Now that Halloween is over, we’re looking to year end, and the best games you should be lining up to play over the holiday break, or adding to your Christmas gift wishlist. If you love single-player adventure games, gorgeous graphics, medieval history, and aren’t afraid of darker themes (oh, and writhing rat swarms), you should consider the 2-game A Plague Tale series from Asobo Studio and Focus Entertainment.

A Plague Tale: Innocence released in 2019, with its sequel A Plague Tale: Requiem coming out for consoles and PC just last month, on 18 October 2022. Across the games, you play primarily as 15 year old Amicia de Rune, a young woman of noble descent, who, in mid-1300s France, has to protect her 5-year-old brother Hugo from various enemies, no matter what it takes. Due to a mysterious blood disease, Hugo is somehow central to the spread of The Bite, bubonic plague carried by rats, and that power has placed a target on his back.

Like Ninja Theory’s Hellblade series (well, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to date), A Plague Tale 1 and 2 are an example of non-AAA games that outdo their blockbuster brethren in almost every department, including looks. They’re not afraid to go to some very dark places – there are almost as many human bodies in A Plague Tale as rats – and just generally are a lot more interesting and edgy, embarking on psychological explorations of subjects such as post-traumatic stress disorder that other titles typically avoid. Looking at you, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

We’re still working our way through A Plague Tale: Requiem, making this mini assessment more of a review in progress. In true sequel fashion, Requiem is more of everything – more combat options for Amicia, bigger areas to sneak through (a huge chunk of A Plague Tale’s gameplay is survival stealth), and a bump in graphics – although Innocence is a looker in its own right.

That “more” mentality applies to game length too. Where A Plague Tale: Innocence clocked in at around 12 hours, officially Requiem is a 15-20 hour game. That said, we’re 14 hours in and haven’t reached the halfway point. So if you’re looking for a narrative-driven game that will keep you occupied for a long time, this one is for you.

That said, it’s debatable whether the sequel mentality is really to the benefit of A Plague Tale: Requiem. The broader array of playstyle options is appreciated, but at times they feel like they slow things down as you’re presented with yet more opportunities to experiment with them. This when sometimes you just want to continue with the story instead of carefully creeping across yet another field or valley patrolled by tough, armoured foes. Personally, I preferred the far more enclosed tightness of A Plague Tale: Innocence, spatially and narratively.

This primary frustration aside, A Plague Tale: Requiem delivers what makes this franchise so special: jaw-dropping visuals (yes, there is a built-in photo mode), satisfying gameplay, historically accurate settings and encounters, plus an emotional heart with a strong beat.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is out now for PC, next-gen consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X), and Nintendo Switch through cloud streaming. The game is also currently playable with Xbox Game Pass.

In South Africa, you can also buy the physical edition of the game through these retailers:

Giveaway time

Thanks to Gamefinity, we have one Xbox Series S|X code for A Plague Tale: Requiem to give away to our readers. To enter, leave a comment on this post explaining how you would likely deal with enemies in Requiem i.e. what’s your preferred playstyle?

Your options are the same as Amica’s:

  • Ranged attack with sling or crossbow
  • Opportunistic close combat
  • Alchemy concoctions
  • Rats!
  • Sneak past

Terms and conditions

The winner will be randomly drawn after the competition ends on Friday, 4 November 2022 at midnight, and notified via the email address used to comment. The same entry mechanic is being used on Twitter and Facebook, with the additional ask that you follow the @PfangirlReviews account on that social platform. In all cases, if we can’t get hold of you within a week, your prize may be forfeited and a new winner will be drawn.

This giveaway is only open to South African residents. One entry per person per platform (web, Twitter, Facebook): 3 total per person. All entries are going into a single prize pool.

8 November update: Congratulations to the winner!

Congratulations to Shiraz Dawood who entered the giveaway on Twitter, and placed first in the random draw. We’ll be messaging you shortly with your prize. P.S. In turns out that players’ favourite playstyle involves sling and crossbow ranged attack, followed closely by sneaking through challenges.