You see, The Plucky Squire falls prey to one of modern gaming’s most well-intentioned, but still utterly annoying, sins and overtly tutorializes everything. When it deigns to allow the player to pop out of their storybook for a 3D platforming level, the camera pans across the entirety of the stage outlining the intended path before you’ve even really set foot in the world. Even within the confines of the 2D world in the book, The Plucky Squire will often deploy humorous narration via onscreen text and a corresponding voiceover, which adds flavor to the game but also explicitly communicates what is expected of you at every turn.

At just about every step of the way, the game lacks any faith in your ability to figure out solutions and paths forward for yourself, preferring to bludgeon you over the head with answers before you can even be afforded a chance to think for yourself. It’s a frustrating wrinkle in an otherwise charming tale.