A Plague Tale: Innocence is a unique experience. What other video game requires players to escort their brother through 14th century France in the middle of a deadly outbreak? All the same, the ten games below should definitely tickle your fancy in one way or another.
Either the gameplay of the following entries is similar to A Plague Tale: Innocence or there is still a focus on atmosphere, environmental storytelling, and personal relationships. The 2019 title is relatively short - only taking about 10 hours to complete - so any gamer should have time to beat it and play several of these before the 2022 sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, comes out.
10 Silent Hill 2
The combat in Silent Hill 2 is far from the highlight. The story, setting, and revelations surrounding the main character are the real draw. Unfortunately, it is currently difficult to play an optimal version of Silent Hill 2. The HD remaster for the Xbox 360 and PS3 is notoriously bad, so gamers are better off with a PS2 copy and a CRT television or the PC port with some good mods.
9 Resident Evil
Resident Evil has never been known for grounded drama, but just about every horror game after 1996 owes a debt of gratitude to it. Few triple-A games still go for slow-paced scares and atmosphere, and the recent Resident Evil entries deliver this mood excellently.
We'd recommend playing the original PS1 games and the recent entries. Resident Evil 4 and 5 are great in their own right, but are more action-focused. Like A Plague Tale, 2021's Resident Evil: Village also deals with familial stakes.
8 Metro
This first-person shooter franchise eschews modern genre conventions in favor of an atmospheric experience. Gamers won't be twitch-shooting their way through the post-apocalypse here. Stealth, survival, and scrounging for materials are a major part of the gameplay. The many difficulty modes and options help one play with exactly the right amount of immersion they want. While not fully open-world, Metro: Exodus offers more opportunities for exploration with more open environments.
7 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Ninja Theory has always made solid action games with unique narratives. The company truly outdid itself with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. The game aims to properly portray Psychosis within the medium, and Ninja Theory even consulted experts to make sure the story did justice to the condition. There is currently a sequel in development for Xbox Series X and PC since the developer is now owned by Microsoft.
6 Little Nightmares
Some horror is dreadful, grounded, and aims for realism; just like A Plague Tale: Innocence. On the other end of this vibe is the surreal horror of Little Nightmares. It still draws similarities to A Plague Tale with its focus on puzzles in place of combat. They also share uniqueness. Even though the two appear opposite to each other, there is nothing like either of them.
5 Alone In The Dark
Before Resident Evil, there was Alone in the Dark. By comparison, A Plague Tale: Innocence is a visceral action game. There is almost no combat in the original Alone in the Dark, though enemies still chase the protagonist. Puzzles can sometimes be obtuse. If you played A Plague Tale: Innocence looking for a distinct horror game, then Alone in the Dark will scratch a similar itch, though it is definitely a game of its time.
4 Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons
Before the fantastic co-op adventures A Way Out and It Takes Two, Josef Fares directed Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Players control both siblings simultaneously, though it is specifically not a co-op game. Watching two siblings interact with each other draws immediate comparisons to A Plague Tale: Innocence. Though far from a horror game, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is extremely emotional and a tear-jerker.
3 The Medium
The Medium wears the Silent Hill influence on its sleeve. It arguably goes even a step further by completely eschewing combat in favor of puzzles and fleeing from threats.
Reviews were mixed, but lovers of older survival horror titles should absolutely check this one out. Developer Bloober Team is now collaborating with publisher Konami, though no word on whether this means it is working on a new Silent Hill.
2 The Evil Within
The Evil Within is significantly more on the Resident Evil side of survival horror than A Plague Tale: Innocence. It makes sense considering it was created by Shinji Mikami. All the same, there is a focus on stealth and resource gathering similar to A Plague Tale. The first Evil Within is a fine debut entry, but the second game improves over every aspect of its predecessor and has more open-ended environments. It does not look like a third game will happen soon, unfortunately.
1 The Last Of Us
It is easy to draw comparisons between The Last of Us when talking about A Plague Tale: Innocence. Players guide a younger, more vulnerable person throughout a dangerous landscape in both. A Plague Tale focuses less on directly confronting enemies, however. The historical setting of A Plague Tale versus the post-apocalypse of The Last of Us helps it stand out.