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The Plucky Squire

The Plucky Squire is a 2024 action-adventure platform video game developed by British studio All Possible Futures and published by Devolver Digital. The game follows the magical adventures of storybook characters Jot and his friends who discover a three-dimensional world outside the pages of their book. It was released for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on 17 September 2024, to generally positive reviews from critics.

Premise

The Plucky Squire is centered around the heroic Jot who is kicked out of his story book by the villainous Humgrump, forcing Jot to explore and face challenges both within his story book and the outside world. When the malevolent Humgrump realizes that he is the villain of the story who is destined to be defeated by the forces of righteousness led by the heroic Jot, he kicks the hero out of its pages and changes the story forever.[2]

In order to restore the storybook's happy ending and save his friends from Humgrump's dark forces, Jot must face various challenges unlike anything he's ever seen. On his journey to restore the book's ending Jot finds himself with the ability to jump between the 2D and 3D worlds encountering puzzles he must solve and mini challenges to complete such as boxing badgers, jetpack flying, and many more obstacles as he becomes the hero of a living storybook.[3] Some of the mini challenges involving playing as Jot's allies: these being Violet, a trainee witch and artist; and Thrash, a mountain troll and heavy metal drummer.

Development

The Plucky Squire was developed by indie game studio All Possible Futures which was founded by James Turner and Jonathan Biddle.[4][5] Before co-founding All Possible Futures, Turner was a designer for Game Freak and directed the video game HarmoKnight as well as art for various Pokémon games.[6] Co-founder Biddle has previously worked with Devolver Digital as the creative director for The Swords of Ditto and founded the studio Onebitbeyond who also developed the game.[7][8]

Characters Jot and Moonbeard were originally created by Turner for an online comic before using them for The Plucky Squire. English actor Philip Bretherton serves as the game's narrator.[9]

Release

The Plucky Squire was originally scheduled to release for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch in 2023,[10] but Devolver Digital delayed the game to 2024.[11] In August 2024, it was announced that the game would release on 17 September.[12] At launch, It was made available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers at no additional cost.[13]

Reception

The Plucky Squire received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic,[14][15] and 90% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.[16]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2024 Golden Joystick Awards Best Indie Game Nominated [27]
Best Game Trailer (Launch Trailer) Nominated
The Game Awards 2024 Best Debut Indie Game Nominated [28]
Best Family Game Nominated
2025 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Family Game of the Year Nominated [29][30]
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Nominated
25th Game Developers Choice Awards Best Debut Honorable mention [31]
Innovation Award Honorable mention
21st British Academy Games Awards Debut Game Nominated [32]
Family Nominated
New Intellectual Property Nominated
6th Pégases Awards Best Foreign Independent Video Game Nominated [33]

References

  1. ^ "Over 80 Unreal Engine-powered games featured during 2022 summer gaming events". Unreal Engine. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  2. ^ Robertson, Joshua (9 June 2022). "The Plucky Squire Is A Storybook Action Adventure Game Coming In 2023". TheGamer. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. ^ Trumble, Brian (20 June 2022). "Devolver Digital Unveils Storybook Adventure The Plucky Squire". GameTyrant. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  4. ^ Castle, Katharine (9 June 2022). "The Plucky Squire is a 2D storybook adventure with a gorgeous 3D twist". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  5. ^ "About Us". All Possible Futures. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  6. ^ Hagues, Alana (9 June 2022). "Pokémon Sword & Shield's Art Director Announces New Game Studio". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Curve Digitals Jonathan Biddle Leaves to Form New Studio Onebitbeyond Ltd". Destructoid. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  8. ^ Pearson, Dan (11 March 2015). "Curve co-owner Jonathan Biddle leaving to become indie dev". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  9. ^ Hagues, Alana (1 July 2024). ""A New Surprise On Every Page" - How Kids Helped Shape 'The Plucky Squire'". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (9 June 2022). "Action adventure platformer The Plucky Squire announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  11. ^ Romano, Sal (7 August 2023). "Anger Foot, Pepper Grinder, The Plucky Squire, Stick it to the Stickman, and Skate Story delayed to 2024". Gematsu. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (15 August 2024). "The Plucky Squire launches September 17". Gematsu. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Plucky Squire launches on PS5 September 17 as part of PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium". PlayStation.Blog. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  14. ^ a b "The Plucky Squire (PC Critic Reviews)". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  15. ^ a b "The Plucky Squire (PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews)". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  16. ^ a b "The Plucky Squire Reviews". OpenCritic. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  17. ^ Benson, Madison (17 September 2024). "Review: The Plucky Squire". Destructoid. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  18. ^ Franzese, Tomas (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire review: meta adventure is bursting with creativity". Digital Trends. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  19. ^ Donlan, Christian (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire review — the power of imagination". Eurogamer. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  20. ^ Watts, Steve (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire Review — Every Trick In The Book". GameSpot. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  21. ^ Wickens, Katie (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire review: "A fascinating interplay of 2D and 3D puzzles that makes no apology with its bodacious references to a bygone era"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  22. ^ LeClair, Kyle (17 September 2024). "Review: The Plucky Squire". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  23. ^ Plant, Logan (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire Review". IGN. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  24. ^ Tailby, Stephen (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  25. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire review: A storybook journey". Shacknews. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  26. ^ Stewart, Marcus (17 September 2024). "The Plucky Squire Review - Easy On The Eyes, Easier On The Mind". Game Informer. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  27. ^ West, Josh (4 October 2024). "Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead the shortlist for the Golden Joystick Awards 2024, nudging out Helldivers 2 and Balatro for the most nominations". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024.
  28. ^ Maas, Jennifer (18 November 2024). "Game Awards Nominations 2024: 'Astro Bot,' 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' Lead With 7 Nods Each". Variety.
  29. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (14 February 2025). "DICE Awards 2025 Winners: The Full List". IGN. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  30. ^ "28th Annual DICE Awards Results". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  31. ^ Yang, George (28 January 2025). "Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 Nominees Revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 28 January 2025.
  32. ^ Szalai, Georg (4 March 2025). "BAFTA Games Awards: 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II,' 'Astro Bot,' 'Still Wakes the Deep' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  33. ^ Darrivère, Cécile; Le Norcy, Graziella (7 March 2025). "Pegasus 2025: discover the winners of the 6th César's-of-video-games ceremony". Sortir à Paris. Retrieved 17 March 2025.