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The Biggest Surprise About Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Is How Little It Resembles A Plague Tale

The first thing that struck me about my hands-on time with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy during a preview event last month was how little it reminded me of the existing games in the franchise. Where A Plague Tale: Innocence focused on stealth in its action-adventure formula, and its sequel, Requiem, expanded on that mechanic with larger environments and more player freedom, Resonance is a significant departure. Resonance is set 15 years before the events of the main games, and follows Sophia--the smuggler first introduced in Requiem--as she embarks on an adventure to the Minotaur's Island tied to an ancient mystery and the origins of the Prima Macula. The Prima Macula--or just Macula--is an ancient curse that infects the blood of certain families, and when that curse awakens, rats will begin to appear in the vicinity in order to spread the plague. This will all be very familiar to you if you've got any experience with the Plague Tale series, but in Resonance, there's a distinct absence of any rats … so far. https://youtu.be/1r6Cft3qe6I Playing as Sophia, accompanied by her friend Leni, I was immediately tasked with finding an entrance to a nearby Trial. Thanks to a series of flashbacks, it becomes clear that Sophia's family has a close connection with the Minotaur's Island--with the titular creature having slain her father. Stealth gameplay, the ability to manipulate the rats' behavior, and an emphasis on survival have seemingly been replaced by exploration, combat, and puzzles--and increasingly complex ones at that. While there were puzzles in the first two games, they were pretty straightforward and acted to serve the story and build immersion rather than creating a block due to their complexity. Don't ask me how long I spent on this puzzle. Sophia has a book with several clues to follow, and the first obstacle involves crossing a large chasm to reach the entrance. Sophia helpfully narrates that there must be a side entrance, which doesn't take too long to find. These kinds of hints didn't set my expectations high for the remainder of the preview section of the game--I don't want each character to immediately point out my objective, or give me a clue. I'd prefer to find my own way around. After a while though, I realized this wasn't a genuine puzzle--it was a narrative segment that was essential to lead into the events of the rest of the chapter. As Sophia nears the Trial entrance, she notes a large group of warriors below. "Find that sphere!" their leader yells--without context it's hard to know the importance of the sphere, but in the context of the full game I'm sure this will make much more sense. They're also told to murder anyone that might stand in their way, which bodes well for Sophia and Leni. As the warriors below begin to batter the door down with a giant ram, the narrow ledge Sophia is balancing on gives way, and she slides down toward the murderous group, and my first experience of Resonance: A Plague Tale's combat begins. Combat is fluid and satisfying. Sophia can chain together attacks to culminate in a devastating finisher, but she's also capable of blocking, dodging, and dashing to avoid trouble. This sounds like the basic components of combat, but it's strung together so well in Resonance that it's very fluid, and therefore exceptionally satisfying. When I had the opportunity to play through A Plague Tale: Resonance, I found myself stumped on more than one occasion. While I'm familiar with the need to manipulate light sources from the first two games, where the light was used versus the rats, this time around the solutions were much more complex. I did find that it broke my immersion quite significantly, as I had to take a pause to assess the area in its entirety and solve the puzzles before I could return to the story. Sophia finds a sphere with unusual engravings, and can use this when standing in a light source to reveal hidden marks. Those marks could be paths, symbols, or a combination of the two. As she progresses through the Trial Chamber, those light puzzles get more and more complicated, with the second and third especially being headscratchers. Some puzzles can be needlessly complex. I don't mind a tricky puzzle, and I usually prefer it to a simpler one because it feels like it serves more of a purpose. However, these puzzles would come in between high-pressure, engaging combat sections that I wanted to return to. It also felt like these waves of enemies would swarm in from every angle, but just as suddenly as that began, it was over. Forgive me for wanting an element of reality in my historical dark fantasy game, but why did these foes, hellbent on stopping Sophia from progressing through the area, suddenly decide she was permitted 20 minutes to solve a puzzle? Why, if the rooms are blocked off and that's the problem Sophia is trying to solve, are the enemies able to get in but she's unable to get out? Technicalities aside, the combat itself is the strongest it has ever been in A Plague Tale. While combat was an option in previous games should your stealthy approach fail, it's encouraged here, with several large-scale battles being immensely satisfying to play through. Sophia can chain attacks together to increase her damage output, and she also has a grappling hook that can be used to drag enemies toward her for a surprise attack. When enemies indicate an unblockable attack incoming via a red glow, Sophia can quickly backstep before taking advantage and counter-attacking once the foe has finished their attempt. Sophia experiences the Trial arena in multiple ways. Later, Sophia experiences an immersive flashback that sees her in full military gear, taking on the Trial Chamber as it was originally built. Flames burn beneath her as she's forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat with her peers in a giant arena. Deciding whether to take your time and unleash a heavy attack or approach rapidly, with weaker but quicker jabs, depended on the situation Sophia found herself faced with, but I soon found my preferred approach was more lethal attacks at the cost of a longer build-up. I enjoyed Resonance to the extent that I'll be looking forward to playing through the full game once it releases on August 27. I just hope there are less blockades in the form of bewildering puzzles, and more of the satisfying combat, and wonderful narrative that I love the Plague Tale series for already.

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