A Plague Tale: Innocence

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A Plague Tale: Innocence
Original title A Plague Tale: Innocence
Studio Asobo Studio
Publisher Focus Home Interactive
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 May 14, 2019
platform Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One
genre Action adventure , stealth
Game mode Single player
control Computer keyboard , mouse , gamepad
medium Blu-ray Disc , digital distribution
Age rating
USK approved from 16
PEGI from 18

A Plague Tale: Innocence is an action-adventure and stealth computer game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive in May 2019 for Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One . It received generally positive reviews from critics.

action

Amicia de Rune lives in 1348 with her father Robert, her mother Beatrice and her younger brother Hugo as a noblewoman in the French countryside. Hugo is ill from birth, however, and Beatrice, an alchemist , kept him locked up in the family for years looking for a way to cure him. One day, however, the Inquisition troops, led by Lord Nicholas , raid the de Runes estate in search of Hugo and kill Robert in the process. Beatrice stays behind to give Amicia and Hugo time to escape and to instruct them to find Hugo's doctor Laurentius. They flee the property and through the village belonging to it, where they learn that a horde of voracious rats is spreading the plague and devouring everything they encounter; the rats' only weakness is light. Finally, Amicia and Hugo arrive at Laurentius' farm, but the plague strikes him. When Laurentius' house is set on fire, Amicia and Hugo are forced to flee with his apprentice Lucas. They decide to go to a nearby castle, as Laurentius asked them to do.

As they escape the Inquisition, the rats and the invading English soldiers, Lucas explains that Hugo's blood carries a supernatural power called the Prima Macula, which has slumbered in certain noble bloodlines since the Justinian Plague. Beatrice and Laurentius had tried to find a cure for the macula, while the Grand Inquisitor Vitalis Benevento alone coveted their power. They are assisted by siblings Melie and Arthur, but Arthur is captured before the rest of them make it to the Château d'Ombrage.

Lucas reveals that he needs a forbidden book called Sanguinis Itinera to complete the elixir that can heal the macula. Amicia infiltrates the nearby university to retrieve the Sanguinis Itinera, while Melie sets out to save Arthur. Amicia retrieves the book and saves a young blacksmith named Rodric, who helps her escape. They reunite with Melie and Arthur at the castle, who reveal that Beatrice is in the care of the Inquisition. Amicia insists on not telling Hugo that his mother is still alive - but Hugo overheard the conversation. When Hugo's condition worsens, Amicia and Lucas return to De Rune Estate and seek answers in Beatrice's research. You complete the elixir and give it to Hugo to relieve his symptoms. But then Hugo runs away and faces the Inquisition to find Beatrice, leaving Amicia with feelings of guilt.

Vitalis injects Hugo's blood so that he too can use the power of the macula for his own purposes. Hugo manages to escape imprisonment and finds Beatrice, who reveals to him that the macula vitalis gives the power to control the rats. Unfortunately, Beatrice and Hugo are captured again, and Vitalis threatens Beatrice's life to force Hugo's powers to fully awaken.

A month later, the Château d'Ombrage is suddenly attacked by a swarm of rats, led by Lord Nicholas and Hugo, who is bitter against Amicia. Nicholas kills Arthur and orders Hugo to kill Amicia. However, the two reconcile and then work together to overpower Nicholas with the rats. The children decide that they can fight the Inquisition with the power of the rats.

So you are now on your way to the cathedral, where the Inquisition is based. There are numerous fights against the troops of the Inquisition, in the course of which Rodric sacrifices himself so that the other children can reach the cathedral. There they are already awaited by Vitalis, who over time has bred thousands of rats that only obey him. Vitalis and Hugo use their macular powers to send hordes of rats on each other until Amicia is able to kill Vitalis. Three days later, both the rats and the plague are gone and life is beginning to return to normal, although there is an ongoing fear of Hugo in the village. While Melie has separated from the group, Amicia, Hugo, Lucas and a sick Beatrice go to the harbor to look for a new life.

Gameplay

In the game, the player takes on the role of Amicia from a third-person perspective and accompanies her brother Hugo. For most of the game, fights are avoided and passages must be completed with a careful approach ( stealth computer game ). If there is a fight, Amicia can use her slingshot to attack opponents. Furthermore, the player has to solve puzzles and skillfully avoid hordes of rats or scare off or distract with fire. Hugo can devote himself to smaller tasks (like sneaking through small holes) and can control rats later in the game.

Development, publication and sales

The game was developed by Asobo Studio and is inspired by games like The Last of Us and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons . Important issues in the development were family and innocence and their development in history.

The publisher Focus Home Interactive first announced the game in January 2017 as The Plague . A first Look Game Trailer appeared at E3 2017. The game was released worldwide on May 14, 2019 for Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One .

A Plague Tale: Innocence had sold more than a million times on all platforms by mid-2020 .

reception

reviews
publication Rating
PS4 Windows Xbox One
4players 85% 85% 85%
Computer picture games Grade 1.6
GamePro 84% 84%
GamesRadar 3.5 / 5 3.5 / 5 3.5 / 5
GameSpot 8/10 8/10 8/10
GameStar 84%
IGN 7/10
JeuxVideo 16/20 16/20 16/20
PC Games 9/10
PCGamesN 8/10
Windows Central 4.5 / 5
Meta-ratings
Metacritic 81/100 81/100 82/100

The standard described the atmosphere and narrative style as above-average, but pointed to playful deficiencies. Computer Bild certified the game as " AAA level". GameStar gave 84 out of 100 points and praised, for example, the story and the graphics, but criticized u. a. the linearity and the low level of difficulty.

"A Plague Tale stages an extremely atmospheric adventure with great dialogues, which is about clever sneaking, puzzles, fighting and teamwork in a sometimes surreal sea of ​​rats."

- Jörg Luibl : 4Players

“Broken down to the gameplay alone, A Plague Tale: Innocence is 'only' good. Everything works and is implemented appropriately, but not particularly profound. Combined with its gripping, grandiose story, it becomes a real class game that I am already calling one of my games of 2019. Asobo Studio manages to tell an exciting story from start to finish about two great, comprehensible characters, conveying not only the atrocities of the Middle Ages, but also certain values. "

- Christian Dörre : PC Games

“We slip into the skin of children, and it also feels like this: We are weak, we are small and we are sometimes also helpless. That can always lead to some frustration, but it is all the more satisfying if we outsmart the armored soldiers again. "

- Christian Schiffer : Deutschlandfunk

Awards

  • Steam Awards 2019 in the category Outstanding Game with a Deep Story

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b "A Plague Tale: Innocence" in the test: Medieval adventure with a tendency to exaggerate. In: The Standard . May 18, 2019, accessed May 18, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Elise Favis: Watch Eight Minutes Of New Gameplay From A Plague Tale: Innocence. Retrieved May 20, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Zoe Delahunty-Light 2019-03-22T11: 27: 01Z Feature: A Plague Tale: Innocence is here to make you realize how much we've become used to death in video games. Retrieved May 20, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Giancarlo Valdes, Giancarlo Valdes: How 'A Plague Tale: Innocence' Makes Diseased Rats So Terrifying. In: Variety. June 19, 2018, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Jordan Ramée: Survive The Black Death In A Plague Tale: Innocence, Coming This May. In: GameSpot. January 26, 2019, Retrieved May 20, 2019 (American English).
  6. ↑ Focus Home Interactive and Asobo Studios collaborate on new adventure game, The Plague. Retrieved May 20, 2019 (UK English).
  7. ↑ Andrew Reiner: A Plague Tale: Innocence Launches This May.Retrieved May 20, 2019 .
  8. ↑ https://www.play3.de/2020/07/01/a-plague-tale-innocence-der-ueberraschungshit-erreich-den-ersten-grossen-meilenstein/
  9. ^ A Plague Tale: Innocence for PC Reviews . In: Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  10. ↑ A Plague Tale: Innocence for PlayStation 4 Reviews . In: Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ A Plague Tale: Innocence for Xbox One Reviews . In: Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  12. ↑ a b c d https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/Allgemein/Test/38877/83773/0/A_Plague_Tale_Innocence.html
  13. ↑ a b A Plague Tale - Innocence: In the test. In: Computer Bild . May 14, 2019, accessed May 19, 2019 .
  14. ↑ a b https://www.gamepro.de/artikel/a-plague-tale-innocence-test,3343962.html
  15. ^ A b c Zoe Delahunty-Light: A Plague Tale: Innocence review: “There are glimmers of something special” . In: GamesRadar + . May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ a b c Khee Hoon Chan: A Plague Tale: Innocence Review - A Sea Of Putrid Rats . In: GameSpot . CBS Interactive . May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  17. ↑ a b A Plague Tale: Innocence Test: Evaluation. In: Gamestar . Retrieved May 19, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Steven Petite: A Plague Tale: Innocence Review . In: IGN . Point Davis . May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  19. ↑ a b c Carnbee: Test de A Plague Tale: Innocence par jeuxvideo.com . In: Jeuxvideo.com . May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  20. ↑ a b https://www.pcgames.de/A-Plague-Tale-Innocence-Spiel-60687/Tests/Review-Vom-Geheimtipp-zum-Atmosphaere-Hit-1281667/
  21. ↑ Chris J. Capel: A Plague Tale: Innocence review - you'll want to catch this one . In: PCGamesN . May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  22. ↑ Brendan Lowry: A Plague Tale: Innocence PC review: A gripping stealth title that will keep you glued to your seat . In: Windows Central . May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  23. ↑ https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/videospiel-a-plague-tale-innocence-kinder-an-die-macht.807.de.html?dram:article_id=448644
  24. ↑ The Steam Awards 2019 Winners. Accessed January 1, 2020 .