The action-adventure game Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy from Asobo Studio is by no means a traditional A Plague Tale game. We fell in love with the series because of two specific characters, their gradual bond, the unhurried pace, the cruelty of the rats, and the character development.
However, this installment takes a different approach. From the very first hours of gameplay, it seems to appeal more to fans of the Uncharted and Tomb Raider series than to fans of the first two A Plague Tale games. The new heroine, pirate Sofia, bears a strong resemblance to her distant great-grandmother. However, upon closer inspection, the game proves to be multifaceted and contradictory.
This new release takes us forward and back in time — 15 years before the events of Requiem, when we first met the bandit and smuggler Sofia. Resonance also offers a completely different gameplay experience — it’s now an action game that largely leaves stealth behind.
There were many concerns about this new release. Yet this is A Plague Tale, a prequel to one of the strongest game series in the long history of gaming. It’s just as beautiful and picturesque as its predecessors, with a surprising and unsettling soundtrack that creates an incredible atmosphere, whether it’s the light of day or the terrifying darkness of night. The characters in the story evolve and change over time, even though we’re seeing the vast majority of them for the first time. Of course, this is still a horror game, influencing the emotions, plot and universe as a whole.
An Old, Yet New Curse
The story of Amicia and Hugo, siblings who faced plague, rats, ancient curses, cultists and fate in medieval France, came to an unexpected conclusion for players in Requiem. As a result, the developers at Asobo Studio were faced with a problem familiar to many: what do you do when you want to carry on, but feel like you can’t?
The decision was both predictable and unexpected. It was predictable because Sofia is the love child of a smuggler and a wealthy woman from Provence, and she was arguably the most endearing supporting character in Requiem. So it’s only logical that they decided to dedicate a new chapter in the series to her. It’s also hardly surprising that this is a prequel: A Plague Tale focuses on young protagonists, and in Resonance, the events unfold during Sofia’s youth near the Italian coast.
From the very first scenes, it becomes clear that the focus will once again be on the ancient curses that have plagued their victims since childhood. When she was young, Sophia was subjected to experiments at the monastery and began to experience visions of a certain island, which she recorded in her diary.
The screenwriters’ imagination in developing Makula’s curse and its variations is surprising. In Sophia’s case, the roots go all the way back to the Minoan civilization — in her visions, she sees the island of the Minotaur.
Treasure Island and Pirates
Sofia had been special ever since childhood. At one point, she found herself in a monastery where she was subjected to inhumane experiments and forced to sketch her visions. Over time, Sofia’s special notebook filled with images, symbols, and landscapes. She developed a strange connection to a mysterious island that revealed both its beauty and its horrors to her.
Sofia couldn’t tell whether what she was seeing was real or just a figment of her imagination. However, those close to her realized that these visions were leading her somewhere very specific — the Island of the Minotaur — and deep within it.
After Sofia’s father, a notorious smuggling ringleader, and his right-hand man, Faro, rescued her from the convent, they became determined to find the island of her visions and the treasures hidden there.
Similarly, we are driven by a desire to understand how all these nightmares, myths and voices of ancient warriors in our heads are connected to Hugo, Amicia and the lore of the series.
Years later, after she had weathered a series of dramatic events, Sofia finds herself on the island. This is where Uncharted and Tomb Raider begin.
Our heroine and her best friend, Lani, explore ancient ruins, battle soldiers who are chasing them and leap across cliffs and dilapidated wooden structures. Most of the time, however, they solve puzzles by consulting the notes that Faro kept. It turns out that he and Sofia’s father often sailed here in the hope of uncovering a secret.
Once again, the puzzles revolve around light. While fire was used to scare away the rats in previous games, providing light in the process, in Resonance, this role is filled by a multifunctional sphere that has replaced the lens in Sofia’s arsenal from the second game.
I wouldn’t say they’re complicated or require any special explanation. They’re enjoyable and create a pleasant atmosphere. However, there are also moments when you simply don’t understand what’s going on. Players are therefore unlikely to get stuck in certain locations for half an hour or more. This is especially true since the developers have included a helpful feature: Sofia carries a notebook that can really come in handy in certain situations.
