Focus Entertainment recently released extended gameplay for A Plague Tale: Requiem, Asobo Studio’s follow-up to the acclaimed A Plague Tale: Innocence. It’s out on October 18th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch (via the cloud) along with Game Pass. On the PlayStation Blog, lead writer Sébastien Renard provided more details on the story and themes.
Set three years after the first game, Requiem sees Amicia and Hugo venturing south and discovering new sights. It’s not long before bad things happen again and they learn of an island connected to Hugo. As the recent gameplay showcased, Hugo can use his powers to control the plague rats and assail foes. However, they can also adversely affect him.
“Hugo’s powers are developing — he will struggle to keep them under control and sometimes, they’ll overthrow him. Although they will be key for him to escape dangerous situations, the young boy will need to resist the risk of giving in to his powers,” says Renard. As for Amicia, her fighting ability will “backfire” on her. “She won’t have any option but to take on this role that only she can assume – but she will have to face the traumatic emotions that come with it. Our characters are not superhuman, and our two protagonists will pay the price that becoming a hero entails.”
New characters will help them, including “adults with more confidence and experience.” One of the new areas the siblings will travel to is Provence, a venerable paradise at first. However, it’s not long before “the harsh medieval reality inevitably catches up, and their hopes vanish before they can get too comfortable.” Along with the plague rats, there will also be mercenary bands, ambushes and the “ever merciless nature of their times – that simple villagers make no exception to.”
For more gameplay of A Plague Tale: Requiem, head here. You can also check out the developer talking about the characters and writing here.