The Plucky Squire Xbox Series X Review 9.5/10 "Is gaming art? Who cares? it can however, be truly magical" ⚔️🔖🏹 @devolverdigital @apossf @JamesTurner_42 @onebitbeyond

I remember seeing an initial reveal trailer for The Plucky Squire a few years ago, and the central conceit that the protagonist - Jot - could leap forth from the confines of the book in which he is a main character instantly appealed to me.

The blending of the illustrated 2D cartoon world in which he resides with the ‘real’ 3D world opens up myriad gameplay possibilities, and really caught my eye. Fast forward to the tail-end of 2024 – to a situation whereby I have the opportunity to play the Plucky Squire with my three-year old son - and the act of playing the game becomes a family-bonding, transformative experience.

The game begins with Jot waking up to a cacophony of music from his neighbour, the good wizard Moonbeard, and after some light-hearted chatter, we find out that the naughty wizard Humgrump has returned to the land with a mysterious power that is throwing the storybook world into disarray!

The game is effectively split into two parts, the bulk of which is between the pages of The Plucky Squire book, presented on a child’s desk, it is a colourful, hand-drawn world in which Jot travels the lands with his friends, solving simple environmental and word-based puzzles as he chops and slashes his trusty sword at goblins and nasties of all shapes and sizes.

Whilst the more environmentally-based moments are pretty classic adventure fare such as ‘get the key for the door’, and ‘push the block to the switch-, the word-based areas feel quite unique in how you have to pick up words from sentences in the text-based descriptions and switch them with others on the pages. For instance, a gate that is closed on the page, will magically re-open when you replace the word ‘closed’ with ‘open’. It’s simple stuff, but very fun to work out, and completely matches the light-hearted tone of the rest of the game.

Things get more involved when you discover the power to leap free of the pages of the book and travel around the child’s bedroom, locating items to aid you in your quest, such as magical gauntlets that allow you to turn the pages of the book, or tilt the book so that items and characters on the screen roll around and assist in solving certain puzzles. 

It truly feels genuinely magical, and seeing my son’s reaction as all of these things were occurring on-screen, and the narrator’s cozy voice was telling the tales of the cute characters in the story was a joy unto itself. 

At one point I realised the feeling I was getting and assumedly, it was also the vibe my son was experiencing – was almost akin to when I first saw The Never-ending Story as a kid, that sense of there being a world within a world, it unlocks your childhood imagination, a very powerful thing!

A game that feels like a celebration of the innocence of childhood told in a tale that feels classic instead of re-hashed, with puzzles that feel accessible and satisfying instead of rote and boring, it’s a testament to the passion and skill of the folks at developer All Possible Futures that they’ve created a game that truly feels magical. 

Yes there are very minor quibbles such as the frame-rate getting a touch shaky in the more involved sections of the 3D parts, and the fact that the level of hand-holding could be off-putting to those after a genuine challenge*, but the level of accessibility in the options, overall presentation and sense of wonder that literally pops out of the pages cannot be underestimated. 

SUMMARY

One of the gaming highlights of the year (2024), and an absolute delight of a family experience. Sebastian would approve.

* I understand that there is an option that is soon to be rolled out to address this for those who prefer a more hands-off approach.

9.5/10

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