Despite bearing the A Plague Tale name and starring a familiar face, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy takes the franchise somewhere new. In this prequel to the original games, players step into the shoes of Sophia before she was an established captain. Though the game brings back the kind of stealth gameplay fans associate with the original A Plague Tale titles, it’s altogether something different. Resonance brings players to a mysterious island full of hidden secrets you’ll work to solve, while also traversing difficult terrain and coming up against an ancient horror. I had the opportunity to play the game early for review, and it completely captivated me to the point that I stayed up past my bedtime to finish it.
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With the island setting and puzzle-fueled exploration of ancient ruins, playing Resonance reminded me of the Tomb Raider games. And I do mean that as a compliment. This entry brings a lot more action and combat to the Plague Tale franchise, while also packing in a good bit of stealth with the highest of stakes. It tells a deeply emotional story that spans across time, as Sophia works to understand her connection to the ancient past. After rolling the credits on Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, I’m still thinking about its story and characters. It’s hard to give higher praise than that for a narrative-driven game, in my opinion.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A compelling standalone story with a familiar face for Plague Tale fans | Some forced camera angles, especially during combat, can be frustrating |
| Good gameplay variety between exploration, puzzles, combat, and stealth | |
| Visuals look great and overall performance on PS5 is solid | |
| Multiple difficulty and accessibility settings to tailor your experience at any time |
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Pulls You Into the Story and Doesn’t Let Go
Given that Resonance is my first hands-on experience with the Plague Tale franchise, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the game drew me in from the very start with its creative and engaging storytelling. You begin your journey as a young Sophia, seeing her early days as a captive at a convent up through her training to become the powerful warrior she is today. Asobo Studio does a great job of engaging you in the background, weaving Sophia’s origins with the gameplay tutorial. You learn to fight as she does, letting you get to know both the character and the game without feeling pulled out of the story. That immersion continues as we step into the present day and begin our adventure in earnest.
The majority of Resonance takes place on the mysterious island that Sophia has felt drawn to since she was a child. There, you use Sophia’s illustrations and those added by her father and mentor to navigate the island. Here, too, the game mechanics and storytelling are deeply connected. Different locations on the island pull Sophia back to her past, or lead her to speculate about her father’s own activities here long ago. The plot only thickens as you explore, with the island pulling Sophia deeper into her connection to its history. Eventually, you even step into those very visions, though I won’t go into too much detail to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say, the game really makes you feel connected to the story of both the past and present, in a way that packs a big emotional punch.
The island and Sophia’s visions are both home to the Minotaur, who features heavily in the ancient ruins you explore. It’s here that Asobo pulls in the threads of Greek Mythology, retelling the myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur with a fresh perspective. I love when a game plays around with mythology, and Resonance does some interesting things with the island’s links to ancient history. Greek mythology fans will see some familiar names, but presented in an interesting new light and connected with the entirely fresh story of Sophia and her band of plunderers. It’s masterful storytelling, with plenty of mystery and myth at its heart. Even as I sit down to write this review well after rolling the credits, I’m still reflecting on the narrative and how all the threads came together. Though I do feel a few questions were left a bit too unanswered, the story was ultimately satisfying from beginning to end.
A Refreshingly Varied Gameplay Loop Offers a Solid Action-Adventure Romp That Also Tests Your Puzzle Skills
Of course, story is just one element even in a narrative-driven game like Resonance. As I mentioned, the gameplay is woven into the storytelling really well throughout the game. But let’s talk a bit more about what the gameplay loop actually looks like. The prior Plague Tale games are well known for their stealth, and at first, it might seem like Resonance largely abandons that for more straightforward combat sequences. Indeed, you’ll spend a good bit of time refining Sophia’s combat strategy. Combat is largely melee-based, with a parrying system and a points-based skill tree that lets you unlock new abilities over time. Finding certain items also gives you passive boosts, adding another reward for truly exploring your surroundings. Overall, I found the combat sequences pretty satisfying, though I do wish the camera angle wasn’t quite so fixed in certain moments. It can make toggling between enemies pretty tough, which is frustrating in otherwise fluid action sequences.
Along with combat, Resonance involves a good bit of exploration, puzzle-solving, and yes, some seriously high-stakes stealth. The game does a nice job of balancing helpful hints with puzzles that make you think. As you go deeper into the island’s heart, you’ll encounter more complex puzzles that put new twists on familiar rules. The puzzles get harder, but you’ve always got the tools to solve them. I say this as a person who gets easily frustrated with puzzles, especially ones that rely heavily on spatial reasoning. Your companions will give you hints if you prompt them, and Sophia’s notebook helps you track relevant information. This makes both exploration and puzzle moments challenging enough to be satisfying, but not so impossible that you get frustrated and rage-quit. The island itself is also beautiful, with stunning graphics that bring it to life as you explore. And yes, Tomb Raider fans, you’ll get to scale some cliffs and rappel along a few ziplines, too.
Finally, the stealth. This is both one of the highest-stakes elements of the game and one of the most frustrating. The island is home to a monster you’ll have to learn to avoid, because getting caught by it means certain death. I really liked how this challenge was implemented overall, offering you a variety of tools to hide, evade, and sneak around. But that insta-death mechanic is a tough one that can become a bit of a stumbling block. Thankfully, Resonance lets you adjust the game difficulty and accessibility settings at any time, so it’s easy enough to change course if your current playthrough is too tough (or, yes, not tough enough).
Between the stunning visuals, emotionally resonant storytelling that spans centuries, and satisfyingly varied gameplay loop, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy impressed me from beginning to end. It ran well with basically no technical issues during my playthrough, and I just had a truly great time playing it. It’s a story and a gameplay experience I’ll be thinking about for quite some time, and that’s really saying something. Whether you’re a longtime Plague Tale fan or new to the franchise, Resonance is well worth picking up if you like a good action-adventure game with a strong narrative at its core.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy releases on August 27th for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. It is a Day One Xbox Game Pass release. ComicBook received a PS5 copy of the game for the purpose of this review.
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