I adore the first A Plague Tale, and while the second game, Requiem, did not grab me as much as the first, I do have a soft spot for it. A huge part of my love for these games is its protagonist, Amicia de Rune, who undergoes this incredible transformation from countryside noble to hardened espionage agent. So I was a little disappointed to see that the third game, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, is a prequel that goes back and focuses on a completely different character: Sophia, who Amicia met during the events of the second game. Not only that–this third game moves away from its predecessors’ heavy focus on stealth for a more action-oriented, combat-heavy experience. Until now, I haven’t looked at Resonance and felt the same draw to it that I did for Innocence and Requiem.
That has completely changed now that I’ve actually had a chance to play the game. I played through a demo that covered the entirety of Resonance Chapters V and VI and was pleasantly surprised to see that this third entry takes the series in a direction that feels like Assassin’s Creed. Or, at least, how I remember Assassin’s Creed prior to its shift to an action-RPG franchise–when the series was a treasure hunt through history that usually involved a magical orb. Based on what I’ve seen so far, this is a fantastic new direction for A Plague Tale.
Taking place about 15 years before the events of the first two A Plague Tale games, Resonance has you play as a much younger Sophia who is exploring a series of Minoan ruins on the island of Crete. Her way forward is guided by her father’s words, a strange orb-like artifact, and vision-like dreams of Theseus, the mythological Greek hero known for conquering a labyrinth and killing the minotaur at its center. Given that Sophia is somewhat knowledgeable about the Prima Macula–the curse that summons and controls the rats in the first two games–by the events of Requiem, the implication is that her journey in Resonance is how she uncovers that knowledge and is able to help Amicia and her brother, Hugo.
Now, if you’ll allow me to be cheeky for a paragraph, let me point out all the ways this recent demo felt like playing a classic Assassin’s Creed game.
In the demo, Sophia made her way through Minoan ruins on the island of Crete, fighting off soldiers who belonged to an organization that wished to secure an ancient power to better their control of the world (Templars) and leaping down upon enemies to kill them from the shadows (air assassination). She carefully guards an orb that everyone wants (Apple of Eden) because the wielder can use the artifact to interact with the ruins in special ways. Sophia is also having dreams and waking visions of being Theseus, and reliving these memories allows Sophia to gain the Greek hero’s knowledge and skills (bleeding effect) and also “meet” people from a past civilization who went on to inspire human myths, like Daedalus (Those Who Came Before). The implication is that Theseus is Sophia’s ancestor, or Sophia is a reincarnation of the myth (a Sage).
This is Assassin’s Creed. This is just Assassin’s Creed.
Okay, I guess it’s not just Assassin’s Creed. A Plague Tale games have always had a woman as the sole playable protagonist, and the same holds true for Resonance–Assassin’s Creed would never… unless it’s squirreled away on the Vita.
I also really enjoyed how Resonance handles its open combat, something I’ve never felt about Assassin’s Creed for its entire 20-year existence. I was extremely worried about A Plague Tale moving in a more combat-heavy, action-focused direction, but I really dug this demo because of the combat sections. Sophia goes down extremely quickly, encouraging you to hit hard and fast, all while carefully keeping track of your surroundings so you know which environmental hazards or items you can turn to your benefit–a spike trap to kick an enemy into, for example, or a wine bottle to toss at their head for an easy stun.
This stops Resonance from fully devolving into a button-mashing mess even on the Normal difficulty (which I found surprisingly tricky during my first hour–these guards do not pull their punches). Plus, parrying feels so, so satisfying with just enough slowdown to give you that little boost of adrenaline for pulling it off, without pausing the action too long. You’re back in the fight almost immediately, usually taking advantage of your incredible timing to pull off one of Sophia’s incredibly rewarding assassination animations, which see the young woman stabbing into her target half a dozen times and delivering a war cry to those still standing.
I think my worry with this new combat-oriented direction stemmed from not knowing how Resonance would characterize Sophia in combat. Amicia has always been very human in that attacks and wounds that would merely stall an action hero are a death sentence to her. It upped the ante of every moment throughout each level in the first two games; even small threats could prove deadly. I wasn’t sure if Resonance would hold true to that core pillar of the series, but it does. Sophia is deadly enough to hold her own in a fight, but only by relying on tricks and speed. It’s as if the puzzles of the first two games have merely transformed into different kinds of riddles–ones that involve swinging swords instead of platforming.
Ironically–and this is the last time I’ll make the comparison between the two series, I swear–I think Resonance is the perfect blueprint for how Assassin’s Creed should handle combat in any of its future action-RPG entries.
The transition from Requiem to Resonance is also helped in that the essence of A Plague Tale is still here in this third game. The entire sixth chapter is devoted to using cover and light to slowly stealth your way past a terrifying and supernatural-looking monster that can only move while it’s in shadow–the creature is almost as creepy as the first two games’ tidal waves of rats. There’s a great deal of mystery surrounding the beast as well, which reminds me of the opening hours of Innocence when Amicia and Hugo were trying to merely survive but were (like you, the player) deeply curious as to where in the hell this threat had come from.
I’m glad I played this demo for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, as doing so has caused this game to go from an “I don’t know…” to “Okay, I need to play this.” Part of that is because it heavily reminds me of a series I’ve adored for nearly two decades, but I’m also just eager to get back into its combat to kill more soldiers and maybe figure out what the hell that monster is that terrified me for an hour of play.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is set to launch for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on August 27.
