There’s been a lot of chatter around The Plucky Squire for quite some time, from its interesting mechanic of switching between 2D and 3D gameplay, to the amazing artwork from James Turner, and the undeniable joy it brings to the package. But behind the whimsy and great artwork, is there more here than just a pretty picture?
The Plucky Squire takes place within an unnamed fictional land, all contained within a picture book. The characters, at least up until a certain point, are unaware they’re in a story. It’s not until the evil Humpgrump figures it out and breaks through the proverbial fourth wall. Within the picture book, the entire game is 2D, while outside in the real world—the bedroom of a Jot superfan—it’s 3D. Jot, the protagonist, can leave the book through portals, and it’s up to him to save himself and his kingdom by ensuring the book plays out as it was originally written.
The game draws inspiration from several sources. While there’s a clear Zelda influence in its combat, it pretty much stops there. Even though Jot is a silent protagonist, the rest of the game’s cast talks enough for him—just yack, yack, all the time. Jot can not only leave the book to explore the real world, but he can also manipulate the book’s words to change the world around him. Use words laying around the map to open and close gates, turn a frog giant, or fill and drain a moat by changing sentences in the story. Most of the puzzles are relatively simple, and there aren’t a lot of words to try, but it’s satisfying to watch the world change around you as you figure it out.
Outside of the book, Jot can interact with the world inside the book, even though his companions can’t see him. He can turn the pages and jump back into previous scenes to grab items and pull them forward in time. He’s also able to tilt pages to slide things around. If you ever get stuck, don’t worry—the game will tell you what to do, many times, and take its time doing it as well. It holds your hand through almost everything, which is fine for those who need it, but it got to the point where I started spamming through the dialogue just to get on with it. The game stops you far too often, and the broken pacing starts to wear on your nerves. I haven’t had my hand held this much since Pokémon Sun. The dialogue and humour are great, but there’s just too much of it too often, and it gets in the way.
The action is interrupted so frequently by the chatter that it almost detracts from all the other cool things the game has to offer. There are a bunch of mini-games, including a homage to Punch-Out!!!, and these are scattered throughout the story. However, it’s the end of the game that really gets in the way of the fun. Although the game is about 8 hours long, it could have been shorter. The last chapter and final dungeon are a slog.
The game runs great on the Nintendo Switch, at least in the 2D sections. Once Jot leaves the book and enters the 3D world, things look a little rough with that low-resolution fuzz we’re so used to now with a lot of Switch games. The fantastic artwork still looks fine here in 1080p, but the 3D sections are certainly going to look better elsewhere. The game’s music and voice work match the heights of the game’s art style as well; it would just be great if there was more of it and less text.
There’s a lot to love about The Plucky Squire. It’s Zelda-inspired without being a complete clone and introduces a bunch of new ideas and fun mini-games. The ability to dip in and out of the storybook with two different presentations is interesting, though a little fuzzy in 3D on the Switch. However, the game seems determined to stop you from playing it, constantly interrupting you or offering help with tasks that are obvious from a mile away. Sometimes, games can just be a little shorter, and that’s alright too.
Rating: 3.5/5