The switch from stealth to full-blown melee combat is so far working well for the latest game in the Plague Tale series, breaking new ground as it finds its own identity.17:00, 23 Jun 2026We go hands on with the fifth chapter of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, swiftly learning that there's plenty more stories left in this univese for Asobo Studio to tell.‌I love the Plague Tale games. And yet, never in a million years, following the end of 2022’s A Plague Tale: Requiem, did I ever think we’d be getting another one. After all, the story of the De Rune children - Amicia and Hugo - and all the ways they were forced to survive the events of the black plague felt appropriately wrapped up come the sequel’s climactic end. And not only that, but wrapped up in a way that felt appropriately epic and satisfying - neither of which is easy to do.‌The more I played through this latest preview build of upcoming prequel follow-up, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, then, the more it made sense to me why developer Asobo Studio wanted to stay in this universe. It offers a chance to enjoy this confidently established universe that already packs so much texture, but explores themes within it via a whole new means.‌‘What if we plucked a familiar character from past games and placed them in a new part of the Plague Tale universe to see what happens?’ feels like the exact conversation that was had around the Asobo Studio pitch table. And it’s a good thing too. Since while Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy doesn’t much look or play like a Plague Tale game at all, that’s exactly what makes this swashbuckling adventure to an unknown, puzzle-filled island all the more alluring - both for newcomers and returning fans.It also helps that its protagonist, Sophia, also now wields a kick-ass sword and grapple hook combo, both of which firmly shoves melee combat at the forefront of this story in a way that sees you no longer fear the dark, but suddenly want to fight your way through to the other side of it.‌Strangely, the biggest praise I can heap on Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy after playing through its fifth and sixth chapters is that you needn’t have played any other Plague Tale game to enjoy it. You absolutely should, of course, because 2019’s A Plague Tale: Innocence and its sequel, Requiem, are great adventures in their own right, but Resonance flips the script in a multitude of ways.Ways that had me flabbergasted as to why we were forced to spend some 40+ hours skulking away from swarms of rats in prior games rather than battling reams of knights and soldiers in undeniably badass fashion. In other words, here we get to play a younger, more adept version of fan-favourite pirate captain Sophia, who leaves Middle Ages France behind in favour of a remote island in Crete where many mysteries await.The game’s fifth chapter saw me take control of an already capable Sophia soon after arriving on Minotaur island who, alongside companion Leni, take it upon themselves to chip away at the island’s secrets by completing a series of trials. The island itself may be in ruins, but with her handy minotaur sphere that’s able to shoot out beams of light and interact with all kinds of hidden puzzles uniquely, picking away at the setting’s mysteries quickly made itself an exciting prospect.‌Asobo Studio already proved itself a master of enthralling puzzle design in prior Plague Tale games, and I’m pleased to report the same is true for Sophia’s prequel adventure in Resonance.From guiding around beams of light within a great hall to finding the correct route of a giant spike trap by jumping from platform to platform in the correct sequence, the setup of the island had me scratching my head. But never in a way that had me frustrated for too long and always in a manner that made me feel like a genius once the puzzle was solved.Having not played the game’s first four chapters I can’t comment on the events that lead to Sophia’s arrival, but Minotaur Island is already proving to be quite the character in and of itself, if my short time getting to explore and traverse it throughout Chapter 5 is anything to go by.‌A new fightGetting to the main manner in which Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy differentiates itself from Amicia and Hugo’s journeys, then, and the combat here is surprisingly in-depth and satisfying. Sophia as a smuggler-turned-pirate warrior isn’t one to sneak around the environment or bait enemies, you see, and so at any point she is able to take the fight back to anyone standing in her way via a combat system that feels incredibly natural.There’s your standard ability to parry incoming heavy attacks indicated by a yellow flash, of course, while red-hued attacks cannot be blocked or defended against and require you to outright dodge.Sophia has a few more melee-driven tricks up her sleeve, though, chief amongst them being the ability to pull foes in, Scorpion style, from afar using her grappling hook, letting you get in up close and personal to dish out a devastating beatdown. Doing so is always incredibly satisfying to pull off, I found, especially as closing this distance so quickly helps avoid any potential lulls in the conflict.‌Better yet, should you grapple pull any high up enemies located on a ledge, there’s a chance the fall alone will cause their demise. The icing on the cake is Sophia’s nature to grab surrounding objects in the environment and then fling them at enemies using just a single button press. You better believe doing so works just as well here as it did in 007: First Light earlier this year.Obviously, core to a successful Plague Tale game, just as much as the setting and the ways you’re afforded to interact with it, is the story it weaves and the characters you bump into along the way. Without these being pulled off successfully before, I doubt I’d be playing a prequel starring Sophia right now. Fortunately, as mentioned earlier, Leni is already proving herself to be a compelling companion character - one that I hope has more to do in puzzles during later sections of the game.‌Villain-wise, I get to meet Faro at the tailend of Chapter 5’s final moments, and he appears to be doing a decent enough job when it comes to chewing scenery and wanting to chase down Sophia’s efforts for personal reasons. Throw in sections of the game where it flashes back to Ancient Greece and you get to play as Theseus, and Resonance is promising quite the century-spanning story.Against all odds, I came away from my short time playing Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy incredibly impressed at the way Asobo Studio has adapted its gripping universe into a new, more combat-focused pocket that looks and plays just as confidently.Sure, my build was a tad rough around the edges in that AA way returning A Plague Tale players will be familiar with, but hooking in and slashing against reams of foes as Sophia still proves to be a great compliment to the usual rigamarole of environmental puzzle-solving. As such, I’m all in on seeing where this adventure on Minotaur Island leads to when the full game launches later this year.Article continues belowResonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is scheduled to launch on PS5, Xbox, and PC this August 24, 2026 .