This device operates in different modes. For example, it highlights important details, symbols, and safe paths when navigating traps, and activates multicolored buttons when positioned correctly. Towards the end of the game, the sphere even turns into a weapon.
However, despite the different modes, we’ve been doing the same thing for a long time: spinning the sphere. We also rotate huge lenses that direct light onto other lenses, allowing us to illuminate or activate something else with the sphere.
Not everything is perfect
But be prepared for the fact that there are areas of Resonance: A Plague Tale: Legacy that could clearly have benefited from some refinement. The simplistic level design suggests to the player that they should head in a certain direction, but this is the wrong path.
One noteworthy thing that raises a few questions is the damage caused by falling. Or rather, it’s not so much damage as instant death. Sofia will fall often, and even a short drop can prove fatal.
Combat in Resonance: A Plague Tale: Legacy combines simple yet powerful attacks with blocks, dodges, kicks and the use of the environment. Sofia is armed with blades, each with its own unique characteristics. As the story progresses, she increasingly transforms into a true tomb raider, acquiring new weapons.
At first, combat will be difficult to master, especially if you start on a high difficulty level. These levels are not easy on the player and often allow for only a single hit. After that comes death and a return to the autosave point. There are plenty of enemies, each with their own attacks. Some can be blocked, but others can only be dodged. Overall, dodging in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is the best way to avoid danger, though towards the end of the game, you’ll have to use the heroine’s full range of combat skills — and even the orb, which is usually used to solve puzzles.
It’s also frustrating that Sofia can’t focus on a specific enemy. The heroine’s actions may also end up going in a completely different direction to that intended by the player. This can sometimes lead to unfortunate consequences, but you quickly get used to this flaw in the new game.
From time to time, Resonance features boss battles that have two or three phases. These moments essentially test how well the player has mastered the combat system. Most of the time, they’re easy to handle, even with just a couple of moves. The enemies gradually reveal their weaknesses as they die: let them die once, then a second time, and on the third try, really give them a hard time!
In the second half of the game, battles become almost effortless, with only a couple of opponents proving challenging. They might even start to become tedious. However, certain scenes look incredibly epic and perfectly showcase just how ruthless and bloodthirsty Sofia has become. Meanwhile, the player gains experience and learns to deal with enemies tactically. For example, killing enemies here restores a health point, so it’s sometimes better to save weaker enemies for last.
This is a different game
Of course, the developers are trying to entertain us and add variety to the gameplay. The extreme acrobatics and combat are actually quite well executed. The combat system has changed radically — it’s crucial to dodge, block and parry at the right moment, as well as study and anticipate enemy attacks. However, you can also pull enemies towards you with a grappling hook, kick them, knock them off cliffs or shove them into other enemies, fire or walls.
An object thrown at the right moment can not only injure, but also stun. As is often the case, yellow attacks can be parried, while red ones can only be dodged — a classic scenario.
As we explore the open world and discover resonance points, we can collect them and unlock and level up skills. These small items can be found in a wide variety of places. Players are motivated to explore every nook and cranny of locations, breaking open barrels and removing petrified rot. Sometimes, Resonance Points are also awarded for defeating enemies.
Once a player has earned a certain number of Resonance Points, they can unlock an important combat skill and then upgrade it. Players are encouraged to build a Sophia that best suits their preferred combat style. However, you’ll be able to unlock nearly all skills by the end of the adventure anyway, so the only thing that really matters is the order in which you acquire them. If you wish, you can also remove all upgrades and redistribute your points to choose a completely different development path.
In addition, once the gauge is full, you can perform a powerful circular attack called the Focus Attack.
The game also features various types of blades. Some blades allow you to fill the Focus Bar faster, while others provide their own bonuses, such as additional damage on a critical hit or a guaranteed stun with the final attack in a combo.
