A charming and ambitious adventure, dulled somewhat by the third dimension.
Plenty of indie games will lean on various labels as a way to convey their general vibe. Be that cozy, wholesome, charming, or cute for example. Often, such designations are truly merited, and at other times, they can feel a little tacked on in order to broaden a games overall appeal. Well, The Plucky Squire can wear one such label with honest, well-earned pride — and that’s: charming.
It’s not often that a game strikes me as being so delightful and appealing at just a first glance. Yet this new vivid, page-turning adventure — the first from studio All Possible Futures — has a pleasing, striking, and ultimately charming look and feel. Simply put, it’s a beautifully animated experience and one that's largely, for the most part, a joy to explore.
Now, this action-adventure platformer caught the attention of many due to its novel mix of both 2D and 3D gameplay. It sees you take on the role of Jot, journeying through the storybook that he inhabits — yet you’ll often jump out of the book’s 2D pages to briefly explore the real three dimensional world beyond — it’s a neat idea, and one that attempts to experiment with the traditional concept of storytelling in a fun way.
If you remember those ‘choose your own adventure’ books, this has a similar feel in places — as if you’re actually living it out, effecting change, and altering the original direction of the book that you find yourself within.
The 2D sections of The Plucky Squire play out via the pages of this aforementioned eye-catching book, in which squire Jot has to take down a comical baddie threatening to disturb the peace.
These 2D sections are where the game's heart really lies — it's packed with neat (although not particularly challenging) little puzzles, plenty of inventive moments, a great cast of humorous characters, fun dialog, and a bright and appealing vibe from start to finish.
The 3D sections feel a touch different however. When you leap from the 2D pages for the very first time it makes for a magical transition — seeing Jot and the world around you in 3D is one of those cool moments that offers up an initial 'Wizard of Oz' transition wow. Once you've left the book behind, you'll find yourself exploring the desk of a young child, jumping over obstacles (such as stationary, and toys), avoiding bugs, and traversing the space to reach your goal — evoking the likes of Pikmin, Tinykin and even Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
These 3D moments aren't as fleshed out as those in 2D, feeling somewhat secondary to the storybook adventure. You're never out in the 3D space for too long though, and honestly, that's probably for the best. The 3D sections of The Plucky Squire work, but never truly reach the same calibre of those to be found in 2D, feeling somewhat inconsequential when compared to the marvellous storybook moments.
Whereas the 2D pages are brimming with colour and are a delight to explore, the 3D experience feels a little flat and uninteresting by comparison. This dimension hopping is a rad idea, and one that's adds plenty of contrast to the overall game — however, although jumping from one plane to another makes for a curious juxtaposition, it's one that doesn't quite work.
Overall, The Plucky Squire is a bit of a mixed bag — the two halves of game (playing in either 2D and 3D) make for an impressive first impression, but ultimately fail to deliver a compelling whole.
However, that's not to say this one isn't worth checking out — it has a superb 2D offering, is insanely well polished, features a handful of thoughtful accessibility options, and has bags of charm and humour — the concept (even if it's not fully realised) is one that's worth experiencing.
As an aside, I played the game on Steam Deck, and faced a few issues, such as minor graphical quirks, and the game freezing up on me on more than one occasion during my play through.
Despite any minor misgivings, The Plucky Squire is still well worth playing, and I particularly think younger players will get a real kick out of it. It's an ambitious title, and a clear labour of love, lavished in great details — but the third dimension does remove a little of its ever so bright shine.
