The Plucky Squire review

pcgamer.com:

What is it? A charming 2D Zelda-like that switches seamlessly into a 3D platformer.
Release date September 17, 2024
Expect to pay $30/£25
Developer All Possible Futures
Publisher Devolver
Reviewed on Gigabyte G5 (Nvidia RTX 4060, Intel Core i5 12500H, 16GB DDR4-3200)
Steam Deck Verified
Link Official site

Kids today don’t know how good they’ve got it. Sure, the planet’s on fire and they’ll spend most of their future looking after me in a retirement home as I ramble about how good I used to be at Balatro, but have you seen the games they’ve been getting lately? Back in my day, children’s games were dismal 3D platformer movie tie-ins—notmagical storybook adventures made with real love and care that ingeniously riff on 2D Zelda, yet also have tons of personality all of their own. Bah!

You play Jot, the titular squire and star of a series of children’s books in which you foil the dastardly plans of a right git of a wizard called Humgrump. At first, the game is a wonderfully animated 2D storybook. You’ve got an upgradable sword that delightfully makes words like POW and WHAM appear when you hit enemies with it—it's that sort of vibe.

After a brief spot of monster-bashing, you soon meet Jot’s adorable friends Violet and Thrash and the scene-stealing Moonbeard, a music-loving mentor figure who helps himself to some of the game’s best lines. Traditional light combat, puzzling, and platforming are elevated immensely by the beautiful presentation, honey-voiced narrator, and lovely little details like how each screen transition is literally the book flipping to a new page.

Ah, but The Plucky Squire has higher aspirations than being ‘just’ a gorgeous 2D game. As you’re about to save the day for the umpteenth time, Humgrump reveals he’s pulled a Truman Show and discovered that they’re both characters in a children’s book, one in which he always loses. So naturally, Humgrump takes the only logical course of action and casts a spell that banishes you from the book entirely.