Charming, inventive, and constantly transforming, The Plucky Squire is not only a celebration of adventure and games, it's an exploration of creativity and art. Wildly distinct art styles and genres harmonize in this perspective-bending tale.
Shortly into my adventure with Jot in The Plucky Squire, I was tasked by the wizard Moonbeard to retrieve some wax from local honeybee Benny Bee to create more records to DJ with.
As if that sentence wasn’t already claustrophobic in whimsy, it turns out a honey badger was snout-deep in Benny’s stock. A cutscene played–Jot ripped the sleeves off his tunic, muscles bulging.
“Oh shit,” I thought, “We’re about to have a Punch Out moment.” Much to my surprise and the cackling bellowing from my mouth, I watched the storybook perspective of The Plucky Squire shift. Jot was at the bottom of the screen looking up at the honey badger as I proceeded to throw punches, dodge left and right from countering blows, and deliver hooks. Jot was Little Mac and that badger went down like Glass Joe.
Despite knowing one of the key quirks of The Plucky Squire–I’ve been following the game for what feels like eons–this short segment delighted and shocked me.
Who would have known it would be one of many across the course of this astounding, charming, magical journey?
The Plucky Squire constantly transforms over the course of its 10-ish hour journey across as many chapters. Players initially see the openings of Jot’s tale as one taking place in a colorful, two-dimensional storybook that is housed in a three-dimensional world. Pages turn when Jot leaves the screen or the story decides to provide dedicated narration and momentum.
Developer All Possible Futures doesn’t shy away from that first impression of The Plucky Squire acting as a stand-in for The Legend of Zelda‘s top-down entries. Jot wields a sword made of a pen’s tip but slashes it like Link; he even has a charge attack that causes him to spin around in a deadly flurry. This is a journey set in a fantasy world full of friendly mountain trolls, wizards, kingdoms, evil sorcerers, talking snails, and odes to famous artists across history.
The wonder of The Plucky Squire is that it never remains one thing for too long. Its storybook presentation tightly packed with bright colors and bold outlines is a children’s picture book come to life. Jot is constantly foiling the evil plans of the sorcerer Humgrump and often regales the populace of the Land of Mojo by authoring stories of his exploits. However, this time Humgrump has found a way to break the cycle. A magical library somehow houses copies of Jot’s adventures but especially the one players are currently embroiled in. Using magic, Humgrump forces Jot out of the book into the three-dimensional realm where the book lays on a table.
After being ejected from his story, the game breaks the fourth wall and its own rules. Jot is now a three-dimensional character, modeled in polygons. He is able to wander the desk where the storybook of his tale rests. Covering the wooden surface are paints, scissors, paperclips, and other objects one might expect from an artist in the midst of their work. When Jot jumps, he does so in a 3D space and is not confined to the flat plane he was moments prior.
The Plucky Squire spends a decent amount of time in this first foray into a “new” world. Players must sneak around beetles on their trek back inside the book, topple dominoes to make a ramp, and collect a magical object that allows 3D Jot to influence the pages of his book. We also learn that “The Plucky Squire” is an actual story, that Jot and all his friends are characters in this story. If Humgrump has his way, the story will become boring and then shelved by the author who writes in, causing everyone inside to slowly lose their essence as they fade from memory.
As the game progressed, I was surprised by how on-the-nose much of its commentary on creativity and storytelling was. The Plucky Squire has many subtle notes but I think works best as a piece of interactive entertainment that overtly pays homage to all that has inspired it. There are echoes of It Takes Two in its miniaturized world or in Tearaway‘s creative use of materials.
What The Plucky Squire offers is not a deep or uniquely “epic” tale in the traditional good versus evil battle. Instead, it works as more of a personal piece of overcoming challenges, being creative, and celebrating things one loves. When first venturing into the City of Artia where Queen Chroma lives, players must collect six pigs scattered throughout the area. While exploring there are numerous odes to artists like Van Gogh, Banksy, and Monet. Minigames Jot engages in are callbacks to shoot ’em up-style games or something as simple as Duck Hunt.
All Possible Futures is using video games and art as Play-doh, letting players use it to mold their own memories. While the game is never that challenging, I don’t think it would have been as enjoyable if I was beating my head against the wall trying to tackle its simple enemies. While Jot’s abilities and damage output can be purchased and upgraded at a shop, The Plucky Squire‘s simple hack-and-slash combat doesn’t go beyond often mashing the attack button. I also had some issue with some platforming sections as Jot tends to be significantly more floaty than many of his forebears. However, the game is very generous with not losing much progress or health with a missed jump.
What The Plucky Squire lacks in combat or deeply challenging puzzles, it makes up for in sheer variety. The first time words of narration appeared on the screen and allowed me to pick up a keyword, place it on a different sentence, and transform an element of the world, I was giddy. This puzzle type is sprinkled throughout the game but done in a way that is often meant to evoke a laugh and a gentle “aha!” moment, never being so confusing as to frustrate.
That applies to the numerous minigames and referential segments that flood The Plucky Squire, acting as a kind of beacon of things you may or may not remember if you’ve been playing games for a few decades. Just when players may get tired of having to jump out into the 3D world, there’s a bit of wallpaper that Jot needs to hop into to literally wallclimb and dodge boulders. The game is rife with creative moments that also inject some spectacle into them. It’s one thing for Jot to hop onto a three-dimensional wall, sucked into a two-dimensional drawing, follow a path, and then wrap around that 3D space to open up a new path; it’s an entirely different thing to watch Jot zipline from a drawing, popping in and out of view of a banner propped between two towers.
I never became bored of my time with The Plucky Squire. In fact, I played through half the game in one sitting, barely taking a break. There was an enthralling nature to the game being thematically cohesive but still managing to twist its own formula constantly.
Whimsical is not a term I use often to describe anything and rarely so with games. But every path in The Plucky Squire felt as if it led to a new joyous moment that was able to insert a clever joke, charming moment, or delightful gameplay sequence. Multiple times throughout its chapters I couldn’t help but grin at how the thing I encountered was inserted in the specific way it was. And to keep harping on all these moments would strip the game of its wonder and whimsy for others and I certainly don’t want to do that.
The Plucky Squire is absolutely a rewarding journey for players wanting a diverse, creative experience that celebrates the interactive medium. While its gameplay and puzzles never border on too difficult or complex, its implementation of so many unique elements are striking in both consistency and variety. Be drawn in by its stunning artistry and stay for the incredible adventure.
