The brave squire is a game that literally jumps off the page. It is set in a fairytale world that, thanks to co-director and former Pokemon artist James Turner. But at certain points, the heroic main character can venture out into the real world and solve puzzles that mix 2D and 3D in original ways. Sometimes you move objects between dimensions; sometimes you rearrange the words in a book to produce new results. It's as cute as it is creative, and follows Sony's Astro Bot in what is turning out to be a very good year for family-friendly games.
In the game, you take on the role of Jot, the titular brave squire who has the unusual ability to exist outside of the book he stars in. The two worlds are drastically different: the interior of the storybook is bright, colorful, and simple, while the real world is appropriately grim and realistic. They're different, but through Jot, the worlds intersect as he sets out to save the book from an evil wizard. Solving puzzles requires flipping through pages to find items from the past, using speech to bypass barriers, and occasionally boxing with a bear. It's silly and heartfelt, and at times reminiscent of the 2D segments in Nintendo classics Super Mario Bros. And The Legend of Zelda: A connection between worlds.
“The idea of contrast was really important to the game.”
The original idea for the game came to Turner during a lull when he was Pokemon developer Game Freak, but had not yet started working at All Possible Futures, the studio he founded with Jonathan Biddle. “I left Game Freak and then had nothing to do,” he says The edge. “To fill this gap, I started drawing a webcomic.” This comic, titled Cosmiccontained a number of characters and ideas that eventually found their way into The brave squire when the fairy tale took shape.
For Turner – who frequently posts funny mashup illustrations and has designed well-known Pokémon such as Polteageist – one of the game’s goals was to create a unique clash of styles. Not only should the dimensions in The brave squire play differently, but they should also look different. This idea came about early in development. When Jot entered the real world, he was initially designed in a cel-shaded style to maintain his cartoon style. Eventually, however, it became clear that a more realistic, almost toy-like version of the character worked better.
Image: All possible futures
“It reduced the realism of the outside world quite a bit in a weird way,” says Turner of the cel shading. “Although the outside world was very real, if the object you were looking at 90 percent of the time [isn’t]it starts to affect your perception of the rest of the world.” He adds that “the idea of contrast was really important to the game.”
A good example is early in The brave squire when Jot is looking for a bow and arrow to complete a mission. To do this, he must jump through a portal into the real world, move through a very messy desk full of obstacles, and then jump into a map made up of Magic: The Gathering to fight an elf. When Jot finally reaches his destination, three different art styles are visible on screen: storybook 2D, realistic 3D, and detailed fantasy art. “I thought that clash of styles would be the most stunning,” explains Turner.
“There’s a huge gap outside of Nintendo.”
Outside the visual representation, The brave squire is also notable because it is an experience that works really well for all ages. The action and puzzles have just enough depth to be satisfying without intimidating younger or less experienced players. It is like a streamlined Zelda adventure, with some nice quality of life features, like an optional hint system that doesn't give too much away. It's a style of play that you wouldn't expect outside of anything from Nintendo (including the upcoming Echoes of Wisdom). But titles like Astro Bot And The brave squire show that it is also possible for other developers.
“There are a lot of people who want to play these games and they haven't been catered to as much as they should have been,” says Turner. “It feels like there's a big gap outside of Nintendo and it would be nice if we had these games more regularly. There's a need for it.”
The brave squire is now available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC.