QCF: Duck Game

ucks make everything better, there’s no denying it, cartoons, sound effects, sandwich meat, pets, efficient means disposing of expired bread, there’s no limit to how they can improve our way of life; shit, I mean have you guys seen Fly Away Home? That movie’s amazing!

Anyway, getting back on track, it was only a matter of time before a developer took it upon himself to give us the Duck Game we all deserved; it’s called Duck Game.

While most of you may cynically write it off as another local multiplayer Towerfall clone, I can assure you that it’s one of the best times I’ve had with the Ouya yet, and helps define just why the android console is the best indie sweetheart to go to the dance with.

The big factors taken away from games always boil down to presentation and gameplay, and focusing on one over the other or completely neglecting it for that matter, generally results in hurting the overall merit of said game; Duck Game stays on point all around and it’s unabashedly humble about it in all of the right ways. The over-the-top antics and nonsensically weird charisma makes itself known in every facet of the title the moment you progress from the boot screen. Menus, level editors, and even its own personal trophy room, throw you into an exercise running and jumping instead of static menu navigation of drop-downs and options that will have you playing the game before you’re actually playing the game.  As soon as everyone gets their shit together, the game of deathmatch begins, and unlike any of its peers, it doesn’t have any rhyme or reason behind it; which is what makes it so good.

Aside from options to set the drop rate of weapons, victory tally, or handicap settings, the contest gets rolling right out the gate; every platyrhynchos gladiator entered will be placed in a surprise position, a random stage, and even more chance choice of arsenal to grab from—it gets real within seconds.

Each round becomes a literal arms race as each bird warrior move to scatter towards the nearest weapon in reach and terminate every other duck into you’re the last pair of webbed feet standing, earning a tally towards your score for the overall breakdown of standings. This mechanic though minute upon first glance, works wonders in balancing combat into a competition that can still cater to both, feverish mayhem, and skill-rooted tactics and remains consistent the moment players engage with one another.

Duck Game pulls it off by keeping all the fundamentals and mechanics of movement and platforming the same no matter the duck, but instead, introducing a number of elements and styles that identify with a number of play types that will accommodate just about any kind of player that hops into it. Players who enjoy operating a long-distance offense can keep an eye out for sniper rifles, for bait ‘n switch players, get tricky with some land mines or grenades (which make for an awesome match of wits by bluffing foes with a thrown grenade that never had its pin pulled.)—the list goes on.

No matter how many hours you pour into these gauntlets, the number of combinations possible manages to introduce dozens upon dozens of methods to make your opponents croak their final quack even after you think you’ve seen it all, and it doesn’t even stop there. Aside from the buffet of tools made for killing, the stages themselves all have a predator like quality in their composition to get cerebral in your assassinations within the Duck Game.

The aesthetics and atmospheres have no rhyme or reason to them much to the schizophrenic trend of Duck Game’s battle conditions, and it plays a huge part in the number of hazards players can not only be hip to avoid, but tune into strategy against their opponents themselves. Doors that can fling open with a number of physics and contextual possibilities with the weapons and approach involved, or super slow, and deceptively lethal  pixel-shaped death lasers, or teleportation pads, gravity vacuums, bottomless pits, spiked floors and ceilings, I honestly couldn’t cover all of them without rambling on into a lengthy number of sentences to do it justice.

The option for a level editor only boosts the quest for creative stipulations that can keep the fowl murder fresh no matter how many different sessions you’ve logged into it. The only major drawback to the experience is that it requires human players, and physical ones able to squeeze in on the couch with you, which sadly, made not a be an affordable luxury for everyone who would be interested to get in on the experience; there are no options for bots  or a practice mode either. The level editor is the only single player interaction this game offers and even then, it won’t matter if you don’t have the heads to supply the play.

Also, like the current plight of the Wii U, the Ouya is capable to facilitate net-code that supports online multiplayer, so there’s really no excuse for the absence of this feature if it’s stringently a multiplayer only game. Regardless of the depth of Duck Games combat,  this was a missed opportunity that could have made the Duck Game one of the best gems on the system period, especially considering that it’s an Ouya-only exclusive, that alone is cause enough to believe it can generate a sizable player base  on that merit alone.

Honestly, when it comes down to it; the Duck Game stands above the strict one-dimensional conventions of the perpetually marathons of deathmatches it’s designed around from the sheer multitude of obstacles and the variety of weapons and numerous recipes generate unique relationships of play styles with any given random appearances and the demographics of those participating within the battle royale.  All Ouya owners should strongly consider the investment of buying additional controller and the ten-dollar admission this game demands because ultimately it’s worth it.

Also, who’re we kidding here anyway, any real Ouya owner should already have some extra controllers kicking around anyway considering the little android console holds the title of being the original Godfather that helped bring us Towerfall before the fame took it to more accessible realms within the gaming space.