Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy PC Performance Review

I've always liked how the A Plague Tale games manage to look beautiful while telling some pretty dark stories. Both Innocence and Requiem had some gorgeous environments, detailed character models, and plenty of moments that made me stop and admire the scenery. But all those visuals came at a cost, particularly on PC, where Requiem could be quite demanding.

Now, Asobo Studio and Focus Entertainment are back with Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, a prequel set 15 years before the events of Requiem. This time, we follow Sophia, a character returning from the previous game, as she travels to a mysterious island to uncover secrets about her past. There's also a bigger focus on combat, which makes this a fairly different experience from the stealth-heavy games we've played before.

But how demanding is it on PC? To find out, I tested Resonance on my RTX 5070 at 4K, using the Ultra and Medium graphics presets with DLSS and Frame Generation. The results were pretty interesting, especially considering how little performance I gained from lowering the graphics quality.

PC Testing Rig

I tested the game using the Ultra and Medium graphics presets, with DLSS enabled for all four runs. I also compared performance with Frame Generation enabled and disabled, while monitoring average FPS, 1% lows, GPU and CPU utilization, and temperatures.

Graphics Options and Settings

The graphics menu in Resonance is fairly straightforward. There are four presets to choose from: Ultra, High, Medium, and Low. You can also adjust individual settings, including draw distance, shadow maps, physics, NPC and enemy refresh rates, and chromatic aberration. There's a decent amount of control here, and the menu explains what most of the settings do, which is always helpful.

However, I did notice a couple of things that could have been better. For starters, there's no VRAM usage indicator anywhere in the settings menu. It's not a dealbreaker, but I would've appreciated having one, especially when playing at 4K. I like knowing how much memory a game is using without having to rely on a separate monitoring tool.

Something that annoyed me more was the fact that changing the graphics preset requires restarting the game. It's a small inconvenience if you're only setting things up once, but when you're testing different configurations back to back, it gets frustrating pretty quickly.

Then there's NVIDIA Frame Generation, which is where things get a little confusing. The game supports DLSS Multi Frame Generation on RTX 50-series GPUs, while RTX 40-series cards are limited to 2x Frame Generation. On RTX 50-series cards, the technology supports additional 3x and 4x modes, but the game doesn't give you the freedom to manually select the multiplier.

Instead, the settings menu shows Multi Frames and Dynamic, with the multiplier seemingly chosen automatically. During my testing, the Ultra preset used 2x Frame Generation, while Medium switched to 3x. I couldn't force either preset to use a different multiplier, and there was no 6x option available.

4K Gameplay Performance

Now, let's get to the numbers. I ran four tests at 4K with DLSS enabled throughout, comparing the Ultra and Medium presets with Frame Generation turned on and off.

4K Gameplay Performance

Starting with the Ultra preset, DLSS enabled, and Frame Generation disabled, the RTX 5070 managed an average of 93 FPS, with a 1% low of 78 FPS. That's a good starting point for 4K gaming, particularly since I wasn't relying on generated frames to get there. GPU utilization was at 99%, with temperatures reaching 80°C. Meanwhile, CPU utilization sat at just 11%, with the processor running at 53°C.

Enabling Frame Generation made a much bigger difference. With the game automatically selecting 2x, the average jumped to 138 FPS, an improvement of roughly 48%. GPU utilization dropped slightly to 96%, while the temperature stayed at 80°C. CPU utilization and temperatures were also unchanged.

Interestingly, the 1% low barely moved, going from 78 FPS to 79 FPS. So, while Frame Generation was doing a good job of boosting the reported average, it wasn't making much of a difference to the 1% low figures in my testing. It's also worth remembering that generated frames don't improve input responsiveness in the same way as increasing the game's underlying rendered frame rate.

Next, I switched to the Medium preset, keeping DLSS enabled and Frame Generation off. Here, the RTX 5070 averaged 104 FPS, with a 1% low of 79 FPS. That's just an 11 FPS improvement over Ultra, or roughly 12%, which isn't particularly exciting considering I've dropped an entire graphics preset.

GPU utilization was still at 99%, although its temperature increased slightly to 82°C. CPU utilization climbed to 14%, with the temperature sitting at 54°C. In other words, the graphics card was still working pretty hard despite the lower settings.

For the final test, I enabled Frame Generation again, and this time, the game automatically selected 3x. The average jumped to 153 FPS, making it the fastest configuration I tested. GPU utilization dropped to 83%, with temperatures falling to 75°C, while CPU utilization was just 9% at 54°C.

However, the 1% low was still 79 FPS, exactly the same as before. That means all four configurations returned almost identical 1% lows, despite the average frame rate ranging from 93 FPS to 153 FPS.

What I found particularly interesting was how little benefit there was to dropping from Ultra to Medium. Without Frame Generation, the difference was only 11 FPS. With Frame Generation, Medium managed an additional 15 FPS, although it's important to remember that the game was using different multipliers for those two tests.

For me, the Ultra preset makes much more sense here. The RTX 5070 is already delivering over 90 FPS on average with DLSS, and Frame Generation can push that considerably higher.

Visuals and Gameplay

Moving away from the performance numbers for a moment, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a good-looking game. Asobo has always had a knack for creating beautiful environments, and there's plenty to appreciate here, from the sunlit Mediterranean landscapes to the ancient ruins and dark underground passages.

The character models are another highlight. Faces have a lot of detail, and the animations help bring the characters to life, particularly during conversations and cutscenes. The contrast between the brighter outdoor environments and the unsettling interiors also works well with the game's darker story. That said, the visuals aren't always consistent, and some areas look considerably better than others, particularly when it comes to lighting.

The story itself follows a younger Sophia, who is on the run and trying to uncover the truth about her past. Her journey takes her to Minotaur Island, where ancient myths, hidden treasures, and a mysterious curse are all connected.

One of the biggest changes is the combat. Unlike Innocence and Requiem, where sneaking past enemies was often your best option, Resonance encourages you to fight. Sophia can use swords, dodge attacks, parry incoming strikes, and even use objects in the environment against enemies. There's a greater emphasis on timing your attacks and reacting to opponents, which gives encounters a different pace from the earlier games.

The soundtrack also deserves a mention. Olivier Derivière returns as composer, and the music helps give the game its own identity.

Verdict: Should You Buy Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy?

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy takes the series in a different direction, with more combat, exploration, and puzzles, while retaining the storytelling and atmosphere the franchise is known for. If you enjoyed the previous games, there's plenty here to look forward to..

As for PC performance, I have very little to complain about. The RTX 5070 comfortably handled 4K Ultra at 93 FPS with DLSS enabled, and Frame Generation pushed that to 138 FPS. I'd personally stick with Ultra, since dropping to Medium barely improved performance. The graphics settings could use some work, but overall, this is a solid PC experience.