Focus Home Interactive is a publisher that has a catalogue of hit-and-miss releases, with very few of them landing on the end of the "must-play" spectrum. Sure... Bound by Flame, Surge, Of Orcs and Men, and a handful of other previous entries are decent little titles in their own right, but nothing about them screams AAA quality. At least, until they decided to publish A Plague Tale: Innocence, a stealthy story-driven title created by Asobo Studio; a small and relatively unknown developer who has mainly produced Disney games before this latest endeavour. Though as we've learned in the past, small development studios and even inconsistent publishers can put forth a shining beacon of gaming prowess every once in a while.

The year is 1348, and players take on the role of Amicia de Rune; the daughter of a wealthy noble family residing in a region of south-western France known as Aquitaine. Though the game takes place during the time of the extreme peak of the original Black Death outbreak, it also takes place during the 100 Years' War, and the de Rune family find themselves invaded by the English Inquisition. With her mother, father, and caretaker staff all holding the army back, it's up to Amicia to escape with her five-year-old brother, Hugo. The two have rarely spent any time together due to Hugo's illness, which is not from the plague at all, but rather it's something far more complex; a highly sought-after ancestral gene that can only be managed by an unknown ancient elixir. It's clear that the English Inquisition want Hugo for themselves, but there are also other terrifying problems to worry about... the all-consuming plague-ridden rats, which burst from the ground in troves of hundreds at any time to devour what they see fit.

A Plague Tale: Innocence does a great job at balancing historical accuracies, while also embellishing the past with horrific fantasy that only serves to push the nightmare of plague-bearing rats to supernatural extremes. It has been a full day since I finished my 12-hour playthrough of this 17-chapter game, and I can still hear the screeching voices and scratching feet of hundreds upon hundreds of rabid, scurrying rats in my head. Needless to say, Asobo Studio did an amazing job bringing the plague to life, not only through the surges of rats, but also through the dead and dying characters that you'll encounter along the way; there are even entire quarantined villages, and pitiful souls who are barely surviving yet another day of Hell on Earth. The personable nature of the characters and wonderful voice acting also helps to drives the game far. Though we aren't given a heaping helping of backstory for really any of the people that Amicia meets or interacts with, audiences will find themselves forming an emotional bond with almost all of them in some way.

The primary element that really makes this game worth playing is how Asobo Studio were able to take pre-existing gaming mechanics and turn them into something that feels very unique. Though it's a fairly linear title in general, this release does come with a generous amount of easy puzzles, small wisps of exploration and collectible gathering, stealth sections, and action-wrapped battles and boss fights. Of course, those ingredients can be found in just about any other adventure game out there, but the way that they're incorporated is what makes this title incredibly fun. Having to ensure Amicia's safety by staying in the light provided by flames, figuring out how to do so, and crafting different types of ammo for her slingshot, adds a whole new level of immersion to the gameplay. There's also a quaint little crafting system that allows Amicia to upgrade her equipment along the way, with crafting materials found scattered around the generally small maps.

While many people may find the graphics to be beautiful, I have to say that they're below average for the time that the game was released. The fact that Asobo Studio is a small development company makes this qualm completely forgivable, and not to mention graphics don't determine whether or not a game is good. One annoying thing, however, is how the hair is rendered, and the ends seem to fade out in strands of pixels; which is something I've noticed in other games, even Dead by Daylight and the old Tomb Raider reboot. Nevertheless, the environments are captivating, the character models are pretty realistic, and everything is optimized and can hold a constant 60 FPS. Pulling it all together in the background is an absolutely astonishing soundtrack that's worthy of a Soundtrack of the Year recognition; it has the ability to instil every emotion ranging from extreme anxiety, to peaceful serenity, and everything in-between. All with an orchestral-type production.

If there is one gripe to be had here, it's how clunky the weapon wheel feels; especially later on, within the last few chapters of the adventure. I personally played on a mouse + keyboard setup, and to access the weapon wheel you simply have to hold the Tab key. While this is fine, you have to be pretty fast with your selection and/or ammo crafting, as the wheel doesn't do very much to slow the real-time events happening around Amicia. There's a lot of trial-and-error at the tail end of the game where you have to pre-emptively know how much ammo of what type to craft, and do it all before heading in to enemy territory. A wheel that would just completely stop time would be great, and would make these latter portions much less frustrating.

A Plague Tale: Innocence absolutely deserves the "Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award" from the 2019 Steam Awards. It's an incredibly lavish game in terms of story, characters, and unique-feeling mechanics. It's linear, but it never makes you feel trapped in what you're doing along the way. It's immersive, totally captivating, and it's extremely hard to put down once you sink your teeth into it. Though the full price of $59.99 CAD is a bit steep, given that there is little replayability to be had, it's still worth it. Grabbing the game on sale half-off is an absolute steal and a no-brainer purchase. This is definitely one of the few must-plays from 2019, and if you didn't get around to it last year, don't miss out in 2020.

