(The tl;dr video companion to this article):

I always like to remind people the best way to troubleshoot something, happens to share similarities with the best way to do science: just try a bunch of shit and see what works.


No worries on discerning the truth of the matter afterwards: it will be fairly evident if what you tried worked or not

This past week has been a double stuffed Oreo of a time frame, as I’ve been making short work and a hearty effort of starting and playing a panoply of recent releases, in an effort to exert my better judgments within the gaming realm. Not that this is anything new, mind you, as I’ve had several slews of successful article runs just this year alone, and went a good six months in a row the 2nd half of last year, in a gauntlet of challenge to test my talents as a writer and thinker, as both represent an eternity of refinement, in a never ending endeavor of cultivating value….


…very much like any puppet show ever performed: there is no glass ceiling for where quality is concerned

The latest in a long line of new releases that I’ve cut my teeth on is Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, which is the third game in the narratively driven stealth action series, which in past games, usually involves a butt load of rats to avoid at all costs. Admittedly, this series has always represented a safe, if not tragically permanent slot on my “want to play” list, as aside from trying out the first game, I never got around to playing through the whole thing, which led me to skipping the sequel that followed. Just one of those weird moments, where I enjoyed what I played, and didn’t deny the obvious quality inherent within the series, and yet, never a strong enough sense of compelling magnetism to draw me closer to put controller in hand and enjoy it proper. That has finally changed, however, as I’ve both read articles and seen videos of Resonance in action, and I felt the call of adventure beckon. The game acts as a prequel of sorts to the first two games, but more in the vein of a stand alone story of one of the side characters featured in the main series, and not the other two characters that feature as the stars of the first two games.


I feel like it’s pretty telling when you’re all in on Team (insert character name here), in this case, Sophia, in spite of the fact one never even got to see what the hell she did in the main series to deserve the spin off one is now playing

Again, an awkward moment where I lack more frame of reference and insight into the goings on within the series, having sadly not committed to the series for any length of time before hand, but seeing as this is not necessarily contingent on the other games events, being set before their happenings, the only tie to the overarching narrative (at least at the beginning) is the main character Sophia, who acts as the spark plug to this games engine; both metaphysically and literally, as she is constantly bringing an electricity to any given situation, and really bringing to life any scene or combat scenario she finds herself in. Definitely far more aggressive than a Lara Croft, but not as flippant as a Nathan Drake. Fine reference points to give you an idea of how one may frame the experience inside their own head, as a lot of dunking on henchmen is Sophia’s specialty.


As well as overzealous friends of the family…be thankful it wasn’t going to be an eating competition you had to beat this guy in

I mentioned already that since Resonance is apart of the Plague Tale Series, it is earnest in its aim to deliver a cinematic experience, so there is a voluminous amount of dialogue and story that is woven throughout the experience. The first hour of the game (which is more or less the first two chapters), act as the training wheels session of the title, with chapter one being heavy on exposition and tutorials, and chapter 2 being less hand-holdy, more generous in its action pieces, and a hell of a lot of escalation, which does wonders to make up for what one may assess as bordering on the line of excess, where the notorious “walk and talk” sections of gameplay are concerned. There are plenty of examples within the gaming realm to point to, though in my mind, Red Dead Redemption 2 is probably the most guilty of enforcing them on the regular, which, goes to show you even high quality, beloved games have their momentary faux pas’, and are guilty of crutching on weak design tropes where pacing is concerned. I guess in RDR2’s case, the whole game is phenomenally glacial, so the walk and talks (sadly?) feel appropriate. I bring all of this up now, as I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about this kind of thing, so anyone who has no tolerance for such a happening: this is your fair warning.


Much like its more well known counter part the walk and talk, this game also features the “boat and gloat”, which is very similar, but drenched in metaphoric prose

Perhaps the gratuity of said walk and talks become far more spread out and measured when one finally gets out of the tutorial zone, but I felt it worth a mention none the less. Having said all that, however, Resonance is a polished game overall, so the dialogue and voice acting are both pleasant to the ears, so it is not as if you are suffering a snooze fest the entire time, and the game allows you to skip slower bits on the regular, so maybe my mention itself is too excessive about a near excess, so let us move on from this acknowledgment to more interesting affairs. From the little I played of the first Plague Tale, one of the big focuses of the setting was indeed mass swaths of rats you had to avoid, which are entirely absent from this game. Whether or not they will play a role at all remains to be seen, but seeing as the game acts as more of a “side quest” title of sorts, they might not come into play at all. This goes for stealth, too, as being quiet and sneaking around were essentially non-existent in the introductory tutorial lessons, so prepare yourself for a hell of a lot of combat this time around.

Pic
I can’t believe I didn’t take one god damn screenshot of a combat scenario during my hour of play. The take away here? The gameplay itself was too engaging for me to care about snapping a photo.

Both the regular controls and the combat system are pleasantly fluid, so you definitely don’t feel stiff in either arena, whether it be navigation or straight up fighting. Resonance does come packing with a parry to utilize, and while it can certainly make quick work of enemies if practiced, it does not seem to be a make or break scenario for assured victory, so for those of you who are less action junkies and are here more for the story, you should be able to swordslop your way safely through encounters. Having said that, though, Sophia is kind of a glass cannon, as she can hit like a truck, but cannot really take a hit worth a damn, as even on normal difficulty, your life bar equates to baseball rules: three strikes and you’re out. Granted, you have access to said parry, a dodge, and eventually abilities which give you further defensive and offensive capabilities, and every time you down an enemy, you regain one hit back, so as long as you’re not always on the back foot, you are a self-fueling machine where regenerating health is concerned, but it is certainly not automatic. Though, I quite enjoyed the stern but fairly demanding system at play, as I hate when 3D action games basically boil down to “dial-a-punch” combat, as the whole thing feels like a cake walk, and completely destroys any tension there after….I’m looking at you, Batman Arkham games…


I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but as much as I liked the Arkham games (at least 2/3 of them), the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the piece of cake “homing fist/dial-a-punch combat system provided, as there was absolutely no weight or challenge involved. Luckily, Resonance completely avoids the same fate

I stopped my “preview” of the game right before it really opened up, so I’m guessing I’m about to see the game truly pop off, but even the opening segments felt like they were easily pulling me in with the amount of spit shine refinement that has gone into the title. The game looks gorgeous, and runs smoothly as well, so any given moment kind of just inherently possesses a cinematic flair to it, so a big win for all you graphics whores out there. I think I greatly enjoy the admixture of both the safe and surprising that Resonance pulls off, as it uses genre tropes and game mechanic go to’s where it makes sense, but then kind of surprises you with some off beat flourish in the next instnce, whether it be mechanicalyl or theatrically speaking, as the game definitely likes to be non-traditional in a mindful way, which is pleasant to see.


“The Dastardly Donut of Death” perfectly epitomizes that of which I speak to

Resonance has a lot going for it, and my intuition tells me the whole game is going to be a roller coaster ride the entire way through. I look forward to seeing the rest of Sophia’s adventures in my near future.

~Pashford

(P.S.: the menus are cool, too)