The Plucky Squire could have very well been a game that takes place inside of a storybook and I would have been perfectly satisfied with the story, performance, combat, gameplay, and everything about it. No. The team had to ask, “What if there was more Jot (our noble hero) could do? What if Jot could leave the storybook and enter the real world?”

Last night, I rolled credits on The Plucky Squire after a little less than a week and I can now say that this has been one of my favorite games of 2024. I was continuously surprised as I played through The Plucky Squire.

Two Worlds

Jot’s journey begins inside of the beautifully hand drawn pages of the storybook, The Plucky Squire, as the beloved champion of the people of Mojo. Along with his two best friends, Thrash (a rocking mountain troll), and Violet (a creative witch and artist), and the help of a wise sorcerer DJ, Moonbeard, Jot must face his biggest challenge yet, the evil ill-tempered wizard, Humgrump — who is trying to turn the land of Mojo upside down.

As I said before, the team at ALL POSSIBLE FUTURES didn’t have to go so hard. They built this perfectly pleasing world that takes place inside of a children’s storybook. That could have very well been the whole game. Early on in the game, Jot discovers he can exit the book and enter the real world — the bedroom of Sam, the owner of this particular book and Jot’s biggest fan.

Sam’s room begins with a small area to explore around his desk. Within the pages of the book the game is able to tell a story across the vast landscapes of colorful Mojo — from Artia to the Traag Village and everywhere in between. With just the turn of a page our story can go from one end of Mojo to another.

I was worried that Sam’s room would remain pretty consistent throughout the game. However, every time Jot exited the book for a “real world” quest the room had evolved. It was as if Sam had been playing with different toys and left them out overnight.

There are definitely some Toy Story vibes of the toys coming to life while Sam slept or was out — except in this case it is the drawings coming to life. The book and real world start to become more intertwined as Humgrump and his evil forces also learn to leave the book and bring dangerous items back to Mojo.

Art & Design

There’s so much I love about The Plucky Squire, but I am mostly obsessed with the overall game design. Not just the way the game plays. Combat is simple, yet tough enough. The puzzles are rewarding to solve — they don’t feel too hard or easy. I searched far and wide throughout each page in The Plucky Squire, and was only able to find about 80% of the secret items (art scrolls and glitchbirds) — there goes my Platinum trophy.

The “cutscenes” in The Plucky Squire are the real highlight. In some games — games with stories that don’t grab the player’s attention — cutscenes become “phone time.” A time to text your friend, check social media, or google something on your mind. The “cutscenes” in The Plucky Squire are disguised as living pages narrated by the booming voice of Phillip Bretherton. They grab your attention immediately.

These pages feature clean graphic design elements with great use of negative space. Simple illustrations mixed with the words being spoken in a dynamic way. The end result of each page feels like a perfectly designed art print. If I had more walls I would definitely put some of these up in my office. In fact, if The Plucky Squire became an actual children’s book I would buy it for myself and my nephews.

Mini Game Madness

Another area where The Plucky Squire team went above and beyond is with the design of the many mini games within the game. Each mini game is based on some influential game from the past, and in most cases can also be a standalone game on its own. I would be happy if ALL POSSIBLE FUTURES used some of these mini games to kickstart their next project.

It’s amazing how all of these different game genres can be included in one single game today. I wanted to feature three of them, but you can check out some more videos on our YouTube playlist “The Plucky Squire A Collection of Mini Games.”

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1 | Resotub

The name Resotub was mentioned on one of the hidden art scrolls.

This mini game is a Resogun-inspired shoot ‘em up that seems to take place on a collectible popcorn bucket. This was one of the longer mini games, but I could have continued playing this for hours. In some mini games, Jot is forced to step into another world. This one takes place in a Saturday morning sci-fi cartoon world where it’s troops vs space invaders. Jot must rescue hostage scientists to beat the mini game and continue his own journey.

2 | Honey Badger Punch Out

Honey Badger Punch Out is a name I came up with on my own.

This mini game is based on the NES classic Punch Out! (or Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!), originally released in 1987. I am terrible at the timing in this game, — both the classic and this new version — but I still really enjoyed it. I love how Jot becomes instantly ripped for this specific game (and a few others). This happens to be one of a couple of mini games that returns later in the game.

3 | Dino Donkey Kong

Another original name I came up with.

This game is heavily inspired by the original Donkey Kong (1981) where jumpman (Mario) has to traverse across different platforms on the screen as Donkey Kong tosses rolling barrels to stifle him. This version takes place during the extinction of the dinosaurs. Asteroids are coming down and dinos are attacking. Everything is trying to stop Jot from making it to the top of the volcano.

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So many great mini games are weaved into The Plucky Squire that I couldn’t share them all right here, but once again you can check out some more on our YouTube playlist — “The Plucky Squire A Collection of Mini Games.”

A Pluckin’ Good Time!

There are so many wonderful surprises within The Plucky Squire, and I can’t wait until more people play it so I can talk about the game in so much more detail. I remember when the game was first announced two years ago, I was blown away by the idea of a game that mixed these two worlds together. I’m so happy with the end result and I’m sure many other players will also enjoy it.

With all of the mini game homages and different styles of gameplay, this is a great game to introduce a new generation to all kinds of gameplay features with a very unique story. I don’t usually give scores, but I would give The Plucky Squire an A+ on the grading scale. I hope to see some 9/10s and 10/10s today on game review sites.

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*myVGBC.com was given a review code for The Plucky Squire by the publisher. There is another big element to this game that I did not mention in this post, but I plan to come back with more once the public has gotten the chance to beat The Plucky Squire.