A Plague Tale: From Aquitaine to Marseille

A Plague Tale: Innocence opens in November 1348. Amicia de Rune, a 15-year-old noble, lives in Aquitaine while England and France fight the Hundred Years' War. Then Inquisition troops reach the family estate looking for her little brother Hugo, killing her father Robert and the servants. The game's countryside was inspired by landscapes in Gironde around Saint-Émilion, plus Limousin and Dordogne. Saint-Émilion, a medieval town among vineyards, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The estate itself is fictional; the pin marks the town only.

Location precision: The estate is invented; the pin marks Saint-Émilion, the area that inspired the game's landscapes.

Visitor guidance: Saint-Émilion's old streets and vineyards are open to visitors.

Mid-game, Amicia nears a town the Inquisition has abandoned because of the rat plague. She must cross its dark streets to the University, hunting for the Sanguinis Itinera, a book needed to treat Hugo. The town's name is never spoken in the game, but its entrance closely copies the Porte d'Aude of Carcassonne. The real citadel, the Cité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. The pin marks Carcassonne, not a fictional town.

Location precision: The game's town is invented; Carcassonne is only the real model for its gate.

Visitor guidance: The Cité de Carcassonne is a walled citadel open to visitors.

The finale of Innocence takes place in the cathedral of Vitalis, the Grand Inquisitor. The children fight their way there, and Rodric sacrifices himself to protect Hugo and Amicia. Then Hugo overpowers Vitalis and Amicia kills him. The game's cathedral is a transcription of Reims Cathedral, which was the traditional place where French kings were crowned. The scenes themselves are invented; the pin marks the real cathedral that served as the model.

Location precision: The game's cathedral is invented; Reims Cathedral is only the real model for it.

Visitor guidance: Reims Cathedral is open to visitors outside services.

Requiem begins in June 1349, six months after the first game. The group hides in a fortified town in Provence, where Beatrice asks the Order's Vaudin to treat Hugo. The treatments backfire and the town is swarmed by rats and left in ruins. Its poor quarters are set inside a huge ancient arena. The developers moved the story from gloomy, war-torn Aquitaine to this brighter Provence. The town is invented, so the pin marks only the region.

Location precision: The game's town is not a named real place; the pin marks the region of Provence.

After the Provence town falls, the group escapes by boat toward the headquarters of the Order of alchemists in Marseille. At the end of Requiem, the rats spread unchecked across the city and destroy it. The game's city is a nightmare version of the real port, which today is the second-most populous city proper in France. The pin marks the city centre.

Location precision: The game names Marseille but shows an invented, ruined version; the pin marks the modern city centre.

Visitor guidance: Marseille's old port and city centre are open to visitors.