The Plucky Squire Review - A Real Page-Turner

I don’t know what it is about games that play in both 2D and 3D, but ever since Super Paper Mario came out for the Wii, I’ve been a huge fan of that particular subgenre. It’s one of many reasons why The Plucky Squire caught my eye when it was first announced a couple of years ago. The colorful and cutesy art style, the somewhat wacky storybook premise, and, of course, the hopping between 2D and 3D worlds. It was love at first sight.

After playing it for about 15 hours, though, I can say it’s much more than just another quirky game that utilizes both 2D and 3D well. The Plucky Squire pays a lot of homage to the world of art and artists, whether that’s painters, musicians, or writers. The titular plucky squire is a heroic writer named Jot. He’s the land of Mojo’s savior by day and a world-famous author by night. Talk about work-life balance. 

You’ll soon find that The Plucky Squire’s storybook setting isn’t just for looks. Jot must defend the world from the evil wizard Humgrump once again, but this time, there’s a twist. Humgrump reveals that they’re inside a story and that Jot’s destined to win against him every time. Jot must now prevent himself from being written out of his story and save the lands from being destroyed.

The Good, the Bad, and the Plucky

Accompanying Jot on his cross-dimensional journey are his childhood friends Violet and Thrash, and their magical mentor, Moonbeard. Violet and Thrash aren't really that helpful, but they're funnily self-aware that their characters are written that way. Don't worry, they have their own moments to shine. Moonbeard is a sorcerer but also a DJ. Yeah, he's pretty cool.

You’re equipped with nothing but a sword and the capability to dodge, but as you slash your way through enemies and bushes, you’ll find a light-bulb-shaped currency that you can use to unlock and upgrade attacks. Unfortunately, buying them these abilities is the only way to obtain them. That forces you to search every nook and cranny for bulbs, so scraping together enough cash can be a hassle.

You can choose between story mode and adventure more, depending on what tickles your fancy. Admittedly, I’m not exactly someone who’s an expert when it comes to video games. I consider myself to be average, but I’d never back down from a challenge, so I went through my playthrough in adventure mode. 

Surprisingly, I never really found myself in a real pickle when it came to The Plucky Squire’s combat. The game is a bit too generous when it comes to the number of hearts you can get, making it really easy to not get a game over. In fact, the only time that I did was when I got accidentally one-shotted by an enemy that I wasn’t supposed to try and fight. This does make it a very kid-friendly game, but players looking for more of a challenge might find themselves disappointed.

However, the rest of The Plucky Squire’s gameplay is incredibly enticing and will keep you looking forward to more. I especially loved the mini-game segments, where you could find yourself being thrown into a new genre every time. One moment, you’re in turn-based combat with an archer, and the next, you’re in a rhythm game fighting a giant eagle. Just when you think things are getting a bit stale, the next mini-game comes in to freshen things up.

The puzzle-based aspects are another area where The Plucky Squire’s gameplay really shines. There are sentences that describe what’s going on, as storybooks do, and Jot’s abilities allow him to swap words around to alter the environment. You can cross a river by making a little lily pad large or even lure a giant rat by turning a wooden cube into a block of cheese. 

At times, you’ll need to think outside the box, or rather, the book and use your powers to find clues. You can hop outside the book with portals made with ‘Metamagic’ to turn pages and even tilt the very objects that are inside the pages. There are also objects in the outside world that you’ll need to locate as 3D Jot. The 3D environment is essentially a desk in the outside world, and while you don’t spend as much time being 3D as you do 2D, these segments are crafted with just as much care. You’ll be able to jump into sheets of paper and sticky notes, à la the wall merge ability from A Link Between Worlds. 

The game does seem to hold your hand a lot. Some of the optional hints that you can get from Minibeard (Moonbeard’s tinier clone) are appreciated, it gets a little tiring when Moonbeard just calls you up and tells you exactly what you need to do. I certainly like figuring things out for myself, so it would have been much better if there was a choice to turn these clues off. 

I did end up encountering a few bugs with the game. These bugs seem to only be prevalent in the 3D areas. Some of them are a quick fix and can be solved by just reloading the game, but in the case of the game-breaking bug, I ended up getting soft-locked out of my save file and had to start a whole other save. Hopefully, these end up getting solved in later patches.

Atmosphere-wise, The Plucky Squire is a top-notch game. There’s no doubt that it’s a wonder to look at in both 2D and 3D. The hand-drawn 2D sprites are a joy to look at, especially all the types of enemies. Evil has never looked cuter! Of course, the game is no slouch in the sound department either. The soundtrack remains pretty upbeat, and you’ll be surprised to find plenty of genres here as well. EDM, metal, jazz, you name it. Also, a special mention to all the little jingles and clinks this game has. My ears were very pleased upon collecting a bulb or opening a chest.

The Plucky Squire | Final Thoughts

The Plucky Squire is one of my favorite games to come out of this year, and it’s definitely earned a special place in my heart as a 2D and 3D action-adventure game. For All Possible Futures’ first game, it’s an incredible feat to make something that has this much sheen and sparkle, but just a little more polish would have made it a perfect game. 

The Plucky Squire was reviewed on PC with a copy provided by the publisher over the course of 15 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.