Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Devolver Digital has spent over a year hyping up an adventure that looks to be one of the most creative to release in some time. What happens when developer All Possible Futures explores a storybook fantasy land that takes its hero beyond its borders and into the real world? The result so far is something truly magical, as Shacknews recently had a chance to dive in to The Plucky Squire.
In the land of the titular Plucky Squire storybook, a heroic young knight named Jot saves the kingdom from the evil wizard Humgrump. He does so over, and over, and over again. That's just how the story goes. Outside of the book, The Plucky Squire is a successful series of children's books that inspires millions of kids around the world, including a boy named Sam. One day, Humgrump is made aware of his existence as a fictional character and sets out to change the ending of his story by using magic to banish Jot outside of the walls of the book and into reality. Jot must now save not only the kingdom but also the whole Plucky Squire book series by making sure it remains one with a happy ending.
The story's backdrop leads the way to some of the most creative ideas I've seen in a video game in a long time. Sections in the storybook play out like a classic overhead adventure. Jot mows down foes with his sword en route to an inevitable showdown with Humgrump. Each individual area is as long as the page of a kids picture book. Every time Jot moves to a new area, the camera will briefly pan out and players will watch the book flip to its next page.
Some pages will contain playable adventure sections, others will feature animated illustrations with voiceover narration, and some others will feature something outside the norm. For example, Jot had to make his way down a cliffside at one point, which led to a 2D platforming section where players needed to avoid falling boulders. Enemy encounters are the usual hack-and-slash affairs, but players may find something different on occasion here as well. Early on, I expected a tough encounter with a raging honey badger, but was surprised when it turned into a section inspired by Nintendo's Punch-Out series instead.
It isn't long before Jot begins to notice that something is amiss. At the start of the game, written story beats are placed along each section with the narrator reading them out for exposition. However, as the game begins to build to the first encounter with Humgrump, something starts to appear amiss. Words become scrambled and the world is affected accordingly. This is where players are prompted to cleverly play around with some of these words to manipulate the world around them and solve puzzles. One such example has Jot in a "secluded forest," but to get through, he needs to find the word "ruin" that has fallen somewhere on the other side of the area and switch that word out with "forest." Once the area becomes a "secluded ruin," the landscape changes and Jot is able to proceed.
All of this alone is enough to make The Plucky Squire a fascinating exercise in imagination. Then things open up further after meeting Humgrump. Humgrump banishes Jot to reality, where he becomes a fully fleshed-out 3D character. Sequences in the real world play out as 3D puzzle-platforming sections. Jot has to sneak past Sam's beetle collection (which can be harrowing for those who are icked out by bugs, so be aware of this going in) and find a way back into his storybook. Eventually, he learns how to use Humgrump's magic to navigate between the 2D and 3D worlds in certain places, allowing for some novel platforming challenges. The seamless switch between the animated 2D art style and detailed 3D models is truly something to behold, especially when used in puzzle sections. For example, there's a 2D area being blocked by a hungry rabbit, so the idea is to find a carrot stick in the 3D world and bring it across dimensions.
All Possible Futures' usage of children's play things in the real world and the whimsical fantasy of an adventure book aimed at young readers is incredible. The Plucky Squire wins hearts with pure visual charm in a matter of seconds. I'm eager to see where the story goes, because Jot's journey looks like it'll be unlike any that players have seen in years. Look for The Plucky Squire to come to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on Tuesday, September 10.
This preview is based on a Steam preview build provided by the publisher. The final product is subject to change.