Polygon’s reveal of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy confirmed what the trailer hinted at — Asobo is pushing the series further into stabby action and away from rat-soaked stealth. The wait runs into next year. If you want a story-led, single-player run with the same cinematic chest pressure that Amicia and Hugo brought, the alternatives below land in the same emotional weight class.
We played seven A Plague Tale alternatives on PC. The picks below split into three groups: cinematic third-person adventures, slower psychological horror, and short narrative pieces. Most run on a modest GPU; only the Hellblade II pick really wants a recent card.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Length | Combat | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Plague Tale: Requiem | Direct sequel | 15 hours | More action than Innocence | $49.99 |
| Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice | Cinematic single-player | 8 hours | Punishing melee | $29.99 |
| The Last of Us Part I | The genre’s reference point | 18 hours | Stealth and melee | $59.99 |
| Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II | The most cinematic 2024 game | 8 hours | Tight melee combat | $49.99 |
| Little Nightmares II | Stealth horror with a small companion | 7 hours | None | $29.99 |
| What Remains of Edith Finch | Short story-led walking sim | 2 hours | None | $19.99 |
| Soma | Sci-fi survival horror | 10 hours | None (post-patch) | $29.99 |
Why A Plague Tale stuck with people
A Plague Tale: Innocence was the cinematic surprise of 2019 and Requiem doubled down. The threads that ask “what next” keep landing on the same anchors.
- A protagonist you protect. Amicia and Hugo set a model for the protect-an-NPC dynamic. The companion does work; the relationship does the rest.
- Real consequence in violence. Killing a guard isn’t a power fantasy in Plague Tale. The game wants you to feel it.
- Historical fiction with one fantastic element. The rats. Otherwise the world is grounded; the contrast is the point.
- Linear chapters, real production. No open-world bloat. Each chapter is paced.
- Music as a character. Olivier Derivière’s score carried both games. Picks that follow take their composer seriously.
The alternatives
A Plague Tale: Requiem — Best for the direct sequel
A Plague Tale: Requiem is the obvious recommendation if you haven’t finished it. Amicia’s arc gets darker, the levels open up into bigger sandboxes, and the rats finally hit numbers the first game only hinted at. Requiem is what Resonance follows.
Where it falls short: Stealth still gives way to fail-state combat at scripted moments. Some side moments stretch out the second act.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $49.99 base, $29.99 on most sales
- vs Innocence: bigger scope, more action, similar emotional weight
Download: A Plague Tale: Requiem on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when you’ve finished Innocence and want the second chapter before Resonance.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice — Best cinematic single-player
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is Ninja Theory’s eight-hour psychological journey through a Norse netherworld. Senua’s psychosis is treated as the central design problem, not a gimmick, and the binaural audio direction is built around it. Combat is brutal, tight, and used sparingly.
Where it falls short: Combat reuses a small enemy roster. Some puzzle sections lean on the same mechanic too long. Short run time.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $29.99, often $9.99 on sale; included on PC Game Pass
- vs A Plague Tale: similar pacing, similar emotional intensity, more melee
Download: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when you want the closest emotional match to Plague Tale’s first game.
The Last of Us Part I — Best genre reference
The Last of Us Part I is the game that set the bar A Plague Tale aimed at. Joel and Ellie’s run across post-Cordyceps America runs the same protect-an-NPC dynamic on a longer leash. The Naughty Dog remaster brings PC-tier visual fidelity that wasn’t possible on the original PS3 release.
Where it falls short: PC port had a rocky 2023 launch; the 2024 patches stabilized it but a high-end GPU is still preferred. Combat reuses encounter design Plague Tale players will spot.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $59.99, often $29.99 on sale
- vs A Plague Tale: longer, more combat, similar relationship core
Download: The Last of Us Part I on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this for the cinematic single-player Plague Tale players reference back to.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II — Best for the most cinematic 2024 game
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II follows Senua to Iceland and tightens almost everything: combat reads, traversal pacing, performance capture. It is also the most cinematic-looking single-player game of the year by a serious margin.
