ICO
Playing as a young boy named ICO, the goal in the game is to help a princess escape a huge castle. You see, Yorda’s mother is the queen of the castle and she wants to sacrifice Yorda to extend her own life by using Yorda’s soul –how selfish.
ICO, being a very friendly horned boy, helps her escape the clutches of the queen and the shadowy creatures that attempt to hold them back.
Just like in A Plague Tale: Innocence, most of the game is spent holding her hand in an epic escort mission that requires both of them to solve puzzles and get around obstacles.
Yorda can’t attack enemies herself, but ICO can use his weapon to protect her from the monsters. It’s very important to keep her away from danger because as soon as any of the shadowy entities touch her, she becomes engulfed in darkness, causing the game over screen to appear.
ICO is often praised for its unique graphical style, sound design, and environmental puzzle-solving, later becoming an influence for Fumito Ueda’s next game, Shadow of the Colossus.
If you loved the linear narrative that A Plague Tale: Innocence has to offer, then going back and checking out ICO might be the smart thing to do. You can play it right now by using the PlayStation Now streaming service or by playing the HD remaster on the PS3.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is one of the saddest and disheartening adventures that I’ve ever experienced.
Developed by Starbreeze games and directed by A Way Out director (Josef Fares), this single-player adventure game puts you in control of two brothers who are on a quest to prevent the death of their ill father by collecting water from the Tree of Life.
The game starts off with their mother being dead, which is already sad enough, but on their adventure, they run into different people who serve as blockades in their quest.
You’ll meet a suicidal man, a savage dog, and a young girl who seems to be helpful but later turns out to be quite the enemy.
What’s really unique about A Tale of Two Sons is that you have to control both characters at the same time by way of the control sticks. It can be confusing and odd at first to control them both at once to solve special puzzles and pass over obstacles, but you soon get into the swing of things once you get used to the control scheme.
Naiee and Naia’s adventure is short-lived but the ending will tug at your heartstrings like no other game.
God of War (2018)
Before this reboot of God of War, we were used to seeing Kratos as a revengeful god that liked to yell, kill things, and yell some more. Sony Santa Monica wiped his slate clean, for the most part, and gave Kratos a fresh start –this time, with Kratos having a son of his own.
Atreus is teaching Kratos how to be more of a human and Kratos is attempting to show his son the ropes and prepare him for the journey ahead, wanting him to become just as powerful as himself.
The relationship between the two of them is what makes this God of War stand out from its predecessors, as well as the cinematic quality, engaging combat, and narrative-driven adventure.
Just like Amicia and Hugo in A Plague Tale: Innocence, Kratos and Atreus have to work together to take down any enemies and puzzles that stand in their way.
The Last of Us
Joel and Ellie’s emotional journey through the post-apocalyptic world filled with fungus monsters is one that’s hard to forget. The majority of the game is played with the duo working together and becoming closer as the story comes to a “close”, and their teamwork reminds us of Amicia’s and Hugo’s dangerous trek in Plague Tale.
You can’t control Ellie directly, but sometimes she’ll throw a brick or a bottle to distract an enemy, allowing you go in for a fatal sneak attack, making their partnership very important for their survival.
Joel can also lift up Ellie in order to reach high places, and she can fit in tiny spaces that an adult man would have trouble getting into.
A Plague Tale: Innocence is not as combat heavy and also doesn’t have too many mechanics like The Last of Us, but if you’re itching for another narrative-driven campaign with two characters working together to overcome obstacles, then here ya go.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Another short but brilliant linear adventure game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice puts you into the shoes of Senua, a woman who has been stricken with psychosis. Senua hears voices all around her, hallucinations appear frequently, and the sound design is amazing because of all this.
From the get-go, the developers at Ninja Theory encourage the use of headphones of some sort to get the full audio experience that Hellblade has to offer.
It’s scary in a way as you get the feeling of people speaking and whispering from all sides of you, taking you on an audio trip that’s worth playing.
Senua’s journey has her trekking through a Norse and Celtic-inspired setting to rescue the soul of her dead lover, and on her way, she has to deal with environmental puzzles and light hack and slash combat.
Senua is alone on her journey, unlike Amicia and Hugo, but if you’re looking for a fairly short, narrative-driven adventure game, then Hellblade should be on your list.
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