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The indie scene has long been a hotbed for beautiful artistic visions that delight the senses and tickle the imagination like a duster sprinkled in psychedelia. But from the rotating worlds of Fez, to the gorgeous retro rubber hose cartoon style of Cuphead, every now and then a game comes along that stands out even among this colourful crowd. In the past couple of years, one of the games that's stood out in this singular way has been The Plucky Squire.
© Nintendo
One of the most eye-catching indie games of recent years sees you spring from the pages of a 2D storybook into the 3D realm.
First revealed in 2022, The Plucky Squire is a dimension-jumping action-adventure that takes place in the pages of a storybook, but with the twist that the hero can leap out from the pages of his papery existence and into the 3D world outside of the book. Within the book, you, as the hero Jot, run around the colourful pages mostly (but not entirely) in a top-down Zelda-like perspective, splattering enemies as you seek to topple the evil sorcerer Humgrump.
Upon interacting with certain swirly portals within the book, however, Jot transforms into a fully 3D being, leaps from the book's pages, and is suddenly running around the playroom that the book is lying in. It's a wonderfully imaginative hook, merging the mechanics of classic 2D and 3D action-adventures and platformers in a way that's never been done with such flair before.
While the core play within the storybook resembles Zelda, with a blend of puzzle-solving and sword-slashy combat as you seek to save your friends, and the world beyond the book will put your 3D platforming to the test, there's still tons of variety within both these mediums. In the storybook, for instance, you might find yourself in a rhythmic boxing battle against a badger reminiscent of the Nintendo classic Punch-Out!, or you can imprint yourself onto the cylindrical side of a tub in the bedroom and find yourself jetpacking across the screen and blasting enemies in the style of an old-school arcade shmup. The Plucky Squire feels like a journey through gaming's past, a toybox of nostalgic delights, while being decidedly modern in its execution.
Out in the 3D world, The Plucky Squire takes on a Toy Story quality; while in the book you're a regular-sized hero, in the 'real world' you're in a child's room where a stack of notepads is a vertiginous cliff towering over you, playing cards are slotted between books to act as platforms, and a piece of bunting hanging across the room is a zipline with a deadly drop below. As you rescue your friends, you'll get new items and abilities, such as the aforementioned jetpack, which will help you traverse this world in all its dimensions. If this sounds daunting, then fear not, because myriad difficulty settings and accessibility features (such as Invincibility, Jump Assist, and One-Hit Kills on enemies) are there to adjust the game to your needs and skill level.
There's some real artistic gravitas here too. One of the co-founders of developer All Possible Futures is James Turner, who's designed several of the latter-day Pokémon and has clearly poured a lot of love and creative flair into this game. Over two years on from its initial announcement, The Plucky Squire is ready to leap from the pages of trailers and into the reality of Steam and console storefronts.
The Plucky Squire launches on 17 September. It's coming to PS5 (where you can play it Day One with a PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium subscription), Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam. So click on through to buy or wishlist the game (or just behold the beautiful trailers that mere words on a page can't do justice to). You can also follow developer All Possible Futures on X, or see everything else that's cooking up at Devolver Digital on Instagram.
One of the most alluring indie games of recent years is about to become a reality, and gamers of all generations are invited to greet it into the real world.
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