1:01:00 To me the story is an allegory rich with metaphors, and at its core it is about preserving your compassion and empathy, to not lose your soul, in a world filled with hate and violence. Both Amicia and Hugo deal with this inner struggle, and due to their different stages of maturity Amicia prevailed at the end and Hugo lost. Amicia for example is a metaphor for young people forced into committing acts of violence, even though it goes against their nature, like child soldiers or young people forced into war due to an outside force (see young women becoming a soldier from one day to another in Ukraine). One core aspect of Amicia is that she is not who she wants to be (and one reason for her distance to her mother is her mother's order to protect Hugo made her a killer in "Innocence"). Hugo is a metaphor for both a WMD (atomic bomb) and for individuals with a psychological state predisposed to become sociopathic due to traumatic events in their childhood. The Macula illness in his blood is a metaphor for sociopathy, and its stages describe the progression of sociopathy in a young mind. The count is a metaphor for power hungry psychopaths grasping for WMDs to have control and protection (see his "We are born to keep the fire aflame" speech). The rats are a metaphor for the destructive effect sociopathic individuals have, that direct their hate unreflected against everyone in their path, in the end even standing for the radiation going out from a Ground Zero when Hugo goes "nuclear" and pushes the button as retaliation against everyone for him believing his sister got killed. The story talks a lot how violence and hate causes trauma and as effect such traumatized individuals carry this on to the next generation. And how Amicia in the midst of it becomes part of the problem but deep down knows this is the wrong way and constantly struggles to leave the path of escalation. You can always see symptoms of her inner struggle bursting out, which is what makes her redeemable: She learned as a child to protect herself with violence, but she also knows this is not the way, and wants to escape, "want rest". "Requiem" is a masterpiece in allegorical story telling. It effectively uses this form to teach about the human condition. While phantastical and not of our time, at its core it is about a truth and who we are. And when you look into the news: "Requiem" happens in Ukraine or now Palestine, where people struggle to keep their humanity, their compassion and empathy after a trauma because of violence and hate, and how it continues from generation to generation.
42:00 You cannot stress enough what a masterful performance Robyn Wolf did for Amicia. She played her very real and grounded, not melodramatic, and Wolf's talent to express thought and emotion through her eyes are fully projected by Amicia's character model (see Amicia's "Thank you" scene at Marseille). Gestures like the attempt to shake the anxiety off the hands is real as they tingle or get numb, so in some playthroughs those suffering from it comment on its realism. It is also a scene which documents if someone has emotionally connected to the character as some players beginn to talk to her and try to give emotional support, like Amicia can really hear them. As a virtual photographer I also found out that some of Robyn's acting for Amicia is hidden off camera during the cutscenes and you can see it when you move the camera towards Amicia in photo mode; one is Amicia being choked to death by the farmers during which the camera zooms onto Hugo instead of showing Amicia's struggle and her panic, fear and anger in her face, and another one is her fight to save Sophia from the soldier at her ship, in which the camera stays behind Amicia all the time, while you can see her physical struggle in her face and Robyn played her with her eyes closed while stabbing, not looking at the wound she is inflicting through the knife, showing the inner distance to the violence she inflicts. A little one is the scene of Beatrice blocking Amicia entering Hugo's room and the camera does not show Robyn playing Amicia getting on her toes and peaking over Beatrice's shoulder into the room, showing her desperation to know about the wellbeing of Hugo. While many highlight Charlotte's voice acting, Robyn already provided Amicia as a fully fledged character with the body and facial acting alone, without any voice: You know every emotion and thought of her even if you switch off the sound. I think, Wolf provided one of the most impressive motion capture acting for a character, that even holds up with some of the best motion capture performances done for movies. Amicia's realism comes from Robyn (and Charlotte was guided by her performance).
Brilliantly written, I see McBurney getting tonnes of credit (rightly) for her voice performance, but the physical performance is much more rarely praised. I'm very glad that you've brought more attention to Robyn Wolfe's contribution. The physical performances elevate the storytelling in Requiem by a lot.
Yes, I found it a little unfair that only one award nominated Robyn and Charlotte, while others only named Charlotte. It is probably the reason why Charlotte did not win one, because the other nominated actors also provided the mocap.@@Pixel_Whip
Useless comment. Not stating why the video is good, entertaining or informative. Just useless typing to steal the top comment spot from more deserving comments. I've seen these pointless comments where y'all are riding it so hard and they always get 200 likes for no reason.
36:00 While I agree with most souvenirs being optional is okay, I have to disagree with Amicia's breakdown moment. This is such a pivotal moment not only for her character arc but also for establishing an emotional bond between the player and the character, because her breakdown is very simple, raw and truthful, which enables you to truly empathize with her, as everyone had such a moment on way or the other, mostly in the youth, when you are more easily overwhelmed by pressure. And it is a moment only you share with her, no other character in the story knows about her inner state, so you have this exclusive with the character. Some comment about this scene they wanted to give her a hug, an emotional response you only have when you are with a real individual. Also the motion capture performance by the animator (not Robyn Wolf this time, as she only did the cutscenes with fixed camera angles) gets lost with many keeping the camera behind Amicia's back, but the character model shows her crying. This should have been a mandatory scene (a room containing a pickup item like a key to progress) with fixed camera to highlight the performance.
This is a fair point. I think there's still some merit to the spontaneous nature of the breakdown moment. The player expects most of these moments to be fairly benign yet touching moments, so when the breakdown moment happens, it's impact is a lot more intense as it subverts the expectations of what a souvenir moment can be. However, I agree that the moment could be more narratively effective if it were given it's own cutscene. Perhaps the souvenir moment could have been left, and an additional similar moment could have been made into a cutscene. I suppose my perspective here is that any players who miss this moment do witness a weaker narrative because its one of the most relatable moments across the entirety of the two games. But at the same time, the spontaneity of makes it impactful in its subversion of expectations, and there's probably a lot of solutions which could bridge this gap as you've suggested.
