The Plucky Squire

The Plucky Squire knows how to always pick itself up and keep going.

Once upon a time there was a little hero who, wanting to be appreciated by all, arranged himself in the manner of the lords of his time. Charming as a prince, he invented specialties with eloquence, “a mind as sharp as a fist” he promised. But behind his pleasant features, our adventurer had a hard time hiding his limits. “Stop trying to swell up, or you will die” a lady who saw through his game said to him. That day, he understood: if he did not become a new revered ambassador, he would remain this valiant little esteemed page.

At its heights, The Plucky Squire is a beautiful Zelda-inspired adventure filled with brilliant wordplay-packed puzzles. Jot’s ability to manipulate his own storybook from both the outside and within result in clever dimension-hopping mechanics and solutions that make each problem a joy to unpack. While genuinely funny at times, its wordy script often gets in the way of the action and occasionally spoils a puzzle’s solution before it even begins. It also drags in its drawn-out final act, as the adventure continues a couple hours after it’s already used up all its best ideas. But prior to that late stumble, The Plucky Squire is full of surprises, breaking up its puzzles with cute minigame homages to classic video game genres and fun sections that take Jot outside of the pages of his story.

I wish that The Plucky Squire was a smoother and more challenging experience because it certainly has a clever premise and game world.

A beautiful but shallow experience that beguiles with its presentation and bores with its listless combat and long-winded puzzles.