A Plague Tale: Requiem is now available, and while the majority of this game is a somewhat straightforward adventure, there are a few things to find that are hidden off the path most walked.
In the middle section of a A Plague Tale: Requiem, players will encounter something truly unique, with a more complicated puzzle than anything else that can be found in the game. This puzzle involves scouring a huge chunk of an island and four large windmills, but if you're patient, the rewards are quite worthwhile, netting Amicia de Rune a nifty Bracer. If you're having trouble figuring out what to do, we've got you covered.
A Plague Tale: Requiem — What is the windmill puzzle?
In Chapter 9, Tales and Revelations, players will be able to explore a large chunk of this mysterious island. This is the most open space and leisurely paced of any of the chapters, and a big part of that is due to the presence of the windmill puzzle.
This puzzle refers to four large windmills, which can be turned on and off, though with varying degrees of difficulty for accessing their interior. Finding the right combination of active windmills will open up a secret passage, which is located behind the windmills, between the second and third windmill if you face it from the large bed of flowers. If you ever get confused, you can check just above the door of each windmill, as each one is marked with a number: I, II, III, and IV.
A Plague Tale: Requiem — How to solve the windmill puzzle?
In order to find the correct solution to this puzzle, you'll first need to find the aforementioned secret underground passage. This passage is blocked when you first go to it can hunt down four stone obelisks in the surrounding area.
While not required, finding these stones and checking the underground map removes the guesswork from getting the solution, as each stone is marked with a number, with I, II, III, and IV. Naturally, these correspond to the windmills marked with the same numbers. The I and II stones on the map are marked with a windmill symbol, meaning they need to be disabled. The III and IV stones do not have a windmill symbol, which means they need to be on for the puzzle's solution.
So, the bottom line is that Windmill 1 and Windmill 2 need to be off, but Windmill 3 and Windmill 4 need to be on. With that in mind, follow these steps.
1. Open the door to Windmill 1 and grab the parts, then deactivate the windmill.
2. Go to Windmill 2, you'll have to pull down a rope behind the windmill to clear a space to hop up.
3. Then, you can go inside and deactivate the windmill.
4. Head to Windmill 3. You'll have to push a cart forward, then tell Hugo to crawl through a small space to open the door.
5. Now, make sure that Windmill 3 stays on.
6. Go to Windmill 4. Crawl under the cart, and then go up the ladder.
7. Looking through the window, you can see a lock on the door. Use Amicia's sling to smash the lock.
8. Now, head inside and activate Windmill 4.
If you've done everything correctly, you'll hear a loud rumbling noise like a small earthquake, which the characters will all comment on. Head back to the secret passage, and you'll find that the wall and map blocking the way have been removed.
A Plague Tale: Requiem windmill puzzle rewards
Opening up this secret passage reveals a hidden den of treasure stored in secret by smugglers. This includes parts for upgrading your equipment, tools, and most importantly, a unique bracer for Amicia to equip.
This bracer shows up on her character model, but it's not just a cosmetic item. Finding this bracer makes Amicia recover faster from enemy attacks. This doesn't mean you're invulnerable, but it does make it easier to engage enemies at close range, or fight more than one opponent at a time.
Enduring the storm
There are challenges and horrors around every corner in the world of A Plague Tale, but with this bracer equipped, you'll stand a better chance at making it through as unscathed as possible. Amicia will now recover more quickly from enemy attacks, which is especially useful if you aren't playing on easy, or you tend to have a very aggressive playstyle, or both.
In our review of A Plague Tale: Requiem, which cemented it as one of the best Xbox games of 2022, we noted that "Requiem is immediately familiar to anyone who played Innocence, but every single facet of the game has evolved beyond its predecessor in some fashion."
A Plague Tale: Requiem is currently available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5. It's also currently available in Xbox Game Pass.
