The Plucky Squrie Review: Picturesque indie adventure with creative ideas

The Plucky Squire Review: About the picture book hero who set out to save the world

The Plucky Squire is the story of the young hero Jot and his two friends. The trio, who have known each other since childhood, live happily in the picturesque land of Mojo.

At the beginning of the game, Jot is sent on a hero’s mission by magician Moonbeard. Because the evil magician Grummweil has returned and is definitely up to no good.

As we move through the colorful pages of a picture book drawn in 2D graphics, we get closer and closer to the evil sorcerer. During the confrontation, the unexpected happens:

Grummweil is tired of being the bad guy. And always losing to Jot and his friends. So he rewrites the story without further ado. And simply throws us out of the book. Of course, over the next ten or so hours of play, it’s up to us to put a stop to Grummweil, save the kingdom of Mojo and also help Sam – the child who owns the picture book – to live his life as planned, enchanted by the story, and become the author of a picture book series himself.

The Bold Squire tells its somewhat simple story with so much heart, charm and humor that even older gamers will look at the screen spellbound to see what happens next with DJ Wizard Moonbeard, his Minime Minibeard, Jot and his friends.

Out of the book and back again

The Plucky Squire makes use of a unique and incredibly creative trick: while the first chapters of the adventure are still presented as a classic 2D action RPG in the style of the classic Zelda games (albeit as a drawn book on a table with decorations lying around), the game jumps into the third dimension without further ado when the evil magician is thrown out.

This gives us the opportunity to leave the book at portals and switch to the “real” world. There we find varied and creative puzzles in which we have to combine both realities. Outside, we are also able to turn the pages of the book and return to previous pages, for example.

A simple example of this would be finding a game cube in the 3D world, which we then have to take into the book in order to progress through a section. Later on, however, there are also much trickier puzzle interludes.

For example, it is not uncommon to have to expand individual words on a page, retrieve another word from a previous page and then insert it on the spot. A huge insect suddenly becomes a tiny one or a destroyed bridge becomes a stable one.

The Plucky Squire begins very simply, but the level of difficulty of the puzzles quickly increases. However, the adventure never becomes unfair or really tough, so that even a younger target group will get their money’s worth with the game.

Battles, mini-games and more

In addition to the puzzles, a large part of the gameplay of The Plucky Squire is taken up by the battles. Here, too, the title is inspired by the classic Zelda adventures, because in the battles you attack goblins, spiders and the like with simple sword slashes, whirlwind attacks or throws… or regularly hit bushes to collect light bulbs (the game’s currency).

Hyeeeh kyahh hyaaah ha. Hyet hyet hyeeerjet!

You can use the light bulbs to unlock new attacks during the course of the game or upgrade your skills to increase their range or damage. The gameplay of puzzles and battles is broken up from time to time by varied mini-games.

Sometimes you have to face a honey badger for a boxing match, sometimes you have to get a fish back into the cool water and sometimes… well, you’d better be surprised. The whole thing is garnished by discreetly interspersed but absolutely ingenious genre changes, in which The Plucky Squire quickly mutates into a turn-based JRPG or shooter.

This ensures that the flow of the adventure is constantly maintained and keeps you in a good mood, as the game is always weaving in new, fresh ideas. There is not much to criticize about the gameplay.

Apart from the fact that The Plucky Squire is very linear through and through. There is always a way to progress, a solution to a puzzle. It would also have been nice to be able to explore some of the areas surrounding the 3D world. Unfortunately, the title is limited to the essentials here too.

In a potential sequel, we would like to be able to explore the desk or the knight’s castle to perhaps find side quests.

The Plucky Squire Review: Conclusion

The Plucky Squire is a wonderful example of the creative ideas that can lie dormant in an indie game. At its core, it is a very classic 2D action RPG in the style of the old Zelda parts, which is superbly implemented and works excellently in this picture book form alone.

However, the leap out of the book and into the third dimension adds a whole new level to the adventure, allowing for incredibly creative puzzles and interactions that I’ve never seen in any other game before.

The whole thing is garnished with a charming sense of humor, coherent graphics and a lot of variety through mini-games or genre changes. The result is an all-round harmonious overall picture and a game that had me glued to the screen from the very beginning and never let go until the end.

I would have liked a little more freedom in terms of gameplay and more ways to solve the puzzles, but that could still happen with a potential sequel. Anyone with a heart for fresh ideas and good action RPGs should definitely give Der Kühne Knappe or The Plucky Squire a try. It’s well worth it.