I just completed my second complete playthrough of A Plague Tale: Innocence. This time, I selected the French voice acting. Since I also play with the HUD turned off for greater realism, there were no barriers to my full and willing immersion into the brutal, beautiful 14th century setting.
I do not understand French. Sometimes I can almost make out the words from familiar cognates. This general familiarity helped me feel comfortable but mute, like music or like a prayer in an ancient liturgical language. Not every gamer out there is looking for this kind of experience, and A Plague Tale has some other kinds of entertainment value. Nevertheless, this game ranks highly among us immersive gamer types, and playing in French without the HUD is the definitive way to experience this extraordinary game immersively.
Photography in A Plague Tale is more than a thing in its own right. This game put the virtual photography community on the map for me, and it is easily one of the top games for this thrilling new hobby. Being neither super indie nor big industry makes the game more credible and valuable for virtual photography, as does its small linear scale. This allows photographers to understand the leading opportunities within the linear play sequence for snapping shots, while the beautifully rendered environment and the well implemented photo mode allow for creative empowerment to think of new perspectives that the Internet perhaps hasn’t seen yet.
Our virtual photos of Hugo, Lucas, Mélie, Rodric, Arthur, and of course Amicia capture intrinsic friendship. Adulting in the 21st century is the experience of coming to grips with the lack of friendship or true community in the world, which in the best cases may operate on social trust and equity but is lacking in shared purpose and genuine personal loyalty. Nowadays, living so isolated from others as is often the case, with sweeping chaos and widespread societal change commensurate with that of the Black Death depicted in A Plague Tale, our virtual scrapbooks show us how we can not only survive together, but also heal and grow.
So, I dedicate my completed second playthrough to us, that is, we who keep going back to our favorite toys because those innocent keepsakes are better than the stuff of mainstream success. Here’s to us, who aren’t going to lose our innocence or our love for our friends in this turbulent time of upheaval, fear, and suspicion.
Here’s to beauty, friendship, and France. And here’s to the upcoming sequel, Requiem, and the legendary staff members of Asobo whose hard work and continued care have brought so much light and love into the world.
Jusqu’à la prochaine fois.