I agree, the narrative is weaker when they miss it. But I think in general such a scene with the main protagonist simply breaking down and admitting to not want to go on is so unusual, even outside games, that it would have been surprising in any form.@@Pixel_Whip
It's insane to me that finding a video of this quality can be from a RUclipsr with over a million subs, a few hundred thousand subs, or barely a few thousand I can't wait to dig into your backlog
Amazing video! Glad the algorithm recommended this. I know it’s a bit on the nose but I find the game does an excellent job of demonstrating the many different ways we cope with the impending loss of a loved one with a terminal illness.
20:00 Fun fact: The rats are actually not 3D objects but 2D sprites driven by a particle system. That's why they could render that many. The illusion of 3D comes from the 2D images for the sprites being prerendered 3D graphics and relation to the position of the camera the correct corresponding 2D image of the 3D rat is displayed. Source: Interview by YT channel julienchieze at Asobo Studios.
Thanks for directing me to that video, its super interesting. While this isn't a rare technique, it still helps to highlight the technical proficiency of Asobo.
Edit: only the rat waves are 2d. It may have been an approach they considered taking during development, but in the end the rats are all 3d. You can check with the photo mode, or if you have a free camera mod which can ignore boundaries you can see that all the rendered rats in the distance are in fact 3d too.
Amicia is one of the best female characters in video games, for me she is my 2nd favorite and it is not even close. The only better is Ellie for me. She is so well done and she feels so real. Her relationship with Hugo is fantastic and thr whole dynamic with violence is what really elevates her character in my mind. Absolute cinema!
What I really enjoyed in Requiem compared to Innocence is how much happier and more colorful it is. Innocence is very dark and brutal, with most of its action and gameplay happening at night and in environments surrounded by death, illness and corpses. Requiem on the other hand has you play mostly during the day and have a lot more happy moments, especially with Hugo. Actually I believe Requiem did a fantastic job at building the relationship between Amicia and Hugo, while Innocence focused too much on Amicia herself, though her quest was always to save her brother. Sharing all those moments of carelessness with him in the second game really lets you bond with him and see him for what he is: a child, innocent, curious, vulnerable. I truly believe the happy memories you make with him playing the game make the ending that much more impactful, compared to what it would have been in another pessimistic setting. Requiem was "a quest for hope", after all. I went completely blind in both games, encountering them on steam during sales and absolutely not knowing what kind of games they were. I found Innocence to be a game with a thrilling story and likeable characters but somehow rather average due to its boring gameplay and repetitiveness. I had a much better time playing Requiem, as everything had been improved. More weapons and options with pots, better and bigger open areas, cool upgrade system that responds to how you play, more impactful characters, more engaging story, better voice acting (french), etc. The ending crushed my soul to the point of me losing appetite and sleep for a few days, but still I really really loved it. And what a fantastic work from Olivier Deriviere on the game's music, a few of those last tracks will be stuck in my head for a while
Agree totally. It's been over a week since I completed the second one and it still hurts and I'm still depressed. It has made me ask questions about my own life. Very deep questions that are painful to address and make me feel like I'm loosing my mind. I feel like Amicia in so many ways. I kind of wish I'd never played the second one. I want my life back the way it was.
Both her an Charlotte are a match made in heaven (or hell if you get sentimental and nostalgic after finishing the game) - I didn't appreciate Robyn so much until I looked back at Innocence, where there was very little mocap, which wasn't by an actor, and it really shows (except for the dramatic moment when Amicia risks the rats to hug Hugo after the Order tried to turn him evil). The faces look very blank in comparison. Somehow I wish they still were, because Charlotte's and Hugo's voices haunts me with the body language.
Fun fact: In The Last Of Us 1 + 2, your companions can also get plus signs, which, if you leave them, will cause them to die. I’ve lost too many speed runs to a Bill or Ellie plus sign in Bill’s town 😭
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is another unforgettable game for me. I'd lost my older brother just a few years before. I went into this game expecting just a fun puzzle game, but the ending killed me. It will stay with me forever.
Does the pain ever go away? I feel like Hugo and Amica are family members that I've actually lost. At least in innocence it was all dark and horrible, so you didn't mind when it ended with them being happy, which made the second one hit so much worse since it was a complete flip. Over a week later I'm still reeling
It's frankly ridiculous that your channel is so small. Your content is up there with the likes of Luke Stephens and Skill up, this is the best A plague tale video I've seen period. Really great work being done here, keep it up!
On Beatrice: I felt she’s consistently portrayed as a “nerd alchemist” devoted to the order’s study of the macula, above self, and even above her own family. Hence I’m not as bothered by her lack of reaction in the few scenes
when i first played a plage tale requiem i didnt expect it to be that strong emotionaly.A few years back I got Xbox game pass for the first time and went on a storygame-playing spree. I stumbled across the first plage tale and liked it enough to want to try the new game once i learned it was coming. My expectaions were not that high since the first game was very good but not THAT special. However after I finished Requiem I could not believe what a masterpice of gaming art I just witnessed. Your video was great, you covered almost everyting and pointed out things that I noticed myself on my playthrough. Good job 👍 Sidenote: If you think about it, amicia's last kill was hugo! Idk if its just me, but I think thats wild
i totally agree with your opinion. your objective analysis help me better appreciate the game. i also can't wait to see thier next work. thier did leave a lot of room for sequels in epilogue after all.
I didn't think of him at the end as being in a crucifixion stance. Just a general way that the macula had bound him there with his arms out. Thanks for the video, it helps with dealing with the emotional tatters I'm now in having just finished it. I'm always sad when I finish a long game, but this one hit like nothing else since Innocence. But this time it's worse as I'm pretty sure it's the end of this series. Asobo are criminally underrated as is this game, which mean this will likely not get any more sequels.
