview of the game from last year's E3, and a more hands-on preview I wrote for another site after playing the first two chapters earlier this year. https://worthplaying.com/event/E3_2018/PostE3_2018/109410/ https://www.gameskinny.com/mokdk/hands-on-preview-a-plague-tale-is-a-historical-adventure-with-some-horrifying-twists
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May 2, 2019 19:26
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Good read, thanks! Would you say the areas you explored in the demo had predominantly one solution, or could you be a little more creative in terms of navigating the landscape?
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May 3, 2019 08:17
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A lot of the demo was still introducing mechanics (the rats actually showed up relatively late), so it was somewhat linear. The behind-closed-doors demo at E3 seemed like it could potentially be more open-ended, since by that point, you had access to some of the crafting options.
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May 4, 2019 08:17
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New trailer. In a world infested by rats, could the real monsters... be us? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjjbrmD1Rg4
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May 6, 2019 15:07
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I'm interested in this game. Gives me a Brothers and TLOU vibe. I like single player narratives. Hope the dev can pull it off.
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May 7, 2019 02:47
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In-Game Soundtrack. This is the same guy who scored Vampyr last year and I'm getting a similar vibe here with the deep moody cellos.
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May 9, 2019 14:15
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Launch times announced. It looks like Steam users on the east coast will get to start a little earlier than consoles for a change!
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May 11, 2019 18:18
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Now we all await your sacrifice and report
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May 11, 2019 19:46
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I'll have a review up on Monday, along with a handful of collectible guides. I will warn people now that this is one of those European games where the achievements list has a bunch of vague, unhelpful descriptions in it, so if you're a trophy/achievement hound, this is going to be a rough 100%. The ones I've found aren't really that weird, but there's zero hint as to how to get them.
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May 11, 2019 23:59
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I don’t care about achievements. I want fun gameplay story time. Eagerly await reviews. How’s the multiplayer?
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May 12, 2019 00:02
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Housh posted:I don’t care about achievements. I want fun gameplay story time. Eagerly await reviews. 100 rats are dropped in a tiny basement
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May 12, 2019 00:25
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Housh posted:How’s the multiplayer? ...wholly absent?
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May 12, 2019 00:40
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Samuringa posted:100 rats are dropped in a tiny basement
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May 12, 2019 00:43
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Just got an ultrarare rat skin from a lute box.
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May 12, 2019 00:45
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Launch trailer is here! It unlocks in about 7 hours for Steam users EST so hopefully I'll be able to get in some playtime ahead of the global console release at midnight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjIb9dQgUF0
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May 13, 2019 16:21
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I'm looking forward to some reviews. I'm going to pass on Rage 2 and really interested in this title.
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May 13, 2019 16:52
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My review just went live. https://www.gameskinny.com/ssqy9/a-plague-tale-innocence-review-a-unique-but-uneven-throwback-to-an-earlier-era-of-video-games I would've tried not to put a numerical score on this if I could. There's a lot about it that's legitimately weak (warning going in: the sling upgrades are not as optional as the game makes them look and you really want to have at least the one that shortens your windup by the end of Chapter 5 if you can), but it has a strong endgame, a unique setting, and some cool music with period-appropriate instruments. And seriously, you have got to see the last boss fight. Wanderer fucked around with this message at 23:13 on May 13, 2019 |
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May 13, 2019 23:10
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Reviews are starting to come out and it seems like A Plague Tale is hovering around an ~8.0 on average. I haven't read too much into the reviews because I don't want to spoil myself, but most seem to highlight the same pros and cons... engaging narrative and characters, gripping environments, with linearity, lack of replay value and some underdone gameplay elements. I remember the same kind of critical consensus forming around Hellblade and I loved that game, so it seems like the kind of B-tier single player experience I'll hopefully enjoy! ACG guy put out a pretty positive review and I tend to agree with him most of the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VNChMD3WMI Now I just have to wait for Steam to unpack my pre-load. 
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May 13, 2019 23:27
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I kinda want to pick it up for PS4 but wonder if there are performance issues.
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May 13, 2019 23:49
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Saw this on Steam today and did not know it was incoming. Will buy this weekend and give it a run.
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May 14, 2019 01:24
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Melie is a great character. I hope nothing bad happens to her, but you know...  Also I took some screenshots!  
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May 14, 2019 23:16
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Really looking forward to giving this a go when I'm back home tonight. I've been itching for a nice linear story game for a while and just not finding much out there. Everything mentioned in the reviews highlights all the things I really want, any negatives like light gameplay elements/no replayability are pretty much exactly what I'm looking for anyway. Like you mentioned, those same things fit Hellblade and that easily one of the games I've enjoyed the most in the last year.
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May 14, 2019 23:58
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Fuckin' loved it, although Hugo is a loving piece of poo poo character and I hate him. Not a big surprise, escort characters are ALWAYS like this... When a character is a bratty piece of poo poo to the protagonist and player character, in this case Amicia, it comes off story wise as antagonism. Hugo is more of a villain than anyone else in the goddamn plot... he is literally the direct cause of every problem and annoying to boot and the whole thing would be faster if you tossed him in the first pit of evil rats. Literally, this would solve EVERYTHING
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May 16, 2019 10:24
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I'm only an hour in but I'm loving it and it's freaking gorgeous
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May 17, 2019 05:57
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Housh posted:I kinda want to pick it up for PS4 but wonder if there are performance issues. Missed this before, it runs and looks great on a regular ps4. No load time after death, too!
