Duck Paradox

About

Duck Paradox is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Magic Games and was released on October 9, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

ENTER THE PARADOX Navigate the infinite domains of the multiverse as savvy scientist Dr. Paraducks in search of her pet duck, lost in the throes of space-time thanks to a malfunctioning time machine. Trapped in a world of endless possibilities, Dr. Paraducks continues to battle corrupted versions of her beloved pet despite the unrelenting reality and her declining sanity. But who knows what is re…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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94%

Audience ScoreBased on 180 reviews

gameplay14 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features unique mechanics where bullets ricochet, adding a layer of challenge and strategy to gameplay.
Players appreciate the charming art style, engaging level design, and the fun, chaotic nature of the platforming and shooting elements.
Many reviews highlight the game's addictive quality and the satisfaction of overcoming its challenging levels, making it a rewarding experience.

The jumping mechanics can feel inconsistent and frustrating, leading to unexpected deaths and difficulty in navigating levels.
Some players find the game too challenging, especially early on, which may deter those not accustomed to bullet hell or roguelike games.
There are complaints about a lack of clarity in game objectives and progression, as well as a desire for more content and features like multiplayer or a level creator.

gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The gameplay of Duck Paradox is characterized by its fun and innovative mechanics, blending simple controls with challenging elements, such as ricocheting bullets and a friendly fire system. While many players appreciate the polished controls and engaging core loop, some find the difficulty spikes and level design inconsistent, with a few levels feeling repetitive or frustrating. Overall, the game offers a unique mix of puzzle platforming and roguelike features, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre despite its short length and some design flaws.
- “Good fundamental gameplay that is really innovated on well.”
- “Very clever game, deceptively simple but once you get into it you find surprisingly deep gameplay combining a puzzle platformer with roguelike elements in a very unique way.”
- “The gameplay is a nice balance between easy and difficult at times.”
- “The disco duck is legit not a fun boss battle; I don't know how anyone decided that a game which has dodging bouncing projectiles as its main mechanic should have a boss battle in an incredibly small room, but somehow it happened.”
- “So in summary: there's some good fun to this game, but the main challenge lies outside of the standard gameplay mode, which can feel like a bit of a cakewalk once you get a proper handle on the controls.”
- “Only thing I dislike about this game as of right now (aka early access) is the jumping mechanic.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
12%
13%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their amazing art style, vibrant colors, and well-executed visual effects, particularly in pixel art form. Players appreciate the aesthetic appeal and tight controls, noting that the visuals enhance the overall experience. Despite some limitations in graphical settings, the game's unique and cute design contributes to its charm and enjoyment.
- “Also, the art style and visual effects are amazing.”
- “On first glance, the pixel art style looks great on the Steam Deck OLED, with some nice effects and vibrant colors.”
- “The art style is very unique and cute!”
- “I don't think this adversely affected my computer as Steam believed it was trying to render over two thousand frames a second, but it seems odd that the extent of this game's graphical settings are whether it was full-screen or not.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The game's story revolves around the quest to return Quark the duck to the time machine, offering a charming and concise narrative that can be completed in under an hour. Players appreciate the cute storyline and easy controls, making it an enjoyable experience for those with limited time. The game also features an endless mode post-story, enhancing its replayability.
- “The story is so cute and the controls are very easy to work and understand.”
- “Amazing game with such an exciting storyline and amazing graphics; I would recommend it to anyone with a spare 30 minutes.”
- “The core of the game involves bringing Quark the Duck back to the start of the level, the time machine where the game's plot originates.”
- “This is a fun little game that has less than an hour of story if you don't have a lot of time to spend on a game.”
- “A sequel was inevitable at this point, and that came to fruition in the sunset of 1989, but that's not where we are in this story quite yet.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd scenarios, such as exploding a room filled with ducks, which elicits genuine laughter. Players appreciate the blend of humor with challenging gameplay, making for an entertaining experience overall.
- “Exploding a room filled with ducks gives me the funny chemical.”
- “Funny game!”
- “I was surprised at how funny yet challenging this was.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised, contributing to its addictive gameplay and overall positive experience, with specific mention of a standout track reminiscent of John Wick.
- “It has addictive gameplay, good animations, good art, good music, good everything.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The game is highly optimized, allowing players to create complex builds with numerous sprites on screen without experiencing performance issues.
- “The game is extremely optimized; I ended up with a crazy build with hundreds of sprites on screen, and everything ran smoothly!”
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for seamless gameplay even with complex graphics.”
- “I love how well-optimized the game is; it maintains high performance without sacrificing visual quality.”
- “The game is extremely unoptimized; I frequently experience frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
- “Despite the interesting mechanics, the optimization is lacking, leading to long loading times and crashes.”
- “The performance issues are frustrating; even on high-end hardware, the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy for "Howard the Duck" involved a brief post-production period and a single advertisement, suggesting a minimal marketing investment prior to its release.