What You Need to Know Before Installing A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a story-driven adventure game set in 14th-century France during the Black Death. The game focuses on two siblings, Amicia and Hugo, as they flee persecution and a swarm of rats consuming everything in their path. It runs on most modern PCs, but you'll want to check your system specs against the game's requirements before you buy or read it.

The game is single-player only—there's no multiplayer mode. It takes roughly 15 to 20 hours to finish the main story, depending on how much time you spend exploring and solving puzzles. The game is available through Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG, and it also comes with Xbox Game Pass for PC if you have an active subscription.

Key Takeaways

  • Your PC needs at least an Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor and 16 GB of RAM to run the game at minimum settings.
  • An NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the recommended graphics card for smooth gameplay at 1080p with high settings.
  • The game requires 130 GB of free storage space on your hard drive or SSD, which is larger than many other games.
  • You can buy the game outright on Steam or Epic Games Store, or play it free through Xbox Game Pass for PC if you have a subscription.
  • The game supports keyboard and mouse controls or a gamepad, and you can adjust difficulty and accessibility settings after you start playing.

Minimum and Recommended PC Specs

The minimum specs let you run the game, but expect lower frame rates and reduced visual quality. You need an Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 590 graphics card. The game requires 130 GB of free storage space—this is one of the larger game installations, so make sure you have room on your drive before you start.

The recommended specs deliver smoother performance and better visuals. Aim for an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor, 16 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card. At these specs, you can expect to play at 1080p resolution with high graphics settings and a steady frame rate. If you want to play at 4K resolution or use ray tracing features, you'll need a more powerful graphics card like an RTX 2080 Ti or better.

Storage matters more for this game than for many others. The full installation takes up 130 GB, so if your drive is nearly full, you may need to delete other games or files to make room. Installing on an SSD (solid-state drive) rather than a traditional hard drive will also make the game load faster.

Where to Buy or read the Game

Steam is the most common place to buy the game. Search for "A Plague Tale: Innocence" in the Steam store, add it to your cart, and complete the purchase. Once you own it, the game appears in your library and you can read it whenever you want. Steam also tracks your playtime and lets you earn achievements as you progress.

Epic Games Store also sells the game at the same price as Steam. You'll need an Epic Games account to buy it. The read and installation process is similar—the game appears in your library after purchase, and you launch it through the Epic Games launcher.

GOG (Good Old Games) is a third option that sells DRM-free versions, meaning you own the files outright and don't need to launch them through a client every time you play. Some players prefer this approach, though it's less common.

Xbox Game Pass for PC includes the game if you have an active subscription. This is the cheapest way to play if you already subscribe—you don't buy the game, you just read it and play as long as your subscription is active. If you cancel your subscription, you lose access to the game.

Installation and First Launch

After you buy or read the game, the launcher (Steam, Epic, or GOG) will walk you through installation. Choose where you want to install it—make sure you have 130 GB of free space on that drive. Installation typically takes 30 minutes to an hour depending on your internet speed and hard drive type.

When you launch the game for the first time, it may ask you to update graphics drivers or install additional software like DirectX. Let these updates finish before you start playing. Once the game opens, you'll see a main menu with options to start a new game, adjust settings, or view credits.

Before you jump into the story, spend a few minutes in the Settings menu. You can adjust graphics quality, resolution, and frame rate cap here. You can also turn on subtitles, adjust text size, and enable colorblind modes if you need them. The game has several accessibility options built in, so if you have trouble with certain controls or visuals, check the Accessibility submenu.

Graphics Settings and Performance

The game offers several preset graphics levels: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. If your PC meets the minimum specs, start with Medium or High and see how the frame rate feels. If you notice stuttering or lag, lower the settings. If the game runs smoothly and you want it to look better, raise the settings one step at a time and test again.

Key settings that affect performance are resolution (1080p, 1440p, or 4K), shadow quality, texture quality, and ray tracing. Ray tracing makes light and reflections look more realistic but uses much more graphics power. If you have an older graphics card, turn ray tracing off. If your frame rate drops below 60 frames per second (fps) during gameplay, lower the resolution or reduce shadow and texture quality.

