When it was first revealed in 2022, I was enamored immediately by The Plucky Squire. A beautifully unique take on the 2D Legend of Zelda formula, platforming that feels fresh and responsive, and paying homage to countless retro classics of our youth make All Possible Futures’ newest title one you should absolutely give your attention to. All that wrapped together with a catchy soundtrack and a surprisingly emotional story make The Plucky Squire one of the best indie games of the year.
In The Plucky Squire, you play as Jot, the titular hero from the land of Mojo. The story and mechanics are presented in some of the most dynamic and interesting ways I’ve seen, giving me something I haven’t experienced in quite a while in all my 20 years of gaming: a concept I haven’t seen before. While many other games are no strangers to the picture book aesthetic, The Plucky Squire takes that concept even further, seamlessly integrating the actual picture book itself into the gameplay and puzzle solving.
Throughout most of The Plucky Squire‘s ten chapters, you’ll often have to use the ability to warp out of the 2D picture book environment onto the desk of Sam, whose bedroom is the setting of the story, and mosey around in 3D. The game’s brilliant level and puzzle designs are what set this game apart from others of its ilk. For example, in later chapters you have the ability to exit the book and “stamp” an item within the book to bring it to a dead stop. In other chapters, you’ll have to close the book completely to transfer items to the other page, or even slide boxes by tilting the page a bit. While there are the typical puzzles you’d expect from an indie game like this, like placing blocks onto switches, timing-based platforming, or stealthing around guards to not get caught, these examples are inventive and clever ways to integrate puzzle solving and exploring into the dual environments that are definitely the game’s biggest strengths.
Additionally, as you venture through Mojo, narration is done in real time and printed onto the environments. The page turns as you enter a new area, further enhancing the immersion of this aesthetic. The printed narration doesn’t stop at being just a cutesy exposition device–you’ll often have to swap words around from different pages to alter the environment if your way is blocked. While none of these puzzles are terribly complex, I fully appreciate the creativity and attention to detail given to these puzzles relying on words, as replacing certain words where they don’t quite belong can yield some funny results.
Combat leaves a bit to be desired. You have a sword and the ability to dodge roll, and throughout your adventure will come across shops that offer upgrades like increasing the power of your attacks or throwing the sword to damage distant enemies. Fighting regular enemies on the map is simply just dodge, attack, dodge, attack, and so on, which can get repetitive fast. I often found myself wondering if I was going to encounter more diverse enemies than the purple goblins or Humgrump’s soldiers, but I hardly did.
On the other hand, I can’t sing the praise of The Plucky Squire‘s boss fights nearly enough. Each encounter is played through minigames inspired by NES classics like Punch-Out!!. Another boss sees you playing a dead man’s volley-type of rhythm game, testing your timing and punishing you for missing the beat. The influences are clear, and the game pays beautiful homage to these classics in ways that feel inspired, not derivative.
The story of The Plucky Squire is a surprisingly deep tale about acceptance and belonging. As you progress, you’ll learn that antagonist Humgrump isn’t just a one-note villain, but a complex and misunderstood self-isolating old wizard with an unexpected past. At the beginning of the game, Humgrump discovers that “The Plucky Squire” is actually a picture book, and he, Jot, and the rest of the colorful cast are just characters in it. He’s destined to be defeated every time, and demands a different ending–one that sees him come out on top. So he uses Metamagic to boot Jot out of the story, kickstarting our venture into the 3D realm. From there, Jot and his pals Violet, the witch-in-training, Thrash the mountain troll, and the definitely-not-a-stoner old wizard Moonbeard trudge along on a roughly 10-hour quest to defeat Humgrump and restore the book’s original ending.
The Plucky Squire is a rare instance of a game I haven’t seen before, and sticks the landing in its concepts. The hybrid 2D/3D environments lend themselves flawlessly to traversal and puzzle solving, and while not entirely challenging, offer some of the most unique mechanics seen in any game. The moment-to-moment combat is a bit dull, but the boss fights are incredibly entertaining callbacks to a simpler time in video game history and beautifully meld together genres in an engaging bid to be one of the most unique gaming experiences I’ve had in awhile. The story and characters are surprisingly deep, and our antagonist Humgrump is much more than your typical baddie. Intricate and passionately designed games like The Plucky Squire are what will keep the indie game scene alive for years to come. Be sure to give this your attention, as it’ll be at the top of many of our “Game of the Year” lists.
