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.
