This is another entry in the “Rat Plague” franchise (a nickname I made up), but this time it’s a prequel to the previous games.

Being a prequel, the story is completely new, telling the past of a character who appeared in the franchise’s last game, Requiem. And there are no rats here.

The game was developed by Asobo Studio (the same studio behind the previous games and MS Flight Simulator) and published by Focus Entertainment.

GAMEPLAY

In the previous games, gameplay was a mix of puzzles and stealth, and a good part of your time was spent testing routes to get past enemies without being noticed.

You did have some medium- and long-range attack tools, but if you were discovered or enemies got close to you, it was usually game over.

Here, combat has been completely reworked. Sophia has a sword and a dagger, and can pull off a variety of attacks, combos and charged strikes, as well as block and parry.

Of course, some attacks can’t simply be blocked and have to be parried, and others can’t even be parried, leaving you to dodge at the right moment to avoid getting hit.

There are plenty of collectibles around the levels. Some are purely decorative, while others are gear that gives you advantages with a small chance of triggering.

There are few enemy types and they repeat a lot – archer, spearman, swordsman, the rogue with his blades, and so on – but that doesn’t really get in the way. Further on, new enemy types show up when I no longer expected them, so I was pleasantly surprised.

STORY

After the opening section, we learn that the group protagonist Sophia belongs to is searching for a treasure island. They find the island, but need a key to explore it.

After some events beyond your control, you get the key and decide to head to the island, and the story unfolds from there. As you progress, you uncover the island’s mysteries, both present and past, and learn what treasure was hidden there.

During my playthrough there were several silly, poorly written dialogues – for example, Sophia and her companion arguing in situations where it made no sense at all.

But that’s fine – it’s easy to overlook those moments and enjoy the rest of the game.

FUN FACTOR

I found the game fun. It’s a single-player action game in the style of God of War and others in the genre, with plenty of puzzles and battles in between.

The puzzles are almost all based on using light in some way, and I thought they were great – not too simple and not so hard they become frustrating. The clues are always nearby, part of the scenery, so you just need to explore a little and then think about the solution.

Speaking of frustration, the game falls into that big adventure-movie cliché: you head to an abandoned place nobody has set foot in for hundreds of years, solve the riddle and open a door that has been shut for millennia – only to be ambushed by a group of enemies who somehow got there before you.

That gets annoying, because it happens often: you solve a puzzle, open an ancient door, and your pursuers appear in front of you to start a fight.

This isn’t a Ubisoft-style game with a map full of markers to follow. Exploration is very visual, so you need to check corners and alternate paths to find collectibles and skill tree upgrade points.

VISUALS

The graphics are very pretty, which is already standard for this franchise, with beautifully crafted environments and highly detailed characters. Most NPCs are simpler, especially compared to the main characters, but that’s not a problem.

The soundtrack is also great – I spent a long time just listening to the game’s captivating menu music.

I liked that in certain parts of the game you experience the island’s past, when its buildings were magnificent and dazzling, which creates a beautiful contrast with the present, where everything is abandoned and in ruins.

VERDICT

I think Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a good game. I liked the visual exploration style, which doesn’t hold your hand, even though it’s linear and doesn’t offer path choices. The graphics are very pretty, but that was expected, since the franchise’s other games also excelled in that area.

It took me about 14 hours to finish. I explored the levels quite a bit and still missed some collectibles.

Replay value is almost nonexistent. You might want to play it again to revisit the story and, with more information, notice nuances and details you missed the first time – like watching a movie for the second time and seeing things you couldn’t before because you didn’t have enough context.

I played it on Game Pass on my PC (RTX 4060 Ti), but had it launched in a different month, away from a September already packed with great games, it would easily be worth full price.