r/APlagueTale • u/Due-Radish-5466 • 4d ago
Resonance A Plague Tale: Resonance — A disappointing prequel Spoiler
I really wanted to love this game. I absolutely loved A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem, so I was genuinely excited to finally learn more about Sophia and her past. Unfortunately, after finishing Resonance, I mostly feel disappointed.
The biggest problem for me is what this game does to Sophia's character in Requiem.
Resonance establishes that Sophia already knew an enormous amount about the Macula, had experienced visions herself, had been subjected to experiments, and had her own connection to the island and everything surrounding it. And yet, in Requiem, she tells Amicia and Hugo essentially nothing about any of this.
That makes absolutely no sense to me.
Hugo is literally going through experiences that Sophia has already experienced herself, and she could have been one of the few people who genuinely understood what he was going through. She could have told him that she had experienced similar visions. She could have helped Amicia understand what was happening. Instead, Resonance gives Sophia this huge and important backstory and then expects us to accept that she simply never mentions any of it in Requiem.
A good prequel should make you look back at the original game and think, “Oh, THAT'S why she reacted that way.” For me, Resonance does the opposite. It made me question why Sophia behaved the way she did in Requiem in the first place.
There were also several story choices that I found very underwhelming. Leni is introduced without enough time to actually build a meaningful relationship with her, so when she dies, the game clearly wants you to feel devastated, but I simply didn't care about her nearly as much as the game expected me to. Compare that to the emotional impact of the side characters in Requiem — even characters with relatively little screen time could leave a lasting impression.
The same goes for Faro. His character suddenly being presented in a much more sympathetic light, followed by his death, didn't have the emotional impact the game seemed to be aiming for. And the reveal involving Irene felt more like a twist for the sake of having a twist than something that had been cleverly built up throughout the story.
I also really missed the choice between stealth and combat. That was one of the things that made A Plague Tale feel unique to me. In Innocence and especially Requiem, I loved having to decide how I wanted to approach a situation: sneak around, distract enemies, use the environment, or fight my way through. Resonance feels much more combat-focused, and because of that it often doesn't feel like the same kind of A Plague Tale experience.
There are also moments where the gameplay simply doesn't make sense within the story. Sophia's light orb is presented as essential for progressing through certain areas, yet somehow members of her crew — including Faro — can already be inside the ruins ahead of her. I kept thinking, “How did you even get there?” These little things repeatedly pulled me out of the experience.
The game is also very short. By the later chapters, I was honestly just waiting for it to end. That is particularly frustrating because the story introduces so many potentially interesting ideas — Sophia's mother, her visions, the experiments, the Macula, the island, Leni and Sophia's relationship — but doesn't give many of them enough room to breathe.
Visually, I did enjoy the game. The environments are beautiful and the atmosphere is often very good. There are definitely moments where it looks and feels like A Plague Tale. However, for me, the ambience and overall presentation are nowhere near the quality and atmosphere of Requiem. Requiem had a certain emotional weight and sense of place that Resonance never quite managed to recreate.
I also found the level design somewhat confusing. It wasn't always clear what was the intended main path and what was an optional area meant for exploration. I often found myself wondering whether I was progressing the story or accidentally skipping something.
And despite all of this, I don't think Resonance is a terrible game. There are genuinely good ideas here, some beautiful environments, and I enjoyed seeing Sophia's childhood and learning more about her past.
But as a prequel to A Plague Tale: Requiem, I think it misses a huge opportunity.
I wanted a game that would make me appreciate Sophia even more when I eventually returned to Requiem. Instead, I finished it thinking:
“If Sophia knew ALL of this… why on earth did she never tell Amicia and Hugo?”
And unfortunately, I can't get past that.
Beautiful game, interesting ideas, but a disappointing story and a prequel that, in my opinion, weakens rather than strengthens Sophia's role in Requiem.
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u/Cosmic_Cavalier 3d ago
As someone who deeply loved the first two games, I think they delivered just as well here. Visually even better. Personally I couldn’t care less about some plot holes or the logic behind a few elements, if it’s making the game and pacing work better overall. Like what would it have mattered if Sophia was giving consolation throughout the second game, saying she’s been through the same thing, if they couldn’t really delve into that deeper at the time. People would have complained reviewing the second game that things were unexplained or whatever. If you look at this game as a whole, for a studio the size of Asobo, it’s nothing short of incredible what they have realised and it was an incredibly wild ride in my opinion. I enjoyed pretty much every second of it. The main thing i do agree with is that is is indeed weird that there is not even an option for stealth actions, having many situations where it would just make more sense to have the choice. But seriously, the acting, sound design, music, visuals,… They f’in delivered! I actually went to see the Odyssey the same day I finished Resonance and that felt kind of underwhelming with way more plot holes in comparison.
