The Greek mythology premise was what first drew me into Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, along with its notable Uncharted and Tomb Raider vibes. I’d never played the original games, so Resonance gave me a pretty good place to start — and I’m glad I did. This game is the perfect introduction to the series and struck all the right chords.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a prequel to the beloved A Plague Tale series. You’re Sophia, a young plunderer and a familiar face for fans. Set 15 years before A Plague Tale, Sophia travels to the Minotaur’s Island to uncover the truth about her troubled past, starting in a convent using children for experiments. The nuns were injecting her with something — something that resonates and calls her to the Island.
A Strong Introduction To A Plague Tale
I was completely drawn into its world from the get-go. Sophia is a compelling character with an intriguing story, and the opening introduced you to the main character and shared a little backstory before dropping you into the adventure. Names like Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur were all I needed to keep invested.
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There’s a good mix of puzzle-solving, combat and stealth in Resonance. You earn Resonance Points along the way, unlocking new abilities and upgrades that make combat more fun. One ability allows you to deliver a strong kick to enemies to break through their defence. Some abilities, such as the grapple, came through naturally by progressing through the story. While you used it to get around, you could also use it to pull enemies towards you — and to their deaths.
There are also some significant fights in the game, including a round-robin knockout set in a crazily futuristic Greek gladiator-style arena, with moving platforms taking you closer and closer to the centre. In addition to hand-to-hand combat, there’s some exciting surprises that change things up to keep you interested and engaged.
While the graphics aren’t exactly breaking new ground, Resonance is still a very pretty game.
The scale of what Asobo Studio has delivered is, at times, stunning. Thankfully, there’s also a pretty good Photo Mode if you want to take some cool pictures for your PC wallpaper. I often found myself stopping to appreciate the surroundings many times as it really leaned into the whole story.
Resonance played like an interactive movie. I’m not sure if it’s because both studios are French, but it also reminded me quite a bit of Clair Obscur, albeit with less exploration. The game controls how far you can roam — I honestly prefer linear games these days.
A Bit Of Polish Needed
While the game is very pretty, it needs a few patches to be perfect.
Characters randomly propped up, stuck between rocks and pixelated messes were prominent throughout the game. There was also some environmental pop-in and slight flickering. Items can be a tad difficult to spot in darker areas too, so keep an eye out for that tell-tale twinkle.
That said, it all ran fairly smoothly. I only had one proper game-breaking bug, and thankfully you’re able to restart sections so you don’t have to grind your way back to the same area. Which is good… I guess?
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Overall movement from Sophia could also be a little janky. You’d jump and it’d look like Sophia wasn’t going to make it, only for her to casually climb up the ledge. It wasn’t anything to completely kill immersion, but it did look sketchy. Apparently Sophia has considerably more faith in her parkour abilities than I do.
There was also some inconsistency with interacting with items. Sometimes you could smash vases, other times you couldn’t. Nothing that ruined the gameplay too much, but it was rather noticeable given how otherwise gorgeous the game looks.
A Lasting Legacy
Putting aside the bugs and bickering, what it all comes down to was the fact I’m not a fan of scary games. Not that this is labelled as a horror, but Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy has its moments! Thankfully, I put I a brave face; with some company and enough determination, I saw this epic tale through to the end. Asobo Studio does a wonderful job of making you tense up and hold your breath during the scarier moments, while forcing yourself not to panic.
This is made considerably harder by the excellent sound design. You hear Sophia breathing in the quiet, the monster’s rattling breath as you pick your way through the ruins, and all the little sounds that make you wonder whether you should really be walking towards whatever is making them.
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The puzzles also left me wanting more, as they felt incredibly satisfying once you figured them out. I enjoyed how they increased in difficulty, but would have loved even more puzzles and opportunities to stop and actually think things through to test my mettle. There were a couple of head-scratching times, which I would’ve liked more of, but overall the puzzles were incredibly moreish and gave me a good dopamine hit. It’s almost quite God of War-esque.
All in all, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a great introduction to the A Plague Tale world, and left me thinking I should finally give the original games a crack. Those who enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, or Greek mythology fans in general, might find this take on the genre as interesting as I did. Asobo just had the right mix of intrigue with Sophia’s story, puzzle difficulty, and amazingly immersive design that kept me awed and keen to find out more.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is out now on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Quest Daily scores Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy:
8/10
A copy of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy was supplied to Quest Daily for this review.