Great video 10/10 I loved both games, absolutely adored every minute, I love Hugo and Amicia and their relationship, but I will die on this hill but I hated the ending, far too many games recently have ended on such a depressing note and I hate that this is one of those games. I hated that they gave you hope them quite violently ripped ot away from you and I hate it! Why can't we just have something nice for once? Hugo and Amicia didnt deserve that, Hugo at 6 fucking died because of something that wasn't his fault and Amicia, watched her Father die only to later murder so many people, leaving her clearly traumatized then later she watches a crazy bitch murder her mother. At every single step this 16 year old is traumatized further and further until she has to kill her own brother! The ultimate form of trauma and they didn't deserve it!! And I hate it!
I think at some point I'll have to make a video about these two games myself. Medieval and Church history, Christian mysticism and Western occultism are some of the topics I'm personally very interested in, and I think the broader concept behind this story can only be properly understood by holding these keys. It's a strange decision, as not enough people are literate enough in these fields today for A Plague Tale to become a mainstream success, which I believe was definitely the goal on some level. Hugo and Amicia together are a symbol of humanity as a whole and its (currently) dualistic nature, calling back to Adam and Eve. It's no coincidence that their family crest shows a tree with branches reaching all the way to the sun and roots going down to the moon. This alludes to the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" that Adam and Eve ate from - in other words, a tree which will make you see things dualistically. As such, Hugo and Amicia are very much two sides of the same coin. The name "Hugo" is Germanic for "mind" or "ratio", the name Amicia is derived from Latin "beloved" or "loving". This alludes to the dichotomy of heart and mind present in every man, or of "grace" and "rightesousness" in Christian terms. In Christian thought, humanity has been plagued (pun intended) by death and sickness, hate and war, ever since they ate from said tree. It's a festering blemish on an originally divine nature. Just like the Prima Macula slowly devouring Hugo's body. "Prima Macula" is Latin for "first stain" or "first flaw" - in other words, this alludes to the Christian idea of "original sin". Medieval philosophy (and also many Ancient philosophies before it) believed in a sort of counter-evolution: Humanity and everything living are constantly rotting away, becoming weaker with every generation both physically, mentally and spiritually. This rot can only be staved off by God injecting his life-giving force anew into this world (like a needle of medicine into a dying patient) every few generations in an act of loving grace, or by purging the most unfit fruits from the tree in an act of righteous wrath. Noah's flood was interpreted as such a purging event, as evidenced by the reasons given in the Bible and other ancient texts. For example in Genesis 6,11-12: "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." Hugo and Amicia find themselves in the late Middle Ages. A period that's often characterized as one of slow societal, spiritual and moral decay. This is the time of the first witch burnings, of a Catholic Church fueled increasingly by greed and hypocrisy (see the first game for that). It's also the time of war and poverty after the relative peace and safety of the early Middle Ages, of roaming bandits and rogue knights (like Sophia and Arnaud) rendering the lands and seas increasingy unsafe. Consequently, many thinkers at the time thought the Plague to be an act of the righteous wrath of God, purging away the wickedness in the earth. In the game, Hugo (the embodiment of rationality/righteousness) and Amicia (the embodiment of compassion/grace) both carry and grow this wrath against the world as well as the hope for a cure in differing ways, although Hugo ultimately tends more towards righteous wrath, while Amicia tends more towards her hope for a cure. She shares this hope with the alchemists of the time who were obsessed with the idea of purifying things and distilling all matter down to its absolute essence. In famously trying to find the Philosopher's Stone, a magical item or potion that could revert humanity back into its divine or eternal state before being tainted by sin and death, they were even trying to purify the human soul, and all of creation. Their science seemed promising at first, and they hyped it up with all kinds of mystical jargon, but in the end all their magical symbolism (like the Phoenix and others that we encounter constantly in these games) revealed itself to be baseless. The fountain of youth they were searching for in the writing of the ancients, the Water of Life they promised (like in Hugo's dream), revealed itself to be nothing but a puddle of brackish mud. This also explains why the section on the island (a fake Garden of Eden with a fake Tree of Life in the middle of it), which was my favorite part of both entries, is so drawn out and devoid of tension in the game: The island is meant to convey this false sense of tranquil and hope that they have lulled themselves into. It's meant to dial it up to an almost unbearable level before all hell can break loose in the final act, driving home the final point of the story, that no light can ever exist without an equal amount of darkness. The more you believe in the goodness of life, the harder you will fall back into "evil". In the end, Amicia comes to realize that no matter how high she holds this flame of wisdom that she has inherited from her mother (a symbol for this very knowledge of the ancients, that the alchemists were also seeking their answers in), at some point the rats will become too many, the darkness too overbearing. There is no way to purify the human soul. You cannot seperate the darkness from the light. The darkness is an inherent part of us, and we can only return to Paradise once we spew out the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, realizing that we are already whole. In other words, the game implies that we need to shed our dualistic thinking in order to progress as a species. To come to terms with the fact that we will never be purely "good" and "healthy" - none of us will be, no matter how much faith or science, how much compassion or ratio we apply. You can find this line of thinking in many modern pieces of art, also in many video games. Hellblade for example offers a very similar ideology. The original Life is Strange goes in a comparable direction. The recent indie game Indika is very close to A Plague Tale. Someone else in this comment section mentioned that Hugo can also be seen as a metaphor for an atomic bomb. That's very true, the imagery used by the developers points clearly in that direction. Because this is the question that the game's story poses on us in the end: How will we deal with the sickness once it breaks through again? Amicia was not able to integrate the darkness into her soul, as in the end she killed Hugo who sacrificed himself on the tree like Jesus on the Cross in order for humanity to keep going for another round. But the game ends with showing us another carrier of the Prima Macula, born seemingly in a modern hospital of our time. Apart from being a potential sequel set-up, this is also a point of reflection for us: All these heights that we've reached in the past 100 years - when will their concurring depths be made manifest? How sick is our society now? And how do we plan on dealing with the sickness now? I might imagine this, so please correct me if I'm wrong. But I think Amicia says something like "the world wasn't ready for you" in the end. So then the question is, are we ready?
Just to add to your criticism about Arnauld's strange non-reaction to Amicia killing his friends: I myself actually didn't realise for a long time that he was the guy we were fighting earlier. It was only after the game crashed on the island, I reloaded and read the little loading screen text for this chapter that I learned he was that same guy. There was nothing in the story and dialogue between the two that alluded to their previous hostility. Or maybe I'm just a very unperceptive player. I also missed half the souvenirs with all those great character moments. Like the swing you showed in the video. Overall I'm a bit more critical of Requiem's story than you. I thought it was all over the place and just nonsensical at times. Like, why do we have to secretly infiltrate that religious ritual? Logically, we could just wait for a day and then ask our new friends the ruler and the priestess all about the island and to show us into the temple. Oh, and did you see that very short, final scene of the game? After the second credits. The one with the darth vader breathing or blood pump sound or whatever? I was just wondering because you didn't mention it in relation to a possible sequel to the the Plage Tale series.
Thanks for your thoughts, I totally feel you. Yes, I didn't mention the after credits scene just because I interpreted it as a small nod to the idea that the Macula is an ongoing cycle. Based on what the devs have said, it doesn't sound like they put it in to indicate a sequel. I suspect *if* there ever ends up being a sequel, it would keep its historical setting, but maybe go somewhere else in history. It would lose a lot of its identity moving to a modern-day setting imo.
"Some of my best friends are AAA" brilliant Edit: the discussion of a bigger team and more financial backing making the game more difficult because it now must aim higher and subsequently experiences different difficulties is a very interesting one, but as you already expressed it so well there's nothing for me to add, so all I got for you is a small acknowledgment of a good throwaway joke
Yeah, I didn't mention it explicitly in my video since it kinda feels like an afterthought to account for people (perhaps in playtesting?) who simply refused to end the game themselves. My opinion is that the Lucas ending kinda undermines the main themes of the game by letting you escape the difficult decision you have to make caused by buying into the illusion of control you think you have over the macula.
its a solid game not gonna lie but its dragged out pretty long and got little dull , No diss to the game but thats just my opinion . Sometimes bold moves falls flat for gamedevs look at jusant which was different but it didnt manage to move copies for the studio .
I liked the first one cause it was all different and much slower-paced than other games. But this one, my goodness, excruciatingly slow, the cutscenes lasted forever, and simply walking or riding in a cart a few hundred metres seemed to take ages. And the gameplay was clonky many times, seemingly more beholden to games from 15-20 years ago. And last but not least, I noticed that it was a bit too violent for teens and maybe way to infantile for adults. The worst feature was the constant holding hands of the siblings, the incessant sobbing (almost whining), whispering, gasping, etc. And yes, I think that matters as well when it comes to enjoyment. All in all a very tedious affair. Not even to mention that I still don't understand what the rat theme was all about.
This is a slow paced game because it focuses on characters, storyline, and he relationship between Hugo and amicia. The point of the game really isn’t to understand what or where the rats came from, but finding a cure for the macula. It is a beautifully written game with good graphics and an even better storyline. And the sobbing is completely understandable, I mean if you’re entire world starts falling apart with man eating rats, and you find out your brother had an incurable disease that is slowly killing him, you would probably react the same way. If you want a game that’s more fast paced, that’s completely fine but please don’t go bashing games just because it’s not your play style ^^
@@EchoSong133 As I said in my comment, I liked the first installment cause it WAS different from other games I played. But it still amazes me how people answering my or anaybody's comments seem to think only their opinion is objective and true. So honestly, your criticism to me me is neither here nor there. Based on my rather personal view I could also rip into your take on the game and maintain you are wrong. But honestly, what is the point? But what is yours?
I know the story is good but Im glad you're one of the few who also talks about the gameplay. Since it's you know..a game. But Damn whats your problem with Beatrice😂😂
I find It really unfair to criticize the combat and upgrade system.. you just decided to upgrade your crossbow and found it boring. If you would have gone for other upgrades you would have find it way more interesting..that's how I did and just because of your personal choice you slam down the entire gaming experience.
@@okage6219 yeah it gives you the choice but if you are making a review of the gameplay and you get stuck on that it's pretty ungenerous. The different situations can be solved in so many ways that the game has a huge replayability.. that should have been highlighted way more than 'i got crossbow, I killed enemies, too easy '. Above all if you make the effort to make a 40 mins long ass video. But maybe it's just me that expect a bit more
A Plague Requiem is what TLOU 2 wanted to be but failed. Bold and courageous writing but with cohesion purpose, and not just following through some narrative choices because you felt it had to be done (looking at you Druckman).
1:01:00 To me the story is an allegory rich with metaphors, and at its core it is about preserving your compassion and empathy, to not lose your soul, in a world filled with hate and violence. Both Amicia and Hugo deal with this inner struggle, and due to their different stages of maturity Amicia prevailed at the end and Hugo lost.
Amicia for example is a metaphor for young people forced into committing acts of violence, even though it goes against their nature, like child soldiers or young people forced into war due to an outside force (see young women becoming a soldier from one day to another in Ukraine). One core aspect of Amicia is that she is not who she wants to be (and one reason for her distance to her mother is her mother's order to protect Hugo made her a killer in "Innocence").
Hugo is a metaphor for both a WMD (atomic bomb) and for individuals with a psychological state predisposed to become sociopathic due to traumatic events in their childhood. The Macula illness in his blood is a metaphor for sociopathy, and its stages describe the progression of sociopathy in a young mind.