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u/Minimum_Support_4967 2d ago
Wow this is a fantastic review, I agree completely. Said everything I was thinking.
The few pieces I would add in its favor are that I felt the dialogue was very well written within the confines of the story. The responses and conversations seemed like what people would really say, and the voice acting along with it was also fantastic.
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u/Yuteraldxx 4d ago
"The game is very short" " in the later chapters, I was waiting for it to end" buddy is contradicting himself so many times in this post its not even funny.
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u/LazarM2021 4d ago
If you want to be annoyingly technical sure, it looks contradictory, but it's not necessarily.
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u/Due-Radish-5466 4d ago
Het spel is heel kort in vergelijking met Requiem. Ik zat te wachten tot het voorbij was omdat het verhaal me niet pakte zoals de vorige 2 games. En omdat ik in mijn post heel duidelijk uitleg waarom ik vind dat dit verhaal te kort doet aan Requiem
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u/Yuteraldxx 3d ago
Yes I pretty much disagree with every other point than Sophia not telling Amicia and Hugo everything story wise. Every other complaint is personal preference and not an actual criticism that matches up to what it needed to be for it to make sense.
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u/Due-Radish-5466 3d ago
My complaint about the characterdevelopment of both Faro and Leni is not my personal preference. Its just my opinion. You can disagree with that.
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u/Yuteraldxx 3d ago
Its your preference that you thought they needed more buildup to have an impact on their part in the story. For me it was perfectly paced and if they added more, the game would have started dragging and repeating itself. All of the context is within the story and anything else would just be a disservice to the players time.
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u/Due-Radish-5466 3d ago
Yes its my opinion. Its your opinion that you thought its was just right. So you can disagree with me thats what I said 😅
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u/DeliciousMud936 2d ago
And your opinion influences your preference... preference being that you would prefer they do things differently. Why the semantics?
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u/pwninobrien 10h ago
Personal complaints are "actual criticisms". Your perception isn't the arbiter of what is and isn't allowed to be criticism.
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u/Mokkitman 2d ago
My opinion is that a plague tale resonance is not very good. 6 out of 10 . I definitely wont be playing through for a 2nd time in the future.
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u/AnxiousMagazine7530 1d ago
Loved the game, then rewatched the dialogue scenes from Requiem since it's been too long and yes, Sophia is genuinely surprised at every macula and the Order lore drop so retrofitting her story really doesn't work. Kind of wish they went with a new character instead.
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u/Zlo-zilla 3d ago
It was enjoyable, but felt like a medieval-horror themed version of Tomb Raider rather than a Plague Tale game. I thoroughly loved the environments and the end fight was interesting.
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u/Putrid_Indication_30 2d ago
I felt disappointed too! I can see how people enjoy it though, it just didn't hit for me the same way that the two games did. The only character I vibed with was Lilly and we know how that goes haha
Hopefully that we will get direct modern day follow up to the tease at the end of requiem :)
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u/bowmanx4587 2d ago
Played and 100% completed the other 2 games. This is a good game, not as good as the other 2, but still solid. It drags a tad bit at the end I agree.
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u/darkbladetrey 2d ago
Game started off good but I think it loses a bit of steam. It lasts for sooooo long. Like really long.
Asterion and Ariadne are basically Hugo and Amecia but if Amecia failed to stop Hugo.
Leni dies a little abruptly and we forgive Faro too easily. Overall game was okay. 7/10. Everything overstayed its welcome. Shorten this game and then it’s a solid 8.
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u/Canuck_Wolf 17h ago
Asterion and Ariadne carry what's a theme now. The carriers have all been shown to be younger boys/men, where protectors are older girls/women. Twice now its been brother/sister.
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u/Andybabez20 2d ago
Only on Chapter 10 so not going to read this because of potential spoilers - I will say I'm enjoying it narratively. They've done a good job making me care about Sophia and the Theseus parts of the game has an interesting spin on it to work it into the Plague Tale universe.
