The Plucky Squire is the Zelda: Link Between Worlds follow-up I’ve been craving

This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

Of all the indie games set to release in the back half of 2024, The Plucky Squire has to be at the top of my list. I’ve been interested in the Devolver Digital-published project ever since its reveal thanks to its perspective-shifting gameplay. Players run through the pages of a storybook in 2D, but jump out of it to solve puzzles in the 3D world around it. It’s one of those design hooks that immediately catches my eye, but I always have to stop and wonder if an idea like that will end up playing as a cute gimmick.

Thankfully, I’m not worried about that withThe Plucky Squire. During a 45-minute preview at Summer Game Fest, I got a much better ideas of how much gas developer All Possible Future has in its tank to power its premise. The slice I played already teased an adventure full of surprises that should make it as charming as I’m hoping it’ll be.

Off the page

My adventure begins a few hours into the full game in a truncated chapter with a few puzzles removed for the sake of time. During that time, I’d get to get a feel for both The Plucky Squire‘s 2D and 3D gameplay, and the way that those two ideas intersect. First, I’d start in the pages of a book. These sections play out like a standard top-down adventure where I control a little hero with a moveset not so far off from Link’s. I can slash enemies, spin attack, and even perform a sword plant. In the first half of my demo, I’d chop down some enemies and find keys in some simple platforming puzzles.

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All of that is made fresher by the 2D art style, which makes it look like I’m walking across a storybook. You can even see the crease of the book’s center running down the screen. It’s a cute touch that makes an otherwise simple Zelda-like feel a little more