When we walked into the Devolver booth in front of The Plucky Squire during the Summer Game Fest Play Days, we felt like we were going back to our childhood. There was a huge, colorful mural on the wall depicting the upcoming All Possible Future adventure game ahead. To our left was a cute, cozy couch; soft plush and deep orange-red. There was a bright rug with a geometric print on the floor. And in the corner was a little desk with a book entitled ‘The Plucky Squire’, written by NL Arthur and published by Peanut. The finishing touch? A large TV with the game lighting up on the screen, an Xbox controller and a PC tucked away in a cupboard. It felt like the kid’s den of our dreams.
The book itself was blank – sorry to James Turner, co-director of The Plucky Squire, for revealing the secret – but that’s the point. The Plucky Squire is a game about discovering the story of hero Jot, preserving that story and saving creativity, all to preserve children’s innocence and imagination. In the game itself it’s a boy named Sam, whose favorite book is the title book, but in reality we couldn’t help but think of children. everywhere and want to protect the creativity that youth gives us – and that age can sometimes take away from us.
So we got a little misty-eyed when we started up The Plucky Squire, even with Turner sitting next to us. It’s a clear passion project from the former art director of the Pokémon series and his co-director Jonathan Biddle (or Bidds, as he’s affectionately known) who was the designer of The Swords of Ditto. And that passion radiates from every color on the pages of the in-game book and every nook and cranny of the table on which that book sits. “We love Nintendo games,” Turner told us as we played the demo. “There’s a lot to come from that, I think.”
And we completely agreed. Even from our short time with it, The Plucky Squire felt like something Nintendo would make itself, even without playing it on Switch. The parallels with Zelda, in particular, are obvious, but it’s all done in such a whimsical, childlike way that it’s a loving tribute to a certain green tunic-wearing adventurer. Jot’s feather hat, brown boots, and simple design all fit the template for a child hero, one for which the player can create a series of possible futures and storylines. outside of the person presenting the book.
The Plucky Squire plays in both top-down 2D and 3D. The 2D sections all take place within the book itself, while the 3D sections feature Jot jumping out of the book and onto Sam’s desk. We’ve played Chapter 6, which is set in a mountainous area leading to a mining town in the book, while the desk is more spacious, with rocket art, alien stickers and more adorning the surfaces. Each sticker in the game was designed by a different artist or friend of Turner and Biddle. The parallels between the desk and the book at this level are clever, but the visual and thematic discrepancies are only the beginning of the relationship between these two worlds.
The purpose of the chapter, and the main plot point of The Plucky Squire, is to get rid of the mechanical – the “anti-creative” as Turner puts it. Enemies throw tomatoes at Jot – a bit like how disgruntled theater audiences once threw tomatoes at performers – a truly delightful touch that emphasizes the split between the creative and the mechanical. Progress in the book will be blocked by machine-like structures that use a completely different art style than the sketched, thick line art of the storybook. Cogs separated the mountains from the mining town, and the only way to fix that was to leave the book behind.
To do this, Jot must use the green portals. Once on the desk, Jot can collect items or change things to progress through the book. If the book-based sections are like Zelda from above, then the tabletop section we played is much closer to a small, explorable Super Mario Galaxy-style level with secrets to discover. Each chapter has a 2D and 3D section, with the tabletop levels taking place at different times of the day – for example, it was nighttime for the space we were playing through, which set the tone perfectly for a space-inspired adventure.
Almost everything Jot can do in the book, he can also do on the table. Sword slashes are identical, and of course he has his own little spinning sword slash. The hero can even throw his sword like a boomerang and recall it. On the page, perspective isn’t an issue either – because the “world” is flat, Jot can clear enemies that are technically a level above him, since that plane doesn’t actually exist in the book. You can not do that That on the table, but you can attack in any direction. Ultimately, you can also purchase new attacks and abilities with the Lightbulbs you collect throughout the level.
However, Chapter 6’s table gives us something new to play with: a jetpack. Turner told us that not every level will have such a gimmick, but the more open structure and theming of the table for this level allowed the team to get creative. We had to rescue the father from a small jetpack – which is on one of the mugs on the table – by collecting the three broken pieces of the father, and this meant completing objectives or mini-games.
We have a small lost on the table, and Turner admitted there was still work to be done regarding the signage. But with his guidance we were able to discover it. One part involves helping the Jelly King, and you have to light several tea lights on the table. Some of these were hidden behind the books on the table; others moved out of the way, which involved tricky platforming to get around the front of the table. The 3D sections of the Plucky Squire play with perspective in fun ways and let you enjoy the design and layout of the table. This felt like a desk we could have had as a kid, with paper clips, tape, toys and more. And how do you light the candles? With the jetpack of course.
The care and attention to detail makes the 3D sections feel much larger than they actually are. You can jump onto the table in many of the drawings – as long as those portals are there – and often you have to go to the next location. 2D action isn’t tied to the book either, which is perfectly demonstrated when we collected the final piece, which is set in what looks like an ’80s cartoon illustration set in an apocalyptic world.
The great thing about these 2D tabletop worlds is that they all use very different art styles. One long strip of paper looked as if a child had scribbled all over it; others looked like night lights. But this ’80s cartoon installment takes it one step further and throws you into a completely different kind of game: a side-scrolling shooter, complete with Jot buffing and becoming an ’80s action man. The art style, mixed with the fantastic arcade-style music that accompanied the section, came together to create something magical that makes us gasp. It speaks to that level of creativity and passion that All Possible Futures seems to burst with. Furthermore, we were promised that there would be many more sections like this in the game. We can’t wait.
Everything about The Plucky Squire filled us with childlike joy and reflects the idea of finding “a new surprise on every page,” as Turner put it. From the minimalist user interface to the story told by British actor Philip Bretherton – perhaps best known for his role as Alastair Deacon in the BBC show As time goes by – it feels like a story coming to life; a mix of Jackanory and projections of a child’s imagination. We miss being kids with limitless creativity and a world of possibilities ahead of us, and The Plucky Squire made us feel like we’d recaptured that feeling. We would like to taste it again.
The Plucky Squire is scheduled for release later this year. How excited are you for this? Sketch in the comments to share your thoughts.