The Plucky Squire Review – PAGES OF WONDER

If there’s one game I’ve been low-key excited about ever since its announcement, it’d have to be The Plucky Squire. From the second I saw the kiddy-looking, cartoon-meets-real-life aesthetic, I was hooked. It just seemed to have so much charm, with its Zelda: A Link Between Worlds-like hook and varying moment-to-moment gameplay, my body was ready for some plucky goodness.

You Won’t Know What to Expect

And boy, did this game deliver. The second you start playing, the children’s storybook look instantly oozes style. Our hero, Jot in all his pluckish glory, sets off on a mission to defeat the evil wizard, Humgrump by his better half, Moonbeard and quickly stumbles upon a raging honey badger.

Like any other Zelda-inspired dungeon crawler out there, you’d think this encounter would turn into a stock-standard boss fight with a couple of 3-hit combos—but no! The game loves to keep players guessing! What happens next is an epic homage to Punch-Out!! where Jot starts throwing knuckles with the badger and grows exponentially in size to match his opponent, bulging biceps in tow.

While there definitely are a few traditional bosses found in The Plucky Squire, the vast majority of them are devoted to these unique set-pieces that are always awesome to partake in. But don’t worry, I won’t spoil any other key scenes in this 8-hour game. Though rest assured, they’ll keep you plucking for more.

Editing Jot’s Own Story

In terms of the traditional Zelda-like gameplay, it’s pretty familiar. You got your 3-hit combos, spin attacks, sword throws and aerial downward strikes, with the latter three being fully upgradeable. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before—nor is it particularly challenging—but it looks and feels great to play.

Throughout The Plucky Squire, Jot is continually pulled from the titular book and can use objects from inside and outside the pages to change the environment. For example, certain parts of the game will need Jot to change up sentences on a page by switching out a specific word. ‘A broken bridge’ could be altered to ‘a solid bridge’ to open up a new path, or ‘the nighttime garden’ could be swapped to ‘the daytime garden’ for a different layout and lighting. You may need to cycle between pages to find new words, hold an object in place or tilt them to make things slide down, but it’s just pure entertainment seeing these dynamic changes in motion.

The dungeons are also brimming with fun puzzles to solve. From 2D silhouette mazes, to wall-merging, jetpacking and stealth sections, I was always eager to turn over the page. If you find yourself in a pickle, a Mini Moonbeard statue called Minibeard can point out a few handy tips and tricks along the way. And those with a keen eye may even stumble upon a juicy hidden art piece or two. I normally couldn’t care less about random trinkets, but these concept images and their descriptors are more than worth the trouble. Pro-tip: make sure to slice trees and grass for bulbs (in-game currency) that can upgrade your skills and purchase more art pieces. Yaaaay!

Two Big Creases

In terms of story though, this is where The Plucky Squire falls frustratingly short. While it does contain a bunch of bright and quirky-smirky characters, barely any of them leave any sort of long-lasting impact. Plus, at the halfway mark, the story feels like it’s blatantly rushing towards the end. The comedy is pretty meh as well. It’s mostly just generic, fantasy jargon for world-building, along with a cast of characters that act as basic plot vehicles more than anything. Were you hoping for Final Fantasy-grade storytelling? Well, this is ain’t it, chief.

The music isn’t anything to write home about either. Even though there are cool musical-themed moments peppered in, I honestly couldn’t recall a single track from the entire OST. Normally if a game is not particularly great, you can at least rely on a strong musical showing or a standout track or three—that is certainly not the case here. Quite unfortunate considering everything else this game’s got going on.

Fortunately, the PC version doesn’t require a mega-beast of a rig for maximum fidelity. And even though the combat is much easier than most action games out there, The Plucky Squire features a one-hit-kill switch, an invincibility and jump-assist toggle and two exploration-based accessibility options for an even smoother experience. FYI: The vast majority of players will be A-okay without these on.

Decision

The Plucky Squire is dripping in cartoon-book glory, with stylish storybook visuals and inventive boss battles that break the mould of traditional, Zelda-inspired dungeon crawlers. The gameplay is familiar yet extremely enjoyable, with dynamic environments and engaging puzzles to solve on the regular. That being said, the story, characters and music simply aren’t memorable enough, lacking emotional depth and leaving little for players to chew on.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PC

Great

The Plucky Squire features a beautifully charming aesthetic, blending a children’s storybook style with inventive, varied gameplay inspired by Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. The music and story do drag down the ship, but the experience more than exceeds the asking price.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Devolver Digital. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.