The count is a metaphor for power hungry psychopaths grasping for WMDs to have control and protection (see his "We are born to keep the fire aflame" speech).
The rats are a metaphor for the destructive effect sociopathic individuals have, that direct their hate unreflected against everyone in their path, in the end even standing for the radiation going out from a Ground Zero when Hugo goes "nuclear" and pushes the button as retaliation against everyone for him believing his sister got killed.
The story talks a lot how violence and hate causes trauma and as effect such traumatized individuals carry this on to the next generation. And how Amicia in the midst of it becomes part of the problem but deep down knows this is the wrong way and constantly struggles to leave the path of escalation. You can always see symptoms of her inner struggle bursting out, which is what makes her redeemable: She learned as a child to protect herself with violence, but she also knows this is not the way, and wants to escape, "want rest".
"Requiem" is a masterpiece in allegorical story telling. It effectively uses this form to teach about the human condition. While phantastical and not of our time, at its core it is about a truth and who we are. And when you look into the news: "Requiem" happens in Ukraine or now Palestine, where people struggle to keep their humanity, their compassion and empathy after a trauma because of violence and hate, and how it continues from generation to generation.
Love this
42:00 You cannot stress enough what a masterful performance Robyn Wolf did for Amicia. She played her very real and grounded, not melodramatic, and Wolf's talent to express thought and emotion through her eyes are fully projected by Amicia's character model (see Amicia's "Thank you" scene at Marseille). Gestures like the attempt to shake the anxiety off the hands is real as they tingle or get numb, so in some playthroughs those suffering from it comment on its realism. It is also a scene which documents if someone has emotionally connected to the character as some players beginn to talk to her and try to give emotional support, like Amicia can really hear them. As a virtual photographer I also found out that some of Robyn's acting for Amicia is hidden off camera during the cutscenes and you can see it when you move the camera towards Amicia in photo mode; one is Amicia being choked to death by the farmers during which the camera zooms onto Hugo instead of showing Amicia's struggle and her panic, fear and anger in her face, and another one is her fight to save Sophia from the soldier at her ship, in which the camera stays behind Amicia all the time, while you can see her physical struggle in her face and Robyn played her with her eyes closed while stabbing, not looking at the wound she is inflicting through the knife, showing the inner distance to the violence she inflicts. A little one is the scene of Beatrice blocking Amicia entering Hugo's room and the camera does not show Robyn playing Amicia getting on her toes and peaking over Beatrice's shoulder into the room, showing her desperation to know about the wellbeing of Hugo. While many highlight Charlotte's voice acting, Robyn already provided Amicia as a fully fledged character with the body and facial acting alone, without any voice: You know every emotion and thought of her even if you switch off the sound. I think, Wolf provided one of the most impressive motion capture acting for a character, that even holds up with some of the best motion capture performances done for movies. Amicia's realism comes from Robyn (and Charlotte was guided by her performance).
Brilliantly written, I see McBurney getting tonnes of credit (rightly) for her voice performance, but the physical performance is much more rarely praised. I'm very glad that you've brought more attention to Robyn Wolfe's contribution. The physical performances elevate the storytelling in Requiem by a lot.
Yes, I found it a little unfair that only one award nominated Robyn and Charlotte, while others only named Charlotte. It is probably the reason why Charlotte did not win one, because the other nominated actors also provided the mocap.@@Pixel_Whip
Wtf how does this not even have 1,000 views?!? Glad I found this hidden gem of a channel🙏
Very glad you've enjoyed the video!
Useless comment. Not stating why the video is good, entertaining or informative. Just useless typing to steal the top comment spot from more deserving comments. I've seen these pointless comments where y'all are riding it so hard and they always get 200 likes for no reason.
36:00 While I agree with most souvenirs being optional is okay, I have to disagree with Amicia's breakdown moment. This is such a pivotal moment not only for her character arc but also for establishing an emotional bond between the player and the character, because her breakdown is very simple, raw and truthful, which enables you to truly empathize with her, as everyone had such a moment on way or the other, mostly in the youth, when you are more easily overwhelmed by pressure. And it is a moment only you share with her, no other character in the story knows about her inner state, so you have this exclusive with the character. Some comment about this scene they wanted to give her a hug, an emotional response you only have when you are with a real individual. Also the motion capture performance by the animator (not Robyn Wolf this time, as she only did the cutscenes with fixed camera angles) gets lost with many keeping the camera behind Amicia's back, but the character model shows her crying. This should have been a mandatory scene (a room containing a pickup item like a key to progress) with fixed camera to highlight the performance.
This is a fair point. I think there's still some merit to the spontaneous nature of the breakdown moment. The player expects most of these moments to be fairly benign yet touching moments, so when the breakdown moment happens, it's impact is a lot more intense as it subverts the expectations of what a souvenir moment can be.
However, I agree that the moment could be more narratively effective if it were given it's own cutscene. Perhaps the souvenir moment could have been left, and an additional similar moment could have been made into a cutscene.
I suppose my perspective here is that any players who miss this moment do witness a weaker narrative because its one of the most relatable moments across the entirety of the two games. But at the same time, the spontaneity of makes it impactful in its subversion of expectations, and there's probably a lot of solutions which could bridge this gap as you've suggested.
I agree, the narrative is weaker when they miss it. But I think in general such a scene with the main protagonist simply breaking down and admitting to not want to go on is so unusual, even outside games, that it would have been surprising in any form.@@Pixel_Whip
It's insane to me that finding a video of this quality can be from a RUclipsr with over a million subs, a few hundred thousand subs, or barely a few thousand
I can't wait to dig into your backlog
Thanks! Hope you enjoy
Amazing video! Glad the algorithm recommended this. I know it’s a bit on the nose but I find the game does an excellent job of demonstrating the many different ways we cope with the impending loss of a loved one with a terminal illness.