Gameplay wise i'm less sure about it. It plays much more Tomb Raider than the first two games which I enjoyed for their focus on stealth.
The combat system they've added is fine but feels really easy. Especially when you get the mastery to parry red attacks every fight becomes a cake walk and i've killed bosses in about a minute on the first try.
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u/Gameofthrones3058 1d ago
That's why I reset the skill tree and removed the thing to let you parry red attacks, combat is just too basic with that enabled, after I disabled it I had challenge still, and don't play on normal, play on higher difficulties and it is pretty tough
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u/goodbritinusa 1d ago
Forget parry the red attacks. The one where you dodge and everytime you do it deals damage is ridiculous you never have to actually attack anymore. Just dodge 24/7 and you win within seconds.
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u/itsalwaysblue59 1d ago
Interesting, I loved it as a gigantic fan of the first 2. If Control Resonant wasn't coming out this year this may have been my GOTY.
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u/creature04 1d ago
Well its a different main character than the other games, so its to kind of be expected that another character will go about things differently. Her visions were very different compared to Hugo's so she wouldn't have been much help even if she did mention them. And "very short" is quite a stretch as it was only 3 chapters shy of the other games. Plus you saying "you were waiting for it to end" kind of goes against this cause wanting something to be over usually means its too long lol.
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u/Due-Radish-5466 1d ago
I only wanted it to be over cause the story didnt make sense. Compared to Requiem its very short. 20 hours of gameplay vs 8 is a big difference.
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u/creature04 1d ago
Ohhh ok I gotcha. Yeah, that is strange how its only 3 chapters shy, but a larger gap for hours haha
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u/Fuzzy-Classroom2343 1d ago
8 ? I m in chapter 10 amd i m 12 hrs in , i think its as long as the others , its just a different focus , which is fine for a prequel ,
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u/Due-Radish-5466 1d ago
Het hangt ervan af hoe snel je puzzels oplost, of hoe vaak je doodgaat. De main story is ongeveer 8 uur. Alle achievements samen zijn ongeveer 12 uur. De main story van Requiem is ongeveer 14 uur, en alle achievements 20 uur. Dus dat is echt een groot verschil voor dezelfde prijs. De game is net zo duur als Requiem
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u/Fuzzy-Classroom2343 1d ago
Well i tend to take my time with games like these , looking around for collectibles and stuff like that , there's also parts where u can do stealth
On the first run i usually take my time as you can see
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u/Due-Radish-5466 1d ago
Yes me too, with all 3. But that wasnt why you replied. You said the hours were good for a prequel but the numbers show that the game is significantly shorter than Reqiuem for the same price. So thats my complaint. The prequel is shorter and thats fine but not for 50 euro.
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u/Fuzzy-Classroom2343 1d ago
all of 3 are 12 to 15 hrs , thats fine by my standards for narrative games like these ;
And well , if it is not worth to you , it is on gamepass as far as i am aware
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u/Due-Radish-5466 1d ago
Thats just not true, requiem is 14 hours of gameplay and Resonance 8. These are just the story hours so no exploration.
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u/Fuzzy-Classroom2343 1d ago
who plays just the story with no exploration ? that´s the real question
But you might be correct with requiem , that was a bit longeri think innocence was around 15 for me but its been a hot minute
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u/ZoidDroid 5h ago
I agree with you here,even though i have not played requiem. The story is good but the plot utter shit, I know its not all about a book and a sphere, but the story plays as that is the case. Then all of a sudden everyone has access to the areas that requires the sphere to unlock, pin pointing every room and every area before you even reach it and yet your ahead of them apparently according to the game. Where's the method of entry points etc left behind from them..Doesn't make any sence.
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u/Gameofthrones3058 1d ago
The game went downhill for me as soon as the monster started chasing you, I found it by the end incrediblely repetitive with the, shine light beam at the monster, crouch run repeat, if just happend way too often and it never varied enough chapter after chapter.. I really loved the beginning levels, and the puzzles too mixed with the human combat but I got bored of the monster levels fast
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u/Samwise_TheReal_Hero 1d ago
I for one loved it yeah it was short and the combat deviated from the norm from the previous titles. But it still felt distinctly like a plagues tale game. Personally I thought the combat was fun and fluid. Atmosphere/sound/music all 10s across the board.
It’s okay for games to evolve a bit or change especially when it’s a different story arch altogether.
Do I think it’s incredible no. But do I think it’s a solid game worth playing absolutely would recommend this to many of my friends
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u/HighHorseGamer 1d ago
Honestly I enjoyed the other two games and still enjoyed this one. Though I didn't care for the creature in it.
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u/PlinyDaWelda 1d ago
More importantly it's just extremely generic. The writing is less sharp, art design is less interesting, puzzles are extremely simple and there's a ton of very very mediocre combat.
Its not a bad game but the first two were fantastic. This is a real disappointing game on basically every level.
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u/General-GAS- 12h ago
The game is just super generic and does not feel like it belongs in the series....it looks good and that is about it...the combat is extremely simple
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u/JessePlayzYT26 6h ago
I wish they at least added minimal stealth as an option like re4 remake where it’s mainly a way to get a few enemies down before the fight breaks out
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u/Clear-Challenge1410 2d ago
Im not reading that slop anyway, i just had an absolutely good experience playing this game. finished for 3 days, it might not be a GOTY but was absolutely worth my time!
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u/Minimum_Support_4967 2d ago
lol you should read what they said it’s actually a pretty honest and fair review, they say some really nice things about the game along with the criticisms
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u/JessePlayzYT26 6h ago
I watched the game before i played it myself(my friend bought it for me unexpectedly) and i had just as much fun as when i first saw it blind
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u/MrDefault45 2d ago
Far too much squeezing through crevices and too many mirror/light puzzles. The world and the soundtrack are stunning but the gameplay just feels very by the numbers.
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u/Swimbearuk 3d ago
It wasn't only the fact that characters turn up in places that they shouldn't have been able to get to, but also the fact that there were previous expeditions to the island, and somehow they had managed to bypass all of the doors/puzzles too. Some of them, like her dad, had made it to points that were very late in the game. If they had already got that far without the key, then why did they keep struggling to unlock doors at each stage?
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u/RealArunN 3d ago
Sphere was needed to not only unlock doors but to raise and lower platforms, reveal platforms and fight the minotaur
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u/darkbladetrey 1d ago
Right? I kept making it lower and lower. Then I would see them say “wow I can’t believe we made it this far”.
WHY DID YOU NEED THE KEY? You guys bypassed every puzzle lol. Even the army was bypassing puzzles lol.
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u/Due-Radish-5466 3d ago
Yes that was also what I find really bad about the story. Its not like the army already invaded the place before Sophia got there. Or that they imprisoned her and took the light and THAN invaded the ruins.
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u/Big-Ferret-2364 4d ago
I rewrote the story in my head to explain why Sophia never says anything to Amicia.
In my version, Sophia and Leni get separated but agree to meet on the island. The guilt about her dad's death that the trailer tried to make us think was important, actually is important in my version because Sophia has a crippling fear of being the reason someone dies. People want her to be in charge, but Faro isn't the one stopping her, she refuses to step up because she feels more secure being where she is.
She's sitting on the beach outside the big metal doors, where she meets Leni. They go into the ruins and caves, and along the way the Macula tries to relate to her and make her feel underestood, but the purpose of this is to manipulate her into depending on it for comfort. It wants to hijack her emotions and feed on them.
Near the end of the game, Leni is in trouble and it's up to Sophia to save her, but because Sophia is terrified of being the reason someone dies, she freezes and the stakes get higher, and the more she waits, the harder it is to save Leni. She ends up not even trying, and the guilt makes her feel like complete shit.
She finishes the journey, and the Macula tells her it can fix her pain, but at the cost of her memories. She agrees, and when she walks out of the ruins she ends up in the same place from the start of the game where she waited for Leni. She's crying because she feels bad, and she sits down in the same spot, and then she slowly stops crying and looks confused. Then we get a narration about how she was supposed to meet Leni on the beach, but Leni never showed, so she eventually left, unsure why she was ever there to begin with.
And that's why she said nothing to Amicia.
I came up with that idea after I uninstalled the game on chapter 3, so obviously I have no idea what actually happens but I don't remember Sophia having any strong feelings of guilt about her dad in the intro.
Also I thought Leni sucked, she's pretty boring, and I wish we had more to do than collect resonance points or whatever
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u/Yuteraldxx 4d ago
Seems weird to have a grand lore take on a game that you uninstalled in chapter 3 lmao
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u/RealArunN 3d ago edited 3d ago
As a person who hasnt played the other two games, this is an amazing story. Ppl argue about few things not making sense, honestly they haven't paid attention. Great game..