History VideoGame / APlagueTaleInnocence

* TooDumbToLive: Father Thomas, the surviving monk at the church, knows about the rats and their fear of light yet he hands the torch to Amicia and heads into the dark to call for his brother.

* TimedMission: The game runs on TakeYourTime except for a couple of action-based sequences that require you to perform a task in a given amount of time.

* TooDumbToLive: The surviving monk at the church knows about the rats and their fear of light yet he hands the torch to Amicia and heads into the dark to call for his brother.

* BrotherSisterTeam: Through many trials, Amicia and Hugo learn to have each other's backs effectively.

* EveryoneHasStandards:[[spoiler:The Church won't hesitate to excommunicate the Grand Inquisitor when they learn of his plans.]]

* Autosave: You cannot save the game at will and have to rely on defined save points for respawning.

''A Plague Tale: Innocence'' is an action-adventure [[StealthBasedGame stealth]] [[SurvivalHorror survival horror]] game created by Creator/AsoboStudio and published by Creator/FocusHomeInteractive.

Set in France, during the early stages of UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar, the game follows Amicia de Rune who, along with her little brother [[{{Deuteragonist}} Hugo]], must escape the encroaching Inquisition and the swarms of diseased rats during one of the worst pandemics in history: TheBlackDeath.

* AlchemyIsMagic: Downplayed. Most of the alchemy is just chemistry with different names (as it was in real life), but the Prima Macula is distinctly supernatural.
* AllForNothing: The part where you have to find the cure for Hugo. First Amicia retrieves the Sanguinis Itinera from the University ([[DestructiveSaviour which gets destroyed in the process]]) and then Amicia and Lucas chase back to the de Rune estate to create the elixir. All this is for nothing when [[spoiler:Hugo escapes the next day and turns himself over to Vitalis where he reaches the next threshold.]] Ultimately Averted, as the intro for Chapter 16 upon loading a game mentions that the elixir slowed the Macula's development and prevented Hugo from crossing the first threshold too quickly.

** While the game gets a lot of things right about the time period, rats would never be able to rapidly devour a human corpse of all its flesh or rip them in half, especially while going through armor, regardless of how many there were. Also while rats generally dislike bright light, they don't normally burst into flame and instantly burn up if it's directed at them for too long. Of course, these aren't exactly normal rats.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The church excommunicates Vitalis and it is treated that he is still a significant figure of power in the church. In fact, as an excommunicated priest, Vitalis would have lost all of his privilege and position because of it. A powerful nobleman or king might be able to ignore excommunication but Vitalis as a clergyman meant that his soldiers were now obligated to ignore him. [[spoiler: Killing him would still be an issue for Amicia and Hugo but that's because killing an excommunicated person was still murder, not his status.]]
* AskAStupidQuestion: Hugo asks Rodric if one day he'll be as strong as him.
-->'''Rodric''': Mate, [[spoiler:you control an army of rats.]]
* AsleepForDays: Amicia passes out after bumping her head in a trench while searching for Hugo. She is found by Arthur and Melie after being missing for three days.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: {{Downplayed}}. [[spoiler:Beatrice]]'s torture leaves her with several cuts, bruises, and dirt on her face, but nothing too disfiguring, especially by the standards of medieval torture.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Amicia and Hugo save their mother, get rid of the rats, and put a stop to the Inquisition's corrupt, unholy ulterior motive. The three of them escape together with Lucas, but Robert, Rodric, and Arthur are dead, Melie has left the group, and everyone is permanently scarred by the events of the game, and the knowledge of their bloodline's powers and the danger it puts them in. There's also the fact that killing Vitalis, even though he was excommunicated, means the Church will likely hunt them for the rest of their lives, forcing them to leave the region.]]

* BossRoom: The boss fights all happen in enclosed spaces.

** After the orphans clear out the rats from the courtyard of Chateau d'Ombrage in the previous chapter, in Chapter 8--Our Home, they explore the castle while making themselves at home there. There is no action or danger in that chapter. Similarly, Chapter 11--Alive, also set at the Chateau, is bar any action.

