Review of Resonance A Plague Tale Legacy : a bold and successful gamble for Asobo Studio
, by Chris
Three years after the conclusion of Amicia and Hugo’s adventures in A Plague Tale: Requiem, the Bordeaux-based studio Asobo is back with this third game in the series. This time, the story doesn’t follow the De Rune siblings. Instead, the game takes place several years before the events of A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem, offering a deeper look into the lore and the infamous curse of the prima macula.
We play as Sophia, a supporting character glimpsed in Requiem, who appears to be connected to the curse. This installment will take us to the island of Crete through an intense, mystical story!
When survival gives way to action
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy takes place 15 years before the events of Requiem—and ten years before those of Innocence. So we find ourselves in a peaceful world, free of the plague. Don’t expect to see rats or have to survive hordes of rodents.
The game is set in the Mediterranean region, and we’ll be following Sophia. Throughout this installment, we learn much more about this smuggler who, years later, will cross paths with Hugo and Amicia.
During her youth, Sophia was sent by her mother to a convent, where the nuns injected her with a mysterious substance. The young girl then began to have visions of a mysterious island, featuring a Greek warrior standing before large gates. For several years, Sophia was forced to write down and draw all these visions in a notebook until she was rescued by her father, Alec.
It was then that the young girl was brought back home to her family. But the visions didn’t stop. That’s why Alec vowed to uncover the truth behind his daughter’s visions. Throughout Sophia’s childhood, he and his men made numerous trips to and from the island, until the day Sophia was old enough to embark on her own expeditions. After some twenty years of enduring her visions, she was about to take matters into her own hands to finally uncover the origin and mystery of this island.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy marks a radical departure from the first two installments in the series. While it’s still a brilliant, well-crafted single-player narrative game, Asobo has decided to change course. Now, we’re no longer in a survival-horror game where death lurks at every turn, but in an action-adventure game that clearly takes cues from Uncharted.
The island of Crete is a stunning setting, offering numerous puzzles woven into a very well-crafted narrative. It’s a bold move by the Bordeaux-based studio, which dares to try new things.
A magnificent journey across the island of Crete
For several years now, Asobo has been treating us to some truly stunning technical feats. Following its debut game in 2019, A Plague Tale: Innocence, the studio has continued to raise the bar with each new release. In 2022, A Plague Tale: Requiem blew us away with its production values, storytelling, and graphics. In the meantime, we’ve been treated to the two new installments of Microsoft Flight Simulator, which were true technical showcases.
With Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, we’re once again looking at a stunning game. The graphics are breathtaking. The landscapes and panoramic views of the island of Crete contribute to this visual feast. The beaches, the turquoise waters, the vegetation—and even the island’s interior with its temples and various settings—nothing has been overlooked, and the entire game has been meticulously polished.
In terms of storytelling, Asobo continues to improve. Here, too, you can really feel how much the Bordeaux-based studio is gaining experience with each new game. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is no exception, offering some truly epic moments with stunning sequences.
And what about the music? Once again, French composer Olivier Derivière is at the helm, much to our delight. The various tracks perfectly complement the many sequences in our story and clearly add that extra something to our journey. Although, in our opinion, this high-quality soundtrack is still a notch below that of Requiem.
Sophia, a compelling heroine who successfully takes the reins from Amicia and Hugo
When a video game series introduces us to strong characters who are integral to that series, it’s pretty hard to let go of them. For A Plague Tale, the series is inevitably tied to Amicia and Hugo, whom we’ve followed through two adventures. So the challenge was quite a tall one for Sophia and Asobo. Yet the young woman we briefly glimpsed in Requiem in 2022 manages perfectly to carry on the legacy.
Admirably well-written, with a strong personality and moments of poignancy, Sophia manages to make us forget Amicia and Hugo for a few hours. And that’s quite a feat. In terms of gameplay, the numerous improvements made by the studio also make for an enjoyable experience.
Sophia is much faster than Amicia, resulting in more dynamic gameplay focused on combat with combos and greater variety in movement. With a game that’s more action-oriented, it was necessary to make Sophia more versatile than Amicia.
The combat is pretty interesting, even though it can quickly get complicated when multiple enemies attack at the same time. The parries and the camera sometimes struggle to keep up. But when things calm down a bit, and we have to deal with two or three enemies at once, the combat sequences are quite enjoyable and well-executed.
The lore grows a little deeper
As mentioned earlier in this review, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is not A Plague Tale 3. It’s a spin-off that serves as a prequel, taking place long before the events involving Amicia and Hugo. So there’s no mention of rats or other elements tied to the story of the first two games. This time, the focus is more on the origin of this curse. It’s clear, however, that we’re still left wanting a bit more. We would have liked to see this explored in greater depth.
For much of the story, we don’t learn much, and things remain unclear. All the pieces start to fall into place in the final hours, and the ending allows us to understand and learn a little more about the prima macula. So, on paper, yes, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy does let us learn a little more. But in reality, it’s still pretty sparse, and we wouldn’t have said no to a few more in-depth details.
Especially since the end of the adventure drags on a bit. The last two or three hours could have been shortened to focus on the essentials. Instead, we encounter quite a few setbacks that force us to take a few detours that aren’t necessarily needed. Too bad.
Fortunately, all of this is offset by the high-quality storytelling and puzzles, which allow us to enjoy the adventure despite a couple of minor hiccups.
Tested on PS5. See our rating policy here.
8.5/10
With Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Asobo takes us on a new adventure in this universe so beloved by players and embraces change. The idea isn’t to rest on its laurels, but to step outside its comfort zone. A new character, a new setting, a new story, and even a new genre. This spin-off definitively moves away from the survival-horror style in favor of a lighter tone, focused on exploration, action, and adventure, complete with plenty of puzzles to solve. Sophia proves to be an endearing character, clearly on par with Amicia, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the story without the slightest difficulty. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is therefore a true success and a winning bet that will satisfy all fans of the franchise who love and appreciate Asobo’s craftsmanship, writing, and storytelling, as well as single-player narrative games.
- + Visually, it’s stunning
- + Sophia, a charming and compelling character
- + The journey is well worth taking
- + The story, the presentation, the puzzles
- + The improved gameplay
- + The music
- - A few minor bugs
- - We would have liked to learn a little more about the lore
- - The ending drags on a bit