A Plague Tale: Requiem

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Hugo's curse wakes again, and the rats come with it.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, Epic, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (91% of 27,908 reviews); Metacritic 82; 4.57 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (about 29,000 ratings)
Length: about 17 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Asobo Studio
Released: 2022

No. 16 of the soldier horror games · No. 16 of the island horror games · No. 21 of the curse horror games · No. 8 of the plague horror games

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What frightens When Hugo's curse reawakens, death returns as floods of devouring rats that pour over everything outside the light; Amicia and Hugo flee across plague-struck 14th-century France, sneaking past soldiers and using fire to hold back swarms that strip people to the bone.
Content: violence, blood, gore, rats, strong language.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is Asobo Studio's sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence. Amicia and her little brother Hugo flee south to start a new life, but when Hugo's powers reawaken, floods of devouring rats return, and the siblings must sneak, fight and run across a brutal medieval world toward an island that may save him.

About A Plague Tale: Requiem

A Plague Tale: Requiem was made by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment in October 2022 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and, as a cloud version that streams over the internet, Nintendo Switch. It follows A Plague Tale: Innocence and is set, like it, in France in the middle of the 14th century.

After escaping their devastated homeland, Amicia and Hugo travel far south to new regions and bright cities, hoping to start again and control Hugo's curse. But when his powers reawaken, death and destruction return in a flood of devouring rats. Forced to flee once more, they put their hopes in a prophesied island that may hold the key to saving him.

You play Amicia, with Hugo at your side. Much of the game is about striking from the shadows: hiding in cover and long grass, distracting soldiers and slipping past. The rats are a living tide that only light holds back, so fire, torches and alchemy decide where you can walk, and you can also steer the swarm onto enemies or use it to solve puzzles.

Against Innocence, the fighting is much bigger. Amicia carries a knife, a sling and a crossbow that can bring down armoured soldiers, and her shots and thrown pots can be mixed with alchemy to light or put out flames, or with tar that spreads light and sets enemies alight. She survives more than one hit and can get back into hiding after being seen. Hugo's Echo reveals enemies through walls, and in time he can turn the rats on them. Places are larger, with more than one way through, and skills grow along the way you play, quiet or lethal, with gear upgraded at workbenches.

Its world swings between sunlit markets and harbours and scenes of horror: towns overrun by rats, bodies, burning streets. The store warns of intense violence, blood and gore, and the rating boards add strong language. HowLongToBeat puts the main story at about 17 hours. It suits players who finished Innocence, and anyone who wants a long, story-led stealth game with real dread.

How to play A Plague Tale: Requiem

Buy it on Steam, the Epic Games Store or GOG for PC, on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, or play the Switch cloud version, which needs a steady internet connection.
Play as Amicia, guiding Hugo through each chapter.
Sneak past soldiers in cover and grass, or use your sling, crossbow, knife and alchemy when you must fight.
Use fire and light to keep the rat swarms back and open a safe path, and turn the rats on soldiers when you can.

Screenshots

Amicia hiding behind a barricade by a lantern at night as a swarm of rats sweeps toward fleeing soldiers below a fortress wall

Amicia crouching in long grass aiming a crossbow at a guard by a brazier in sunset-lit brick ruins

Amicia on a riverbank looking at a moored boat, a half-built stone bridge and burning wooden huts under a dusky sky

Amicia with a torch leading Hugo by the hand over red petals through a mosaic hall hung with red ribbons

Amicia and Hugo in a sunny medieval market below a brick castle, with fruit stalls, goats and villagers around them

Two travellers on a ship's deck under a striped sail looking over a rough sea toward a jagged white island

Amicia, Hugo and a companion on a wreck-strewn beach at sunset, looking toward a castle on the coast

Tips

Light is safety: always know where the nearest fire is when rats are near.
Use Hugo's Echo to see where soldiers are through walls before you move.
Tar spreads a light's reach, which can open a way through a swarm.
Your skills grow with how you play, so sneaking more unlocks better stealth and fighting more unlocks combat skills.
Play Innocence first if you can; the story follows on directly.