The Plucky Squire
Review
A Hero That Leaps Off The Page
by Camrin Santchi
reviewed on PC
Earnestness, Awareness, Both?
Sometimes it feels like there is a fondness for meta humor and narratives in this day and age that almost chokes out earnestness. Multiverse stories, medium awareness, these are some of the examples that can be seen all over the place nowadays. While these can allow for new and refreshing looks at pre-existing notions, they can also be a bit tiring due to just how overdone they are nowadays. So what happens when medium awareness is combined with genuine earnestness, a heart and soul beyond just self-referential humor or poking at anticipated tropes? Well, you get The Plucky Squire. We at Hooked Gamers had the opportunity to preview the game a little while ago, but the game has certainly been given a nice new cover and is definitely ready for shipping.
The Plucky Squire is an action-adventure game with puzzle elements that stars Jot, the titular squire, and follows a brand new journey for the lad, who discovers his existence as a children's book character when his long time villain, Humgrump, casts him out in hopes that without the hero, he'd finally be able to win and take over the land of Mojo, having had enough of his destiny to lose against Jot.
The Fourth Wall
Upon learning the truth about The Plucky Squire, Jot uses Humgrump's scheme to his advantage, now able to hop in and out of the book in order to work around puzzles and bits of narration that have been corrupted by Humgrump's altering of the story. By finding magical items scattered about the desk, such as gloves that let him turn the pages of his book or a bow borrowed from an elf in what appears to be a Magic the Gathering card, Jot is out to save not just the land of Mojo, but the very inspiration of the child that owns his book.
Unlike a lot of media nowadays that uses meta narratives to be incredibly tongue-in-cheek about the genre and style, The Plucky Squire uses it to demonstrate that media can be inspiring and important to those that perceive them, telling a story about stories themselves via a colourful and delightfully designed world - be it the fantastical world of Mojo or the cluttered desk within the real world.
This by itself is refreshing in a world where irony has media in a chokehold, and is only added to by the sheer love that The Plucky Squire seems to have for the tropes that make up the mediums and genres that it is focusing on, making it all the more charming and delightful.
An Accessible Adventure
The Plucky Squire has a lot of options that make the game more accessible for younger or more casual players- doing more damage, taking less, allowing hidden portals to appear without walking over them, and more - these allow for players to appreciate the game at their own pace without trouble and make The Plucky Squire a much more welcoming experience.
Slow Reading Speed
One of the only complaints I had with The Plucky Squire is the heavy slowdown in some parts of the game - specifically when there are a lot of moving parts at once, such as in Mojo's main town. This is likely due to keeping just about everything loaded so you can turn pages back, tilt the book, exit onto the desk, and otherwise interact with the world to solve problems. This issue isn't major, and only effects a few areas as far as this reviewer noticed - it isn't enough to ruin the experience, but it can make certain sections of the game a bit less enjoyable than the rest of it.
A Charming Bookend
In all, The Plucky Squire is a very delightful game with a lovely concept, a warm awareness of itself and the tropes it is interacting with, all wrapped in a gorgeous visual design that makes both parts of the game an absolute delight to witness. There is some slowdown in some areas when they are specifically cluttered with people and interactable objects, but even with that in mind, jumping into the pages of The Plucky Squire is sure to be an enjoyable time for many aspiring adventurers!
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8.6
fun score
Pros
Delightful visuals, Charming concept, Accessibility options
Cons
Slows down heavily in some areas
