A masterpiece. Of course we can accuse it of big pranks during the stealth phases or an exploration/combat/puzzle architecture that is already hackneyed in other licenses. Still, the universe, the story, the gritty and desolate aesthetic served up by a legendary OST grips the player non-stop for 30 hours. Amicia and Hugo as well as the secondary characters have a humanity and depth that is rarely seen. The streams of rats, the mass graves create an apocalyptic atmosphere that the lavender scent of glorious Provence has a hard time masking. The phases of the anthology follow one another, the dialogues click and urge reflection when sublime panoramas leave you speechless. All in all there is a lot to say A plague requiemand maybe saying something wrong… But there is also, and above all, time to be still and enjoy.
Rating: critical guaranteed without spoilers.
The time of innocence is over
Provence, 1349. Amicia, her little brother Hugo, her mother Béatrice and her friend Lucas try to live happy days, far from the fury of the events that took place in Guyenne in the first work. Carelessness is of course only a facade, the macula is still circulating in the veins of the little brother. Nevertheless, all these little people act as if everything is fine in this paradise, so beautiful that you can almost smell the surrounding lavender. Your goal is to join a renowned scientist, member of an order of alchemists specializing in rat diseases. Will he be able to heal Hugo? It is the starting point of a angry, desperate and touching adventure.
A plague requiem let alone little rest for its protagonists as for the player, and this from the prologue. The rare moments of recklessness are quickly wiped out by the chaos caused by rats, the plague, and the madness of humans. Provence is great, as is the island the family later comes to. We like to switch from the player to the spectator who keeps his eyes open and is amazed many breathtaking panoramas. Also, not all of them are simply beautiful Elysian landscapes. No, the macabre and the morbid very often invite each other and are staged in such a way that we navigate between disgust and fascination. An artistic direction that stands for complete success.
The structure that we will find in the whole is determined from the prologue requiem. Initially, dialogue phases between characters and NPCs in quiet moments of exploration. Then segments dedicated to small environmental puzzles, with levers, platforms and fires that give pride of place to Amicia’s slingshot. Finally, huge arenas with multiple possible paths that highlight the three ways of understanding the fights: avoidance, stealth and confrontation. This is how routine sets in 16 chapters what matters requiema recipe found elsewhere in other adventure games such as Grave robbers at which the Unexplored for example. The architecture allows for a sustained rhythm, again with breathless sequences, some more intimate and some spectacular pursuit scenes that inspire the gallery. The goal has been achieved: Maintaining an end-time atmosphere from start to finish and players always looking.
A matter of life and death
how long is the timeinnocence, I’m talking about the first opus, but of course that applies to the protagonists. Carefree children victims of events, Amicia and Hugo are now extremely active and agents of their destiny. More accomplices than ever, more diehards than ever, the bond between brother and sister and the way that relationship is treated in this game is fascinating. It radically contrasts with the above productions and makes them outdated in the highest degree. I remind you that, for example, iconic heroes like Nathan Drake or Lara Croft have absolutely no desire to slaughter hundreds of enemies. The light tone of Unexplored where the characters happily play between two kills really makes it an over the top game/show in all its glory.
in the requiemthe characters gain depth and maturity with a reflection on the merits of killing enemies. Amicia and Hugo constantly pull each other up or down on this topic. We have a feeling that the two are on the verge of a breakup, even giving in to the pure urge to die in some fights. I also find that when death is omnipresent, it never gives rise to unfounded or smug spectacle. Which is in contrast to the other productions. We have to look at the characters side. How can one not remain stunned, shocked, trembling with fear when one hears Amicia screaming that she will take the entrails of her enemies to choke them with!? As !? I can tell you Anthology sequences really try and KO. Great art.
The clever part is that after these periods of pure violence, there are scenes where the characters talk to each other about this blind surge. They force us, through the same actors as them, to ask these questions. After these exchanges and these reflections, it is up to you whether or not to take them into account for the next meetings, showing yourself indulgent and secretive or, on the contrary, ruthless by massacring all these bastard soldiers.
A tide rat
Haunted by the events ofinnocence, Amicia and Hugo are not smooth and perfect heroes. And that’s okay. Finally human characters, fallible and believable. Besides, I would almost give up calling them “heroes”… There remain lovable, rebellious and rebellious personalities that carry this adventure game with bravura. Attention, the darkness of the subject and the aesthetics of requiem are very stressful and depressing. Rats are legion and a real constant threat. Waves crash mercilessly, creating epic and unforgettable moments. Mass graves and corpses literally line entire levels. Entire sections have nothing to envy extraterrestrial. This is to let you know the insatiable appetites of these little critters.
I rarely talk about the soundtrack in my reviews, but here I do The music is a masterpiece within a masterpiece. In the moments of stillness that we know are ephemeral and fleeting, we use cheeky and light melodies… Until the next macabre hook, with the first dissonant tones heralding an approaching storm. Except that Amicia and Hugo fall on the heads of rats. In the epic passages, the music becomes grandiose and horrifying to magnify the moment. A legendary OSTQuite easy.
That The dubbing is also of extreme quality. All in French, the range of emotions that the actors have to arouse in us is very wide and the result is excellent. From horror to amazement, everything is fair and demands respect for interpretation. To cheer.
Some outdated mechanics and ratah…
However, not everything is at the level of the above qualities. Big and ugly strings stay in the stealth phases. First of all, like in the first work, trash cans are stains and made me wince angrily. A nasty surprise. Still, Amicia is good enough that she doesn’t need it as a distraction. The proof, apart from its use during the prologue, never again during the 30 hours of the adventure, I didn’t use these tricks to create a distraction when you shoot it.
Another grimace spread across my delicious face as I realized this NPCs next to Amicia are invisible to enemies. yes as in The last of us to cite a famous example. Next, the open enemies all look the same. I really want the NPCs to form a nice big family, well anyway! After all, the opposing AI with a goldfish IQ is really inferior. All this distorts the immersion, but without breaking it, as it does evocative power of the universe of A plague requiem.
Finally, openly engaging in combat is definitely not a good idea. Amicia is certainly talentedMurderer, However, it is no match for armored enemies. With his concoctions that fan the fire or, on the contrary, smother it, with his slingshot, ambush and avoidance are his best weapons. Unless it’s Hugo…
The above less than brilliant points don’t weigh heavily in the face of shudders, small tears, and the joy of it A plague requiem. Its poignant and brutal story, its medieval universe that sometimes capsizes into the fantastic, grips the player who only asks for it. With this second opus Asobo manages to establish a solid mythology against the background of an underground war involving the Order of Alchemists, the Macula and the streams of rats. To me, already a classic.
accessibility criteria
| visual impairment | hard of hearing | |
| ✘ High contrast (target reticle) | ✘ Subtitles with mood hints | |
| ✔ Font color size | ✔ Identification of the person speaking | |
| ✔ Tag enemies | ✘ Customizable font | |
| ✘ Customizable user interface | ✘ Customizable font color | |
| ✘ Customizable mini-map color | ✘ Alternative alarm options (vibration, flash…) | |
| ✘ Color blindness option | ✘ Reported ambient noise (presence notification) | |
| ✘ Text to speech option | ||
| ✘ Game slowdown |
test conditions
| TV details | 4K | Game provided by the publisher | oui | |
| console | Xbox Series X | Time spent in game | 40 hours | |
| difficulty level | normal | game over | oui |
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