** Melie and Arthur are also this, as a pair of competent thieves.
* BulletproofHumanShield: Amicia hides under the corpse of a soldier when archers shoot at her after she successfully escaped the Army's camp. {{Subverted}}, however--one arrow is shown piercing clean through the body, implying the corpse serves more as a smokescreen to throw off the archers' aim than it does as a true shield.
* ChasingAButterfly: In one level, Hugo dashes along a riverbank gleefully watching frogs leap into the water. At the Chateau he chases butterflies. Never having been out in nature before, he's fascinated by animals.

* ConvenientEscapeBoat: There is one parked at a pier by Laurentius's mill which the kids use to get away from the rats.

* DarknessEqualsDeath: Much of the gameplay involving rats is that if you don't have a torch you could be eaten to death. [[spoiler: Once you unlock Hugo's power to control the rats, you start deliberately extinguishing the light to turn it against your enemies.]]

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Not surprisingly, the Middle Ages has quite a number of subjects that would not fly today.

* DiabolusExMachina: Swarms of rats will frequently emerge from the ground and attack the heroes. [[spoiler: {{Subverted}}, when [[FridgeLogic you realize]] that the swarm was trying to protect their master and his sister. Once Hugo manages to consciously control them, the rats turn into a DeusExMachina when they come to aid the heroes in front of the church where Vitalis resides.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards:[[spoiler: The Church won't hesitate to excommunicate the Grand Inquisitor when they learn of his plans.]]

* FetchQuest: The retrieval of the Sanguinis Itinera from the library, of the elixir from the de Rune estate and of the key to Beatrice's cell.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: During their journey, Hugo mentions to Amicia in passing that he would like to see a monster for real. Later he gets to meet Vitalis who his mother [[YouMonster calls a monster]] at one point.

** The rats are established early as being able to strip a human to the bone in a matter of seconds. However, when the player distracts them with pieces of meat (like a side of ham, or... a person they've just killed and stripped to red bones), the rats will be occupied for far longer, if not indefinitely.

** This particular form of the plague, known as "The Bite", is said to be spread by rats; one bite makes someone contract the plague and become infectious to others. Over the course of the game Amicia, Hugo, and their various companions can get swarmed by rats and cry out but stumble into lit areas and are totally fine. It may simply be that people ''think'' the plague is spread by rat bites. This is the Middle Ages after all.
* GoodParents: Amicia's and Hugo's parents are clearly this, as they intentionally shelter them in the hopes of trying to save them. The father tries to fight off the Inquisition when they arrive, and Beatrice tells the Inquisition nothing [[spoiler: about how to use the Macula even when being tortured.]]

* GuiltInducedNightmare: Amicia falls down a slope and [[TapOnTheHead knocks her head]] on something early in the Penance chapter and dreams of locations and people she's already encountered, scolding her for [[spoiler: [[NiceJobBreakingItHero not telling Hugo the truth]]]]. It's unclear if some or ''any'' of the chapter is real, but regardless it ends indicating what happened - [[spoiler: that Hugo ran away and into the arms of the Inquisition hoping to find his mother.]]

* HarmfulToMinors: Throughout their journey, Amicia and Hugo are exposed to death in many forms thanks to the Inquisition, the Black Death, and the ravenous rats that carry it. Amicia herself kills people who threaten Hugo's life as well as her own, which leaves her shaken to the core. Even after she [[ItGetsEasier resigns herself to killing]], she has to pass through a house where a man committed suicide after his wife and child died, under a scaffolding where people were hanged, and through a graveyard piled with the unburied dead, each of which horrifies her.

* HistoricalFantasy: The game is set during UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar in 14th century France. The countryside is experiencing TheBlackDeath with rats swarming by the thousands from underground, eating everything in their paths, and one of the main characters having a supernatural condition that has historical records going back to Roman times. [[spoiler:With this condition, said character unintentionally summons the rats and learns to control it by the end of the game.]]

