300,000 Rats Overwhelm France In A Plague Tale: Requiem

2019's A Plague Tale: Innocence was a thrilling and horrifying experience set in a unique world, following a sister and brother as they attempt to survive against the odds amid a plague of carnivorous rats sweeping through 14th-century France.

A Plague Tale: Requiem picks up six months later as Amicia and Hugo travel south to a mysterious island that may hold the cure to Hugo's sickness. On the PlayStation Blog, Asobo Studio's Lead Engine Programmer Nicolas Bécavin, Lead Programmer Cyril Doillon, and Audio Director Aurelien Piters broke down how the studio has used the PlayStation 5's new technology to immerse the player and torture them with lots and lots of rats.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is bursting at the seams with deadly rodents. A force of nature, "the number of rats on-screen has been multiplied by 60". A Plague Tale: Innocence's scariest moments involved Amicia and Hugo being surrounded by swarms of rats and chased through dark medieval French towns and strongholds as the wave of rodents chased after them, destroying everything in their path.On PlayStation 5, A Plague Tale: Requiem will have as many as 300,000 rats at once in the rodent tsunamis!

Asobo Studio is using the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller to increase player immersion. The controller's adaptive triggers adjust to the amount of pressure the player uses. For example, "if you hold the button too long [when aiming Amicia's sling], you'll lose precision." Similarly, the shooting appears to become harder with Amicia's new crossbow being "slower to use and to equip" than the sling; the "next-gen vibration technology [allowed Asobo Studio] to tie a physical reaction to the player's input."

The DualSense speaker "delivers a far more dynamic experience, with the possibility to hear an arrow or a stone in the air." Finally, Asobo Studios is using haptic feedback to "simulate the effect of every step" during A Plague Tale: Requiem's chase sequences (another highlight of A Plague Tale: Innocence). The swarms of rats "can be subtly felt through the pad, through stereo vibrations" as the player flees in a panic, they will be able to "feel the sprint's rhythm, giving the impression" that they are by Amicia and Hugo's side.

A Plague Tale: Requiem releases on October 18th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.