Released on May 14, 2019, A Plague Tale: Innocence arrived somewhat out of left field for its time. The title was labeled an "AA" production, somewhere above indie but not quite the upper tiers. A Plague Tale: Innocence nevertheless impressed players and critics with its blend of action/adventure/stealth mechanics, compelling characters, and story. Most notably, though, these were set against the backdrop of the disease historically known as The Black Death, which affected large parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, upheaving society and causing irreparable damage in many sectors of it. The source was eventually discovered to be a bacterium. However, rats were long attributed and depicted as being the cause, as they were a vector for it to infect humans.