Do you need to play A Plague Tale before Resonance?

No. Resonance is a self-contained prequel set 15 years before A Plague Tale: Requiem, and it follows a different lead — Sophia, not Amicia. Anyone can start here. What you lose by skipping the older games is context on Sophia's past, not the plot of Resonance itself.

Where it sits in the timeline

Resonance happens 15 years before Requiem (which itself begins right after the first game, Innocence). Requiem wrapped up the story of Amicia and Hugo in 1349. Resonance goes back to a younger, rawer era of the same world — before the events fans know — and follows Sophia, the smuggler captain who in Requiem helps Amicia cross the sea. This is her origin: what made her the person Requiem players meet.

Fresh players: what you actually need to know

Almost nothing, going in. Resonance is an original story about a new protagonist in a new location (the Minotaur's Island), and Asobo wrote it as an entry point — that's why it's a prequel with a new face instead of a direct sequel. You'll understand the curse, the island and the creature without touching the older games.

Requiem fans: what you get extra

• Sophia's backstory. You know her as the pragmatic captain who carries Amicia's plot forward. Resonance explains how she got there — the plundering, the running, the secrets of her past.
• Worldbuilding payoff. Requiem's late-game revelations land differently when you've seen what came before.
• A different Asobo. Same studio, same obsession with detail, but the combat-first direction is new. Returning players will feel the genre shift immediately.

What about playing order?

If you have Game Pass and want the full saga experience, release order is still the cleanest: Innocence → Requiem → Resonance. But don't treat that as a requirement. If Resonance is what you want to play today, play it today — it stands alone, and the older games will still be there (and spoil nothing about this story, being set after it).