* HollywoodTorches: It's not ''as'' bad as it could be. All the locations where flaming torches and lanterns can be seen have had people in them recently who would have lit them - the Roman bath [[spoiler: on the de Rune estate]] has had Inquisition soldiers snooping around in it. It may be a gameplay element showing the players which items can be set alight, but no matter how long-abandoned a place is, there will be faintly smouldering dim coals when the heroes arrive.
* HumanSacrifice: Vitalis sacrifices a whole congregation of people to give him access to the powers of [[spoiler: Hugo's blood.]]

* IfWeGetThroughThis: On finding the now destroyed forge of Rodric's father, Amicia promises Rodric that they will find another castle for him to build a forge. [[spoiler:Minutes later Rodric is dead]].

* LatinIsMagic: The "Sanguinis Itinera" is a book filled with alchemist knowledge.
* LetsGetOutOfHere: Line used several times by a character, e.g. Arthur on their first encounter with Amicia.
* LightIsNotGood: Many of the enemies you face are brutal inquisitors of the Catholic Church, who are trying to use the Plague for their corrupt purposes. The final boss is brightly lit and clad in white [[spoiler: and commands white rats which don't fear the light]], and fittingly, you have to [[spoiler: extinguish the light to give Hugo's swarms the chance to fight him.]]

* TheLoad: Very pleasantly averted. While Hugo can't be left alone too long, which could make it hard to move around, he's a really sweet kid, never complains, and is as helpful as someone so young and sheltered can be. And that's before he unlocks his powers. Amicia ends up finding it harder to do things without him, while he does great when he's alone.

* MacGuffinDeliveryService: Subverted. Once Amicia finds the Sanguinis Itinera at the secret library, Vitalis shows up to seize the book but you manage to escape.
* MakeSureHesDead: After dropping a whole bunch of masonry on top of [[spoiler: Lord Nicholas]], Arthur picks up a good chunk with the intention of {{Double Tap}}ping the enemy. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he gets distracted by the reunion of Amicia and Hugo, and misses [[EnemyRisingBehind the knight recovering]].]]

* MisfitMobilizationMoment: While the orphans are normally more or less content to try surviving at Chateau d'Ombrage, [[spoiler: Arthur's death]] combined with [[spoiler: Hugo joining their side after crossing the Threshold]] mobilizes them to finally attack the Inquisition itself.

* NewEraSpeech: Vitalis declares that he would launch the beginning of a new era where he would save everyone from the plague with [[spoiler: his powers]].

* NightmareSequence: Amicia has a tense nightmare after she fell and bumped her head while looking for Hugo. In it she sees Hugo walk away with Nicholas in a sea of rats.
* NobodyHereButUsBirds: At the army camp, Melie communicates with her brother via bird sounds.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: Despite ridding the region of a raging maniac and the Plague, the de Rune family is ostracized and actively wanted by the authorities. [[{{Subverted}} However]], the villagers in the epilogue aren't vindictive, and while they keep the de Runes away, they just say they don't want trouble and don't try to detain them.]]

* NotSoDifferentRemark: At one point Nicholas asks himself why Beatrice keeps resisting. He claims they both have the same goal - to fight the plague - and only their methods differ.

* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Unbeknownst to Amicia, Hugo overheard Arthur talking about how Beatrice was still alive and held captive by Vitalis. Later he asks Amicia if they would ever see their mother again. Amicia, having decided not to tell Hugo anything knowing that she can't mount a rescue, tells him that she's dead. When he asks if it hurts where she is, Amicia says it doesn't. As soon as Amicia's asleep [[spoiler: Hugo runs away to try to find her.]]

* PercussiveMaintenance: Roderick resorts to this while trying to make recalcitrant machinery work at the chateau.

* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: Halfway through the plot, after Amicia has learned to be gentler with and more caring of Hugo, and immediately after the doubled HopeSpot of Mellie bringing back Arthur alive and Amicia and Lucas creating a powerful medicine, [[spoiler: Hugo runs away]]. Even though they get along much better by then, Amicia chose to keep news of [[spoiler: their mother's survival from him, unknowing that he was listening]].
* PowerStrainBlackout: While trying to escape, Hugo collapses out of exhaustion [[spoiler: after killing several of Vitalis' minions. This leads to him and Beatrice getting recaptured.]]

