Plague Tale's prequel makes serious moves for the Uncharted and Tomb Raider crown – after one chapter of Resonance I'm eager for more adventuring

Trading dour, grim fairytale-like surroundings for glistening Mediterranean sunshine isn't the only way my hands-on with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy sets itself apart from predecessors Innocence and Requiem. Set 15 years earlier, starring a younger Sophia – a smuggler introduced in the second game – she's a capable hero who's far from defenceless, carving through enemy guards with a smirk or punting them into one of an ancient temple's several mysterious holes.

Even in her youth Sophia wasn't on the straight and narrow, and by the game's fourth chapter (which forms the entirety of my demo) she's rocking up to a Minoan temple alongside her friend Leni, with a rugged journal detailing the path through the ancient site's 'trials' that promise to lead to a mysterious treasure. They're not alone – an enemy military force is right on the trail of our "plunderer" heroes. These foes might not have the prism like Sophia does, an artefact that's key to solving the path through the temple as intended, but a callous disregard for history has them using battering rams to smash through stone instead. It's all a bit Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and that's no coincidence – though with solid puzzles of its own and satisfyingly high-impact swordplay, Resonance, like the Plague Tale games before it, is set to leave its own mark on third-person action.

Highly ratted

2019's A Plague Tale: Innocence came about when Asobo Studio set out to make a new third-person action franchise, senior producer Eric Chort tells me, the studio impressed by what Naughty Dog accomplished with The Last of Us: "We were like, can we try to make a game like this?" In a straight comparison, "we can't compete with that" he says, "so, let's make something that's our vision of this – the French Middle Ages was a great opportunity, because we know it in Bordeaux." With the first game more of a success than the developer expected, direct sequel Requiem allowed them to further refine that vision.

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But, two games down, following Amicia and Hugo's harrowing journey fleeing France through truly gruesome violence and a plague of supernatural rats, "we were a little exhausted by all these emotions," Chort admits. "We love the Plague series, but are we ready to come back to Amicia? Oh no. Let's take a break." Resonance doesn't just provide an opportunity to switch-up the tone and pace, but to hone Asobo Studio's technical chops too. "Each time, we want to make a new step in our technology, our gameplay. We want to make a game that's different, more dynamic, with combat." Sophia, a character in Requiem that stood out during development, seemed to fit the bill as a new star – something the team only landed on as a possibility as they were wrapping up the second game.

"We love Uncharted and Tomb Raider, so I think we are more in that direction," says Chort when I ask about the tone shift, and where he'd place this project if his analogue for the earlier titles is The Last of Us. "The puzzles, the strong character, and being an archaeological thing. You try to find treasures, find out what civilization was like before."

Compared to earlier Plague puzzles, Resonance's are much more involved, from figuring out how to move past spike traps to using the Prism to decipher glyph combinations. An Uncharted-like journal can help remind you of puzzle parameters, and your companion can progressively give out tips, but only when prompted. The team are aware of other games' overly chatty forced hints. "We really didn't want that," says Chort.

Though still set in the early 14th century, the Minoan culture that Sophia and Leni explore is thousands of years old. It's not just the promise of treasure that's set Sophia on this quest, either, but strange visions of an ancient warrior and dreams of the structure's many smooth, decorated, and enigmatic holes. Somehow, she has a connection to Theseus, who undertook the Trials of the Minotaur when the culture was still very much alive.

One section has me shift control to play as Theseus, battling through an arena as a crowd watches on, the spilling of blood promising to hail the arrival of the minotaur itself. "We like Tomb Raider," says Chort on these flashbacks, "but we were like, OK, it would be cool to see how [these ruins] were before." Actual Minoan history is very much a blank spot, allowing Asobo freedom in mixing in mythological elements, as well as taking inspiration from the civilization's close trade partners like Egypt. "We just imagined how epic it could be at that time. The Egyptians made the pyramids, so what could the Minoans make?"

This Theseus sequence cuts before I can glimpse the true nature of Resonance's supernatural threat – rats, presumably are out, but something made those holes. Could it be an actual mythological monster? Some kind of Dune-like worm? One giant rat that makes all of the rules? "There's something," says Chort. I ask if we'll get to see the minotaur and he laughs and shrugs. "There's something. There's something!"

Across both timelines, it seems that Resonance will be more of a teasing mystery compared to the explosive rat geysers in Innocence's opening. No matter the case, Theseus and Sophia share a mysterious link, this playable vision not only confirming she's on the right path forward, but bestowing her with a new spinning attack she can perform in combat. It's another way Resonance reminds me of Assassin's Creed Odyssey beyond the Greek setting, with heroes who share a link through years of history.

Tackling melee combat, a first for Asobo Studio, required plenty of ideation and iteration, from playing through as many games with acclaimed combat as possible – ranging from Sekiro to the underrated En Garde – watching GDC presentations, and even YouTube tutorials. First effort or not, Resonance's combat is punchy and rewarding, high-impact without being too challenging.

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Ghost of Tsushima, Chort tells me, became the closest point of reference, but lessons learned from their expansive research sneak in, including the ability to pick up improvised weaponry like ancient Minoan pots to hurl at guards – a move inspired by Sifu, I'm told – opening them up to high damage strikes. It all works well to create dynamic clashes. With gnarly finishers aplenty, I'm chuckling before long as Resonance makes me feel like the badass Sophia undoubtedly is. It's definitely a nice break from being nipped at by rats.

Resonance's combat doesn't feel like an imitator at all, leaping right into being a solid contemporary. Violent exchanges with groups of guards on their own, dodging red strikes, parrying yellow ones, feel reactive, and there are moments where you can be expressive and opportunistic – an always ready-to-use kick punting guards into numerous pits, or a grapple hook pulling a pesky archer off their vantage point into a heap below. I'm always craving more pulpy adventure games like Uncharted 4, and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy isn't just plugging a gap, but flipping its journal over to a new page. We're finally on the trail of some new gaming treasure.

Control Resonant trades shooting for a shapeshifting sword because "melee is cool", its creative director tells me, and he's not wrong. Looking for more adventures? Keep an eye on our new games calendar for what's next!