Thanks for the comment, really glad you liked it!
Yes, I really appreciate the game's rather realist approach on the loss theme.
20:00 Fun fact: The rats are actually not 3D objects but 2D sprites driven by a particle system. That's why they could render that many. The illusion of 3D comes from the 2D images for the sprites being prerendered 3D graphics and relation to the position of the camera the correct corresponding 2D image of the 3D rat is displayed. Source: Interview by YT channel julienchieze at Asobo Studios.
Thanks for directing me to that video, its super interesting. While this isn't a rare technique, it still helps to highlight the technical proficiency of Asobo.
maybe this is a future of gaming industry
Edit: only the rat waves are 2d.
It may have been an approach they considered taking during development, but in the end the rats are all 3d. You can check with the photo mode, or if you have a free camera mod which can ignore boundaries you can see that all the rendered rats in the distance are in fact 3d too.
Amicia is one of the best female characters in video games, for me she is my 2nd favorite and it is not even close. The only better is Ellie for me. She is so well done and she feels so real. Her relationship with Hugo is fantastic and thr whole dynamic with violence is what really elevates her character in my mind. Absolute cinema!
What I really enjoyed in Requiem compared to Innocence is how much happier and more colorful it is. Innocence is very dark and brutal, with most of its action and gameplay happening at night and in environments surrounded by death, illness and corpses. Requiem on the other hand has you play mostly during the day and have a lot more happy moments, especially with Hugo. Actually I believe Requiem did a fantastic job at building the relationship between Amicia and Hugo, while Innocence focused too much on Amicia herself, though her quest was always to save her brother. Sharing all those moments of carelessness with him in the second game really lets you bond with him and see him for what he is: a child, innocent, curious, vulnerable. I truly believe the happy memories you make with him playing the game make the ending that much more impactful, compared to what it would have been in another pessimistic setting. Requiem was "a quest for hope", after all.
I went completely blind in both games, encountering them on steam during sales and absolutely not knowing what kind of games they were. I found Innocence to be a game with a thrilling story and likeable characters but somehow rather average due to its boring gameplay and repetitiveness. I had a much better time playing Requiem, as everything had been improved. More weapons and options with pots, better and bigger open areas, cool upgrade system that responds to how you play, more impactful characters, more engaging story, better voice acting (french), etc. The ending crushed my soul to the point of me losing appetite and sleep for a few days, but still I really really loved it. And what a fantastic work from Olivier Deriviere on the game's music, a few of those last tracks will be stuck in my head for a while
Exactly
Agree totally. It's been over a week since I completed the second one and it still hurts and I'm still depressed.
It has made me ask questions about my own life. Very deep questions that are painful to address and make me feel like I'm loosing my mind. I feel like Amicia in so many ways. I kind of wish I'd never played the second one. I want my life back the way it was.
Both her an Charlotte are a match made in heaven (or hell if you get sentimental and nostalgic after finishing the game) - I didn't appreciate Robyn so much until I looked back at Innocence, where there was very little mocap, which wasn't by an actor, and it really shows (except for the dramatic moment when Amicia risks the rats to hug Hugo after the Order tried to turn him evil). The faces look very blank in comparison. Somehow I wish they still were, because Charlotte's and Hugo's voices haunts me with the body language.
Fun fact: In The Last Of Us 1 + 2, your companions can also get plus signs, which, if you leave them, will cause them to die. I’ve lost too many speed runs to a Bill or Ellie plus sign in Bill’s town 😭
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is another unforgettable game for me. I'd lost my older brother just a few years before. I went into this game expecting just a fun puzzle game, but the ending killed me.
It will stay with me forever.
Does the pain ever go away? I feel like Hugo and Amica are family members that I've actually lost. At least in innocence it was all dark and horrible, so you didn't mind when it ended with them being happy, which made the second one hit so much worse since it was a complete flip. Over a week later I'm still reeling
It's frankly ridiculous that your channel is so small.
Your content is up there with the likes of Luke Stephens and Skill up, this is the best A plague tale video I've seen period.
Really great work being done here, keep it up!
Thanks, will do! 😉
It made me really emotional in the end. Not many games did, so those 2 games are still on my top 10 list
On Beatrice: I felt she’s consistently portrayed as a “nerd alchemist” devoted to the order’s study of the macula, above self, and even above her own family. Hence I’m not as bothered by her lack of reaction in the few scenes
6200 views for this quality content is insane. if this game‘d be more popular, this vid would have millions of views
when i first played a plage tale requiem i didnt expect it to be that strong emotionaly.A few years back I got Xbox game pass for the first time and went on a storygame-playing spree. I stumbled across the first plage tale and liked it enough to want to try the new game once i learned it was coming. My expectaions were not that high since the first game was very good but not THAT special. However after I finished Requiem I could not believe what a masterpice of gaming art I just witnessed. Your video was great, you covered almost everyting and pointed out things that I noticed myself on my playthrough. Good job 👍
Sidenote: If you think about it, amicia's last kill was hugo! Idk if its just me, but I think thats wild
i totally agree with your opinion. your objective analysis help me better appreciate the game. i also can't wait to see thier next work. thier did leave a lot of room for sequels in epilogue after all.
The video is just a pure masterpiece
I didn't think of him at the end as being in a crucifixion stance. Just a general way that the macula had bound him there with his arms out.
Thanks for the video, it helps with dealing with the emotional tatters I'm now in having just finished it. I'm always sad when I finish a long game, but this one hit like nothing else since Innocence. But this time it's worse as I'm pretty sure it's the end of this series.
Asobo are criminally underrated as is this game, which mean this will likely not get any more sequels.