* PressXToNotDie: When you get attacked by a guard or rats, you might have a chance to save if you have the necessary ammo ready. The caveat is that you can only carry one of these types of ammo with you and they are much more expensive than regular ammo.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Hugo has supernatural powers running in his blood, which allows him to control the rats.]]
* RichesToRags: Amicia and Hugo are of noble status, but the Inquisition's arrival at their home costs them everything, turning them into [[NobleFugitive Noble Fugitives]].

* SceneryPorn: It's fall to start with, and the French countryside is brilliant with autumn leaves. As winter sets on there's much less color to be seen, but sunsets and snowy landscapes still have their charm, and the chateau where Amicia and her friends hole up in is messy but very cozy-looking.
* SceneryGorn: The black, bone-filled MeatMoss of rat nests built across all surfaces, drooling dark reddish fluids from the ceiling, certainly leaves an impression. So too does the desolate battlefield, the large town being cleared out by the Inquisition, and the imposingly beautiful Bastion where it's headquartered. There are a relatively small number of locations in the game and the ones that are revisited - [[spoiler: the de Rune estate, the large town, and the cathedral of the Bastion]] - are ''very'' much the worse for wear.

* ShipTease: Melie teasingly claims that Amicia seems rather taken with Arthur. She also snarks that Lucas wanting her help with a lock is just an excuse for him to spend time with her. [[spoiler: Nothing comes of either one, though, so maybe Melie just has a dirty mind.]]

* SnakePit: There are rat pits installed as a defense in the courtyard of Chateau d'Ombrage. During the day they're empty.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler: Killing Vitalis is a big one for the protagonists. Yes, Vitalis was a corrupt sadistic power-hungry monster who no one in the audience would miss, especially since he was ''excommunicated''. The townsfolk don't immediately run off or try to capture Hugo and Amicia and may or may not know much about the witch-boy with rat-powers who killed a psychotic witch-tyrant with worse rat-powers and saved them. But regardless of whether or not he was evil, the fact the protagonists killed such a high figure in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church means that the Church will never stop hunting them and the local townsfolk ''do'' know the two are wanted, and so they have to leave the region.]]

* TeamHandStack: After [[spoiler:Arthur's death]], the five remaining heroes decide to go for Vitalis. In order to show their solidarity, they do [[https://youtu.be/zIjzg2nmqh8?t=1835 this hand shake]] white shouting their {{Battlecry}} "To the death!".

* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: When Melie wants to assist Amicia and Hugo in taking down Vitalis at the cathedral, Amicia tells her to stand back because "It's our blood".

** There is a skip of three weeks in chapter "Alive" during which Lucas searches for an elixir to cure Hugo.
** Another time skip of one month occurs in chapter "Remembrance" [[spoiler:after Hugo passed over to the dark side]].

* TurnsRed: During the boss fights, the enemies become stronger as you wear them down. Justified in the case of Conrad, who becomes faster as you remove pieces of his armor.
* UndyingLoyalty: Many [[OldRetainer servants]] of de Rune refuse to cooperate with the Inquisition. In the tutorial stealth scenes in the first chapter, several of them even appear to see Amicia and Hugo but do nothing to alert the Inquisition soldiers focused on them.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: After [[spoiler: Hugo has access to his rat swarm controlling powers,]] the game becomes ''much'' more action-oriented as you no longer have to fear the darkness.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: Amicia can get apples for Hugo, play hide-and-seek, and go out of her way to find flowers he puts in her hair. There are also a few opportunities where you can go out of your way to ''not'' get [[spoiler: an English soldier and later two wounded Inquisition men]] EatenAlive by rats, which the game notices.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The default for the above opportunities, and much easier than finding another way, is to just have those people EatenAlive by rats. You can also eventually minimize the 'stealth' aspect of gameplay by, rather than making distractions and sneaking around, just headshooting enemies.

