 Eh, how do you say? My spoiler's ahead. Whenever I turn to preparing videos about narrative-driven games, I first begin by thinking, how do you write about something so rich in story without giving the whole thing away? A synopsis is as good a place to begin with as any. But telling you about how a Monsieur de Rune is forced to take care of her brother Hugo was the tourdogedly hunted by the Inquisition for the secret to the plague ravaging France, which lies in Hugo's blood threatens to be a little bit in the boring side, doesn't it? Or perhaps selling you to subscribe and ring that bell for further notifications, my do? Probably not. A look at the gameplay as a soft introduction to the world is also not of the table, usually, but playtales mechanics are the fundamentals of the stale genre crossed with a streamlined take on the Last of Us' crafting system, as well as with an elegant slingshot which will function as your weapon at all times. It's hard to say something other than it is often enjoyable to shoot a chemical poultices whose effects tend to make steel dissolve and rust explode, but it is not why you'll be playing this game. So there we are, not much to begin with if we look to gameplay for inspiration on talking about a plague tale innocence. So instead of doing that, any of that, I will talk about the emotional punch this game delivers and it is a big one. There's something special about the narrative and it's taken me a little while to put my finger on it but I think I finally got it. A plague tale innocence manages to get the player to care about the game's characters and then proceeds to place them into some of the most horrific circumstances a narrative can plan for its protagonists in 14th century plague-ridden France. I know the bit about France had me scare shitless too, I mean it. This is one of the very few games that manages to create not just near constant tension but outright horror and importantly the type of horror that doesn't rely on jump scares. It's this horror that makes gameplay sections feel a whole lot more immediate. This immediacy fueled by a desire not to see Amicia or Hugo eaten by a swarm of daily rats or stabbed by inquisition soldiers. A plague tale innocence as a narrative game lives and dies by its protagonists. Amicia viewer is a wonderful example of a teenage girl written right. Someone forced to grow up in order to survive and protect her brother Hugo. Let me tell you this about Hugo as well. He's the most realistic five-year-old in video game I can think of. The way he's written and acted out, may I add, makes for a great child character in an industry which isn't known for its amazing portrayal of other lessons. The way Amicia and Hugo are trusting to the world makes for excellent storytelling, far outside the comfortable life of mine and ability they grew up knowing. These siblings are now forced to run and fight for their lives A task made no easier for the fact that Hugo has been six since birth. His disease inexplicably connected somehow with the plague. The quality writing evident goes beyond the protagonists to the several supporting characters. The apprentice alchemist Lucas whose administrations of Hugh keep the boys' disease at bay and allow Amicia to survive more than one of her run-ins with rat swarms and inquisitors. A pair of thieves, a brother and sister, make for a lot of both tense and comedic moments and others I will not mention for fear of spoilers. Might I add, the voice acting is stellar. All the characters speak in English with strong realistic French accents which honestly shouldn't work as well as it does. The writing encapsulates Oso, the way in which society breaks down during a time of plague, captures well the panic, the anger, the madness in water without a doubt, some of the most memorable scenes of a play tell innocence. I spoke of the horror and I have to admit, a big part that makes this title as horrifying as it is has to do with the rat swarms. Rats are a force of nature in this game, stopped only by the rim of light provided by a torch or pit fire. I can't describe to you the stress of knowing your branch is about to burn as your five-year-old brother is clutching to your side in several hundred or even thousand. Rats are at your heels ready to consume you. It's quite horrifying alright. In terms of presentation, the game looks great. Character models are detailed and while this isn't a AAA game, if you ignore the occasionally blurry textures, you will remain impressed with character models as well as the world at large. Lighting in particular is amazing especially in the beginning, you will be struck by the way the developers use it, to set up tone at first hopeful warm and then dark sinister foreboding. As the heavy subject master of the game rears, it's ugly head. It's far from subtle but it strikes an emotional chord, so too does the music. These two elements audio and visual deliver such a wide extent of different occult from the darkly grotesque to the magnificent, all of them memorable. Throughout, there is a feeling of veracity kept with 13th century France, the look of it that we might get from history books. This is well researched. Ultimately, this is one of the best narratives of 2019 in gaming and it tells a story that is well worth seeing for yourself, drama, love, terror, friendship, sacrifice and so much more. The French developer, Asobo Studios, deserves commendation on what might very well make it a studio worth looking out for. One lone weakness the game has, has to do with the villains who are, while not uninteresting, definitely tending towards the one-dimensional. I will say no more for fear of spoilers but there is definitely the feeling that more could have been done to flesh out the Inquisition's leaders. That said, making use of one-dimensional characters is something that most stories do, so I do not in fact take anything away from Plague Tale's innocence enjoyment due to the villains. My score for the game is a brilliant 8 out of 10. I am looking forward to seeing the next narrative outing coming from the studio, which it has been teased might be a continuation of the Plague Tale motif. And last but not least, if you come away from the last of us and Hellblaze's newer sacrifice, having enjoyed one or both of them greatly, the odds of fear that this game will appeal to you as well. Thank you for watching, I will see you next time. If you enjoyed this video, please like, share and subscribe. Bye!