[Spoilers] Just finished the game and wanted to discuss a certain plot point

[Aerlem]

Hi.

I really enjoyed the environment and story of this game but I wanted to mention an interesting point the game talked about but never explained. When you return to the family home in order to use the mom’s laboratory you find that the bodies of the father and all servants who worked for the family untouched by the rats. They also show that the rats almost have a shared intelligence when they stop attacking you after Lucas manages to create the Elixir because they “knew” it was done.

Really wish the game hasn’t ended without addressing them but maybe this is all saved for a future sequel.

But until (or if) they do what do you guys think is the reason the family and servants were left alone? also do you think it will be revealed that the rats have a will or a mastermind behind them?

[sarah0685]

I think maybe Beatrice experimented the Elixir on the workers and the father has the same genes as Hugo so they remained untouched.

[Aerlem]

Originally posted by sarah0685:

I think maybe Beatrice experimented the Elixir on the workers and the father has the same genes as Hugo so they remained untouched.

I thought of the same genes part as well but the rats were more than happy to eat me and hugo before he discovered he could control them.

[sarah0685]

Originally posted by Beanie:

I thought of the same genes part as well but the rats were more than happy to eat me and hugo before he discovered he could control them.

Maybe the genes are latent?

[Ogami]

Sadly the developer already said there will be no DLC or sequel.
The game was a "one-and-done narrative experience" according to the narrative designer.

https://gamingbolt.com/a-plague-tale-innocence-developers-have-no-plans-for-sequels-or-dlc

[AC Denton]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Sadly the developer already said there will be no DLC or sequel.
The game was a "one-and-done narrative experience" according to the narrative designer.

https://gamingbolt.com/a-plague-tale-innocence-developers-have-no-plans-for-sequels-or-dlc

That was said before the success for the game and high demand for a sequel, there's also multiple references to a sequel.

[I mute russians]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Sadly the developer already said there will be no DLC or sequel.
The game was a "one-and-done narrative experience" according to the narrative designer.

https://gamingbolt.com/a-plague-tale-innocence-developers-have-no-plans-for-sequels-or-dlc

They are however are giving very vague hints at something upcoming. + SteamDB shows that there is some additional DLC happening.

[Shinllers]

Originally posted by Beanie:

But until (or if) they do what do you guys think is the reason the family and servants were left alone?

Lucas tried the explain the phenomenon as follows "If only I knew... The Great Break... Its aftershocks continue to ripple through time... ".

The Great Break is supposed to be the time when the Macula leaves dormancy and manifests into the original state. In other words, it awakes, thus makes its carrier known to the outside world as so by having him or her displaying certain symptoms. Hugo already went through this state sometime after his birth, and years before the events of the game.

I think the rats have a certain connection with the Macula and can somehow sense it, along with anything that has a certain relationship with it or its carrier(Robert, the servants, Hugo's room), which I think is what Lucas means by "aftershocks", so they tend to leave them alone. Amicia was kept from seeing Hugo for years, which should make her an exception.

The elixir is meant to slow the progress of the Macula, forcing it to return to its original state so the carrier can have more time to prepare for the first threshold. The same applies so the rats tend to stop when it's done.

As for Hugo himself, the rats will still attack him by the time he starts to gain the Imperium ability, but not anymore when he later attacks the castle with Nicolas, he still hasn't passed the first threshold by then. So I think the carrier himself might need special training to let the rats sense the Macula in its living state, which should be taught by Vitalis and possibly along with Beatrice, Vitalis does somehow admit that during the final confrontation.

Originally posted by Beanie:

also do you think it will be revealed that the rats have a will or a mastermind behind them?

I think the Macula is supposed to be that mastermind. The rats tend to have a shared intelligence as you say, when the Macula somehow begins to take effect.

Originally posted by Beanie:

Really wish the game hasn’t ended without addressing them but maybe this is all saved for a future sequel.

I think the game kind of explains them as such, but maybe not in a very clear way.

Reference:
https://aplaguetale.fandom.com/wiki/Prima_Macula

[Shinllers]

I just have a new theory, I think there might be some kind of balance between the rats' hunting instinct and the Macula influence, where the stronger one wins and thus decides the rats' behavior.

In "All That Remains", the rats initially tend to leave Robert alone but attack nonetheless when Amicia and Lucas arrive, maybe it's the scent of the living that encourages the rats to attack despite their fear for the Macula. The servants however, are not in their way of attacking so they continue to ignore them. Also they tend to converge and go towards Hugo's room, the Macula effect somehow lures them yet prevents them from getting in, they're already grouping in the room towards Beatrice's study when Amicia and Lucas finish with the searching, and they don't hesitate to regroup into rat swirls to attack.

The elixir however, has the link to the Macula that's so strong, strong enough to be able to calm down the entire rat horde. It's also noticeable that the rats tend to ignore Hugo's Imperium command if they're busy feeding.