Parents' Guide to

A Plague Tale: Innocence

By Jeff Haynes, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Gripping, bloody tale of siblings against impossible odds.

A Plague Tale: Innocence Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 4 parent reviews

age 12+

Great game for teens

This is one of the best games of its time. A plague tale innocence is a stealth game with a focus on its historic story. The game is set in 14 century France and you play as siblings Hugo and Amicia, personally I think it has excellent role models and Amicia takes care of and protects her younger brother. Along their journey Amicia will have to fight soldiers, (I won’t spoil the story) you can sneakily avoid detection or use your sling or a variety of projectiles. While Amicia does kill she is horrified about it and expresses remorse. The art style and rats can be very scary at times but I think most teens should be able to handle it. I highly recommend for 12 and up.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
age 12+

Violent but Heartining

While the game can be violent at times, overall the characters are children trying to survive in horrific circumstances but they are adapting to protect each other. They are good role models and there is no moral ambiguity.

This title has:

Great role models
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (6):

This adventure takes one of the darkest chapters in history, tosses in supernatural twists, and adds young unlikely heroes, resulting in a gripping tale from start to finish. A Plague Tale: Innocence is set during a turbulent time in history, when war and disease threaten to wipe out much of Europe. But instead of a warrior or a medic on the front lines, Innocence casts you as a young teenage girl who has to take care of her ill little brother. Amicia isn't a fighter; her only weapon is a sling that she uses in self-defense or to knock objects down. But if she gets hit once, she's dead, so players quickly learn to rely on stealth and distraction to move soldiers away from entrances or pathways, or attract hazards to take out opponents, especially because the slightest misstep or noise from hiding spots or shadows could lead to death. But you can't simply stay in the dark. A Plague Tale forces you into the light by wielding torches, fires, or other light sources to stave off the swarming rats, who will try to sneak in and devour you every chance they get. It's this tension between the light and the dark, of avoiding human threats and fending off animal ones, that creates incredibly gripping tension from start to finish.

There are still some rough edges that keep A Plague Tale from being perfect. While the game has the illusion of choice, it can be strikingly linear. Towns and levels tend to tease additional pathways you can take, but they frequently direct you toward a specific location. Similarly, while Amicia can enhance her gear in any way players want (as long as they have the components), there's clearly a specific path of upgrades you need to take to be the most effective in each level. Choosing incorrectly can make a challenging level even harder than it needs to be, especially in the few moments when you need to protect yourself with your sling against many incoming enemies. Speaking of your sling, there are moments when you need to aim accurately within a matter of seconds, but Amicia can take a bit longer to lock onto her target. Once you get accustomed to her lag in aim, you can adjust to these situations, but it can be frustrating if you miss your throws and are forced to restart a level multiple times. These minor problems aside, A Plague Tale: Innocence is an incredible story that fans of stealth adventure games will really enjoy.

Game Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate