Knight, Sword, Monsters: The Plucky Squire Earns Its 8.8

The Plucky Squire asks players to guide a small knight through a kingdom ruled by monsters, and it mostly delivers on that simple promise. The game launched on Series X|S, PC, PS5, and Switch in 2024, and the published verdict is an 8.8 out of 10. That number reflects a game that knows exactly what it wants to be: a tight, focused action title built around movement, timing, and a steady stream of enemies.

Trailer, via DevolverDigital.

The Knight’s Moves

The core loop is a knight who can charge forward, dodge left and right, and strike with a sword or magic. Combat rewards reading enemy tells over button mashing. A monster telegraphs its attack, and the player who reacts with a dodge or a counter gains ground. Miss the tell and the hit connects, and the game punishes hesitation without ever feeling harsh.

Boss fights break the rhythm by forcing players to manage health bars across multiple phases. Each phase demands a different set of skills, and the game leans on visual cues rather than text boxes to explain what’s happening. That design choice pays off in the moment but can frustrate players who miss a clue during the chaos.

Level Design and Pacing

The kingdom is built from distinct zones, each with its own enemy type and difficulty curve. Early levels teach the basics, and later ones demand precise timing and quick reactions. The game rarely repeats itself, and the pacing holds steady across its full length.

Switch owners get a version that trades some visual polish for portability. The game runs well on all four platforms, though the Series X|S and PC versions offer the smoothest frame rates. Load times are short, and the game rarely stutters during combat.

Sound and Presentation

The presentation is understated but effective. Character animations are fluid, and enemy designs are distinct enough to be read at a glance. The score stays low-key, letting sound effects carry the weight of each attack and dodge.

There is no multiplayer mode, and the campaign itself is short by modern standards. Players looking for a long adventure will finish in a handful of sessions. The game doesn’t try to pad its runtime with filler, which keeps the experience sharp but limited.

Where It Falls Short

Not everything lands. Some enemy types repeat their attacks across multiple levels without changing, which can make the middle stretch feel less varied than the opening hours suggest. The difficulty spikes in the final boss fight also catch players off guard after a relatively gentle middle portion, though the payoff of mastering that fight is satisfying once achieved.

The game’s writing is thin, and its characters exist mainly to deliver plot beats rather than personality. That’s a fair trade for a game whose strength lies in its systems rather than its story, but it leaves the world feeling thinner than the combat suggests.

Standout Boss Moments

Several boss fights stand out as highlights of the game’s design. Here is a rough ranking of the moments that matter most:

1. The mid-game boss that adds a new dodge-based mechanic to the knight’s moves.
2. The early boss that teaches players to read tells before striking back.
3. A late-game boss that forces players to manage health bars across multiple phases.
4. The final boss, which closes the game on a high note and tests everything the player has learned.

Each of these fights builds on the lessons from the levels before them, and together they form the strongest part of the game’s overall design.

The Plucky Squire succeeds because it commits fully to its systems and trusts players to learn them. It doesn’t waste time explaining itself, and it doesn’t pad its length. The result is a tight, enjoyable action game that earns its place among the year’s best releases.

action game · boss fights · combat · game review · Switch