00:00First up, Resonance, a Plague Tale Legacy team learned combat design from scratch.
00:06One of the biggest surprises in Resonance, a Plague Tale Legacy, is its shift away from the stealth-focused gameplay
00:13that defined previous entries in the series.
00:16While long-time fans may miss the iconic rat swarms, the new emphasis on fast-paced melee combat is shaping
00:22up to be one of the game's most exciting additions.
00:26What's even more impressive is that developer Asobo Studio had virtually no experience creating a combat-focused game before taking
00:33on the challenge.
00:35Nobody did a combat game before Resonance, lead-level design Baloran Robert revealed during a recent interview.
00:42According to Robert, the team focused a steep learning curve as they worked to build an entirely new combat system
00:48from the ground up.
00:50It was a lot to learn in terms of how you design space and how you design combat mechanics because
00:55we didn't have any prior experience with that, he explained.
00:58We looked at games like Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro, and Sifu for inspiration while trying to discover our own style
01:05and formula.
01:06Players take control of Sophia, a younger version of the character introduced in a Plague Tale Requiem.
01:12Raised among plunderers, Sophia relies on agility, improvisation, and environmental awareness rather than brute strength when facing heavily armed enemies.
01:24Combat encourages players to use their surroundings creatively.
01:27Enemies can be kicked off ledges, slammed into obstacles, or knocked into one another.
01:31Sophia can also stun opponents by smashing bottles over their heads, using her grappling hook to throw enemies off balance,
01:38and take advantage of openings with quick decisive strikes.
01:42The influence of games like Sifu is especially noticeable in these environmental interactions and opportunistic tactics.
01:50The development of Sophia's fighting style was closely tied to the team's effort to better understand her character.
01:56Although players already know Sophia from Requiem, that version of the character appears 16 years after the events of Resonance.
02:04Huh?
02:09We took some time to really understand who she was, Robert said.
02:12We knew she was part of a plunderer gang, but early on, we didn't know exactly how she would fight.
02:19Finding the right balance proved difficult.
02:21Initially, Asobo aimed for a brutal combat experience, but the early versions were significantly tougher than intended.
02:28It didn't blend well with what the game was about, Robert explained.
02:31The team wanted combat to remain challenging and rewarding without alienating fans who were coming from a series known primarily
02:37for stealth gameplay.
02:39As a result, they worked to create a system that would be accessible to newcomers while still offering satisfying death.
02:45We needed to find the right balance, something challenging, but also enjoyable for players who aren't familiar with Souls-style
02:52games.
02:53Based on hands-on impressions, the final result appears to strike that balance.
02:58Combat can be unforgiving, with Sophia being able to withstand only a handful of direct hits, but the variety of
03:04tools at her disposal helps offset the difficulty.
03:07Well-timed environmental attacks, improvised weapons, and crowd control options allow players to gain the upper hand even if their
03:14defensive timing isn't perfect.
03:17The most remarkable part of Resonance Combat System may be that it's the studio's first attempt at creating one.
03:23For a team known primarily for narrative-driven stealth adventures, Asobo's transition into action-focused gameplay looks surprisingly competent and
03:32potentially one of the game's biggest strengths.
03:36Now, I have to say, I never got to play A Plague Tale with Queen.
03:41I did play the first game, A Plague Tale Innocence, and yeah, that was a stealth game for like 90
03:50% of it.
03:51I'm not going to say when the action kicks in because then I'd be spoiling part of the story.
03:56Unfortunately, I never got to play A Plague Tale with Queen.
04:00I was going to stream it one time, but I could only play it on Game Pass through the cloud,
04:05and you can't stream games on the cloud.
04:08At least not the way I stream Xbox.
04:12It wouldn't also stream to my OBS.
04:16I couldn't stream it through the Twitch dashboard on the Xbox One.
04:21I tried that.
04:22Apparently, if you're playing a game through the cloud, from what I learned, I don't know if this changed.
04:30This was a few years ago.
04:32If you play games through the cloud, you need like an external capture card or you need like Dr. Games
04:42101 had the El Gato capture card.
04:45You would need something like that if you wanted to play games through the cloud and still stream them.
04:52But yeah, I loved A Plague Tale and I had no idea that there was a third game or Resonance.
05:02Obviously, they couldn't just keep making stealth.
05:09Metal Gear Solid, they still had action with the boss fight.
05:17So, A Plague Tale, yeah, awesome that there's a third game.
05:23Awesome that they decided to, they were able to find a way to introduce melee combat without completely getting rid
05:33of the stealth.
05:36So, yeah, that's awesome.
05:40What do you think?
05:41Did you get to play, have you played any of the Plague Tale games?
05:45That would be A Plague Tale Innocence, A Plague Tale Requiem, and apparently now A Plague Tale Resonance.
05:51Let me know in the comments if you've gotten to play, if you played those games.
05:58And if you haven't, you're missing out.
06:04Next story.
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