A Plague Tale: Innocence is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and Switch, the latter of which is a cloud version of the game. Publisher Focus Home Interactive has passed on the PS5 and Switch codes so we can see how the two versions compare to the original game.
On PS5, A Plague Tale offers faster load times and audio enhancements, but the big changes come from the synchronization of the DualSense controller’s haptic rumble with the 3D sound and adaptive triggers, which allow for a more immersive experience during the moments. The tension of the game. The Switch version of the cloud-based game lacks comparison, but A Plague Tale is at least playable on the Nintendo console.
First released in May 2019, A Plague Tale: Innocence is a stealth-driven horror and survival game that sees you play as Amicia de Rune, a young nobleman who is pushed into the role of a guardian when she and his younger brother, Hugo, flee the domain of Rune following an attack by the French Inquisition. Trying to escape the clutches of the Inquisition, Amicia and Hugo discover that France is claimed by the Bite, a dangerous plague spread by an ever-growing sea of ravenous rats.
While the new generation of consoles improves the visuals and audio of A Plague Tale: Innocence, improving the overall experience, the PS5 and Switch do not fundamentally change what you get when playing the game on PS4, Xbox One. and PC. The original analysis of the game by GameSpot is therefore valid, as is the excellent description of a brotherly relationship by A Plague Tale.
In GameSpot’s A Plague Tale: Innocence review, Khee Hoon Chan wrote, “Scenes of desolation and tragedy mark the dark and intriguing world of Innocence, linked to a narrative that is genuinely moving without resorting to the fetishization of suffering of children. Despite their predicament, the siblings make do with the little help they receive, reinforced by Amicia’s incredible resourcefulness, to survive this catastrophic mess. The game also amplifies the cataclysmic impact of the Black Death through a lens of cosmic horror, invoking the chilling atmosphere of HP Lovecraft’s grisly tales; the crawling rats, whether they run in the damp darkness under the city or hang around half-eaten corpses, never fails to be disconcerting.On the other hand, its villainous characters are almost painfully one-dimensional, with twists and turns. predictable in the plot. This makes some of his revelations lackluster.
Playstation 5
Playing A Plague Tale: Innocence on PS5 is a real treat. The new generation improves the game to run in native 4K resolution at 60 fps. The colorful moments of calm and tension in the dark are more dynamic and detailed than before. Plus, the faster load times mean there’s virtually no waiting when transitioning to a new scene or reverting to your most recent save from the main menu.
But the DualSense is the star of the show, especially during times when A Plague Tale: Innocence leans on its elements of survival horror and stealth to create a growing sense of tension or fear. Which, for this game, often is.
For example, the right trigger (which is used for sprinting or throwing objects) pulses against your finger as Amicia runs, getting stronger and faster with each passing second to simulate her increased heart rate. It literally feels like it’s harder to hold the trigger down and keep running as you see and hear her both start to gasp from the exertion. The controller also adjusts the feel depending on where you’re walking, whether you’re walking slowly through deep mud or carefully walking over mounds of corpses.
The DualSense better punctuates surprises and skips fears with its haptic feedback as well. A few of the moments that didn’t see me jump in my chair when I played A Plague Tale: Innocence in 2019 managed to surprise me better this time around, enhanced by the audio sync and rumble of DualSense running. in tandem with visual revelation On screen.
Between the enhanced visuals and the DualSense controller, A Plague Tale: Innocence’s more tense enemy encounters – the rats – are even more terrifying. You can feel the rat growl through the controller long before they burst from the ground or rush out of cracks in walls, and the PS5 further details each rodent so you can better see the hundreds of rats that make up the area. horde as opposed to just seeing a black mass of withered movement. And 3D audio is no slouch either – it looks like you’re surrounded by rats when Amicia and Hugo find themselves in this situation.
Thanks to the DualSense controller, the PS5 is now my favorite place to play A Plague Tale: Innocence. If you own the new console from Sony and haven’t played A Plague Tale yet, this is the best way to experience the game.
Switch
On Switch, the experience is (naturally) much less impressive. A Plague Tale was not originally released on Switch, as developer Asobo Studio said Nintendo’s console did not have the hardware specifications to run the game. The studio overcame this limitation by releasing a version. Switch playable via cloud streaming. So, to play on Switch, you will need a stable internet connection.
Provided you have a good connection, A Plague Tale: Innocence runs in 1080p resolution at 30fps on Switch when docked. When I was playing the resolution seemed to stay pretty stable, although the frame rate dropped a few times and spinning fast caused a significant amount of motion blur.
If you’re planning on playing A Plague Tale: Innocence on Switch, docked is the perfect way to play. On a handheld, the frame rate steadily drops below 30 frames per second. Also, the contrast of the lighting in the handheld is not as good as when the Switch is docked. Instead of the light gradually fading into the dark, there are only specks of light and specks of darkness and very little to mix the two.
This is a problem because A Plague Tale: Innocence bases all of its stealth sections involving rats on adjusting the light of an area, requiring you to use light sources in the environment to redirect the horde of rodents away from where you are trying to go. This often means that you have to notice certain details at the edge of your current light source or far in the dark among the mass of withered rats in order to know what to do next, and this can be extremely difficult to do on Switch in portable. If you’re planning to grab A Plague Tale on Switch, you’ll have a much easier time navigating its frequent, dimly lit moments while the console is docked. Since the allure of the Switch is that it can play some console games on a portable device, and the handheld is the worst way to play this game, you’d be much better off just picking up A Plague Tale on Xbox. , PlayStation or PC if possible.
That said, the game works fine on Switch when docked. So if Nintendo’s console is all you’ve got or just your favorite thing, you can enjoy A Plague Tale: Innocence this way. I just wouldn’t recommend it if you have any other option.
