Steam’s Most Popular All-Ages RPG Is Finally Adding The Challenge It Needs

The Plucky Squire was one of the most charming games last year, thanks to its touching story and fantastic storybook art style. On the other hand, it was also criticized for the simplicity of its gameplay, including somewhat shallow combat and a lack of real challenge. Now, an update aims to address that issue with a new mode that’s live now on Steam and coming to consoles soon.

Developer All Possible Futures announced the update on social media, laying out exactly what new challenges players can expect from the update while tackling that criticism head-on.

“Think it was too easy?” All Possible Worlds writes. “This update might just change your mind.”

The centerpiece of the update is Challenge Mode, a tougher difficulty setting that introduces some interesting twists to the game. The Plucky Squire is full of minigames, mostly based on classic games like Mike Tyson’s Punch Out and Resogun. In Challenge Mode, these minigames get harder, with more enemies to fight and tougher attack patterns to deal with. Bosses get similar tweaks to make them more difficult as well.

What’s most interesting about the Challenge Mode update is that it doesn’t stop at just making what’s already in the game harder. While existing enemies hit harder and take less damage in the Challenge Mode, the new addition also introduces entirely new enemies to the game, so even players who’ve already finished the original will have to figure out entirely new tactics to deal with the threats added in the update. In both the game’s 2D and 3D sections, additional “metamagic” enemies can now be spawned, unlike in the original game where those were confined only to 2D levels.

Likewise, some of the game’s storybook levels — those that take place on 2D pages — will also be different. All Possible Worlds says some pages are being “remixed,” which will change the layout of platforms and the solutions to some puzzles.

To take things a step further, the update also adds Iron Squire Mode. In this mode, all of the new difficulty modifiers will also be present, with one big difference — you only have one life. In Iron Squire Mode, being defeated a single time will defeat your save, meaning you’ll have to start over from the beginning if you want to conquer the significant new challenge it presents.

It’s not entirely uncommon for games to add harder difficulty modes in post-launch updates, but it’s good to see how far The Plucky Squire is going to make the new mode a substantially different experience. Rather than simply a harder version of the same game for players who want a more punishing playthrough, Challenge Mode offers a new way to play the game, with more enemies and even revamped platforming puzzles to take on.

The new update is an especially interesting addition for The Plucky Squire, which didn’t put much emphasis on difficulty the first time around. Its cartoon vibes and simple mechanics make the original game extremely approachable for younger players, but it’s also full of nods to older games that might fly over those same players’ heads. With the addition of Challenge Mode, The Plucky Squire could become a more satisfying experience for anyone who wants to enjoy the laidback feelings of its art and story while also giving them a bit more of a test of their combat skills.

If you’ve yet to pick up The Plucky Squire, this also marks a good opportunity to check it out for the first time. Until July 10, The Plucky Squire is part of the Steam Summer Sale with a 35 percent discount.

The Plucky Squire is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The Challenge Mode update is live now on PC and coming later to consoles.