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* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Aside from their family, and the orphans, almost every single person Amicia and Hugo encounter either try to kill them or wind up killed by the rats.

* CorruptChurch: The Inquisition is a corrupt ''sect''.

* WouldHurtAChild: The Inquisition has no trouble killing Amicia, though they have orders to spare Hugo.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The church excommunicates Vitalis and it is treated that he is still a significant figure of power and the church. In fact, as an excommunicated priest, Vitalis would have lost all of his privilege and position because of it. A powerful nobleman or king might be able to ignore excommunication but Vitalis as a clergyman meant that his soldiers were now obligated to ignore him. [[spoiler: Killing him would still be an issue for Amicia and Hugo but that's because killing an excommunicated person was still murder, not his status.]]

** This particular form of the plague, known as "The Bite", is said to be spread by rats; one bite makes someone contract the plague and become infectious to others. Over the course of the game Amicia, Hugo, and their various companions can get swarmed by rats and cry out but stumble into lit areas and are totally fine.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Of all things to Disworld's TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents. The Rat Plague acts exactly like the rat king's army in the book, seething, rolling, yet recoiling from fire. The plague follows his plan to destroy the world of men.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler: Killing Vitalis is a big one for the protagonists. Yes, Vitalis was a corrupt sadistic power-hungry monster who no one in the audience would miss, especially since he was ''excommunicated''. The townsfolk don't immediately run off or try to capture Hugo and Amicia and may or may not know much about the witch-boy with rat-powers who killed a psychotic witch-tyrant with worse rat-powers and saved them. But regardless of whether or not he was evil, the fact the protagonists killed such a high figure in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church means that the Church will never stop hunting them and the local townsfolk ''do'' know the two are wanted, and so they have to leave the region. Not to mention that word about Hugo's power has certainly spread.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Aside from the Black Death having supernatural origins, this game has quite a fair bit of realism.
** Any attempt by Amicia to fight professional infantry and knights in a straight fight goes as well as can be expected; when a novice huntress armed with a sling tries to defend in melee against a war-trained swordsman or dodge an arrow out of cover from a seasoned marksman, she's screwed.
*** However, knights or not, a rock thrown by a sling to an unprotected head is almost guaranteed to kill someone. And knights, for all their military training, understand little about finding saboteurs or spies.
** In the medieval era, people of noble birth are kept alive for ransom. Many soldiers comment on how much money Amicia will make as an excuse for keeping her alive.
** Rodric's [[spoiler: push with the cart serving as a shield works fine until the cart gets about halfway there, and then Rodric's back and side are exposed to the archers, enabling them to get three arrows into him. This ultimately kills Rodric.]]
** [[spoiler: Killing Vitalis is a big one for the protagonists. Yes, Vitalis was a corrupt sadistic power-hungry monster who no one in the audience would miss, especially since he was ''excommunicated''. The townsfolk don't immediately run off or try to capture Hugo and Amicia and may or may not know much about the witch-boy with rat-powers who killed a psychotic witch-tyrant with worse rat-powers and saved them. But regardless of whether or not he was evil, the fact the protagonists killed such a high figure in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church means that the Church will never stop hunting them and the local townsfolk ''do'' know the two are wanted, and so they have to leave the region. Not to mention that word about Hugo's power has certainly spread.]]
** Amicia is a sheltered noble, not a trained killer, so naturally, she experiences great remorse the first time she has to kill in defense of Hugo.
** Mellie, compared to her twin Arthur, is more inclined to stay with the others at the Chateau d'Ombrage, partly because she has more time to get to know the others, partly because she likes the idea of having a safe and stable hideout in these dark times. As of January she and Arthur have been arguing about staying or going. [[spoiler: But at the end of the game, Mellie's gone. This makes sense for several reasons. She has a sense of responsibility for Arthur and feels like saving her brother means he saves her back, and must feel that if she'd been willing to leave when he urged it he wouldn't have been stabbed. The Chateau is no longer safe and concealed and the survivors of their little band are leaving the region. And after a game of being threatened by the rats it's very uncomfortable to have Hugo both have powers involving them and want to defend them. This is the first time Mellie has been presented with the overtly supernatural aspects of the setting and she doesn't like them. While Vitalis lived she had a reason to stick with the others and seek {{Revenge}}, without it she really only has her fondness for Lucas and Amicia to keep her there, and she doesn't need them.]]

