The Plucky Squire Review
The Plucky Squire is a short, fun adventure from All Possible Futures that, short of a few launch day bugs, is a great game. I picked this one up via PlayStation Plus, where it was a day-one inclusion. Despite getting it for free, I recommend you pick up a copy.
The Plucky Squire is a chapter-based adventure game with basic puzzles, light combat and the occasional mini-game. There's a blend of 2D levels and 3D levels that blend together creatively in line with the game's story. Most controls, including the mini-games, are all relatively simple. The game isn't particularly difficult at any point but has enough going for it to feel fun.
Levels are well-designed and mostly based on a progression through the pages of the storybook in which the characters live. Each level has a few scattered collectables, including artwork from the game's development. These add some extra depth without feeling like a mindless list of things to collect.
The game's art style is a major standout. The blend of 2D and 3D brings some unique charm, and the characters and story are well-polished despite being simple. Voice acting is high quality and backed by good general sound design and music.
The only thing really holding the game back during my play-through was some early bugs. A couple of later chapters occasionally stopped responding to character input, which was particularly frustrating during the timing-based mini-games. Notes on Steam seem to imply many of these are now fixed.
The Plucky Squire is a good game. It isn't aiming for massive open-world scale or cutting-edge realism; instead, it aims for a well-polished story and a focus on light, casual fun. If you can find the time to play, I'd recommend it.
Rating: 3/4 - I'd be happy if more games were like this.