Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Preview

Developer Asobo Studio’s A Plague Tale series is getting its first prequel with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and it’s trading away stealth and the de Rune siblings. In exchange, Resonance provides a tough action-adventure title following the future smuggler and captain of the Rascasse, Sophia, 15 years before her appearance in A Plague Tale: Requiem.

The preview build I experienced took me through Chapters V and VI, with the first providing a taste of characterisation, exploration, puzzles, and combat, while the second showed off more of the Minoan setting’s mysteries alongside ancient horrors and not-so-absent-after-all stealth gameplay. As a certified scaredy-cat, I preferred Chapter V, but both were wonderful experiences that came together to give Resonance a delightful Uncharted feel to it.

Once I got used to the combat (easy, thanks to the preview-exclusive training area), I found it fun and challenging without being punishing. Sophia fights with one of several unlockable swords with unique abilities, a knife to capitalise on stunned foes, and a grappling hook to pull people toward her. There are the typical yellow and red flashes to indicate attacks that can only be parried or dodged, but the combat flow has a lot of room for strategy and using the environment to your benefit, whether that means picking up a sharp object to hurl at someone or kicking a foe off a cliff.

What kept the combat always feeling fresh for me was the health bar; Sophia only had three segments available to her, with each hit removing one. After three hits, she went down (and goodness, did she go down; I was nowhere near a damageless run), only for the game to pick up at the most recent checkpoint. However, it was much harder to restore a health bar segment than it was to lose one: Sophia’s health can only be restored by defeating an enemy.

Healing based on killing your foes pushes a less-than-perfect player to stay on the aggressive side so they can keep Sophia alive, while the low total available health puts them on their toes and focused on actually learning how to parry and fight well. This excellent combo keeps combat feeling like a rush and the player focused on actually learning the new skills they can unlock throughout the game while always dangling in front of them the option of making a comeback if they can just kill a guy.

However, Resonance isn’t just running around and stabbing people; there are collectibles everywhere the light touches, and a plethora of puzzles that care about where exactly that light touches. The ruin-riddled island Chapter V sees Sophia and her redheaded pal Leni exploring is surprisingly vast, with plenty of paths that manage to wind back around on each other. Along the way, there are little fragments on the ground you can exchange for combat upgrades and trinkets tucked away that give you passive bonuses for finding them.

The puzzles sprinkled throughout the chapter were also engaging, with most asking Sophia and the player to use a Minoan Prism to refract light and aim it at specific targets to open a path. These, and the few other stray puzzles throughout, are tricky without being frustrating, tasking you with understanding how to position yourself between the natural light and your targets to aim in just the right place. Plus, if you’re ever stuck, you can either check Sophia’s journal for reminders and clues or hit a button to make her and Leni offer hints. Notably, the hints only come when you ask for them; the prompt to make the duo think about hints does come up after a few minutes, but even that can be made less frequent or even turned off in the settings.

Yet Sophia and Leni’s conversations offer so much more than mere hints — the duo have this running conversation they add to as you explore, get into fights, solve puzzles, and find collectibles. They talk about their pasts, their stray thoughts and feelings, their history together, and what Sophia should name her eventual ship, but the real treat is how this conversation never feels forced. I’ve grown used to player characters and their friends throwing out canned dialogue or walking around in utter silence, but Sophia and Leni offer a breath of fresh air with their frequent banter; it’s never annoying or repetitive, and it feels like I’m actually listening to two close friends with great chemistry on an adventure together, even when they discuss who I assume are the former friends chasing them.

Now, Leni isn’t the only person by Sophia’s side, in a manner of speaking — somehow, she feels this strange… resonance between her and the ancient hero Theseus, who once came to this island and was trapped in a labyrinth with a vicious creature. During a few moments, Sophia can cast her mind back to Theseus’ history, allowing the player to experience moments from the hero’s quests, learn secrets lost to time, and meet those who perished long ago. Regardless of the situation, this connection she shares with Theseus seems to be where the skill upgrades come from, which is a neat way to justify character progression!

Then, as Chapter VI starts, the combat and conversations fall away, to be replaced by light-based stealth segments as Sophia is stalked by a restless presence. In a dark mirror to the puzzles from before, this creature can only live in the dark, feeding on any fools who dare to step into its domain and leaving them nought but ashen husks. The only way to defend against it is to stay in the light or out of view.

Given the Minoan history of the setting, Sophia’s connection with Theseus, and the ungodly amount of bull iconography everywhere, I was left to assume this was meant to be an iteration of the fabled Minotaur, Asterius/Asterion, though I admit this was never explicitly stated. Even if this isn’t somehow a bull-man, this monster is still terrifying — even a second in its clutches is enough to leave Sophia as empty and helpless as any husk you can find lying around.

Notably, while the only way to be truly safe from this beast is to rest in a pocket of direct light, Sophia soon learns that it can only detect her by these strange blue glowing particles that attach themselves to anyone who moves through the darkness quickly. It’s possible to sneak right past the presence if you crouch or move slowly enough, though it does occasionally suck in everything around it, requiring you to find a physical barrier to hide behind.

These basic mechanics lead to a string of puzzles, sneaking sections, and chase sequences, each feeling fresher and more frightful than the last, especially with how effective the sound design was — everything is quiet and spooky, except for the monster, which snakes around through the air with these unsettling bumps, almost screeching to inhale. I always knew when it was around, even if I was constantly second-guessing when it wasn’t.

By the end, I was constantly judging distances, wondering if I would be safe if I just booked it or whether I could even reach the next safe-ish part of the geography. There are a few moments to truly breathe throughout Chapter VI, but I’d be lying if I said my heart wasn’t in my throat for most of it; if you’re worried that Resonance won’t be scary, don’t be.

As horrifying as I found the creature and its dark, dank environment, it was also strangely beautiful. It glowed a brilliant blue, like the odd particles that stick to Sophia, and came to life with sickening detail: bumps and tendrils and what looks like dozens of mouths… If I had to describe it briefly, imagine a really effed up starfish at the end of a giant, decaying snake.

It’s not just the creature, however; all of Resonance’s visuals are brought to life with incredible detail, with beautiful lighting, realistic characters and environments that still manage to have strong, recognisable designs. There is love and care in every rock and every pore, and it all looks even better in motion.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy may be my first A Plague Tale title, but if these two chapters are as good as everything else this game and its series have to offer, it will not be my last. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on the 27th of August, and I, for one, can’t wait.