Over my gaming years, I’ve experienced many tales of daring heroes and thrilling adventures, but none quite like Jot’s, for his story takes place not just in a game world, but in a storybook. You’re probably thinking, “Books aren’t video games,” and you’d normally be right, but in the case of this title, developed by All Possible Futures and published Devolver Digital, all the naysayers are proven wrong. This vibrant, heartwarming jaunt is unlike any other, and just like the book, this game is called The Plucky Squire.

Our hero, Jot, is a brave warrior and an avid writer. He thrills the creative and colourful kingdom of Mojo with stories of his epic adventures, and like most fantasy games, it all starts with a good old fetch quest. Jot approaches Wizard Moonbeard’s house, thumping beats play, and I see the mage spinning decks upon entering, but he needs some beeswax for his vinyl records, sending Jot on his way to fetch some.

As Jot makes his trek up Honeypeak, it becomes clear he will encounter all fearsome foes; his first major encounter involves getting into a boxing match against an aggressive honey badger. His quest isn’t over yet, as it quickly escalates to much more.

Jot is joined by his friends, the roll-n-roll mountain troll, Thrash, and the paint-brush-wielding magical-girl apprentice, Violet, among others. They move between quirky animated storybook pages, between chapters in different areas of Mojo, from the heavy metal mountains, where Thrash lives, to the painterly kingdom of Artia. Each region is a delight to be immersed in.

The upbeat and fantastical soundtrack works wonders, especially the charismatic and witty narrator who joins the journey, telling the events as they unfold. The nefarious wizard, Humgrump, infuriated that his plans are repeatedly thwarted, finally finds a way to beat Jot at his own game. Humgrump’s plan – messing with the story and plucking Jot out of it and into a whole new dimension; the third dimension.

This is where The Plucky Squire completely flips the script, taking it from an adorable illustrated 2D world into a gorgeously rendered 3D world, all set on the desk of a young boy. It’s an absolute technical marvel, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a game. The devs masterfully blend 2D side-scrolling through the pages before seamlessly shifting into a 3D puzzle platformer, and playing between these perspectives is a joy.

Jot’s ability to manipulate the story is crucial, from a “fill-in-the-blanks” style puzzle altering environments, such as using words to deflate a giant frog to remove it from your path and making pillars breakable. Outside the book, Jot can use gadgets to flip through pages, stop obstacles in their tracks and more. Puzzles require plenty of dimension-hopping.

They can be mind-benders, but overall, once I understood how the world of The Plucky Squire worked, it became second nature. The satisfying trill that plays when solving a puzzle and seeing how the world changes is all worth it. For those times I was stuck, Minibeard, Moonbeard’s miniature counterpart, would often hang out nearby to provide helpful hints.

An adventurer needs action, and there is plenty for the Plucky Squire to take part in. From slashing through critters with his sword, going mano-e-mano in a punch-up, or taking a shot at archery, it constantly mixes with loving nods to other gameplay styles, like puzzle platforming in the 3D world, side-scrolling shooters, and rhythm games.

The story got increasingly riveting at each page turn, making the gameplay even more enjoyable, and while there were occasions where areas felt slightly long-winded, they were few and far between. Scaling huge blocks to reach a high point in the 3D world or herding farm animals was ridiculous and always enjoyable.

The Plucky Squire is perfect for adult gamers and family-friendly fun with difficulties labelled as Adventure Mode, for those “feeling plucky,” or Story Mode, a breezier and more relaxed option, and with accessibility features such as one-hit kills, invincibility, and jump assist, the game considers players of all skill levels. Adventure mode presents enough challenges to keep gamers alert, with time-based minigames, platforming and plenty of puzzles. Fret not; if you get stuck in a minigame, there’s always an option to skip the minigame to auto-succeed, a nice little touch to keep the story moving in a pinch.

The game runs incredibly well, and despite the technical triumph of seamlessly jumping between 2D and 3D, I had absolutely no performance issues. The game ran flawlessly throughout, with barely any load times, looking incredible the whole time. I played on PC, and while there’s the option to play on mouse and keyboard, I opted for the controller for the vibrations; so I could feel that extra oomph as Moonbeard dropped some sick beats, or when Jot was slashing through enemies.

Every part of The Plucky Squire weaves together to tell a charming story with extremely clever gameplay. It’s a page-turner full of humour, heart and whimsy from start to finish. All Possible Futures haven’t just crafted an astonishing game. They’ve created a masterpiece.

Written by: Yasmin Noble