After Elden Ring and Horizon: Forbidden West, one of the must-haves of 2022 is here (gameplay)

The year 2022 is off to a timid start in terms of video game releases, after a poor 2021 vintage marked by the postponements of numerous games and scandalous cases that have splashed several development studios. After a few big releases, it could be that the good surprise of this year is coming.

2019 Game Awards

Let’s quote the most recent Mario Strikers, Kirby and the Forgotten World, Pokemon Legends: Arceus on Nintendo Switch, Dying lite 2, Elden Ring Where Horizon: Forbidden West on PS5. Obviously, many games postponed for 1 year, even several years, are expected this year: God of War: Ragnarok, Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy, Pokémon Scarlet/Purple, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. But alongside its video game behemoths, there are one that could well surpriseand establish itself as the darling of 2022. And, cocorico, it is a French game. It is A Plague Tale: Requiem.

Second opus and continuation of the adventures of Amicia and her brother Hugo, the title of the Bordeaux studio Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment unveiled itself again during the Xbox Bethesda 2022 conference which took place last night.

As a reminder, A Plague Tale: Innocence, released in 2019, had completely surprised his world. It featured Amicia de Rune and her brother Hugo, who, after seeing their parents eliminated by the terrible Inquisition, had to follow a journey in order to cure the strange illness from which the young boy suffers. All this against a medieval background ravaged by the Black Death, symbolized by waves of destructive rats.

Born in a small, little-known French studio (let us mention Microsoft Flight Simulator all the same, released a year later), the title had imposed itself by its singularity. A very dark atmosphere, an interesting narration, an artistic direction and a high-flying realization, all that for a title, let us remember: independent. Consequence: award for best storytelling at The Game Awards 2019Best Technical Achievement at the 2019 BAFTA Games Awards, and Best Game at the Pégases 2020. Just that.

3 years later, even more expectations

It is therefore logical that the expectations towards A Plague Tale: Requiem are fed. A video has been released during the last Xbox Bethesda conference, and shows the gameplay of the game. The opportunity to see even more refined decorations, more advanced lighting effects, or more diversified environments. The title looks more nervous, as evidenced by the character of Alicia, crossbow in hand, who seems more inclined to fight.

In addition to the realization, particular care has been given to the gameplay. Thus, the predominant infiltration of the first opus will now be shared with action sequences. It will be possible to get out of a situation in many ways, by discretion and frontal action. These are also more techniques to kill the enemies that are going to be proposed, as seen in the video.

The Asobo teams have highlighted the fact that this rebalancing between the action and exploration phases makes it possible to bring consistency to the title. Thus, the sequences will respond better for a better experience.

This bodes well for what could well be the good surprise of the year.. If the small defects ofA Plague Tale: Innocence are actually corrected, this second act could overshadow some so-called safe bets. Especially since with the good sales of its eldest (more than a million copies a year ago), the title benefits from a much larger budget, which will allow it to attract an even larger audience. wider.

A Plague Tale Requiem will be released in 2022 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch via the cloud. Furthermore, Thursday, June 23 at 6 p.m., French time, a live YouTube will be launched in order to find out the exact release date ofA Plague Tale Requiem. But that’s not all, since a long version gameplay trailer will also be available.