A Plague Tale: Innocence became an unexpected hit after players were introduced to the plague-ridden world of fourteenth century France, and the sequel A Plague Tale: Requiem was announced two years after its release in 2021. Continuing the story of the de Rune siblings Amicia and Hugo, A Plague Tale: Requiem aimed to build on the first game and be a bigger and better version of the survival horror stealth title with more action, improved visuals, and more substantive settings.
After the revelations in A Plague Tale: Innocence, Requiem sees Amicia, Beatrice, and Lucas leaving their home province of Guyenne and taking Hugo to Southern France in order to find a cure for his destructive blood condition. Naturally, things aren't smooth sailing for the group, and A Plague Tale: Requiem has its fair share of twists and turns as Amicia desperately tries to protect her brother. With the developer stating that A Plague Tale: Requeim is the end of the series for the time being, the game's conclusion becomes even more intriguing.
A Plague Tale: Requiem's Story Of Siblings
The bond between Amicia and Hugo is the beating heart at the center of the first game, and A Plague Tale: Requiem continues to revolve around the two and their complicated relationship. Amicia's protectiveness of Hugo pushes her to violence on more than one occasion, and A Plague Tale: Requiem examines how this makes her feel and pushes their connection to its limits. Throughout A Plague Tale: Requiem, Amicia makes sacrifice after sacrifice for her brother, including leaving Beatrice and Lucas behind to focuses on keeping Hugo safe.
This makes the ending of A Plague Tale: Requiem even more heartbreaking, as not only does Amicia lose Beatrice in a ritual sacrifice, but she is also eventually forced to kill Hugo herself after he gives himself over to the Macula. The grief of seeing Beatrice killed, the anger at Emilie and Victor's actions, and the pressure of his powers eventually causes Hugo to snap and embrace the hordes of rats. Hugo tells Amicia that the only way to stop the rats after he fully merges with the Macula is to kill him and stop the tidal wave of rodents from destroying everything.
An Event-filled Ending For A Plague Tale
Hugo's death is the tragic culmination of the family's journey that saw them fleeing from Aquitaine as they tried to find a brighter future. Battling scheming nobles, an intrusive Inquisition, betrayals, and more rats than anyone should have to encounter in a lifetime, Amicia and Hugo's lives have not been easy. Over the course of the two games, players watch as Amicia and Hugo's relationship becomes closer as they both grow and adapt to their troubling circumstances. Seeing Hugo finally submit to the Macula – a circumstance Amicia was desperate to avoid – was truly heartbreaking.
However, even though Amicia has lost her family and pretty much everyone she was close to, there is a faint note of hope. A year after Hugo death's, Amicia is shown preparing to head off on another journey, this time to find the next Macula Carrier and help them and their Protector. Learning more about Basilius, the first carrier of the Macula, in addition to her own experiences with Hugo sets Amicia up as a helpful ally to anyone trying to fight the curse. However, the post-credits scene of a modern day Macula carrier being born shows that Amicia wasn't successful in wiping it out for good – something any future Plague Tale games will undoubtedly explore.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.