A Plague Tale Threequel Must Reevaluate Its Checkpoint System

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A Plague Tale Threequel Must Reevaluate Its Checkpoint System

Highlights

  • A sequel to A Plague Tale: Requiem is not confirmed yet, but potential gameplay changes are crucial considerations.
  • The checkpoint system in the Plague Tale series can be punishing as it repeatedly forces players to collect loot after each death.
  • Softlocks can lead to repetitive instantaneous deaths, making checkpoint design vital for the success of a third installment.

As a seasoned gamer with a penchant for immersive storytelling and challenging gameplay, I’ve found myself captivated by the dark, atmospheric world of A Plague Tale. However, my love for the series is not without its quirks – or rather, its checkpoints.

It appears that the game A Plague Tale is currently not expected to have a sequel anytime soon, as it’s been too short since the release of Requiem. However, if a sequel does materialize, it will be intriguing to discover when it takes place in history and especially in the distant future, hinted at in the post-credits scene of Requiem. If there is a sequel, the story will undoubtedly play a crucial role, but so too will any adjustments made to the stealth mechanics in A Plague Tale. The enemy AI will always require careful balancing, but a potential third installment could potentially refine aspects such as this.

As a gamer diving into the potential sequel of a third game, I can’t help but contemplate if the protagonists will veer away from stealth-centric gameplay altogether. Regardless, my experience with Amicia de Rune in A Plague Tale has been somewhat frustrating due to its harsh penalty system. There are instances where her death isn’t too far from a checkpoint, minimizing the loss of progress. However, there are also times when her demise forces me to re-loot everything in the area all over again, and that’s just the beginning. The real trouble comes when I find myself stuck in an unescapable softlocked situation due to dying.

A Plague Tale’s Checkpoint System is Egregiously Punishing

Indeed, deaths are made excruciating in A Plague Tale and they’re worse if players usually enjoy searching every nook and cranny of their environments for hard-earned resources. Innocence has a delicate, gratifying resource management system where players spend materials on both crafting and upgrade allocations, meaning players need to be judicious with the items they scavenge. Requiem then changes this slightly, but resources aren’t any less important.

Each time a player dies in these games, they are returned to their last save point, making them reacquire all the loot they had gathered, regardless of any items left behind in previous rooms or areas. It’s unfortunate that both “Innocence” and “Requiem” incorporate such a harsh checkpoint system, which surprisingly persists even in the sequel, suggesting it was intentionally designed to be challenging.

Instead of accumulating loot every time they die and respawn, this approach primarily extends the game’s duration, making it longer. Players are free to discard these items if they find the process of reacquiring them tedious, but doing so limits their ability to craft ammunition or gain upgrades that would have been available with the loot.

In the next match, it would significantly improve the experience if items were kept after a player dies, eliminating the need to retrieve them. This way, players can focus more on strategizing about how to avoid or overcome the foe who defeated them.

A Plague Tale’s Softlocks are Reason Enough for Checkpoints to Be Reconsidered

In extreme situations, if fire pits are put out before they naturally die, they might stay extinguished when restarting a part, causing players to become trapped in a permanent and immediate death sequence that cannot be avoided.

It’s fortunate that both Innocence and Requiem include a chapter select option in their main menu, which allows chapters to be divided into sections for players to reload. However, selecting one of these bookmarks forces the player to repeat a section of the chapter, gather any newly spawned loot, and deal with potentially problematic AI once more.

As a gamer, I’ve found that these two titles don’t exactly offer an extensive playtime, but some sections are significantly easier than others. The problem lies in the awkwardly placed checkpoints, which seem to drag out the experience more than necessary. How the third Plague Tale game handles this design could potentially make or break it for me.

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2024-08-17 14:04