A Plague Tale Requiem (Xbox Series X|S)

Game description:

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a 2022 action-adventure stealth video game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment. The game is the sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019), and follows siblings Amicia and Hugo de Rune who must look for a cure to Hugo's blood disease in Southern France while fleeing from soldiers of the Inquisition and hordes of rats that are spreading the black plague. It was released for the Nintendo Switch (cloud version), PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 18 October 2022. It received generally positive reviews from critics. At The Game Awards 2022, it received five nominations including Game of the Year.

Gameplay:

Requiem is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. In the game, the player assumes control of Amicia and must face off against both hostile humans and hordes of rats that are spreading the black plague. Gameplay is largely similar to the first game, though the combat system is significantly expanded. Amicia is equipped with weapons such as a knife to stab enemies, a sling that can be used to throw rocks, and a crossbow which allows her to defeat armoured opponents. Crossbow bolts, throwing pots, and rocks can be combined with alchemical mixtures. In addition to Ignifer and Extinguis, which allows the player to light and extinguish flame, respectively, the game introduces tar, which increases the radius of the light source, and can be used to ignite enemies. Locations are also larger in Requiem, giving the player additional options to progress.

Game review:

A Plague Tale: Requiem is an impressive sequel to one of my favorite action-adventure games, upping the ante in almost every way. It doesn’t do a ton to distinguish itself from its predecessor in terms of its actual gameplay mechanics, but with a depressing yet awesome story, fantastic graphics, and rat-filled moments that I’ll never forget, this unique adventure very much deserves your attention. I certainly wish it were more ambitious with its stealth action sandbox and took more risks than it does, but it’s still a worthy follow-up that left me with some great memories and a few recurring nightmares.