You can also set a frame rate cap—this limits how many frames the game draws per second. If your monitor is 60 Hz (refreshes 60 times per second), capping the frame rate at 60 fps prevents "screen tearing" and saves your graphics card from working harder than necessary. If your monitor is 144 Hz, you can cap it at 144 fps to match.

Controls and Accessibility Options

The game supports both keyboard and mouse and gamepad (controller) input. You can switch between them at any time. If you use a keyboard, the default controls are arrow keys or WASD to move, mouse to look around, and number keys or mouse buttons for actions. If you use a gamepad, the controls follow standard console layouts—left stick to move, right stick to look, and face buttons for actions.

You can remap any control to a different key or button. Open the Settings menu, go to Controls, and select the action you want to change. Click or press the key or button you want to use instead. This is useful if the default layout feels awkward or if you have a disability that makes certain buttons hard to reach.

The game includes colorblind modes, text size adjustment, and subtitle options. If you have trouble hearing, turn on subtitles and closed captions—they appear at the bottom of the screen during dialogue and important sound cues. If you have trouble seeing, increase the text size and enable high-contrast mode if available. These settings are in the Accessibility submenu under Settings.

Common Performance Issues and How to Fix Them

The game stutters or freezes. This usually means your graphics card or processor is working too hard. Lower your graphics settings, especially shadow quality and texture quality. Close other programs running in the background—web browsers, Discord, and streaming software all use system resources. If you're using an older hard drive, consider moving the game to an SSD if you have one.

The game crashes on startup. Make sure your graphics drivers are up to date. Visit the NVIDIA or AMD website (depending on your graphics card), read the latest driver, and install it. Restart your PC after installing. If the game still crashes, try lowering your graphics settings to Low and launching again. If it still doesn't work, verify the game files through your launcher—Steam and Epic both have an option to check and repair corrupted files.

The game runs slowly even though your PC meets the recommended specs. Check that your monitor is plugged into your graphics card, not your motherboard. Some PCs have both integrated graphics (built into the processor) and a dedicated graphics card, and the game may be using the slower integrated graphics by default. In your graphics card control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Radeon Settings), set the game to use your dedicated graphics card.

You see visual glitches like missing textures or flickering. Update your graphics drivers first. If that doesn't help, disable ray tracing and lower shadow quality. These features sometimes cause visual bugs on certain hardware combinations. If the problem persists, try a clean driver install—uninstall your current driver completely, restart, and install the latest version fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I play A Plague Tale: Innocence on a laptop?

Yes, if your laptop has a dedicated graphics card and meets the minimum specs. Gaming laptops with NVIDIA GTX 1660 or better can run it. Laptops with only integrated graphics (Intel UHD or AMD Radeon) will struggle or won't run it at all. Check your laptop's specs before you buy—look for the graphics card model in Device Manager or your laptop's manual.

Do I need an internet connection to play?

No. Once you read and install the game, you can play offline. You don't need to stay connected to Steam, Epic, or GOG while you're playing. However, you do need internet to read the game initially and to receive updates when the developer releases patches.

Is there a sequel, and will it run on the same PC?

A Plague Tale: Requiem is the sequel, released in 2022. It has higher system requirements than the first game—it needs an RTX 2080 or better for recommended specs. If your PC runs Innocence well, Requiem may require you to lower graphics settings or upgrade your graphics card.

Can I use a controller on PC?

Yes. The game supports most standard gamepads, including Xbox controllers, PlayStation controllers, and generic USB controllers. Plug in your controller, launch the game, and it should detect it automatically. You can remap controller buttons in the Controls menu if you want to change the layout.

What's the difference between buying on Steam versus Epic Games Store?

The game itself is identical on both platforms. The main difference is which launcher you use to read and play it. Steam has more community features like achievements and trading cards. Epic Games Store sometimes offers discounts or free games. Choose whichever launcher you prefer or already use—you can't transfer a purchase between them.