I think he'd enjoy spiritfarer a lot
Great video 10/10
I loved both games, absolutely adored every minute, I love Hugo and Amicia and their relationship, but I will die on this hill but I hated the ending, far too many games recently have ended on such a depressing note and I hate that this is one of those games. I hated that they gave you hope them quite violently ripped ot away from you and I hate it! Why can't we just have something nice for once? Hugo and Amicia didnt deserve that, Hugo at 6 fucking died because of something that wasn't his fault and Amicia, watched her Father die only to later murder so many people, leaving her clearly traumatized then later she watches a crazy bitch murder her mother.
At every single step this 16 year old is traumatized further and further until she has to kill her own brother! The ultimate form of trauma and they didn't deserve it!! And I hate it!
Subbed, great work on this, and the Pacific Drive video.
Thanks! Glad you liked them
I think at some point I'll have to make a video about these two games myself. Medieval and Church history, Christian mysticism and Western occultism are some of the topics I'm personally very interested in, and I think the broader concept behind this story can only be properly understood by holding these keys. It's a strange decision, as not enough people are literate enough in these fields today for A Plague Tale to become a mainstream success, which I believe was definitely the goal on some level.
Hugo and Amicia together are a symbol of humanity as a whole and its (currently) dualistic nature, calling back to Adam and Eve. It's no coincidence that their family crest shows a tree with branches reaching all the way to the sun and roots going down to the moon. This alludes to the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" that Adam and Eve ate from - in other words, a tree which will make you see things dualistically.
As such, Hugo and Amicia are very much two sides of the same coin. The name "Hugo" is Germanic for "mind" or "ratio", the name Amicia is derived from Latin "beloved" or "loving". This alludes to the dichotomy of heart and mind present in every man, or of "grace" and "rightesousness" in Christian terms.
In Christian thought, humanity has been plagued (pun intended) by death and sickness, hate and war, ever since they ate from said tree. It's a festering blemish on an originally divine nature. Just like the Prima Macula slowly devouring Hugo's body. "Prima Macula" is Latin for "first stain" or "first flaw" - in other words, this alludes to the Christian idea of "original sin".
Medieval philosophy (and also many Ancient philosophies before it) believed in a sort of counter-evolution: Humanity and everything living are constantly rotting away, becoming weaker with every generation both physically, mentally and spiritually. This rot can only be staved off by God injecting his life-giving force anew into this world (like a needle of medicine into a dying patient) every few generations in an act of loving grace, or by purging the most unfit fruits from the tree in an act of righteous wrath. Noah's flood was interpreted as such a purging event, as evidenced by the reasons given in the Bible and other ancient texts. For example in Genesis 6,11-12: "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth."
Hugo and Amicia find themselves in the late Middle Ages. A period that's often characterized as one of slow societal, spiritual and moral decay. This is the time of the first witch burnings, of a Catholic Church fueled increasingly by greed and hypocrisy (see the first game for that). It's also the time of war and poverty after the relative peace and safety of the early Middle Ages, of roaming bandits and rogue knights (like Sophia and Arnaud) rendering the lands and seas increasingy unsafe. Consequently, many thinkers at the time thought the Plague to be an act of the righteous wrath of God, purging away the wickedness in the earth. In the game, Hugo (the embodiment of rationality/righteousness) and Amicia (the embodiment of compassion/grace) both carry and grow this wrath against the world as well as the hope for a cure in differing ways, although Hugo ultimately tends more towards righteous wrath, while Amicia tends more towards her hope for a cure.
She shares this hope with the alchemists of the time who were obsessed with the idea of purifying things and distilling all matter down to its absolute essence. In famously trying to find the Philosopher's Stone, a magical item or potion that could revert humanity back into its divine or eternal state before being tainted by sin and death, they were even trying to purify the human soul, and all of creation. Their science seemed promising at first, and they hyped it up with all kinds of mystical jargon, but in the end all their magical symbolism (like the Phoenix and others that we encounter constantly in these games) revealed itself to be baseless. The fountain of youth they were searching for in the writing of the ancients, the Water of Life they promised (like in Hugo's dream), revealed itself to be nothing but a puddle of brackish mud.
This also explains why the section on the island (a fake Garden of Eden with a fake Tree of Life in the middle of it), which was my favorite part of both entries, is so drawn out and devoid of tension in the game: The island is meant to convey this false sense of tranquil and hope that they have lulled themselves into. It's meant to dial it up to an almost unbearable level before all hell can break loose in the final act, driving home the final point of the story, that no light can ever exist without an equal amount of darkness. The more you believe in the goodness of life, the harder you will fall back into "evil".
In the end, Amicia comes to realize that no matter how high she holds this flame of wisdom that she has inherited from her mother (a symbol for this very knowledge of the ancients, that the alchemists were also seeking their answers in), at some point the rats will become too many, the darkness too overbearing. There is no way to purify the human soul. You cannot seperate the darkness from the light. The darkness is an inherent part of us, and we can only return to Paradise once we spew out the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, realizing that we are already whole. In other words, the game implies that we need to shed our dualistic thinking in order to progress as a species. To come to terms with the fact that we will never be purely "good" and "healthy" - none of us will be, no matter how much faith or science, how much compassion or ratio we apply. You can find this line of thinking in many modern pieces of art, also in many video games. Hellblade for example offers a very similar ideology. The original Life is Strange goes in a comparable direction. The recent indie game Indika is very close to A Plague Tale.
Someone else in this comment section mentioned that Hugo can also be seen as a metaphor for an atomic bomb. That's very true, the imagery used by the developers points clearly in that direction. Because this is the question that the game's story poses on us in the end: How will we deal with the sickness once it breaks through again? Amicia was not able to integrate the darkness into her soul, as in the end she killed Hugo who sacrificed himself on the tree like Jesus on the Cross in order for humanity to keep going for another round. But the game ends with showing us another carrier of the Prima Macula, born seemingly in a modern hospital of our time. Apart from being a potential sequel set-up, this is also a point of reflection for us: All these heights that we've reached in the past 100 years - when will their concurring depths be made manifest? How sick is our society now? And how do we plan on dealing with the sickness now?
