If you've played the previous games in the Plague Tale franchise, Innocence and Requiem, you'll immediately notice a big difference between them and the upcoming Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. There's only one person on screen in most screenshots. Amicia and Hugo have been replaced by the stalwart smuggler Sophia, whom Requiem introduced to the world. Set 15 years before the events of that game, Resonance follows Sophia as she explores a Minotaur's island. Flipping back and forth between Plague Tale's medieval setting and the ancient Minoan era will be part of the game, with events in the antediluvian period affecting the island in Sophia's time.
So, what's the beef with the minotaur? Well, this particularly angry hunk of stewing steak is, it seems, something to do with the Macula, the ancient curse that flows through the blood of certain families. Speaking to us, Asobo Studio's CEO and game director David Dedeine explained, "the Macula has been connected to the world and to humanity since the dawn of time", adding that it "has no fixed or definitive form; it evolves with humanity’s fears, psychology, and culture. As such, the Macula hasn't always been linked to plague-infected rats, and the one in Resonance absolutely is not." However, Dedeine remained tight-lipped about the form the Macula takes in Resonance, so we can't say for certain whether the Minotaur is its manifestation in Resonance.
Running is not an option
With the new protagonist comes a new emphasis on combat. As two protagonists have become one, Sophia appears to be a much stronger protagonist than Amicia, for whom combat was typically not their first choice.
Sophia, by contrast, was raised by a band of brigands with a sword in her hand, so she's not one to avoid fisticuffs (or, indeed, swordicuffs). Expanding Sophia's character is a key focus of this game, says Dedeine. "The goal was absolutely not to create a second Amicia, but rather to celebrate Sophia for who she is: more trained, more physical, more offensive, and also more independent as she doesn’t have to look after anyone".
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Sophia "trusts in her strength" and "doesn't run away", he says, so we can expect to see a lot of combat in Resonance. I'm very curious to see how this combat plays out, and whether we can expect more of an action game befitting Sophia's brigand background. However, the game won't be all-action, all the time. Befitting the Greek origin of Sophia's name, meaning wisdom, puzzles are promised to be a big part of Resonance, which we'll solve with the help of a Minoan sphere.
Combat is far from the only major sea change in Resonance. Dedeine says that the game will explore themes that are new to the series, "such as the relationship with father figures, as well as fresh settings and color palettes" that befit the Eastern Mediterranean. The game certainly looks a lot more colorful, rich with red hues of the ancient ruins, lush greens of olive trees, and the baking sun.
The Plague Tale turnabout
The step back in time may seem like a strange move to keen-eyed players of the Requiem, which ended with a post-credits scene showing someone hooked up to a ventilator who appeared to be infected with the Macula. However, this teaser isn't likely to bear fruit in Resonance.
Dedeine said that "we knew some of our fans were really eager to see the follow-up teased in Requiem. But the team spent over seven years with these characters, and to keep things fresh, to preserve that creative spark, to avoid disappointing anyone, and to do even better, we felt we needed to take a break, to clear our heads and reinvent ourselves in a way".
At the moment, he said, "the Requiem sequel isn’t in development yet, even though we do talk about it from time to time". A blow for those who are desperate to see the Plague Tale franchise take its first steps into the modern era, then, but a change of scenery and game style should still be interesting.
It's certainly not a sign that players should expect the same old Plague Tale that we're used to, as huge chunks of the franchise's style have had to be reworked from the ground up to mesh with Sophia's physicality, which Dedeine said "changes everything". Tweaks have had to be made to "the type of drive, the scenarios, how emotions are expressed. And, of course, movement, camera, and combat style".
So, it looks as though Resonance is going to try to walk a very fine line between building up the backstory of the extant Plague Tale games while also offering a new approach to the series. We've been very interested in what little we've seen so far, and we're not alone: the game was nominated for the "Most Wanted" award at this year's Golden Joysticks.
While there's no demo available yet, we're quite anxiously awaiting one to see how the game turns its series on its head and whether it's able to see it through without any significant hiccups. The game is due to release next year, but there's no firm date yet: we'll be sure to let you know as soon as a release is scheduled. If this has piqued your interest in other games that are due to release next year and that we think will be a big part of the gaming conversation, be sure to check out our other Big in 2026 articles!
