Duck Souls + Review (Nintendo Switch)

Review code provided with many thanks to Ratalaika Games

The Dark Souls of Duck Games?

The name Duck Souls initially sent shivers down my spine. You see I’m not ashamed to admit I’m one of those gamers that just doesn’t get the Dark Souls series. Fortunately to my relief Duck Souls is one of those “don’t judge a game by its name” type cases. Well it has one similarity I guess. You will probably die, a lot. Let’s explore.

Plat Plat Duck

Ducks Souls is a cute little retro inspired platformer where your objective is simple. You are a duck and you need to jump and dash your way through the levels to get to the egg. Then you swiftly jump to the next level. I loved this instant transition to the next level, making the pace and flow of the game work really well. It wasn’t so fast that it was hard to follow, but also not too slow that it was too easy. Many of the levels have little sign posts which read out various pop culture references. This was a little odd and out of place. But every now and then I read a sign with a cute quote that made me smile. With that in mind most of my screenshots taken for this review will feature some of my favourites.

Easy to Pick up and Play

The graphics are cute and retro inspired, there’s lots of use of colour and charm with music to match this tone. It’s nice to have something sunny to look at especially when you may be falling to your death a lot. In all seriousness there are a variety of environments. There are 100 levels total to conquer and new hazards and adjustments to level design are frequently implemented keeping things interesting. I actually found it hard to put this game down as each new challenge kept drawing me in.

Two Views

Each level is a single screen allowing you to observe the layout of the level before you leap in. In the options menu the game does allow for a Zoom mode. This zooms in on your character, limiting the camera to a small area around you so you can’t see what’s ahead. This mode is more challenging and an interesting extra option in the game. I found opting for full screen much easier to learn the level layout and therefore probably best for casual gamers or beginners. I still highly recommend trying Zoom mode since it quite fascinating to explore how it affects difficulty.

Jump and Die

Duck Souls sticks quite nicely to the KISS rule (Keep It Simple Stupid). You have jump and dash buttons. You can also slide down vertical walls, a handy feature to help you save yourself from falling into trouble. Sometimes when things get hectic you may hang from a wall rather than jump through leading to some irritating deaths. But I didn’t really come across anything I couldn’t overcome with a few re-tries. The game does of course insist on tallying up the number of times you died per level. Making it a little embarrassing when other people watch you and you have died up to 33 times on one level. Levels are filled with a variety of hazards and traps that will turn your cute duck into a ghost from a single hit. Fortunately revival is instant with no load times. Not only that, the game has checkpoints making this title appealing to beginners or casual gamers who are not looking for too much stress in their gaming session.

Short but Fun

Whilst there are 100 levels, they take seconds to complete. Making my total run time the first time through less than 3 hours. As you complete levels you do unlock new cosmetic hats for your duck. You can also replay the game on hard mode. It really is a game that left me wanting more and I was drawn to replay it. Adding my own personal challenge of trying to finish the levels as quickly as possible. It’s kinda the ideal game if your looking for a really quick gaming fix.

Rate the Egg

Duck Souls ended up being a delightful surprise for me. I was smiling the whole way through the game and was a little sad the game ended so soon. I was even drawn to replay the game on hard mode. Something I rarely do with platformers of this calibre. The balance seemed just right. A fun cheap platformer that is well worth the price of entry.

Its a shame its called Duck Souls as I feel this game deserves its own identity rather than using one from a famous franchise. Then again marketing is a powerful thing. The game could do with a few extras to add to its replay value. But what is here is a fun game with a duck. Also the developer left a nice thank you for playing at the end of the game which was much appreciated. Nice work.

Final Verdict: I like it a lot