It is an old entertainment industry adage that one should never work with children or animals. And while that sentiment doesn't usually extend to games, it is the intrepid developer who puts an impulsive five-year-old at the center of a harrowing action-adventure or attempts to build a logical system on a horde of greedy rats. But Asobo Studio has done just that with "A Plague Tale: Innocence," and its daring sequel increases the degree of adventure with even more deft touches.

The casting of beasts and youngsters was unorthodox, but "Innocence" worked mostly within the boundaries set by the big films, most notably "The Last of Us." In contrast, "Requiem" seems to have spread its wings to establish an unmistakable identity, buoyed by the success of its predecessor. Among comparable titles, it falls short in terms of production value to Sony's big releases like "The Last of Us Part 2" and "God of War," but not nearly as much as the rest. And most importantly, it grows outward from the elements that shone in the original version-the palpable texture of the medieval setting, the pathos in the relationships between characters, and the relentless threat of the rats. By building everything around that core, "Requiem" is often more compelling and accessible than its better-known contemporaries.

The story begins with the survivors of the previous film traveling south through France to escape the scars of the rat plague that engulfed their homeland. Teenager Amicia de Lune (the player character) and her brother Hugo are beginning to enjoy life again, frolicking in the lush green fields and pretending to storm an abandoned castle. Meanwhile, the children's mother and her apprentice, Lucas, are concerned about having Hugo examined by a renowned alchemist.

Naturally, the group's fortunes soon take a turn for the worse, and it doesn't take long before they are knee-deep in slurry, corpses, and guileless rats. As Hugo succinctly puts it, "Nothing stays good." But "Requiem" excels at this contrast, flooding the screen with vibrant joy one moment and despair the next. While "Innocence" had its moments of color and hope, the Provence and Mediterranean settings in this odyssey are blessed with sunny, scorching green countryside and contented peasants. Rich yellow dyes and hot red spices add warmth to the faces of the joyful merchants.

It is not only the scenery that sets the mood, but also the characters. Young Hugo is the star of the show, and the transitions in his character, from playful and innocent, simply fascinated by the world, to trembling fear and destructive tantrums, set the tempo of the game. It is a small miracle that the script handles these transitions coherently, and the back-and-forth banter between him and Amicia and the rest of the gang deftly reinforces their bond. Your role as Hugo's protector, clinging sweaty to his hand and vacillating between love and the weight of responsibility, is beautifully realized.

As always, when trouble comes, it is divided into two kinds: humans and rats. Of course, the former are always up to no good, especially the powerful rats, and an unpleasant confrontation leads to a new trauma for Hugo, which again triggers a plague. Thus, before you know it, you are crushed in the head by the stones of Amicia's sling, hunted by soldiers and mercenaries, and the hordes of darkness begin to masticate the picturesque city, held in check only by light and fire. Indeed, only a few chapters into Requiem, many of the systems introduced in the previous work have already returned, and the bulk of the adventure is spent exploring new territory.

Because of this extra room for development, many human encounters (with or without rats) become stealth sandboxes studded with hiding places, vantage points, and shortcuts. These are more extensive than similar games in "Innocence," and more materials are available. Once again, you gather materials to make throwable chemical compounds, such as fire starters, fire extinguishers, and rat bait, but it is much easier to find and combine what you need. You can also quickly switch between throwing these compounds, firing them from a sling, placing them in a ceramic pot to create a range-of-effect missile, or eventually attaching them to the end of a crossbow bolt. Distracting, stunning, blinding, or killing an enemy can be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on the type of armor and weapons one has equipped. While these options never quite live up to the emergent potential of an immersive sim, there is always a lingering feeling at the end of the section that there could have been a different way of doing things.

At the same time, don't rely too heavily on the most powerful tools, as there is a limited supply of items such as pots, bolts, and instant-kill knives (you should especially save the knife, as it can also unlock rusty locks on hidden treasure chests). You must also decide when to use certain skills of fellow characters, such as Lucas, Hugo, or a new character who joins your group. In Hugo's case, he can manipulate a small pack of rats to tear through a scene from a rat's perspective, munching on any unfortunate human who gets in his way.

As for the rats, even if it is just you and the rats, they are essentially part of the game's environmental puzzle and function quite mechanically like a living sea of lava, although they can move and change shape to some extent by cutting their way through the light. Considering how much "Innocence" forced us to take advantage of their predictable behavior, the challenge in "Requiem" was always to keep the chittering black mass threatening. They have succeeded to some extent by increasing their numbers and spewing tsunamis with such force that they break through stone walls, swamping and suffocating precious light sources. Playing with them can also make them seem more dangerous, as you think you have temporarily driven them away, but as soon as you enter a place you thought was safe, they come rushing back in.

But the real power of the Requiem does not come from any one element, but rather from its constant movement. As the situation evolves, fresh ways to interact with the scene are added, such as new tools, various allies that tilt the encounters in the direction of stealth or combat, or the occasional set piece that offers an entirely different problem. For example, a scene confronting a falconer and his ferocious bird will briefly divert attention and move on to the next cover point.

Still, there are drawbacks to this ambition. Because the system is more extensive and organic, there are more opportunities to collide with strange and unreasonable outcomes. Throwing a pot of gunpowder or moving a rat as Hugo can complicate things, with stray predators in unexpected places to which they should have had access. On the other hand, partner characters can get stuck on the landscape (especially Lucas for some reason), and large characters have a habit of growing larger and getting in the way. This is a case where you should never partner with an adult.

In general, stealth sections can be a bit nerve-wracking, with too many lines of sight to grasp. This is because once spotted, it tends to be a trial-and-error process, reloading the last checkpoint and starting over again. Also, when frustrated by a series of such mistakes in the same area, it is often easier to quietly kill everyone than to make a stealthy effort. After setting fire to an unsuspecting victim, Amicia explains to one of her companions, "I don't like it, but in the end I always have to do it." You might agree.

Nevertheless, it is hard to begrudge this unevenness, as much of what "Requiem" does lands as intended. Even the stealth sections, when well cut through, are wonderful, as is the joy of ducking through the big metal door that signals the moment of safety. Frustration fades as you shift gears into exciting chases, mind-bending puzzles, and teamwork in a range of omni-directional action adventures that will hold your attention and not let go for nearly 20 hours. [Bougainvillea petals, cicadas chirping, creeping afternoon heat ....... The goal here is simply to spend quality time with the characters. At one point, Hugo found a tower and wanted to climb it. Because towers are fun to climb. Beneath the death and filth lives an open-eyed awe of adventure. Thus "Requiem" shows us the heights and depths of the human experience, not only by working with children and animals, but by letting them run the show.