An Analysis of Style: Studying A Plague Tale Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence won multiple awards in 2019 for its remarkable story and atmosphere. I study it now through the lens of the 'Products' model I created some time ago, focusing on the aspect of 'style' which I think Plague Tale is a master of.

1. Sensitivity: They killed my dog the bastards!

Sensitivity is the ability of a product to communicate emotion through non-verbal cues: ambiance, environmental storytelling, visuals ect… In the case of A Plague Tale: Innocence, there is one scene that provokes a lot of drama right at the start: the rats kill your dog, your companion of only 5 minutes, and yet it is a deeply impactful moment. The game makes you channel your inner John Wick in the sense that you now have skin in the game. Unlike your fictional parents, the dog doesn’t have to prove itself to make you care about its death, and make you care about the enemy.

2. Exaggeration: The rule of wow

The audience won’t break their suspension of disbelief if you shove something ridiculous in their face unless it’s in-universe-logic-breaking; instead, they’ll think it’s cool, and it will reinforce the fantasy you are trying to convey, guiding the attention of the audience where you want it.

I dare say Plague has mastered this: I will forever remember these moments of first fleeing a sea of rats, funnelling through mountains of thousands of pig carcasses or traversing the dreadful meander of a fresh battlefield. It is these moments that really bring home the fantasy of medieval Europe during the plague. It is immersion through shock therapy and it’s effective.

3. Spark: Wait, I’m getting my own castle?

The spark is that element of surprise that keeps you engaged and waiting for the next hit. It is not conveyed only through the narrative, but also location, gameplay, music and sound effects. In this game, expectations are subverted multiple times; I certainly did not expect to become the lord of a castle in ruins in a game of infiltration, it was a pleasant surprise.

It is good to keep those sparks frequent but more importantly diverse. It stops being surprising if you always give the same thing. Plague Tale does a good job of using the breadth of its game as a support to change things up: unique puzzles, exotic gameplay events, new skills, new companions ect…

4. Challenge: Yep, that’s how you win an award

A product will never have that recognition of timeless style unless it subverts expectations. It is in those moments where you are witnessing things that change your understanding that your brain is really engaged. For example in Plague Tale, my mind started shifting when I saw the rats as a tool rather than an enemy after getting new munitions for my sling. I could now draw their attention to clear a path or throw them on an unsuspecting Englishman, and it changed the way I engaged with previous notions I had about the game.

Mixing gameplay elements, settings and other ideas together in fresh new ways is what moves a medium forward and clears the path for further innovation. Plague Tale does this with mixing Ico-like mechanics of protecting a helpless companion with infiltration challenges. Hugo, your kid brother in the game, rapidly becomes an endearing companion because of his physical proximity to your avatar, holding hands, clinging to you in dark places, and sometimes even being actively useful. Meanwhile, seeing Amicia, the player character, kill someone for the first time and observing her and her brother’s reacting to it make you realize the consequences of your playstyle. These elements mix gameplay and narrative together in perfect coherence, and the game becomes more than the sum of its parts through it.

In plague Tale, suddenly you’re not relying on old gaming reflexes anymore, you’re living an adventure, you care about the people and the goal, you engage with the medium in a different way because the way you do it matters; and that’s how you win an award.