Resonance A Plague Tale Legacy Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy from developer Asobo Studio means to evolve, both in fleshing out its world and characters, and in terms of gameplay experiences it offers to players.

A sequel to 2022's A Plague Tale: Requiem and third overall in the series, Legacy steers away from the stealth roots of the series and leans into the action side of things more.

No longer so grim and tense, this bold direction takes A Plague Tale closer to a Tomb Raider or even Uncharted territory while finding a narrative goldmine in a fan-favorite side character, pushing her into the protagonist's limelight.

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The result is a close-to-home-yet fresh experience that feels as much a homage to those other series as it does a unique Plague Tale effort, which is a nice balance to strike.

Plague Tale games have easily been some of the best-looking games of their respective generations.

There's a visual treat around every corner here, whether it's sunny tropical environments with lush fauna or seedy temples with lethal risks on every surface. The realistic visuals and stunning sound design, in soundtrack or otherwise, creates a deep level of immersion.

If there's a complaint, it's that some of the animations can look goofy at times, especially when running, crouch-walking or within some of the transitions during combat. However, this isn't a deal-breaker at all.

As a more action-oriented experience, the expected gameplay staples emerge in terms of parrying, counters and finishers.

Sophia wields a sword and dagger as primary weapons and they deal bonus damage in certain scenarios and with proper timings. There's also the option to weave in kicks and, in a fun twist, her grappling hook.

It all feels really good , especially the parries and counterattacks. Tops among everything, though, is how pretty shockingly realistic enemies react when knocked into each other or the environment. There's angle and environment-specific finishing moves, too. No game but the recent James Bond effort has come close to this sort of next-generation-feeling action that actually loops in the things around the players.

Not bad for what was, until now, a primarily stealth series, right?

Puzzles, another strength of the series, don't get as much of a glow-up. There's the expected stuff, like dodging spike traps, shifting light sources, scanning around for secret ink and the like. But a chunk of it can feel like a tempo-breaking pitstop in what is very much an action-oriented tale.

Not necessarily a bad thing, as there are only so many ways these games can evolve on the puzzles played decades ago in Nathan Drake games.

It's a fun effort and enjoyable enough to explore, especially when it all comes together with good environmental storytelling and engaging combat done better than most in terms of interactions with the world around the fight.

Set 15 years before Requiem, players take on the role of Sophia.

Sophia was, of course, a hit character in Requiem for her enthralling personality and actions while players visited her ship. Now, in prequel action, Sophia is younger, more brash and, unlike the last time players saw her, more than happy to do some killing along the way in her adventures.

Frankly, phrases like emotionally exhausting weren't uncommon around the first two entries in the series. Tonally, it makes sense for the series to step back and take more of a lighthearted, almost swashbuckling feel to the world. A younger Sophia and the narrative here make it successful.

Kudos, too, to the decision to go Uncharted-like with Sophia's notebook. She sketches out gorgeous prints of an area that can sort of take the place of a traditional video game waypoint marker.

Beyond the strong narrative, exploration gets rewarded with goodies to find. Progress is as expected, in a good way, and there are some solid tutorials to bring players up to speed with the game's systems. Points earned can be spent on new skills and upgrades, that sort of thing.

Along with a strong suite of settings, accessibility and otherwise, Legacy offers five different difficulties aimed at appealing to all audiences.

As a sort of spinoff game in a beloved series, Legacy is a big hit. As an action game, it doesn't tread shocking new ground that will repave the genre for those that follow.

Even so, similar to the visuals and immersion provided by the two prior games, Legacy is a treat for those reasons and its next-gen-feeling combat, choppy animations notwithstanding.

Undoubtedly, there will be those who bemoan the brief series departure from the depressing, supernatural rat horror stuff. But Sophia is an endearing character who drives the narrative in fun directions and absolutely accomplishes the goal of fleshing out the Plague Tale world in interesting ways.