Darkness, Rats, and Brotherly Love--A Plague Tale: Innocence

After my dazzling adventures in post-apocalyptic Russia, I decided something with a lighter tone was in order.  Good thing I picked A Plague Tale:  Innocence, because it is chocked full of fun, laughter, and lightness.  The thing I just wrote...that's sarcasm--that's not to say that there aren't lighter elements in the game, but overall it is fairly dark.  Even though it was a bit of a dark adventure, it was still an enjoyable one.

When A Plague Tale released, I thought it looked interesting, but it also looked like the kind of game that I might play once and then shelve, so I held off on it despite the positive reviews.  I have to say that I went into the game knowing very little about it and expecting something a bit different--for some reason I expected a more TellTale-esque story and gameplay.  The gameplay is more adventure-focused--I want to say point-and-click, but that's not quite right.  The story in the game centers around the children of a noble family in a seim-fictional middle-ages setting.  Amicia is the big sister of the family and enjoys adventuring through the forests surrounding the family estate.  She's also a crack-shot with her handy sling.  While on a fun-filled trek through the forest with her father, Amicia encounters the first signs that something is about to seriously go wrong--her loyal dog Leon disappears.  She runs off into the forest following his barking...until the barking turns into pained yelping.  When she finds Leon he has partially been pulled into a hole--she watches as he disappears into the hole, pulled by some sort of insidious force (namely a lot of creepy looking rats).  Her father catches up and realizes that there is something seriously wrong and instructs Amicia to rush home.  Upon arriving back at the estate, the dynamics of the family are further revealed.  Amicia must find her mother, who spends much of her time caring for Amicia's sickly younger brother, Hugo.  It's very clear at the beginning of the story that Hugo is very sheltered due to his illness and that Amicia and Hugo don't spend much time together.  It's at this point that things start getting crazy--Amicia hears a ruckus and looks outside and witnesses a large group of heavily armed and armored men attack and kill her father.  They are at the estate for a reason--they are looking for Hugo!  Amicia's mother instructs Amicia to grab Hugo and run to a trusted family friend.  This is no easy task as the estate is crawling with hostile enemies seeking to snatch Hugo.  The story follows Amicia and Hugo as they attempt to reach safety...and things get much more complicated as the reasons why Hugo is being sought are revealed.

Amicia and Hugo are just two kids navigating a dangerous world.

Pros:
+ Nice graphics.  Overall, the game looks nice and the settings are varied.  There are some very beautiful settings and there are some absolutely creepy, rat-infested zones that will give you the heebie jeebies (especially if you don't like rats).  The game is set during the early middle-ages and the cities and locations reflect that era.

+ Intensity...and rats.  I found this game to have lots of very intense moments that are accentuated by clever gameplay mechanics.  The rats in the game are this constantly threatening swarm that wants nothing more than to devour everything in sight.  Fortunately, the rats are very sensitive to light and areas that seems impassable can be crossed by utilizing torches and braziers that are strategically located.  There's a puzzle aspect to figuring out exactly how to create a safe path for the children.  Often Amicia has to rely on burning sticks, which only burn for a short time, to very dangerously navigate to the next safe light source.  She also moves cripplingly slow while wielding these burning sticks...it's painful and intense to slowly guide her to the next area.  You will find yourself holding your breath a lot.

+ Stealth-light.  When Amicia and Hugo aren't dealing with rats, they are trying to avoid angry townspeople who blame them for the plague or the religious zealots from the Inquisition (the baddies who are trying to kidnap Hugo).  There is a stealth element to the game that also adds to the intensity.  Amicia and Hugo can hide in tall grass to avoid guards; they can utilize distraction to sneak past; or, as an absolute last resort (that is sometimes unavoidable) Amicia can kill a guard using her sling (this option is also dangerous because the sling makes noise which is detectable).  Many areas requires the player to make choices about how to proceed and remain undetected.

+ RPG-ish elements.  Each area is scattered with crafting supplies that can be collected to upgrade Amicia's gear.  Throughout the game different NPC's who Amicia and Hugo meet along the way will provide useful items to upgrade Amicia's loadout and give the player options.

+ Brother/sister relationship is well written.  Amicia and Hugo have a strange relationship because it appears that they haven't spent much time together due to Hugo's illness.  The need to flee from danger forces them together.  Amicia is protective of Hugo, but she has genuine moments of frustration at his behavior.  Hugo is a little kid and doesn't understand certain aspects of what is happening and he has also been sheltered for much of his life.  I thought the relationship felt very realistic.

+ Unique story.  Overall, I liked the story and characters.  The story felt original, but was somewhat predictable.

+ Puzzle elements.  There's nothing too extremely challenging, but players have to work to figure out various paths through areas swarming with rats or to figure out certain smaller puzzles throughout the game.

+ Collectibles.  There are various text items and collectible items scattered around the game.  I only found a few of them, so they are well hidden.  These items contribute to replayability and exploration of the various areas of the game.  I will admit that the due to the intensity of many of the areas that I didn't do a thorough job of exploring them.  I could definitely see myself replaying it to try to find more collectibles.

+ Gameplay that is not extremely difficult (there are several difficulty settings--I played on default), but has its challenges.  It's not exactly casual, but it's also not the kind of game that is frustrating.  If you like games that have a strong story and are lighter on the challenging gameplay, A Plague Tale is a perfect fit.

+ Playing as a kid is a different feeling.  Amicia isn't an invulnerable hero and has to rely on stealth for survival.  There is something horrible about watching Amicia get devoured by a swarm of rats when you mess up or to watch her get killed by a guard.  She's not totally defenseless, but she can't just run in headlong and always has to think about protecting her little brother.

Cons:
I don't really have any major cons--I found that I enjoyed A Plague Tale.  Sometimes the controls for ordering a companion to do something can be a bit weird, but it's not a major problem.  I don't think the game is for people looking for something hardcore or overly difficult.  My main con would be the price--it's a cool game, but I don't think I would pay $44.99 for it.  Try to grab it on sale.

Recommended for:
+ Gamers looking for a semi-casual adventure.
+ Gamers who want a good story and some challenge.

Not recommended for:
- Young kids.  Even though the game features kids as the main characters, it's a pretty dark and violent affair.  It might be more appropriate for older kids (teen).
- People who are afraid of rats.  They are super-creepy in this game.  You might be scarred for life.