Where it falls short: Even shorter than the first Hellblade. The combat encounters, while better, are still small in number. Some players miss the puzzle density of the original.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $49.99, included on PC Game Pass
- vs A Plague Tale: shorter, prettier, similar emotional pacing
Download: Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when you want the prettiest cinematic single-player in this list and you’ve got the GPU for it.
Little Nightmares II — Best stealth horror with a companion
Little Nightmares II drops Mono and Six into a fairy-tale dystopia where puzzles are stealth and stealth is survival. The companion mechanic that A Plague Tale built around Hugo runs differently here: Six holds your hand, you hold hers, the game leans on the gesture.
Where it falls short: No real combat; if you wanted Plague Tale’s sling-and-pot combat, this is the wrong pick. Camera angles fight readability in a few late sections.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $29.99, often $7.49 on sale
- vs A Plague Tale: shorter, more abstract, smaller toolset
Download: Little Nightmares II on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when the appeal of Plague Tale was the companion and the dread, not the rats.
What Remains of Edith Finch — Best short story-led walking sim
What Remains of Edith Finch is a two-hour walking-sim anthology about a family that keeps dying. Each vignette switches genre and mechanic in a way that respects the player’s time. It is the most concentrated example of Plague Tale’s “every chapter does something different” rhythm.
Where it falls short: Genuinely two hours. No combat. Replay value is light.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $19.99, often $4.99 on sale
- vs A Plague Tale: tiny, lower stakes per chapter, similar craft
Download: What Remains of Edith Finch on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when you want the writing and pacing of Plague Tale in one evening.
Soma — Best sci-fi survival horror
Soma is Frictional’s underwater sci-fi descendant of Amnesia. Pathos-II is a research station in trouble, and the philosophical horror about identity sits where Plague Tale’s plague allegory does. The Safe Mode update removed the hide-or-die loop for players who want the story without the chase.
Where it falls short: Pacing is slower than Plague Tale. The horror is bleaker. Some puzzles drag.
Pricing:
- Free: no
- Paid: $29.99, often $5.99 on sale
- vs A Plague Tale: more horror, less action, similar emotional weight
Download: SOMA on Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when you want the philosophical undercurrent Plague Tale flirts with, treated as the whole game.
How to choose
Pick A Plague Tale: Requiem if you haven’t and want the obvious next step. Pick Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice for the closest emotional match in length, combat, and protection-of-a-fragile-self. Pick The Last of Us Part I for the cinematic reference point both Plague Tale games quote from. Pick Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II for visuals that beat anything else here and you don’t mind eight hours. Pick Little Nightmares II if the companion bond was the part you cared about. Pick What Remains of Edith Finch for the chapter-pacing in one sitting. Pick Soma when the plague allegory was the part that stuck.
Stay on A Plague Tale: Innocence if you haven’t finished it yet. Resonance picks up from Requiem, so going in cold isn’t the move.
FAQ
What game is most like A Plague Tale?
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is the closest non-sequel match. The pacing, the protagonist’s interiority, and the way violence carries weight all rhyme with Plague Tale’s two games.
Is there a Plague Tale 3?
Yes, sort of. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is the next game from Asobo, set in the same universe. It was revealed in 2026 and prioritizes melee combat over the stealth focus of the first two games. No firm release window beyond next year.
What is the cheapest A Plague Tale alternative?
What Remains of Edith Finch at $4.99 on most sales. Soma and Little Nightmares II hit similar prices through regional or seasonal discounts.
Are A Plague Tale alternatives good on Steam Deck?
Yes. Six of the seven (Plague Tale: Requiem, Hellblade, Last of Us Part I, Little Nightmares II, Edith Finch, Soma) are Verified or Playable on Deck. Hellblade II runs but pushes the hardware; lower the resolution.
Can I play A Plague Tale without playing Innocence first?
You can but you shouldn’t. Requiem and Resonance assume you know Amicia and Hugo. Innocence is 12 hours; finish it first.
