It’s hard to imagine an A Plague Tale game without rats, yet that’s what Asobo Studio is giving us with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, a prequel spinoff where the lack of rodents isn’t the only change to the formula. The series’ first two entries – A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem – were built on stealth gameplay and gritty, emotionally driven narratives akin to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us titles, ensuring we became invested in Amicia and Hugo’s journey. Resonance changes that, with a new protagonist in Sophia, and action-focused gameplay that shares more DNA with Naughty Dog’s acclaimed Uncharted series. Excitingly, after going hands-on with the game, Resonance still feels like an A Plague Tale game, despite the change in approach.
This isn’t the first time we’ve met Sophia, with the Greek smuggler befriending and helping Amicia and Hugo on their journey in Requiem. However, in Resonance, that meeting doesn’t take place for another 15 years, with this story focusing on Sophia and her companion Leni, who arrive on the Minotaur’s Island, a Mediterranean paradise promising riches and legacy, but with a dark and terrifying secret hiding beneath the sun-kissed sand.
Resonance is built on combat, and while Amicia grew into a ruthless protector over the first two games, Sophia is a born fighter and is tough as old boots, making the game’s action focus an easier sell. She has both a sword and a dagger to fight with and will need to rely on successfully parrying enemy attacks to take them out, especially when surrounded by a group. Like most games of this ilk, enemies will have attacks that need to be dodged, and some foes must be staggered before they can be slain, which can be done by throwing items, kicking enemies, or using Sophia’s grapple hook to channel her inner Scorpion and drag them towards her (useful for those at heights).
Sophia’s skills can be upgraded over the course of the game by using Resonance Points found in the world, and she has enough health to take three hits, but defeating an enemy will restore one health point, a neat touch to keep you in the fight for longer. It all sounds rather stock-standard, but it’s surprisingly fast and engaging, and features some brutal coup de grâce moments. It’s all quite impressive given that this is the first time the French studio has tackled an action game of this sort.
Outside of combat, Sophia will need to solve puzzles and explore her surroundings, moments that feel more like the Plague Tale games of old, as well as Uncharted and even Tomb Raider. In the preview, the main objective was to open a door locked behind four different symbols, and to find the symbols, four areas needed to be searched, each littered with enemies and puzzles. Most of the puzzles required Sophia to manipulate light to unlock doors – whether through her newfound key-like sphere or bouncing light around. Now and again, Sophia and Leni will work together to find a solution, which makes Leni seem like less of a passenger. To help solve some puzzles, Sophia will jot down clues and story titbits in her journal that players can come back to when needed, a bit like Nathan Drake. One puzzle in the preview tasked Sophia with traversing a section of booby-trapped blocks in the right order, which could be found at the beginning of the puzzle, but if you forget, just whip out the trusty notebook for a reminder.
The second chapter in the preview gave us a taste of Resonance’s horror sequences, with Sophia slowly making her way through an underground area while trying to avoid being spotted by a monster. For the sake of spoilers, I won’t share too many details, but this monster links the three games narratively. This sequence saw the gameplay revert to being more stealth-focused, and even though it’s tense at times, it was a nice change of pace from the action.
If you’re worried that Resonance’s focus on combat would result in weaker storytelling, then I’m happy to say that based on what I’ve played, the narrative is still very much a core part of the experience. While we haven’t got the full backstory of Sophia and Leni’s relationship, there’s a strong sense of loyalty and companionship, with the two engaging in jovial banter between stoushes and serious discussion.
But what excites me about Resonance’s narrative is its blend of history and the supernatural, with the experience steeped in Greek mythology, in particular Theseus (the guy who supposedly slew the Minotaur). You see, Sophia has been having visions, and these aren’t just any visions; these transport her back to when Theseus was alive to see what he sees. Best of all, you get to play some of these moments, and one of the preview’s highlights was playing as Theseus as he competes in a deadly tournament to proceed through the island’s trial, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. As a big fan of Ryse: Son of Rome, it was awesome to bloody the sword of a warrior from ancient times once more.
Innocence and Requiem were both stunning looking games, but Resonance takes the visuals to another level. I’d argue that the Mediterranean setting inspired by the Greek island of Crete does a lot of heavy lifting, but the level of detail is what truly stands out – Asobo has clearly spent a lot of time researching to ensure the world feels as authentic as possible. And then there’s the soundtrack composition by Olivier Derivière, a talent whose works elevate every project he touches, and from what I’ve heard, Resonance will be no different.
Not enough developers explore the worlds they’ve built to tell new and different stories. So much work goes into creating these universes that it can feel wasted not to venture out and see what the unknown can bring. Thankfully, Asobo Studio is doing just that with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and its shift from stealth to action looks like it’ll pay off and breathe new life into the series.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy lands on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 27. It will also be available day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Previewed on PC using code provided by the publisher
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