I was pretty disappointed by this one. Big fan of the first two games, especially the 2nd which I viewed (And view) as a masterpiece. The combat was an exciting new change initially, but it ended up feeling pretty stiff and clunky in practice, and it was so frontloaded at the start of the game (and, honestly, for the first entire half) that I almost wondered whether stealth was even a feature of this game (it is, just not for the human enemies... which was a bummer).
I thought the writing and characters were solid for the first 1/2-3/4 of the game, but it really did not hold up in the final act. The motivations of some of the main antagonists was extremely questionable, and the melodramatic behavior of the protagonist at the very end (final ~1hr or so) was exhausting. Repetitive lines of dialogue every few seconds commenting on the situation in the same way. The other Plague Tale games had this chatterbox problem as well with Amicia constantly saying stuff like "Please, don't see me, please...." or "no, no, no, no..." literally every 10-15 seconds in some sections, and other related phrases at different moments in the game. But it bothered me a lot less there, where you're literally playing a teenage girl who's the sole person responsible for her brother's safety.
Resonance had one character that I think I really enjoyed, and felt an attachment to, and a moment with that character later was reasonably punchy. But it expects you to care a lot about certain other characters that it just doesn't take the screentime to develop the protagonist's bond with earlier in the story, so it falls a bit flat and feels forced later.
Something that really bothered me was the protagonist's attitude toward the other human characters in the game, and how encountered with enemies are handled in general. Every single encounter is a bloodbath. The one time the game had me cheering and pumping my fist in the air because I thought both sides had finally learned something - the game ripped it away, in comedic fashion, not 30 seconds later, and the encounter devolved into another bloodbath. What the hell was the point in that? If you've played the game, you know what moment I'm talking about.
For some 'pros', I really enjoyed the sound design. I thought it was immaculate. The sound effects of the main non-human threat in the game were incredible, and the music was equally well made.
I really liked the main non-human enemy, as well. The way it moves is really scary, and technically quite impressive. The most butt-clenching, edge-of-my-seat, heart-pounding moments in the game were when I was sneaking around trying to avoid that thing. I do think it loses some of its impact later, but each encounter with it is still really tense, and there were MANY close calls where it almost got me; both scripted and unscripted.
Broadly speaking, Resonance was an experiment for this studio. I don't personally feel it was a successful one, but i admire them for trying something new. Combat is a new frontier for the Plague Tale franchise, and while I don't believe they stuck the landing (fully), it wasn't a disaster, either. If I were to give this game a score, it'd be a 6/10. I don't personally recommend it, but you may very well enjoy it. All of this is just my opinion.
But don't go into it expecting a classic Plague Tale experience, just with more combat options. It has some Plague Tale DNA, particularly in the 'monster' sections, but it lacks the heart and soul of what made the previous games so great.
Best of luck to Asobo. If they create another Plague Tale Legacy game, I would love to see it take some of the things that worked in this game and transfer them over.
