What The Duck

About

What The Duck is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Seize Studios and was released on November 9, 2023. It received neutral reviews from critics and negative reviews from players.

In "What the Duck," embark on a journey of revenge and self-acceptance with your duck spirit animal, exploring four unique biomes filled with quests, enemies, and puzzles. Engage in hack-and-slash combat using real-time weapon swapping and elemental buffs, summoning your duckling companion for added power. Forge weapons in a rhythm-based mini-game and create the ultimate arsenal.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+13

Skip User Reviews

31%

Audience ScoreBased on 26 reviews

story6 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

The game has a charming and quirky aesthetic, reminiscent of titles like Kingdom Hearts.
The voice acting and music are surprisingly solid, adding to the overall enjoyment.
The plot engages players with humor and social criticism, making it entertaining despite its flaws.

The game is plagued by numerous technical issues, including bugs, crashes, and poor optimization.
Players frequently experience frustrating gameplay mechanics, such as unresponsive controls and inconsistent translations.
The game ends on a cliffhanger, leaving many players feeling unsatisfied with the short and incomplete story.

story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
50%
20%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating its engaging plot and humor, but criticizing its brevity and the frequent bugs that hinder progression. While some found the narrative enjoyable and the voiceovers commendable, others noted that the technical issues detracted significantly from the overall experience, leaving the story feeling incomplete, especially with its cliffhanger ending. Overall, the story is seen as serviceable but overshadowed by the game's technical shortcomings.
- “The plot engaged me and I wanted to see where it was going.”
- “However, all the complaining about bugs aside, the story voiceovers are pretty good and the story itself is very silly, which is what keeps me going rather than giving up.”
- “The only two things I liked about this game were the plot and humor; I kept playing this game only for those, but the game ends with a cliffhanger (I assume it will be revealed in a future DLC or in WTD 2).”
- “I'm currently stuck on Sette because I skipped a story prompt and can't progress anymore, even though I defeated the enemy.”
- “This game is too buggy and the plot too short.”
- “The story is serviceable.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs affecting gameplay, including mission glitches, graphical errors, and broken achievements. Players have reported frustrating problems such as language changes, character invisibility, and actions becoming unavailable, detracting from the overall experience. While the game is enjoyable, its instability is a major drawback.
- “This game is too buggy and the plot too short.”
- “Language randomly turning to Portuguese, dropping through the map, player becoming invisible, actions (like jump) not available anymore until reload, water disappearance, buggy achievements, and many more.”
- “Like others mentioned, buggy but not in a fun way like Skyrim.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
37%
25%
The gameplay is generally comfortable and enjoyable, complemented by great music, but players may find themselves easily stun-locked or overwhelmed by enemy attacks. While the game offers a sense of self-discovery in learning mechanics, it falls short in providing clear explanations, leading to frustration with damage sponge enemies and overly simplistic bosses, aside from some mini-game elements.
- “What a nice game, great music, and the gameplay is super comfortable.”
- “The game does a passable job at explaining most mechanics, but you will need to find out how to use mechanics properly on your own or by accident - the wonder of self-discovery!”
- “The player can be stun-locked or bombarded by attacks super easily, enemies are damage sponges, but then bosses are also a bit too simple outside of some frustrating mini-game style mechanics.”
- “The player can be stun-locked or bombarded by attacks super easily; enemies are damage sponges, but then bosses are also a bit too simple outside of some frustrating mini-game style mechanics.”
- “The game does a passable job at explaining most mechanics, but you will need to find out how to use them properly on your own or by accident - the wonder of self-discovery!”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the lighthearted tone and the self-aware, fourth-wall-breaking antics of certain characters. Many find the humor to be a standout feature, alongside the plot, which keeps them engaged despite the game's shortcomings. Overall, the comedic elements contribute positively to the gaming experience, reminiscent of a more casual, humorous take on titles like Kingdom Hearts.
- “I liked the humor of some characters; they don't take themselves seriously, and there is often a breaking of the fourth wall.”
- “The only two things I liked about this game were the plot and the humor. I kept playing this game only for those, but it ends with a cliffhanger (I assume it will be revealed in a future DLC or in WTD 2).”
- “Funny little hack and slash, kind of a poor man's Kingdom Hearts.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's optimization has received negative feedback, with players reporting poor performance across various systems. Many users experience significant frame drops, struggling to maintain 60 FPS even on lower settings, despite having hardware that exceeds the recommended requirements. Overall, the optimization appears to be lacking, leading to a frustrating experience for many.
- “Performance-wise, it's very mediocre. I get 30 FPS on Steam Deck on low settings, and on my decent PC, I struggle to get 60 FPS on the second-lowest option.”
- “It's poorly optimized. Even though I have a PC significantly higher than the recommended requirements, I often experience frame drops, and in some areas, I don't exceed 40 FPS.”
- “It's poorly optimized. Even though I have a PC significantly higher than the recommended requirements, I often experience frame drops, and in some areas, I don't exceed 40 FPS.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Overall, the music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising it as great and enhancing the gameplay experience. However, some users noted that the music is only average in certain areas, particularly the first one.
- “What a nice game, great music, and the gameplay is super comfortable.”
- “The music is... okay... except for that first area.”
graphics
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics of the game are marred by multiple graphical glitches, which detract from the overall visual experience.
- “There are several graphical glitches.”
- “There are several graphical glitches.”
- “There are several graphical glitches.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that the character designs are visually appealing, suggesting a strong emphasis on aesthetics in character development. However, there is no further commentary on the depth or progression of the characters themselves.