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Implemented as a game mechanic. If Amicia wanders off too far from Hugo, he will start calling out for her and thus jeopardizes their stealth missions.

* AlchemyIsMagic: Downplayed. Most of the alchemy is just chemistry with different names, but the Prima Macula is distinctly supernatural.

** The fact that the rats haven't touched the bodies of the De Rune household can be excused by magic, but not the fact that they're still in mint condition several weeks after death.

* HollywoodTorches: It's not ''as'' bad as it could be. All the locations where flaming torches and lanterns can be seen have had people in them recently who would have lit them - the Roman bath [[spoiler: on the De Rune estate]] has had Inquisition soldiers snooping around in it. It may be a gameplay element showing the players which items can be set alight, but no matter how long-abandoned a place is, there will be faintly smouldering dim coals when the heroes arrive.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: Despite ridding the region of a raging maniac and the Plague, the De Rune family is ostracized and actively wanted by the authorities. [[{{Subverted}} However]], the villagers in the epilogue aren't vindictive, and while they keep the De Runes away, they just say they don't want trouble and don't try to detain them.]]

* ChasingAButterfly: Hugo is happily chasing butterflies at the Chateau. It's because he has never been out in nature before.
* ChildrenForcedToKill: Amicia can break enemies' lamps, which gets them eaten by a horde of rats. She clearly does not enjoy this. But ItGetsEasier soon.

* SnakePit: There are rat pits installed as a defense in the courtyard of Chateau d'Ombrage.

** [[spoiler: Killing Vitalis is a big one for the protagonists. Yes, Vitalis was a corrupt sadistic power-hungry monster who no one in the audience would miss, especially since he was ''excommunicated'', so the townsfolk are relatively tolerant of the witch-boy with rat-powers who killed a psychotic witch-tyrant with worse rat-powers and saved them. But regardless of whether or not he was evil, the fact the protagonists killed such a high figure in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church means that the Church will never stop hunting them, and so they have to leave the region. Not to mention that word about Hugo's power has certainly spread.]]

* HollywoodAcid: The alchemical compound Devorantis appears to be an acid, and is very bright green. Helmeted enemies struck with it cry out in dismay and tear their helmets off, but are not incapacitated.

** While the game gets a lot of things right about the time period, rats would never be able to rapidly devour a human corpse of all its flesh or rip them in half, especially while going through armor, regardless of how many there were. Of course, these aren't exactly normal rats.

* HollywoodTorches: Even abandoned places like hidden laboratories or the Roman bath will have torches and candles still lit when the heroes arrive.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: Despite ridding the region of a raging maniac and the Plague, the De Rune family is ostracized and actively wanted by the authorities. [[{{Subverted}} However]], the villagers in the epilogue aren't vindictive, and while they keep the De Runes away, they aren't arresting them.]]

* PowerStrainBlackout: During Hugo and his mother's escape attempt, Hugo collapses out of exhaustion after killing several of Vitalis' minions. This leads to him and Beatrice getting recaptured.

** At the university where Rodric tells you to stop think and run after you set the room on fire.

* SceneryGorn: The black, bone-filled MeatMoss of rat nests built across all surfaces, drooling dark reddish fluids from the ceiling, certainly leaves an impression. So too does the town being cleared out by the Inquisition, and the imposingly beautiful Bastion where it's headquartered.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: At one point Nicholas asks himself why Beatrice keeps resisting since they both have the same goal and only their methods differ.

* RuggedScar: Facial scars of some description are very common, even on the young characters.

* SceneryPorn: When the de Runes are out of danger for a time the French countryside is ''gorgeous.''