Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is shifting away from the stealth mechanics of its predecessors, embracing a more direct combat system inspired by challenging third-person melee titles like Sekiro and Sifu. This departure from the series' stealth roots, while introducing new gameplay elements, also leaves a notable void, particularly the absence of the iconic rat swarms that defined earlier entries.
The game centers on Sophia, a character previously seen in Plague Tale: Requiem, exploring her backstory as a pirate in 1333. The preview drops players into the fourth mission, where Sophia and her companion Leni are searching for missing plunderers on an island off Crete, only to encounter Venetian soldiers. The narrative context provided is minimal, but Sophia's possession of a mysterious sphere suggests it may be a point of interest for the soldiers.
A confrontation with Venetian troops quickly highlights the game's new combat focus. Despite being outnumbered and outmatched, Sophia can utilize a variety of dirty fighting tactics. Beyond basic attacks, players can kick enemies off ledges, into each other to stagger them, or into environmental hazards. An empty bottle can be used to stun foes, and Sophia is also equipped with a grappling hook to pull enemies off balance. These tools allow players to overcome numerical disadvantages, making Sophia feel like a resourceful underdog, a contrast to the more deliberate and punishing combat of Sekiro. While Sophia's combat abilities are expanded, the game also introduces a skill system. The previewer opted for 'Heroic Surge,' which grants a temporary shield after a charged attack kill, a valuable skill given Sophia's limited health.
Puzzles and the Presence of the Past
Following the combat encounter, Sophia and Leni enter an ancient temple. The environment features bull iconography, hinting at a potential connection to Cretan mythology. Puzzles within the temple involve using Sophia's sphere, which acts like a blacklight, to reveal glowing lines on the floor. Players must trace these lines to align symbols and unlock a stone door. Later, descending into a pit, players encounter environmental puzzles reminiscent of the Tomb Raider series. These challenges involve navigating blocked paths using ropes and ladders, solving light-reflection puzzles with mirrors, and carefully stepping over pressure-plate traps. While these puzzles are engaging, they contribute to a more generalized adventure feel, deviating from the more organically integrated environmental challenges of previous Plague Tale games, where everyday objects were repurposed.
The descent culminates in a chamber filled with statues of people seemingly turned to stone, bearing a strong resemblance to the Macula plague from earlier games, suggesting the rats may still appear later in Resonance. Shortly after, Sophia experiences a vision where she inhabits the body of the Theban hero Theseus in an ancient arena. This vision introduces a formidable charge attack, which Sophia retains upon returning to the present.
While the preview offered a fun experience with engaging puzzles and challenging combat, the overall impression is that Resonance, while competently assembled, borrows heavily from established third-person game mechanics. The author notes that the series' unique appeal, particularly the memorable rat swarms from A Plague Tale: Innocence, is currently missing. Until these unique elements are more prominently featured or replaced with something equally distinctive, Resonance risks being a capable but ultimately less memorable installment in the Plague Tale franchise.