The Plucky Squire Review — Storybook Showdown

What happens when storybook characters discover they’re in a story and decide to take destiny into their own hands? Find out in The Plucky Squire, another certified banger indie game published by Devolver Digital. The game is a genuine work of art and combines its unique premise and excellent presentation with fun gameplay that pays homage to the classics of days past.

The Plucky Squire is presented as a hand-drawn children’s storybook—at least at first. It chronicles the tales of Jot and his friends, brave heroes amongst the pages of their story who often go on exciting adventures to stop the evil wizard Humgrump from doing, well, evil wizard things.

There is no better place to showcase The Plucky Squire’s fantastic 2D art than within the storybook pages. Side-scrolling levels blend seamlessly with “cutscenes,” all presented as different pages in the book. They take on a unique look that is somewhere between still image and animated, going back and forth as the art sees fit but never feeling out of place.

Things take a turn for the weird when Humgrump comes to the realization that he exists within the pages of a storybook. Not only that, but he realizes that he is the story’s villain, doomed to an eternity of losing his battles against the heroic Jot. Taking his destiny into his own hands, Humgrump begins to rewrite the story and forcibly ejects Jot from its pages.

I’ve seen this narrative done a few times, but never quite like in The Plucky Squire. Its idea relies heavily on its presentation, and in a video game about a storybook character coming to the real world, you can really mess that up. The Plucky Squire, thankfully, does not.

From the moment the game starts, you really buy the aesthetic that the game is going for. The storybook is presented as lying flat against a desk, with the camera hovering just above it. Each time you reach the end of a page, be it during a “cutscene” or to transition into the next level, you watch as the page turns, and the art on the following pages is “drawn” right before your eyes. Certain areas require you to rewrite the story (literally,) changing the physical environment around you by swapping out a word or two. Objects that hit the edge of the page pop into reality as little paper mache objects that continue to exist in the third dimension.

Even though it was teased early on, I was really surprised when The Plucky Squire transitioned from the pages of the storybook into the 3D plane, with Jot running around as, like I described, a little paper-mache man.

These 3D segments play a lot like a homage to Paper Mario, with Jot transferring from the 3D world to the 2D one as he interacts with bits of paper taped to the side of cardboard castles or sticky notes blocking his path. While I initially thought I enjoyed the storybook segments more, the way the game blended the art into realistic-looking 3D sets began to grow on me. When Jot entered what was basically a Magic: The Gathering Card, I was sold.

From start to finish, The Plucky Squire plays something like a Zelda game filled to the brim with little minigames that pay homage to old, fan-favorite titles. When I say that, I mean that these minigames drastically change up the game’s formula to mimic the gameplay of a classic Nintendo title. When I got to the first minigame and realized it was a punchout clone, I grinned ear to ear and realized that The Plucky Squire was something special.

The Plucky Squire is what I would call a game for all ages, and I’m sure the developers would feel the same way.

At no point in the game are you dealing with excessively dark themes, profanity, or anything one might expect from an “adult” title. The stakes are pretty low, though that doesn’t stop it from being engaging. The writing, however, does not fall into the same traps some E10+ games tend to fall into, avoiding becoming obscenely silly, childish, or failing to engage an adult reader. While there were certainly times I found myself skipping through some dialogue, I felt pretty consistently that from start to finish, The Plucky Squire was the kind of game that anybody could enjoy.

My favorite part of The PLucky Squire, without a doubt, was the characters. You begin encountering them early, and without needing to say much, the game sells you on their unique, fun personalities. Violet and Moonbeard being my two personal favorites.

After reviewing a few games with heavy narratives and packed full of heavy gore, extreme violence, and dark themes (I’m reviewing a horror game directly after this), The Plucky Squire felt like a refreshing break away from my norm, as much as I appreciate it. It’s a title that stands out for its wholesome, earnest creativity and a consistent feeling of whimsy, and who can honestly say they aren’t in the mood for something like that every now and then?

While not the most exciting game or story, The Plucky Squire is fun, visually interesting, and enjoyable no matter what age of player you stick in front of it. The game continues my trends of creative, engaging, and fun-to-play titles published by Devolver Digital. What can I say? Devolver just seems to know how to pick ’em.

Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! The Plucky Squire is available on Steam, GOG, Humble, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation.