The Plucky Squire

 A game with so much potential but didn't stick the landing

Game no: 532
Genre: Action
Platform: PS5
Release Date: 2024

When they first annouced this game. It looks so amazing and whimsical. A game where you jump from hand drawn pictures to a 3D plane was like magic. So I had to try this,  and it was free on PS Plus Extra so why not. My views on this game is very mixed I guess. First of all you play at Jot. The hero of the book. Jot basically save Mojo World from the evil Humpgrump. Since it is a story. You are following a path that is based on the story book. That is until Humpgrump got a magic stick that pushes Jot out of the book and into the real world which is the kids bedroom. 

The gameplay consist of hitting enemmies with your sword and sloving puzzles invovling replacing words in the book. By replacing certain keywords in the book you can change the outcome of the story. For example, the river is dry. Replace it full then water would come out of it. It makes for some very interesting puzzle solving.  Between the games you are treated to some minigames like a different style of gameplay such as a punch out style or a shooter style. The main part of the game is the 3D sections where you can jump out of the book via portals to slove certain enviornmental puzzle on the other side of the book.

So I can say I like the art style. The art is very pleasant to the eyes. Reminds me of an old school children's book. The narrator even has that British accent. The combat is fun. A single button combat and there are some sections of the game it changes play styles but the game is clearly catering for kids because of how easy it is. Plus it has good accesibility options which is great in my book. The thing I didn't like is that this game is so tedious. It keeps repeating the same gameplay again and again which makes after a couple of chapters you get frustrated and want it to be over. Some sections of the game last for quite a while which makes is super frustrated. Another thing about the gameplay is that you really don't know what to do and you will just end up doing a lot of trial and error stuff to figure out what to do next. That for me is a big no in  my book

But how did I finish the game even if I didn't quiet enjoyed it. The answer is youtube. I played up to chapter 6 and then just watch the rest of the gameplay on youtube. Since I do find the story very interesting. The endgame was not bad. The final boss moves from a 2D and 3D plane. Overall I give this game a B-rank. I just don't have the patient for it.