Here’s the sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019) by French developer Asobo Studio. That one was a solid outing with some eerie Medieval highlights.

Requiem launched in October 2022 and, as with its predecessor, offers action-adventuring and stealth. Plus, rats. Lots and lots and lots of rats. And we’re here to ratify all of that for you.

Rats (🐀) and Weird Stealth Sections in A Plague Tale: Requiem

Okay, so this rat infested SOB is out on Steam, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.

Requiem is set in 1349 some six months after the events of Innocence. Players catch up with the antics of young siblings Amicia (voiced by Charlotte McBurney) and Rune (Logan Hannan).

Players largely take control of Amicia in this adventure and face off against soldiers from the French Inquisition and another outbreak of the black death.

There are a lot of supernatural elements chucked in with the story, but essentially everything is a battle for survival in Medieval Europe.

As with your average AAA game these days the graphics are fabulous. And the gameplay around that consists of the usual elements—cut scenes, combat, stealth etc. Here it is in action!

Whilst A Plague Tale: Requiem doesn’t break any new ground with AAA titles it is very solid as a game. No denying that.

We’re fascinated by the Middle Ages and the black death, so this combo for the title is riveting to behold. Asobo Studio has done an immaculate job here in presenting a believable Medieval world to waltz through.

It’s a linear time of it, though, with a pretty basic structure to follow.

Requiem is very much in keeping with the AAA blockbuster game formula of making games like movies. It’s basically an interactive film. The voice acting drifts between being very good and dodgy, but full marks for effort at least.

The developer got in real actors to use motion capture for lifelike in-game character movements and the like.

The story is enjoyable enough and the game is very dark in its subject matter, with rats, plague, and death everywhere. It doesn’t shy away from all of that.

And we like how the combat system isn’t as bombastic as in many other games. Amicia just has a small sling to rely on, which does create an often very real sense of vulnerability whilst playing.

However, we must note the stealth sections of the game, whilst enjoyable, remain bothersome to us. Just because they’re idiotic in concept.

We summed this up in our review of Plague Tale: Innocence in 2020:

“Some of the stealth sections are a bit stupid. Especially at the start of the game, but that carries through into other areas, too.

You distract blockheaded guards by throwing rocks at nearby metal objects (such as kitchen implements, which just happen to coincidentally be hanging everywhere in Aquitaine).

Even though anyone with an IQ above 12 could see there’s nothing around the pans, the guards just have to investigate anyway. And stand there for a good 30 seconds staring at pans going, ‘Duuuuh, I could have sworn I heard something!'”

It’s exactly the same system in Requiem. We’re surprised Asobo Studio relied on this mechanic again so much.

Literally, no modification or improvement on the first game. Just rolled out again as if it was perfect first time out. We struggle to take it seriously as it doesn’t make any sense, even within the realms of often bizarre video game logic.

Whilst those bits are cumbersome and overused, we’re nit-picking. As the core element of A Plague Tale: Requiem is its emotional story and nerve jangling tension.

It’s about two siblings battling human nature at its worst, alongside nature at its worst, as a fantastical version of a plague outbreak unfolds before them.

The sections with the swarming rats are genuinely unnerving and that’s when Requiem (as with its predecessor) fully hits its stride and becomes a horror marvel.

Not perfect, but damn good all the same. Very well done!

A Plague Tale: Requiem’s Magnificent Medieval Music

One of the highlights of A Plague Tale: Requiem is its often beautiful music. It’s the work of French composer Olivier Derivière, who also worked his magic on the first game.

With plenty of Medieval vibes there are instruments such as lute and other stringed numbers. There’s a big chamber music feel to things, for sure, with the opening stages of the game being rather reflective and moody.

Derivière works exclusively in the video game industry and has produced a wide variety of work, including for beat ’em ups (Streets of Rage 4) and the first Life is Strange title.

Here he’s definitely at his best. The action stuff is done very well, too, very pulse-pounding kind of nervy violin work.

However, a big change for Requiem was the inclusion of a full choir. In an interview with Game Developer magazine Derivière wrote in December 2022:

“Another major musical newcomer is the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. They’re a world-renowned, two-time Grammy winner choir that you want to hear with all your ears. You’ll hear them a cappella most of the time, emanating that distinct, Requiem atmosphere. The game introduces a completely imaginary, mythical place: the island, which inspires Amicia and Hugo’s quest. The choir very much defines the new emotion tied to this new environment.”

On a final note, a full orchestral performance of Requiem’s music was recorded. And that’s a very glorious thing indeed. Here it is!

Grand scale stuff. That was to mark the release of the game with a full performance of the soundtrack in November 2022.