I might imagine this, so please correct me if I'm wrong. But I think Amicia says something like "the world wasn't ready for you" in the end. So then the question is, are we ready?
Just to add to your criticism about Arnauld's strange non-reaction to Amicia killing his friends: I myself actually didn't realise for a long time that he was the guy we were fighting earlier. It was only after the game crashed on the island, I reloaded and read the little loading screen text for this chapter that I learned he was that same guy. There was nothing in the story and dialogue between the two that alluded to their previous hostility. Or maybe I'm just a very unperceptive player. I also missed half the souvenirs with all those great character moments. Like the swing you showed in the video.
Overall I'm a bit more critical of Requiem's story than you. I thought it was all over the place and just nonsensical at times. Like, why do we have to secretly infiltrate that religious ritual? Logically, we could just wait for a day and then ask our new friends the ruler and the priestess all about the island and to show us into the temple.
Oh, and did you see that very short, final scene of the game? After the second credits. The one with the darth vader breathing or blood pump sound or whatever? I was just wondering because you didn't mention it in relation to a possible sequel to the the Plage Tale series.
Thanks for your thoughts, I totally feel you.
Yes, I didn't mention the after credits scene just because I interpreted it as a small nod to the idea that the Macula is an ongoing cycle. Based on what the devs have said, it doesn't sound like they put it in to indicate a sequel. I suspect *if* there ever ends up being a sequel, it would keep its historical setting, but maybe go somewhere else in history. It would lose a lot of its identity moving to a modern-day setting imo.
"Some of my best friends are AAA" brilliant
Edit: the discussion of a bigger team and more financial backing making the game more difficult because it now must aim higher and subsequently experiences different difficulties is a very interesting one, but as you already expressed it so well there's nothing for me to add, so all I got for you is a small acknowledgment of a good throwaway joke
I'm curious what you think of the alternate Lucas ending. Even though it doesn't change much, I personally think it was unnecessary.
Yeah, I didn't mention it explicitly in my video since it kinda feels like an afterthought to account for people (perhaps in playtesting?) who simply refused to end the game themselves. My opinion is that the Lucas ending kinda undermines the main themes of the game by letting you escape the difficult decision you have to make caused by buying into the illusion of control you think you have over the macula.
I love how they let you act, and not let the cut scene do it.
Also, my brother, this video is a masterpiece, and I don't say that lightly.
Massive thanks!
Beautiful graphics, beautiful story. Best game I’ve played so far.
i want a APT3 with amicia and hugo( as by some theory it is possible hoga can be back ) only. If not then should start a new IP
Don’t see how Hugo can come back from death😂😂😂 He’s gone dude.
@@Loophole23742 you gotta check some theories
Game will never be continued
its a solid game not gonna lie but its dragged out pretty long and got little dull , No diss to the game but thats just my opinion . Sometimes bold moves falls flat for gamedevs look at jusant which was different but it didnt manage to move copies for the studio .
You should also play disco Elysium
They should have just handed Hugo over at the beginning of innocence.
I liked the first one cause it was all different and much slower-paced than other games. But this one, my goodness, excruciatingly slow, the cutscenes lasted forever, and simply walking or riding in a cart a few hundred metres seemed to take ages. And the gameplay was clonky many times, seemingly more beholden to games from 15-20 years ago. And last but not least, I noticed that it was a bit too violent for teens and maybe way to infantile for adults. The worst feature was the constant holding hands of the siblings, the incessant sobbing (almost whining), whispering, gasping, etc. And yes, I think that matters as well when it comes to enjoyment. All in all a very tedious affair. Not even to mention that I still don't understand what the rat theme was all about.
This is a slow paced game because it focuses on characters, storyline, and he relationship between Hugo and amicia. The point of the game really isn’t to understand what or where the rats came from, but finding a cure for the macula. It is a beautifully written game with good graphics and an even better storyline. And the sobbing is completely understandable, I mean if you’re entire world starts falling apart with man eating rats, and you find out your brother had an incurable disease that is slowly killing him, you would probably react the same way. If you want a game that’s more fast paced, that’s completely fine but please don’t go bashing games just because it’s not your play style ^^
@@EchoSong133 As I said in my comment, I liked the first installment cause it WAS different from other games I played. But it still amazes me how people answering my or anaybody's comments seem to think only their opinion is objective and true. So honestly, your criticism to me me is neither here nor there. Based on my rather personal view I could also rip into your take on the game and maintain you are wrong. But honestly, what is the point? But what is yours?
I know the story is good but Im glad you're one of the few who also talks about the gameplay. Since it's you know..a game. But Damn whats your problem with Beatrice😂😂
This game and TLOU2 are my favourite games
I find It really unfair to criticize the combat and upgrade system.. you just decided to upgrade your crossbow and found it boring. If you would have gone for other upgrades you would have find it way more interesting..that's how I did and just because of your personal choice you slam down the entire gaming experience.
But the game gives you the choice, and you can get it fairly early, just admit it's flawed
@@okage6219 yeah it gives you the choice but if you are making a review of the gameplay and you get stuck on that it's pretty ungenerous. The different situations can be solved in so many ways that the game has a huge replayability.. that should have been highlighted way more than 'i got crossbow, I killed enemies, too easy '. Above all if you make the effort to make a 40 mins long ass video. But maybe it's just me that expect a bit more
@eliaramonti where is the replayability? The game is very limited in the ways to approach each chapter.
A Plague Requiem is what TLOU 2 wanted to be but failed. Bold and courageous writing but with cohesion purpose, and not just following through some narrative choices because you felt it had to be done (looking at you Druckman).