Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy preview – A compelling expansion to the world of A Plague Tale
It’ll soon be four years since the release of A Plague Tale: Requiem, though just before then, a new entry in the series will have landed. Called Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, it’s quite the departure from what has come before, however. Hugo and Amicia are nowhere to be found for one, and there’s also a shocking absence of rats. At least in the two chapters I’ve been able to play through, anyway. But none of that really matters, because from what I’ve experienced so far, it seems great in its own right.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is actually a prequel to the previous two games, taking place 15 years before A Plague Tale: Requiem. You’ll largely be in control of a fierce plunderer called Sophia, a character who fans of the series should be familiar with, what with her becoming a mother figure to both Amicia and Hugo in the popular sequel. Here, she’s on the run from her former crew in order to discover the secrets of her past. That’s lead her to Minotaur’s Island, where she must overcome a number of trials, evade dastardly traps and face off against powerful enemies.
My time with a preview version of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy somewhat threw me in at the deep end, with Sophia just about to encounter her second trial. But before I could get on with my task, there were enemies to deal with. While A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem are both very much stealth-based titles, there’s a large emphasis on combat in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, giving it its own flavour. And the good news is that the combat is pretty fun, too.
Sophia is a very capable fighter, with numerous tools at her disposal. As well as being able to strike out with her sword and both block and parry most incoming attacks, by holding the attack button you can charge up a critical strike with her dagger, aiming for enemy vitals. Her grappling hook also quickly enables you to pull down enemies taking aim at you from higher ground, while a swift kick is handy for opening up enemies protecting themselves with shields.
With Sophia seemingly only able to withstand three hits on normal difficulty before succumbing to her wounds, you need to take a careful approach to combat, anticipating enemy attacks and either parrying or dodging them as required. Parry an enemy attack that glows orange and you’ll stagger them for a short while, allowing you to land an easy critical attack. They can also be staggered by parrying a number of standard attacks in quick succession. In any case, if you do get hit and lose some health, you can restore one segment of your health bar by killing an enemy, keeping you in the fight.
There’s more to Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy than just exploration and combat, though. Much more, in fact. Puzzles also play a large role, with me having to complete a fair number of them across the two chapters I played. Some were rather simple, such as jumping on platforms using a diagram in Sophia’s notebook as a guide. Others, however, were much more involved, requiring me to manipulate mirrors in order to direct rays of light to their correct receptacles, and make use of a orb-like object in my possession to correctly align multiple coloured lasers.
Upon nearing completion of the second trial, suddenly things took a turn, and I found myself at the bottom of a big pit. And with the poor sap who fell into the pit before me being rather unnerved, it was clear there was something very bad down there. Then it made itself known. In this second chapter I was frequently pursued and hunted down by what appears to be a giant sandworm, forcing me to alternate between running for my life and stealthily moving between areas bathed in light, which thankfully the sandworm couldn’t enter.
The really intriguing thing about Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is how it leans into Greek mythology, though it probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that it’s set on Minotaur’s Island. Sophia frequently has nightmares and visions involving Theseus, and you’ll even get to play as him for brief periods. And with me also encountering some other mythological figures during my playing time, such as Daedalus, I’m intrigued how the story is going to play out.
Ultimately, having spent around two hours with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, I’m very eager to play more. I was pretty much captivated for the entirely of those two hours, especially once I’d got to grips with the combat system. This is a gorgeous-looking game, with a story that appears to be intriguing and some nice variety to its gameplay. It may be quite a different experience to what has come before in the series, but if the two chapters I’ve played are anything to go by, it might just be the best yet, at least from a gameplay standpoint.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy launches 27th August on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