When it was first revealed in 2022, I was enamored immediately by The Plucky Squire. A beautifully unique take on the 2D Legend of Zelda formula, platforming that feels fresh and responsive, and paying homage to countless retro classics of our youth make All Possible Futures’ newest title one you should absolutely give your attention to. All that wrapped together with a catchy soundtrack and a surprisingly emotional story make The Plucky Squire one of the best indie games of the year.
In The Plucky Squire, you play as Jot, the titular hero from the land of Mojo. The story and mechanics are presented in some of the most dynamic and interesting ways I’ve seen, giving me something I haven’t experienced in quite a while in all my 20 years of gaming: a concept I haven’t seen before. While many other games are no strangers to the picture book aesthetic, The Plucky Squire takes that concept even further, seamlessly integrating the actual picture book itself into the gameplay and puzzle solving.
Throughout most of The Plucky Squire‘s ten chapters, you’ll often have to use the ability to warp out of the 2D picture book environment onto the desk of Sam, whose bedroom is the setting of the story, and mosey around in 3D. The game’s brilliant level and puzzle designs are what set this game apart from others of its ilk. For example, in later chapters you have the ability to exit the book and “stamp” an item within the book to bring it to a dead stop. In other chapters, you’ll have to close the book completely to transfer items to the other page, or even slide boxes by tilting the page a bit. While there are the typical puzzles you’d expect from an indie game like this, like placing blocks onto switches, timing-based platforming, or stealthing around guards to not get caught, these examples are inventive and clever ways to integrate puzzle solving and exploring into the dual environments that are definitely the game’s biggest strengths.
Additionally, as you venture through Mojo, narration is done in real time and printed onto the environments. The page turns as you enter a new area, further enhancing the immersion of this aesthetic. The printed narration doesn’t stop at being just a cutesy exposition device–you’ll often have to swap words around from different pages to alter the environment if your way is blocked. While none of these puzzles are terribly complex, I fully appreciate the creativity and attention to detail given to these puzzles relying on words, as replacing certain words where they don’t quite belong can yield some funny results.
Combat leaves a bit to be desired. You have a sword and the ability to dodge roll, and throughout your adventure will come across shops that offer upgrades like increasing the power of your attacks or throwing the sword to damage distant enemies. Fighting regular enemies on the map is simply just dodge, attack, dodge, attack, and so on, which can get repetitive fast. I often found myself wondering if I was going to encounter more diverse enemies than the purple goblins or Humgrump’s soldiers, but I hardly did.
On the other hand, I can’t sing the praise of The Plucky Squire‘s boss fights nearly enough. Each encounter is played through minigames inspired by NES classics like Punch-Out!!. Another boss sees you playing a dead man’s volley-type of rhythm game, testing your timing and punishing you for missing the beat. The influences are clear, and the game pays beautiful homage to these classics in ways that feel inspired, not derivative.
The story of The Plucky Squire is a surprisingly deep tale about acceptance and belonging. As you progress, you’ll learn that antagonist Humgrump isn’t just a one-note villain, but a complex and misunderstood self-isolating old wizard with an unexpected past. At the beginning of the game, Humgrump discovers that “The Plucky Squire” is actually a picture book, and he, Jot, and the rest of the colorful cast are just characters in it. He’s destined to be defeated every time, and demands a different ending–one that sees him come out on top. So he uses Metamagic to boot Jot out of the story, kickstarting our venture into the 3D realm. From there, Jot and his pals Violet, the witch-in-training, Thrash the mountain troll, and the definitely-not-a-stoner old wizard Moonbeard trudge along on a roughly 10-hour quest to defeat Humgrump and restore the book’s original ending.
The Plucky Squire is a rare instance of a game I haven’t seen before, and sticks the landing in its concepts. The hybrid 2D/3D environments lend themselves flawlessly to traversal and puzzle solving, and while not entirely challenging, offer some of the most unique mechanics seen in any game. The moment-to-moment combat is a bit dull, but the boss fights are incredibly entertaining callbacks to a simpler time in video game history and beautifully meld together genres in an engaging bid to be one of the most unique gaming experiences I’ve had in awhile. The story and characters are surprisingly deep, and our antagonist Humgrump is much more than your typical baddie. Intricate and passionately designed games like The Plucky Squire are what will keep the indie game scene alive for years to come. Be sure to give this your attention, as it’ll be at the top of many of our “Game of the Year” lists.
by Myles Obenza
