The Plucky Squire Review – A Whimsical Tale

The Plucky Squire serves up a combination of many different game genres and mini-games and serves it on a cohesive platter. Players play as The Plucky Squire named Jot, and Jot is joined by a cast of charming, humorous, and well-written characters and foes. The entire story takes place within the confines of a book and around a bedroom. The Plucky Squire’s 10-hour run time left me in awe and each chapter is a wonderfully executed homage to video games of the past and present. 

Developer & Publisher // Developed by All Possible Futures, published by Devolver Digital

Platforms // Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch, PC

MSRP & Release Date // $29.99, September 17, 2024¹

Reviewed On // PC

Copious Variety in The Plucky Squire

Variety is the name of the game here, outside of the minigames and puzzles the main way players will interact with The Plucky Squire is split into 3 different game types. The first one is a top-down isometric action title akin to games like A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds. The second form the game takes is a 2D side-scrolling platformer similar to the side-scrolling sections in Zelda 2 or even games like Shovel Knight. And the third essentially turns the game into a 3D action platformer. These 3D sections outside of the book look and play a lot like Kirby and the Forgotten Land. 

The first chapter is a great showcase for the breadth of variety that is on display here. Chapter one starts off with the top down isometric perspective and then transitions into a 2D side scroller which then culminates in a Punch-Out style boss battle. After beating this boss I knew I was in for something special. 

Mini-Games Galore

The variety never lets up and I kept wondering what form the game is going to take next. Every chapter either adds a new power up to Jot’s arsenal or introduces a new unique mini-game. I mentioned a Punch-Out style boss battle and this was just one example of said mini-games.

These segments were all a joy to play and one can imagine that some of these mini-games could be fleshed out into entire games on their own! Throughout my playtime, I continued to be excited about what was next and the game never fails to throw new ideas at the wall all the way up until the final moments. Regarding the mini-games, I would like to see All Possible Futures potentially add a mode where it is just the mini-games. The ResoGun-like cylindrical shooter is especially a blast.

The Plucky Squire Story

After getting acclimated to the boundaries of the pages and getting a taste of the variety on display, players are introduced to Humgrump who serves as the antagonist. Humgrump has become aware that the story of The Plucky Squire always ends in victory for our protagonist and to change the tides in his favor, he proceeds to boot Jot out of the book. This is the first time players interact with the 3D segments of the game. This is also just one of the many examples that characters in the game acknowledge the outside world by breaking the fourth wall, but I found this aspect to be witty. As for the story it ended in a nice spot and I could see The Plucky Squire becoming a series.

Puzzles

Players will quickly figure out that through the use of the green portals that Jot can exit and enter the book. Leaving the book becomes integral to solving puzzles as the players are allowed to bring items in and out of the room. Being outside of the book also allows Jot to flip through previous pages to look for puzzle solutions and later on, Jot is given powers to affect the pages of the book from outside. Leaving the book also allows Jot to pick up each side of the book and fold it to shift items, obstacles, or characters inside the pages. 

The puzzles in The Plucky Squire mainly have you rearranging words in sentences to change the context of said sentences, which in turn changes the contents of the page. An early example of this is when Jot and his crew stumble upon a creature named Topsy, she asks the player to find her biscuits. Next to her, is a sentence that reads “here was a secluded forest”.

Solving with Words

Attacking the sentence reveals that the word “forest” can be removed and replaced with a different word. After exploring this page you find her tub of biscuits and also the word “ruin”. The solution to this puzzle is quite simple and involves players switching between forest and ruin to drag her biscuits close to her. Later on these sentence puzzles get more intricate requiring Jot to exit the book and flip to previous pages to find the exact word needed for that sentence. If you get stuck, players can converse with Minibeard. Talking to him gives players a hint on where to go or how to solve a puzzle. Something I noted about the puzzles and the game overall is that it is very linear with most questions having only one real solution.

Whimsical Charm of The Plucky Squire

Regardless of whether you are in between the pages of the book or outside in the 3D platforming sections the game never loses its stride. The protagonist Jot is joined by an eclectic cast. Namely, Thrash who is a drummer, Violet who is an artist, Pip who is a tiny rodent and Moonbeard who is part DJ and part sorcerer. Moonbeard also serves as Jot’s mentor. A cool note is that each character’s text box matches the color of their character design. This just adds to the personality of each character. The music also conveys a great sense of tone and has great synergy with each scene, when the scene is serene the music will match that energy, when a scene is stressful the music is tense. And the art style is just downright gorgeous utilizing a bright and vibrant color palate with quirky and playful detail.

Only the narrator has actual spoken dialogue but he does an excellent job at conveying the emotion that is on the page. The writing in this game is also quirky and exudes charisma, the characters’ animations only further help establish this sense of wonder.

Combat and Adaptability

Even though there are many forms the game takes, Jot’s move set is impeccably balanced and works in each perspective. The beginning move set is a basic combo with your sword and a dodge roll. But through hitting trees, chopping grass, and defeating enemies players will attain Light Bulbs which act as this game’s currency. To acquire new sword skills and to upgrade these skills the player will need to look out for a shopkeeper named Martina. The form of currency she takes is you guessed it, the light bulbs! 

I purchased and upgraded all the skills available but my favorite is the Sword Throw. This move acts like a simplified version of Kratos’ Leviathan Axe in the nascent God of War titles. The similarity is in being able to both throw out and recall the sword. Each of Jot’s sword skills can also be upgraded as well. For example, the upgrade to the Sword Throw allows Jot to throw the sword further away. 

Performance

I played through this title on PC. The game ran well for me and outside of minor stutters, it hit my target at 4k 120 FPS on high settings. My PC’s is powered by a Ryzen 7 3800xt CPU, RTX 4070Ti Super GPU and 32 gigs of DDR4 Ram. Not too much tinkering is needed on my end. The Plucky Squire is releasing on the switch so it seems they have scaled it down properly and the game runs on Unreal Engine 4. On PC, I used an Xbox controller and it worked as intended.

Accessibility

This title also has a wide variety of accessibility options to tailor the game. It is very inclusive and I loved the way this is handled. To start there are two different difficulty modes to choose from. An adventure mode which is the default difficulty or the story mode which provides easier combat. On top of this players are able to tinker with a list of accessibility options to further outfit your particular playstyle.

If you are struggling with the combat turn-on invincibility or the one-hit kill option, if you are struggling with the platforming then there’s a jump assist. I implore you if you are having a hard time getting through this title, to take a look at and tinker with all these options. If a mini-game is posing a tough challenge they can also be skipped as well.

Final Thoughts on The Plucky Squire

The Plucky Squire is an extraordinary game and the amount of style, love, and craftsmanship that is on display here is enough to make even Nintendo themselves jealous. The game constantly kept me on my toes and I commend All Possible Futures for expertly weaving genres and mini-games together while also telling a cohesive and charming tale. All the elements on display in The Plucky Squire merge together to produce an exemplary package. 

Score: 10/10

Pros

• Wonderful Art Style
• Imaginative puzzles
• Copious Variety
• Highly Accessible
• Fun Mini-Games
• Charming and witty writing
• Adaptable Combat
• Good Platforming

Cons

• Linearity
• No Modes for Just the Mini-Games

Note – A key was provided for the purpose of this review.

1. The physical version of The Plucky Squire is also available for preorder right now and will release on February, 21st 2025. $34.99 for the standard copy and $54.99 for the deluxe copy. Only for Switch and PlayStation ↩︎