While other platformers such as Super Mario may have introduced going from 2D to 3D environments, The Plucky Squire takes it to another level, building the groundwork for what easily will be a standard going forward. You know those games where you see the first screenshots and know it will be good? The Plucky Squire is that kind of a game.
Story and characters that stick the landing
Before we get in on the gameplay mechanics that set The Plucky Squire apart from other platformers and Zelda-likes out there, let’s focus on the story. The game takes place within a storybook and starts like a classic adventure story where you are a famous hero set to defeat an evil wizard. But after your first encounter, things take a turn for the worse, sending you out of the book into the room of the kid reading the book. Without spoiling anything, the story is very meta from here on out, and it is great. The humor is spot on throughout the game, with existential jokes about living in a book to jokes about how bad the wizards’ henchmen are even with their good hygiene and sense of fashion.
While the story holds good on its own, it is strengthened further by a great cast of characters. With the heavy metal troll Trash, to the classical and whimsy wizard and his mini-me who helps you out. But the best-written and most enjoyable character in The Plucky Squire is the narrator. Philip Bretherton’s voice-acting brings to life one of the greatest narrators out there with perfectly written monologues.
Plays amazingly good
The big hook of the game is easily the switch between 2D and 3D mechanics. While adventuring in the book in a top-view 2D environment, which feels like a more limited classic Zelda game, you will encounter puzzles of different kinds in which you need to exit the book to manipulate it in different ways. The transition between 2D and 3D is seemingless and both look great and feel amazing. Manipulations of the book can be done by tilting the pages, putting stop-stamps on moving objects and placing bombs on the book to destroy objects or enemies, which feels like a cartoon air raid in the best possible way. When you are outside the book you also need to explore the room where the book is to find these objects, which make the 2D adventure into a 3D action-adventure game, and both aspects feel good.
The Plucky Squire also comes with a wide range of different mini-games, spicing up the gameplay ever so often. These range from rhythmic boss battles where you bash rocks thrown at you with drumsticks, to a rhythmic game about sneaking past guards as a mouse, to my favorite, a peggle-like boss battle. The mini-games are never over-used and all of them fit in with the story and the great pacing of the game.
Looks even better than the screenshots
If you’ve looked at a screenshot or have seen a video of The Plucky Squire, you know what to expect from the game’s art style, except it looks even better when playing. Moving in the pages and always seeing the edges of the book is one of the best design decisions I have seen this year. The Plucky Squire plays with color and the flat surface in a way I fully enjoyed. Jumping out of the book and moving in a 3D environment also looks amazing and feels natural, walking on the book and seeing characters move around under you, amazed me every time.
Conclusion
I never had a dull moment during my 7- 8 hours with the game. Right from the start I was enchanted by a great cast of characters, a story that hooked me right from the start, artwork and visual effects that looked beyond good, and most of all, gameplay that stuck the landing. Playing through The Plucky Squire has been a journey of pure joy and I cannot wait to give it a second go sometime soon.
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