The Horror Network Curator | Group Click for Gore

Focus Home Interactive is a publisher that has a catalogue of hit-and-miss releases, with very few of them landing on the end of the "must-play" spectrum. Sure... Bound by Flame, Surge, Of Orcs and Men, and a handful of other previous entries are decent little titles in their own right, but nothing about them screams AAA quality. At least, until they decided to publish A Plague Tale: Innocence, a stealthy story-driven title created by Asobo Studio; a small and relatively unknown developer who has mainly produced Disney games before this latest endeavour. Though as we've learned in the past, small development studios and even inconsistent publishers can put forth a shining beacon of gaming prowess every once in a while. The year is 1348, and players take on the role of Amicia de Rune; the daughter of a wealthy noble family residing in a region of south-western France known as Aquitaine. Though the game takes place during the time of the extreme peak of the original Black Death outbreak, it also takes place during the 100 Years' War, and the de Rune family find themselves invaded by the English Inquisition. With her mother, father, and caretaker staff all holding the army back, it's up to Amicia to escape with her five-year-old brother, Hugo. The two have rarely spent any time together due to Hugo's illness, which is not from the plague at all, but rather it's something far more complex; a highly sought-after ancestral gene that can only be managed by an unknown ancient elixir. It's clear that the English Inquisition want Hugo for themselves, but there are also other terrifying problems to worry about... the all-consuming plague-ridden rats, which burst from the ground in troves of hundreds at any time to devour what they see fit. A Plague Tale: Innocence does a great job at balancing historical accuracies, while also embellishing the past with horrific fantasy that only serves to push the nightmare of plague-bearing rats to supernatural extremes. It has been a full day since I finished my 12-hour playthrough of this 17-chapter game, and I can still hear the screeching voices and scratching feet of hundreds upon hundreds of rabid, scurrying rats in my head. Needless to say, Asobo Studio did an amazing job bringing the plague to life, not only through the surges of rats, but also through the dead and dying characters that you'll encounter along the way; there are even entire quarantined villages, and pitiful souls who are barely surviving yet another day of Hell on Earth. The personable nature of the characters and wonderful voice acting also helps to drives the game far. Though we aren't given a heaping helping of backstory for really any of the people that Amicia meets or interacts with, audiences will find themselves forming an emotional bond with almost all of them in some way. The primary element that really makes this game worth playing is how Asobo Studio were able to take pre-existing gaming mechanics and turn them into something that feels very unique. Though it's a fairly linear title in general, this release does come with a generous amount of easy puzzles, small wisps of exploration and collectible gathering, stealth sections, and action-wrapped battles and boss fights. Of course, those ingredients can be found in just about any other adventure game out there, but the way that they're incorporated is what makes this title incredibly fun. Having to ensure Amicia's safety by staying in the light provided by flames, figuring out how to do so, and crafting different types of ammo for her slingshot, adds a whole new level of immersion to the gameplay. There's also a quaint little crafting system that allows Amicia to upgrade her equipment along the way, with crafting materials found scattered around the generally small maps. While many people may find the graphics to be beautiful, I have to say that they're below average for the time that the game was released. The fact that Asobo Studio is a small development company makes this qualm completely forgivable, and not to mention graphics don't determine whether or not a game is good. One annoying thing, however, is how the hair is rendered, and the ends seem to fade out in strands of pixels; which is something I've noticed in other games, even Dead by Daylight and the old Tomb Raider reboot. Nevertheless, the environments are captivating, the character models are pretty realistic, and everything is optimized and can hold a constant 60 FPS. Pulling it all together in the background is an absolutely astonishing soundtrack that's worthy of a Soundtrack of the Year recognition; it has the ability to instil every emotion ranging from extreme anxiety, to peaceful serenity, and everything in-between. All with an orchestral-type production. If there is one gripe to be had here, it's how clunky the weapon wheel feels; especially later on, within the last few chapters of the adventure. I personally played on a mouse + keyboard setup, and to access the weapon wheel you simply have to hold the Tab key. While this is fine, you have to be pretty fast with your selection and/or ammo crafting, as the wheel doesn't do very much to slow the real-time events happening around Amicia. There's a lot of trial-and-error at the tail end of the game where you have to pre-emptively know how much ammo of what type to craft, and do it all before heading in to enemy territory. A wheel that would just completely stop time would be great, and would make these latter portions much less frustrating. A Plague Tale: Innocence absolutely deserves the "Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award" from the 2019 Steam Awards. It's an incredibly lavish game in terms of story, characters, and unique-feeling mechanics. It's linear, but it never makes you feel trapped in what you're doing along the way. It's immersive, totally captivating, and it's extremely hard to put down once you sink your teeth into it. Though the full price of $59.99 CAD is a bit steep, given that there is little replayability to be had, it's still worth it. Grabbing the game on sale half-off is an absolute steal and a no-brainer purchase. This is definitely one of the few must-plays from 2019, and if you didn't get around to it last year, don't miss out in 2020. [h1]Rating: [b]5.0/5.0[/b] - An astonishing achievement, this game must be played.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore