Plague Tail: Requiem Review

 

I had to make myself finish Plague Tail: Requiem. Usually, I would say that’s a damning indictment of a game’s quality; however, in this case, it’s because Requiem is emotionally draining. Nearly unrelenting trauma is inflicted on teenage Amicia and five-year-old Hugo de Rune as they traverse medieval France, searching for a cure to Hugo's supernatural affliction. Hugo suffers from the Prima Macula, a symbiotic illness that spawns and attracts hordes of plague rats, which often burst through the ground or walls in writhing heaps to consume any nearby humans alive. In addition to the rats, the de Rune family must contend with non-stop violence. From angry beekeepers to soldiers just following orders, nearly every adult male in 14th century France is willing to skewer a teenage girl and her little brother. Requiem's heavy bleakness reminds me of the work of Cormac McCarthy, who often fixates on the senseless violence of existence. Hugo and Amicia are convincing characters, who grow increasingly damaged from their exploits, from Amicia having panic attacks to Hugo eventually succumbing to his illness, which is sentient and hungry. Moments to breathe come fleetingly and perhaps not often enough. I felt bad for powering Amicia through all of her torture, to the point where I wondered whether or not I was complicit in it. Ultimately, I was unsatisfied with how Requiem concludes its story. Don't Hugo and Amicia deserve better than this? I asked. To quote Clint Eastwood, "Deservin' ain't got nothing to do with it." Sometimes, you have to let go and surrender to circumstances. Amicia refuses to do so and admirably fights to the bitter end, but by refusing to accept reality, she continues to put her brother and herself through more suffering than any people deserve. So while I didn't necessarily like Requiem's story, I appreciate its thematic elements while wishing it had just a little more compassion at its core.

Gameplay mostly consists of stealth-action, with neither the stealth nor the action being particularly smooth. There were a few sections that I had to replay several times, either due to the game swarming you with too many enemies or requiring more sneaking than I was able to manage. Amicia has a slingshot that she'll upgrade, but most enemies are armored, which necessitates sneaking, distraction, or the crossbow, which only has a few bolts and therefore must be sparingly used. Often, you'll have to manage huge hordes of rats as an environmental puzzle, utilizing torches, flame pots, tar, or some other feature to clear a path. The gameplay, therefore, is similar to a big-budget cinematic game, a la The Last of Us, with a bit more jank and probably a fraction of the budget. Still, Asobo studios does well, especially in crafting their authentic-appearing version of medieval France. This is a stunning title, one that will have you reaching for the screenshot key. Performance was decent on my high-end system, with a few frame drops experienced during wide vistas or rat swarms. Admire the screenshots below.

I recommend Plague Tail: Requiem with hesitation. It will get you invested in its characters, but you'll feel their pain, and whether the experience is worth it depends on your interpretation of their suffering. I can't help but feel as though it would've been a better game had the trauma been reined in substantially.