As a lifelong Zelda fan, I’m at all times hesitant when different builders got down to make a sport so clearly impressed by Nintendo’s acclaimed action-adventure collection. I discover that the puzzle design by no means fairly reaches Zelda’s extremely lofty bar, and I’m often left wishing I used to be simply taking part in Ocarina of Time or A Link Between Worlds as an alternative. But The Plucky Squire breaks that development, with a mixture of intelligent mind teasers, easy however efficient swordplay, and a brave silent protagonist that will really feel proper at house in Hyrule. The journey is held again by an excessively wordy script and a few severe pacing points in its last act, however this debut sport from developer All Possible Futures continues to be a journey value taking.
The Plucky Squire’s elevator pitch is good: You play as Jot, the hero of a kids’s e book who learns early on that he's, in actual fact, simply the hero of a kids’s e book. This results in a surprisingly meta story the place Jot leaps between the 2D pages of his image e book and the 3D actual world round it, which is represented by the childhood bed room of a younger Plucky Squire superfan named Sam who collects all of Jot’s tales and merchandise. That distinctive premise paves the best way for The Plucky Squire’s impressed puzzle design.
While inside the story’s superbly animated depictions of seashores, villages, and mountaintops, Jot can manipulate the e book’s textual content to change his actuality and get previous obstacles. Need a closed gate to swing open? Jot can actually choose the phrase “Open” off the web page from one other sentence within the e book and swap it into the prose mendacity in entrance of the shut gate. It performs out like a (considerably) lighter model of Baba Is You’s rule manipulation, and it’s a blast to experiment with totally different mixtures of nouns and adjectives to see how the world reacts, like turning a tiny frog into an enormous frog for no cause aside from eager to see if it might work. (Spoilers: It did.) It’s not the most versatile system – every situation with this idea solely features a handful of eligible phrases Jot can interchange – however it’s nonetheless a very spectacular mechanic the builders use in a number of good methods all through the journey. Through the facility of language, I crammed a drained moat with water, turned sturdy columns into crumbling ones with a purpose to topple them onto an enemy blocking my path, and an entire lot extra.
Wordplay is only one good method The Plucky Squire takes benefit of its storybook setting. Jot may come out of the e book and switch from an lovable hand-drawn 2D character into a completely 3D model of himself that’s harking back to the toyetic look of the Link’s Awakening remake and the upcoming Echoes of Wisdom. When exterior of the e book, Jot can play God and instantly manipulate the world inside, with powers like tilting the e book on its aspect to slip blocks round and even flipping again to an earlier web page to seize a phrase or merchandise that he wants on the present one. Backtracking by means of pages to seek out The Plucky Squire’s optionally available hidden collectibles additionally resulted in some cool “aha!” moments, and I might see myself going again to snag those I missed. The e book’s myriad makes use of pressured me to zoom out and assume larger in regards to the instruments at my disposal, and The Plucky Squire hits some superior puzzle-solving highs inside these segments.
The solely subject is what number of hints The Plucky Squire consistently throws at you. Before I used to be set free on most puzzles, Jot’s endearing companions Violet, Thrash, and Moonbeard have an entire dialog about what you should do. This inclusion is much more complicated if you consider The Plucky Squire’s well-implemented optionally available trace system, the place a recurring character that’s just about at all times round will let you know precisely what you should do subsequent in the event you ask for assist. It’s irritating that the builders lay out an excessive amount of data by means of obligatory dialogue reasonably than leaving it to the trace system so skilled gamers can attempt to piece all of it collectively with out hand-holding.
In truth, chattiness is an issue all through everything of The Plucky Squire. Characters are at all times stopping to have prolonged conversations about what to do subsequent, and whereas it’s all well-written dialogue, I discovered myself eager to mash by means of these in depth sequences to get again to the motion. The incessant over-explanation of Jot’s mission to take down the evil Humgrump is a technique The Plucky Squire feels aimed squarely at a youthful viewers, however the witty humor and lighthearted tone simply barely put it aside from turning into a serious disadvantage.
The exterior world goes effectively past the pages as Jot explores Sam’s bed room to seek out new talents to work together along with his e book. These exploration sections are a beautiful change of tempo from the puzzling nature of the storybook, and Sam’s bed room is a delight to run round. Like you’d count on from a younger boy’s room, toys and LEGO bricks are littered in all places, and Jot platforms throughout taking part in playing cards and constructing blocks to seek out his subsequent improve. In these sections, Jot can hop out and in of sticky notes and youngsters’s drawings, which makes the entire thing really feel like a inventive tackle A Link Between Worlds’ wall-merging mechanic. There are a number of minor technical points in the true world – I observed some shadows flickering out and in and I had one laborious crash – however for essentially the most half The Plucky Squire regarded and ran nice on PlayStation 5.
Combat works the identical whether or not Jot is in or out of the e book. He can swing his sword, throw it at enemies like a boomerang, and make use of highly effective soar assaults and spin assaults. These strikes can all be upgraded at retailers that pop up throughout the land of Mojo, the place you spend forex that’s principally discovered – fittingly – by slicing grass. The swordplay is easy, enjoyable, and infrequently difficult, however for a sport principally targeted on puzzles, I don’t thoughts that the fights are primary bouts to tear by means of in your approach to the following huge riddle.
The Plucky Squire can also be constantly working to shake issues up. There are loads of 2D platforming segments inside the e book’s pages, and generally the e book turns vertically to present issues a contemporary perspective. But The Plucky Squire actually flexes its inventive muscular tissues inside the minigame segments that crop up usually all through Jot’s journey. There are homages to issues like Punch-Out!!, rhythm video games, shmups, and extra that I gained’t spoil right here. Whether you’re uppercutting a honey badger or combating off aliens whereas flying round inside a toy field, each minigame right here is so charming and enjoyable to play, and I liked seeing how the builders shook up the artwork fashion and character designs for each.
With nice pacing between the storybook, actual world, and minigames for the primary 5 hours of the roughly eight-hour marketing campaign, it’s jarring when The Plucky Squire utterly loses its stride within the last act. First, Jot loses all his talents, and also you’re pressured to undergo a really generic stealth part to recuperate all of the powers you already spent the complete sport gathering. It’d be like if Metroid ripped all of Samus’ upgrades away moments earlier than the ultimate boss and compelled you to assemble the Morph Ball and Grapple Beam a second time. What’s worse, this part takes place in a completely monochrome world, sucking all the enjoyment and shade out of Sam’s bed room and turning it right into a boring trudge over drained floor. This part doesn’t take all too lengthy, however it’s adopted up with The Plucky Squire’s last dungeon, which is a repetitive march by means of samey rooms together with a rhythm stealth minigame I needed to repeat three separate instances. After going through a last boss that additionally goes on a section too lengthy, I used to be able to be executed earlier than the credit even began rolling. It’s a disgrace, as a result of The Plucky Squire is so pleasant for many of its runtime, however that final third sadly leaves behind a bitter aftertaste.
