Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
DeveloperAsobo Studio
PublisherFocus Entertainment
DirectorDavid Dedeine
ArtistOlivier Ponsonnet
WriterCarol Ann Bañuls
ComposerOlivier Deriviere
SeriesA Plague Tale
EngineZouna
Platforms
Release27 August 2026
GenreAction-adventure
ModeSingle-player

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is an action-adventure game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment. It is the third installment in the A Plague Tale series and a prequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019). The game was released in August 2026 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.

Gameplay

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Previous A Plague Tale titles were primarily focused on stealth while Resonance is more action-oriented.[1] In Resonance, the player takes control of the much more capable Sophia. Sophia can parry enemy attacks and counter them with deadly finishing moves.[2]

Resonance introduces a dual-timeline mechanic where the player can switch between the Middle Ages and Minoan period. Events in the Minoan past can affect the present day of the Middle Ages.[3]

Plot

In 1334, 15 years before the events of A Plague Tale: Innocence, smuggler Sophia (Anna Demetriou) must discover her connection to the Prima Macula's ancient history.[4]

Development

After a follow-up had been teased in A Plague Tale: Requiem's post-credits scene, Asobo sought a creative reorientation as they had spent the previous seven years working with the same characters such as Amicia and Hugo de Rune. Game director David Dedeine said the team wanted to "keep things fresh" and "preserve that creative spark" by taking a new direction to move the series forward.[3] Dedeine said that Resonance "changes everything" with a greater emphasis on combat paired with a new setting and protagonist.[5] The character of Sophia had been introduced in Requiem, joining Amicia and Hugo on their quest. Resonance explores Sophia's backstory as a prequel. It leaves behind Middle Ages France for the Greek island of Crete where Sophia grew up.[6][7]

Resonance was developed in Zouna, Asobo Studio's in-house proprietary game engine. Asobo chose not to use generative AI in the development of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, seeing it as a threat to creativity and authenticity.[8] Producer Eric Chort called the use of generative AI a "choice" in game development and did not see it as a "solution" for its relatively small team of around 70 to compete with larger development teams in the AAA space.[9]

Gameplay design

Prior to Resonance, Asobo had no previous experience with developing melee-based combat but felt that its inclusion was important for telling Sophia's story.[2] The studio was forced to learn how to make a combat system during development on Resonance. Lead level designer Valérian Robert cited Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Sifu as influencing the combat mechanics in Resonance.[10] The combat system initially developed was more difficult than intended and had to be scaled back as Asobo was aware that loyal A Plague Tale players were coming from a stealth game. Robert said that they wanted a "challenging" combat system that can still be enjoyed by players unfamiliar with soulslike games.[10]

Music

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy's music was composed by Olivier Deriviere, returning from his work on A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem. Deriviere realised that a new musical approach was needed for Resonance due to its setting in Crete.[11] Deriviere wrote the lyrics in French and they were translated to Cypriot Greek with help from collaborators.[11] The music was recorded with the Amalgamation Choir, a choir of 20 female Greek Cypriot vocalists led by Vasiliki Anastasiou singing in their native language.[12] Traditional instruments such as the Yaylı tambur and rebab spike fiddles were used.[13] The first track from the soundtrack to be released was "The Land" on 16 June 2026. Deriviere said the track is about "place of origin" and how Sophia's identity and where she comes from stays with her throughout her journey.[13] "Patera", meaning 'father' in Greek, was released on 30 June.[12]

Release

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy was announced at Summer Game Fest on 8 June 2025 as part of the Xbox Games Showcase.[14] The game's announcement had leaked a day earlier.[15] It was released on 27 August 2026. for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S. It became available at launch on Xbox Game Pass.[1]

Reception

According to review aggregator Metacritic, the game received "generally favorable" reviews.[17]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2025 Golden Joystick Awards Most Wanted Game Nominated [18]

References

  1. 1 2 Lewis, Claire (8 June 2025). "A Plague Tale prequel revealed at Xbox Games Showcase". Polygon. Archived from the original on 22 April 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 Dedeine, David (9 June 2025). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Takes the Beloved Series in a New, Exhilarating Direction". Xbox Wire. Archived from the original on 19 April 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  3. 1 2 Hinton, Gareth (2 December 2025). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Aims to Take Series to New Heights". GamesHub. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "Focus Entertainment and Asobo Studio revealed Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, a prequel to the critically acclaimed franchise, at Xbox Games Showcase!". Focus Entertainment. 8 June 2025. Archived from the original on 11 February 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  5. ↑ Chivers, Joe (23 January 2026). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy "changes almost everything" about the series – and its "more trained, more physical, more offensive" protagonist proves it". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 12 April 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  6. ↑ Brown, Fraser (8 June 2025). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy has a suspicious dearth of killer rats". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 9 April 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Michael (8 June 2025). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Officially Announced, Follows Fan-Favorite Character". Comic Book. Archived from the original on 3 August 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Scullion, Chris (9 June 2026). "'We prefer not to use it at all': Plague Tale developer says using genAI is a choice for smaller teams, not a necessity". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Purchese, Robert (9 June 2026). ""It's a choice" - A Plague Tale developer Asobo doesn't believe smaller teams need to use gen-AI to compete". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 Benson, Julian (9 June 2026). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy devs learned to make melee combat on the job". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 Husameddin, Genghis (23 June 2026). "Olivier Derivière Returns for 'Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy'". DayOne. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  12. 1 2 Faulkner, Cheri (30 June 2026). "Exclusive: New Track From Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy's Authentic Greek-Cypriot Score". GameSpot. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  13. 1 2 Shutler, Ali (16 June 2026). "'Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy' team shares first song from Olivier Derivière-created soundtrack". NME. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Sinha, Ravi (8 June 2025). "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Launches in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on 14 April 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  15. ↑ Blake, Vikki (8 June 2025). "A Resonance: Plague Tale Legacy accidentally leaks online". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  16. ↑ "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy". OpenCritic. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  18. ↑ Loveridge, Sam (20 November 2025). "All the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 winners revealed". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.

Notes

  1. ↑ Based on 85 reviews
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