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May 17, 2019 16:40
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Motherfucker posted:Fuckin' loved it, although Hugo is a loving piece of poo poo character and I hate him. Not a big surprise, escort characters are ALWAYS like this... When a character is a bratty piece of poo poo to the protagonist and player character, in this case Amicia, it comes off story wise as antagonism. Hugo is more of a villain than anyone else in the goddamn plot... he is literally the direct cause of every problem and annoying to boot and the whole thing would be faster if you tossed him in the first pit of evil rats. Literally, this would solve EVERYTHING I have a working theory that basically, your opinion of Plague Tale is entirely determined by how much slack you're willing to cut Hugo, which in turn seems to be determined by your experience with obnoxious little brothers. The most positive review I've seen of the game, on RPS, begins by talking about how cute and endearing Hugo is, while the less positive ones tend to mention how irritating he is. He's definitely a reasonably "realistic" portrayal of a sheltered little kid in a bad situation, aside from a couple of edge cases (the hide and seek game in the orchard in Chapter IV, coming as it does barely 45 seconds after a conversation regarding how there are armed soldiers after them both), but the plot often requires him to be more of a load than he needed to be. That said, I do like the revelation in Chapter XII that connects the game's events directly to the plague outbreak during the reign of Justinian. It made me go looking, and now I think it'd be sort of cool to see a second Plague Tale in 19th-century China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_plague_pandemic
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May 17, 2019 21:21
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After getting to the university and the city before it I’m wondering if there are options I’m missing or if it’s possible to do a no kills game. It seems most of it would come down to whether or not you have the resources for the sleep bomb and the light bomb. There were several places where it felt like I’d have to use both in a single area to not kill a guy.
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May 17, 2019 22:51
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The characters will comment on whether or not you kill people but as far as I know it has no effect on the narrative. I bungled rescuing Hugo from the camp and poor Amicia sounded downright unhinged after taking out all the English soldiers.
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May 17, 2019 22:59
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Kibayasu posted:After getting to the university and the city before it I’m wondering if there are options I’m missing or if it’s possible to do a no kills game. It seems most of it would come down to whether or not you have the resources for the sleep bomb and the light bomb. There were several places where it felt like I’d have to use both in a single area to not kill a guy. Nah, there are a few places where you have to kill somebody, most notably almost the entirety of the university escape and most of Chapter 16.
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May 17, 2019 23:09
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Wanderer posted:Nah, there are a few places where you have to kill somebody, most notably almost the entirety of the university escape and most of Chapter 16. I suppose the obvious exceptions I didn't think of or mention would be times you have to use the sling like when Rodric is opening the door or you're escaping the camp. Though even then technically the sleep bomb can be used as a last ditch attack but you probably can't hold enough materials to use that on every soldier in those parts. The scenario that inspired my question was when I was on the way to the university and went into an attic with a soldier doing some looting . The obvious solution to the puzzle is to move the rotating lamp that are blocking the rats and he gets eaten. You need the lamp to clear your path into the next room as well. The expensive solution would be to sneak up on the soldier with a sleep bomb, leave the lamp alone, and use a light bomb to get rid of the rats in the next room.
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May 17, 2019 23:41
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The first time I killed someone that I didn't have to was super super early, like chapter 2, and I was expecting Hugo or Amicia to comment on it but nope lol
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May 17, 2019 23:48
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Actually now that I think about it I probably should have tried to mercy kill the pig in the barn. I did notice the torch by the trapped guy in the battlefield though.
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May 18, 2019 00:26
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Kibayasu posted:Actually now that I think about it I probably should have tried to mercy kill the pig in the barn. I did notice the torch by the trapped guy in the battlefield though. That's part of an achievement, actually. Most of the optional, slightly harder solutions to puzzles or situations, I've noticed, are achievement criteria. precision posted:The first time I killed someone that I didn't have to was super super early, like chapter 2, and I was expecting Hugo or Amicia to comment on it but nope lol I know in Chapter 4, if you go to kill somebody instead of sneaking by him, Hugo will complain and Amicia will say something like "I don't have a choice!"
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May 18, 2019 00:30
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Kibayasu posted:Actually now that I think about it I probably should have tried to mercy kill the pig in the barn. I did notice the torch by the trapped guy in the battlefield though. You can do that??? Maybe this game is more replayable than it seems.
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May 18, 2019 02:48
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Kibayasu posted:Actually now that I think about it I probably should have tried to mercy kill the pig in the barn. I did notice the torch by the trapped guy in the battlefield though. I restarted to try and do this and doesn't seem like you can. Certainly not by just using the sling.
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May 18, 2019 02:56
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1stGear posted:I restarted to try and do this and doesn't seem like you can. Certainly not by just using the sling. Disappointing if true, given the tutorial.
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May 18, 2019 03:01
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