The Plucky Squire Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, & PC)

Portraying the reality around us isn’t an entirely far-fetched idea, and gaming is one place where developers often push the envelope of genre tropes. In The Plucky Squire, at least, the story takes a different turn from what you would typically expect. What starts as an ordinary storybook adventure quickly taps into unexplored paths. It’s an often always charming game while maintaining thought-provoking undertones throughout your playthrough. If you’re thinking about playing the game, be sure to read our The Plucky Squire review to get a rough idea of what you can expect.

Once Upon a Time

The Plucky Squire is a series of novels that tell the story of Jot and his heroism against the evil wizard Humgrump. All the books take place in the land of Mojo, where Jot always comes through to save the day. And, for a while, the books have been selling great, with several entries and merch, some of which can be found in a young kid’s room called Sam. Thanks to the hopeful nature of The Plucky Squire stories, Sam feels inspired to draw cartoons and, someday soon, write his own novels that inspire the next generation. 

But his dreams may be cut short when Humgrump stumbles into a secret power that allows him to shove Jot outside of The Plucky Squire so he can rule. With the hero outside of the storybook, literally walking around in the real world, Mojo is at risk of falling into the hands of Humgrump, which is where you come in to save Mojo and, in the process, allow the storybook to end heroically so Sam’s dreams remain untarnished. It’s a neat narrative that starts simple enough in the ordinary way fairy tales do. And when the story takes a turn for the worst, you go spiraling down several missions and objectives, solving puzzles, platforming, and fetching collectibles, to ensure that Jot returns to the book and defeats Humgrump. 

Through the detours you take, The Plucky Squire manages to remain original. Even though its core is standard fairy tale narration, it manages to infuse unexpected twists and turns that engage you through to the end. And, while stressing about the intriguing detours the story takes, you might also want to brace yourself for a far-fetched ending. We won’t spoil it for you; only prepare you for the surprising turn you definitely won’t see coming. 

Gameplay

Story aside, the gameplay is one for the books. It starts off in the cult-classic two-dimensional RPG formula, except you’re unraveling the story via an actual book. The Plucky Squire book flips from one page to the next as a British narrator introduces us to Jot and his two best friends, Violet and Thrash. You’ll meet many more characters down the road, from the Merlin-like wizard Moonbeard to the evil sorcerer Humgrump. 

Jot has always defeated Humgrump to the point that it’s become the status quo for how the novel ends. But when Humgrump discovers the power of meta magic, he shoves Jot outside of the book into a three-dimensional world that exists primarily on a young kid’s desk. From then on, Jot has to find his way back into the story. Initially, your quest is to find your way back into the book to defeat Humgrump. But the missions soon grow into more complex tasks that see you jumping from 2D to 3D at will. 

You have the freedom to explore both worlds, thanks to Moonbeard’s weed-killing potion. While in 2D, on the pages of The Plucky Squire’s book, Jot is a flat 2D figure who wields a fountain pen nib for a sword. However, in the 3D world that is Sam’s suspiciously cluttered desk, Jot takes a 3D form. The way the gameplay is structured is that you will move from one page to the next, unraveling the story via words scribbled on the pages and cartoons to illustrate what’s happening. The narrator may also explain certain story beats, though almost always, you will remain on top of the events of the narrative. 

Solve Puzzles

It’s pretty essential to be aware of what’s happening because, almost always, the story will have the next clue about the next activity you should be doing. You could be moving around the book, for instance, and you come across a closed gate, which tells you that you need to look for the word “open” someplace else on the page and bring it to the gate to proceed. Meanwhile, some puzzles push you to venture out into the 3D world to retrieve a specific item you need to progress. Alternatively, you may come across special abilities that allow you to delve deeper into The Plucky Squire’s crazed mechanics. 

Take the ability to flip pages, for example. It can allow you to turn the pages of the book as you please, jumping around to access previously unexplored portals. Moreover, the more you play, the more influence you will have on the world. You’ll reach a point where you can manipulate objects around you, including the book itself. The Plucky Squire has been incredibly creative in the ways it uses its puzzle-solving mechanics. On top of adding depth, it challenges you to think outside the box sometimes. 

You can have puzzles as simple as freezing water to cross over to as complex as turning sturdy pillars into crumbling pieces and then jumping out of the book to tilt the book over and let gravity tip the rocks onto an enemy. These sorts of crafty things grow more and more demanding, leaving me wondering who exactly the game is made for. Some puzzles seem too complex for young ones, but they can also be too easy for veterans. In any case, the puzzles often introduce something new, keeping your experience constantly refreshing.

Platforming

The Plucky Squire is a pretty interactive game, making its platforming exciting. You can bring objects between the 2D and 3D worlds to solve puzzles or reach an inaccessible area. On the 2D plane, you’re often sidescrolling through pretty self-explanatory paths. The 3D plane, on the other hand, can have 2D journals you need to find a way through. You’ll climb notepads and tilt the book to move around it vertically. Overall, platforming is fresh and exciting. You even have some stealth sections that task you with avoiding getting caught. 

Combat

As for combat, it’s pretty light. Wielding your fountain pen nib-like sword, you’ll bash into enemies or throw the sword like a boomerang. And for defense, you’ll dodge out of the way of incoming attacks. It’s a pretty easy system that veterans may find a little dull compared to the rest of the gameplay. 

Minigames

But at least the minigames you run into save the day. They’re far-ranging and pop up when you least expect them. It’s like a sampler of all the arcade games you know: rhythm-based shooters, sidescrolling shooters, element-based bubble-matching, Punch-Out!!-like boxing and more. You can skip the minigames if they become too tasking, although they’re easy and fun enough to want to get through them all.

Graphics

Visually, The Plucky Squire is a treat. It’s colorful and vibrant, with handdrawn cartoons for its characters. Every page is perfectly reminiscent of fairy tale adventures, with a charming aesthetic and immersive narrator’s voice to go along with it. Meanwhile, the 3D world of Sam’s desk space dons a different aesthetic that is more realistic of the real world. Moreover, the objects on the desk are more prominent in relation to Jot’s size, making for a captivating 3D platforming space.

Verdict

The Plucky Squire nails nearly every aspect of a fun game to play. It doesn’t restrict itself to one audience but rather allows younger gamers to enjoy exciting puzzles and older ones to reminisce about cult-classic 2D and 3D platforming. You can freely move between both planes, with the 3D world having some 2D platforming elements. Both worlds feel distinct in aesthetic, with the 2D plane illustrated via a book with a charming art style and the 3D plane portrayed on a young kid’s cluttered desk with a more realistic aesthetic. Combined, both worlds feel like individual experiences. And yet, they seamlessly blend into one another through smooth transitions and a connected gameplay system.

While it may sound complicated, the puzzles and platforming sections you’ll encounter are easy enough to beat. The word-based puzzles are nothing like Baba is You, to the point of causing frustration. Instead, you enjoy unearthing pretty fun ways that keep you engaged, as the narration can lag sometimes. Speaking of narration, The Plucky Squire has quite a charming tale. It’s a textbook fairy tale adventure that starts off familiar, only to take an unexpected turn. 

As for which type of gamer should play this game, I’d say anyone, which, while it makes it sound general, simply means that the game has something for everyone. It deeps into a wealth of creative puzzle and platforming ideas and executes them in ways that sync well with the narrative. Overall, the whole game is packaged well, offering a truly wholesome experience that every gamer ought to try.