In the game, you’ll more often come across artifacts such as rings, pendants and figurines with descriptions, as well as practical jewelry that looks good and provides bonuses. There are six types of amulet, each of which increases the effect within its own category. For example, bracelets initially grant a small chance of dealing more damage with a critical hit, while pendants grant a chance of surviving a fatal attack.
But what I liked most of all, aside from the fact that it’s visually stunning and feels incredibly lifelike, is that Asobo achieved this level of detail and beauty using its own engine. The game is filled with excellent vocals and music, picturesque graphics, and spectacular staging that makes it feel like a movie.
The rats haven’t reached the island yet. But we have the Minotaur!
This time, the rats have been replaced by something even more terrifying and far less mundane: A monster that dwells in the darkness and preys on all who are light. A monster that cannot be killed. The only options are to hide from it or run away.
In the second half, especially towards the end, A Plague Tale: Legacy recaptured its former spirit, originality and drama. The sequences involving the giant lenses haunt Sofia until the very end, and the flashbacks featuring the mythical warrior Theseus are vivid but brief. With one exception, they consist of either fights (Theseus has a similar set of moves) or mini walking simulators.
It’s all about the Minotaur. More precisely, it’s about the monster that dwells on the island, which is the cause, consequence and victim of all the misfortunes. Its appearance lends the events a flavor of ancient Greek tragedy, and in many ways it saves the plot, which until then had floundered amid the amusing but empty chatter between Sofia and Lani, and the writers’ strange fantasies — where Daedalus, the architect, is Black, and Theseus is a woman.
The introduction of the Minotaur has also had a positive impact on the gameplay. Firstly, it has created a better balance between the different gameplay segments, adding stealth elements. These are not the most polished in terms of mechanics, nor are they a signature feature of the series. However, they are certainly atmospheric and unusual. There are the usual hide-and-seek elements involving ‘mannequins’ and the light that the beast fears. However, thanks to the monster’s unique nature, the stealth still feels fresh and keeps you on edge — just like in a horror game, especially since you’ll not only have to crawl, but also run for your life!
There are also plenty of chase scenes! You feel like you’re about to meet your end at any moment, but a well-timed jump or other action saves the heroine and the ‘fun’ continues, becoming even more dynamic and unexpectedly dangerous than before.
Hasty Conclusions
Here we have a beautiful female pirate against a picturesque natural backdrop in a Hollywood-style production with daring acrobatics and dynamic battles that remain challenging even on the normal difficulty level — on the hard level, they can be quite challenging indeed. There’s also a progression system that encourages you to explore every nook and cranny of the levels thoroughly. It doesn’t matter how much the new gameplay has in common with the old — I want to play this prequel that’s practically a spin-off! Just let me experience this diverse Uncharted world!
Instead, it feels like you’ve stumbled into a Lara Croft nightmare where she’s lost her way and is trapped in a tomb forever. It’s not that the puzzles are difficult. They’re quite logical, and you can get hints if you want — right up to the one that’s bound to make you feel like an idiot. It’s just that there’s far too much stuffiness and repetition. What you really want is fresh air, the sea, the sun and new adventures in new locations. So far, the game is great with no flaws. But, as always, you want more: new stories set in this world.
Resonance: A Plague Tale: Legacy turned out to be multifaceted and controversial. I didn’t expect much from it, but I was very pleasantly surprised. One thing is indisputable: it has nearly flawless visuals and stunning music. Everything else depends on your personal expectations. While it’s certainly not the A Plague Tale we’re used to, it’s also far from a “clichéd Uncharted clone”. Despite setting themselves a challenging creative task, the developers managed to strike a balance between new gameplay elements and familiar narrative tropes, while still evoking that familiar urge to shed a tear at the end.
Fans of the series will enjoy the game, but they should be prepared for fast-paced gameplay, new characters and a new story.
But it’s still A Plague Tale: a dark, beautiful and atmospheric game that evokes powerful emotions and leaves you eagerly awaiting the sequel. Just don’t expect it to be something it isn’t, and be prepared for a few issues.
