Resonance A Plague Tale Legacy preview: the saga trades stealth for combat, and it could change everything

A Plague Tale was Amicia, Hugo, rats by the million and that constant tension of stealth, where you hugged the walls praying not to be seen. So when Asobo announces that its third installment, Resonance, trades stealth for pure combat, you raise an eyebrow. It's a risk-taking, an owned pivot for a saga built on flight and vulnerability. But the first impressions, largely positive, suggest the bet might well be the series' most rewarding. Here's what we know about this prequel that dares to reinvent itself.

The context

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is an action-adventure game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Entertainment, expected on 27 August 2026 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series. The saga's third installment and a prequel, it takes place fifteen years before the events of A Plague Tale: Requiem. You play Sophia, a young daring plunderer on the run, determined to uncover the secrets of her past and her connection to the ancient Prima Macula. The narrative alternates between Sophia's medieval era and an ancient Minoan period, connecting two characters through their intertwined destinies and the mysterious legacy of the Macula. The primary setting is a mythical island associated with the Minotaur, where Sophia must face trials, puzzles and confrontations while staying one step ahead of the army hunting her.

What we know: the big pivot to combat

The big news, the one that redefines the saga, is the shift to combat. Where the mainline entries rested on stealth and vulnerability, Resonance puts the emphasis on direct confrontation. Sophia is described as an agile, determined and formidable fighter, and her combat system means to be rhythmic, reactive and demanding: you parry, you dodge, you unleash powerful strikes in visceral confrontations. It's a deep change of nature, turning the prey into a predator, and the first feedback praises fast, satisfying combat, doubled with a skill tree that hints at depth. For the first time in the series, you can strike back, and that changes everything.

Around this combat, Resonance keeps the saga's DNA while enriching it. The puzzles are still there, built around an object called the Prism, created by Daedalus, used to solve ingenious labyrinth puzzles, a nod to the Minotaur myth. Survival isn't forgotten either: a mysterious creature hunts you relentlessly, imposing phases of stealth and strategic movement that recall the tension of old. All of it plays out on a visually sumptuous island, thick with environmental mysteries to explore. The first glimpses describe an island as vast and encompassing as the finest Assassin's Creed Odyssey environments, and an adventure faithful to the series' hallmarks: richness of realization, emotion, cinematic presentation and a supernatural breath.

What worries us

You have to stay lucid, because such a sharp pivot carries its risks. Dropping stealth in favor of combat means giving up what made A Plague Tale's identity and singularity, that constant vulnerability that made every encounter terrifying. The bet is bold, but it could displease the fans most attached to the original formula, those who loved precisely feeling helpless and hunted. The whole question is whether the new combat will be deep and satisfying enough to justify that sacrifice, or whether the saga will lose part of its soul to a more generic action. The first feedback is reassuring, but a two-chapter glimpse doesn't tell everything about a whole game.

The other point of caution is the balance between the game's many ambitions. Resonance juggles combat, the Prism's puzzles, the survival phases against the creature, the exploration of a large island and a dual-timeline narrative: so many pillars that must articulate harmoniously to avoid scatter. A game that wants to do everything risks doing nothing perfectly, and it'll remain to be seen whether Asobo manages to weave these elements into a coherent whole rather than a juxtaposition of mechanics. The dual timeline, notably, is a demanding narrative device that can enrich the story just as easily as dilute it. So many enticing promises, whose solidity the final version will have to confirm.

What we think so far

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy shapes up as the saga's most audacious installment, the one that dares to reinvent itself rather than repeat. The pivot to combat, with its nervous system of parries, dodges and strikes, radically transforms the experience, and the enthusiastic first feedback suggests it might be the best A Plague Tale ever played. Around it, the Prism and its labyrinth puzzles, the survival phases against a hunting creature and the exploration of a sumptuous island preserve the series' DNA while enriching it. On paper, and going by the hands-on impressions, the promise is beautiful: an extravagant, moving and cinematic adventure, tinged with the supernatural.

You just have to wait and see whether the bet holds over time. Dropping stealth, the saga's hallmark, is a risky choice that may divide fans, and everything will depend on the combat's real depth and the coherence between the game's many ambitions. A two-chapter glimpse isn't enough to judge such a pivot, and the dual timeline as well as the overall balance remain to confirm. But for now, excitement largely dominates: Asobo seems to have had the courage to shake up its own formula, and if the execution lives up to it, Resonance could be one of the fine surprises of the year's end. See you on 27 August to decide.

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Preview based on the official information and early hands-on impressions.