The Plucky Squire
Image: Devolver Digital

Update: We previously mentioned that The Plucky Squire would run at 30 FPS, but publisher Devolver Digital has not confirmed the framerate, simply that it "can't maintain" 60 FPS. We have corrected the article and apologise for the error.

The Plucky Squire launched earlier today, and at exactly the same time, reviews from multiple outlets also dropped, and they're pretty darn positive on the whole.

Now, you might be wondering where Nintendo Life's review for the game is. Unfortunately, Nintendo Switch codes weren't available before the game's launch, hence the lack of any Switch-specific reviews. Rest assured, we're working on one and we'll be sharing our verdict as soon as we can.

The innovative adventure from All Possible Futures — a studio formed by former Pokémon art director James Turner and The Swords of Ditto creator Jonathan Biddle — takes place both in a 2D book world and a 3D world on a kid's desk. Of course, the game looks gorgeous, but the big question is "How will it look and run on the Switch?" We do know that it won't be 60 FPS, otherwise, the only way to find out is to pick up the Switch version right now.

Still, even without Switch impressions, it's worth looking at some of the critics' thoughts out there — the various genre swaps, the 2D and 3D gameplay, and the general vibe of the game is pretty important, after all.

Let's start with our sister sites, shall we? Both Push Square and Pure Xbox gave the game an 8/10, the former praising the "undeniable joy to the game's constant imaginative ideas", with the latter highlighting the "fun and unique core mechanic that's been realised incredibly well". Pure Xbox did note down some performance issues on PC, however.

Onto some other thoughts, then. CGMagazine was wowed by The Plucky Squire, awarding it a 10/10. Highlighting its Zelda inspirations, the outlet couldn't stop gushing about the variety on display in the game:

"I can go on and on gushing about The Plucky Squire. Instead, I’ll leave it with this: If you’re a fan of action-adventure games or have an affinity for Nintendo properties, do yourself a favour and play The Plucky Squire."

Twinifinite was almost as complimentary, scoring the game a 9/10. The outlet felt that the game wasn't "textbook" in any way, with something new waiting around the corner at every single turn, though the reviewer wished those unique mechanics were used more than once:

"Hooking me right from the start and eliciting pure joy all the way to the end, The Plucky Squire has gone the extra mile in rewriting what should be expected out of an action-adventure such as this."

Next up, Eurogamer's 4/5 review (with an excellent 'Deskworld' tagline) once again praised the childlike joy of the adventure, while also saying that the game constantly felt fresh:

"Combat, puzzling and platforming all become fresh again when you have this sense of moving between worlds. In the book there's a lot of fun to be had with violent actions that shake the pages, or when a boulder, drawn in ink, reaches the edge of a page and turns into a real tumbling rock."

Similarly to Pure Xbox, the TheGamer encountered various "technical issues" on PC, but still awarded the game a 4/5 for capturing the sparkle of imagination and creating some wonderful levels to explore, despite the lack of difficulty:

"The Plucky Squire offers mechanical interest over technical challenge, and I love the fact that boss fights might be a shmup level or a rhythm game, but I’d still like to engage my brain on occasion."

Lastly, our friends at IGN gave The Plucky Squire a 7/10; comparisons to Zelda are once again part of the high praise, but the reviewer felt that the game was a little hand-holdy and that the late game stumbles a bit:

"With great pacing between the storybook, real world, and minigames for the first five hours of the roughly eight-hour campaign, it’s jarring when The Plucky Squire completely loses its stride in the final act."

At the time of writing, The Plucky Squire sits at a Metascore of 85 on PC (from 45 reviews) and 80 on PS5 (from 14 reviews). Those scores will probably change over the coming days as more impressions continue to roll in — and it'll be interesting to see where the Switch average sits.

All in all, though, The Plucky Squire seems to deliver on its promise of being a delightful ode to creativity, art, and childlike imagination. We'll be sure to let you know what we think when our review is ready. Keep an eye out!

Are you playing The Plucky Squire right now? Are you waiting for Switch impressions? Let us know in the comments.