The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

As a seasoned gamer with decades under my belt, I must say that The Plucky Squire has truly stolen my heart. This delightful game is not just a feast for the eyes, but a testament to the power of creativity and the enduring influence of our childhood favorites.


As an analyst, I’ve observed that among indie game publishers, a select group stands out by repeatedly releasing successful titles. Typically, this consistency is achieved by heavily investing in a particular niche. However, Devolver Digital buckles the trend of most indie publishers. Instead, they diversify their portfolio.

Instead of investing in the conventional and commonplace, Devolver Digital chooses to back the unique, endearing, and even bizarre. This approach has resulted in a collection of indie successes, ranging from the mischievously cute Cult of the Lamb to the downright malicious Hotline Miami. With such a wide range of titles, it’s still surprising to find a family-friendly themed indie like The Plucky Squire—created by All Possible Futures—being supported under the Devolver Digital label.

And yet, The Plucky Squire is exactly what you’d expect and want from a Devolver Digital game.

What is The Plucky Squire?

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

The Spirited Knight is an action-adventure platformer game developed by All Prospective Timelines (APF), which was released by Digital Deceiver. APF was founded by James Turner, a previous artist at Game Freak who contributed to numerous Pokémon games, alongside Jonathan Biddle. Prior to APF, Biddle served as the creative director for Devolver Digital on the 2019 action-adventure title, The Swords of Ditto.

In The Vibrant Tales of the Plucky Squire, players meet the main character, the valiant Jot, an adventurer and skillful scribe who chronicles his escapades fighting against the mischievous Humgrump in various storybooks. Consistently, Jot emerges victorious while Humgrump suffers defeat—that is, until Humgrump realizes he’s a villain in these stories and tries to alter them to suit himself. By harnessing magical powers, Humgrump kicks Jot out of the storybook. Once touched by magic, Jot discovers he can shatter the storybook’s boundaries, utilizing magical portals to jump between the 2D world and our three-dimensional reality. With the assistance of his companions, a sprinkle of magic, some platforming challenges, and logical riddles, players can aid Jot in overcoming the hurdles set by Humgrump as he endeavors to preserve his storybook from being stored away.

The game titled “The Plucky Squire” can be played on various platforms such as the Xbox Series X|S, personal computers (PC), Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5. Regrettably, “The Plucky Squire” is not part of the Xbox Game Pass library at its release, but it comes at no additional cost with a PlayStation Plus membership subscription.

The Plucky Squire: Story and gameplay

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

Initially, The Plucky Squire appears as a typical 2D action-adventure game, reminiscent of older titles like The Legend of Zelda. It’s set in the whimsical world of Mojo, a land within a physical storybook. The game starts with players embarking on a mission to retrieve beeswax for a local wizard who enjoys music records. We meet Jot and learn about his initial capabilities, which are rather basic. The tutorial concludes with a fight against an extremely hungry honey badger. Although the early interactions between Jot and his companions last a while, it’s after a confrontation with the game’s villain, Humgrump, that the plot truly gains momentum.

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship
The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship
The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

As a researcher delving into the peculiarities of the intertwining worlds between storybooks and reality, I’ve come to realize that my character, Jot, is merely a villain in Humgrump’s tale. In an effort to rewrite my destiny and seize control over the narrative, I forcefully thrust Humgrump out from the confines of his 2D storybook and into the three-dimensional realm of Sam’s desktop.

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

In the tale, Jot undeniably takes center stage, but The Plucky Squire underscores the significance of the supporting characters who aid Jot in fulfilling his mission. The camaraderie between Jot and an array of vibrant characters infuses the narrative with a delightful touch. This game offers moments that adults will find engaging, yet it’s also appropriate for younger viewers. Children might need some guidance to conquer certain intricate puzzles, like altering sentences to transform the narrative of the story.

In addition to providing multiple gameplay options for ease of use, All Possible Futures has equipped The Plucky Squire with accessibility features such as adjustable difficulty levels, invincibility toggle, one-hit enemy kills, and jump aid. However, some adults might find the advice given by non-player characters during puzzle-solving stages to be overly explicit, as characters tend to suggest solutions promptly upon appearing before an obstacle, regardless of whether the player chooses to engage with Minibeard guides.

The Plucky Squire: Should you buy it?

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

“The Vibrant Squire

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship
The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship
The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

The spirited Squire’s gameplay echoes the creativity of vintage gaming elements, making it a crucial component of the game’s artistic and literary impact. Throughout the game’s duration, none of the mechanics felt forced or merely used as gimmicks. Instead, each new feature added to Jot’s capabilities serves a meaningful purpose in advancing the overall narrative.

The only downside is that many puzzle-solving mechanics are used only a few times before we learn a new skill or gain a new item. Players can find themselves with a few puzzle-solving mechanics that aren’t useful outside their specific narrative purpose and are forgotten once the obstacle is overcome. 

The Plucky Squire PC review: A mighty love letter to creativity that tells of inspiration, heroism, and friendship

In essence, The Plucky Squire stands out as an enchanting, unexpected hit from Devolver Digital that caters well to various age groups. It’s not hard to imagine this game being acclaimed among the top choices for both children and adults in 2024.

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2024-09-17 19:10