What The Duck

About

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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+13

42%

Audience ScoreBased on 19 reviews

story4 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The game features a quirky and charming story with humorous elements that engage players.
The character designs and vibrant art style are visually appealing, reminiscent of classic games.
The combat system has potential with various weapons and unique abilities, making it enjoyable despite its flaws.

The game is plagued by numerous technical issues, including bugs, crashes, and poor optimization that hinder gameplay.
Controls and combat mechanics are often unresponsive and frustrating, leading to a lack of satisfaction during battles.
The game suffers from confusing design choices, such as unclear objectives and inconsistent translations, making it difficult for players to progress.

story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The story of the game is described as engaging and humorous, with voiceovers that enhance the experience, despite the overall plot being considered silly and somewhat shallow. Players appreciate the charm and fun elements of the narrative, but many express frustration with the numerous technical issues that hinder gameplay progression, including bugs that affect mission completion. Overall, while the story has its merits, it is overshadowed by the game's technical shortcomings and abrupt cliffhanger ending.
- “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 plot engaged me and I wanted to see where it was going.”
- “Very charming game with a fun story; I love throwing my spirit animal and becoming a duck.”
- “The story is serviceable.”
- “This game is too buggy and the plot too short.”
- “I'm currently stuck on sette because I skipped a story prompt and can't progress anymore, even though I defeated the enemy.”
gameplay
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of self-discovery and charm, with players needing to learn mechanics through exploration rather than explicit guidance. While the combat can be frustrating due to enemy difficulty and some simplistic boss designs, the variety of weapons and entertaining boss fights offer engaging moments. However, the game suffers from a lack of polish, including long loading times and broken mechanics, which may detract from the overall experience.
- “Very charming game with a fun story. I love throwing my spirit animal and becoming a duck. The boss fights are very entertaining, and having many weapons allows for different gameplay styles and combos to explore.”
- “What a nice game! Great music, and the gameplay is super comfortable.”
- “There's a cool mechanic that makes it easier to find the proper material.”
- “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.”
- “Flawed game with obvious lack of polish, awful long loading times, and broken mechanics, yet it grows on you for a few hours.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been widely criticized for its numerous stability issues, including random language changes, players becoming invisible, and various mission and achievement bugs. Players report significant graphical glitches and gameplay interruptions, leading to a frustrating experience rather than the enjoyable bugs often found in other titles. Overall, the game's stability is considered poor, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- “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.”
- “There are several graphical glitches.”
- “This game is too buggy and the plot too short.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's graphics feature a vibrant and unique art style reminiscent of a blend between Borderlands and Kingdom Hearts, which many players find appealing. However, the visuals suffer from several graphical glitches and subpar textures, suggesting poor optimization and an overall quality that feels outdated.
- “The graphics are cool, kind of similar to a marriage of Borderlands and Kingdom Hearts, with vibrant colors and a unique art style that instantly draws you in.”
- “There are several graphical glitches.”
- “This indicates poor optimization because the graphics aren't nice enough to require that much time.”
- “While the game's visuals are wacky and colorful, the overall quality and textures appear to be from a previous generation.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is well-received, with characters that embrace a lighthearted tone and frequently break the fourth wall, adding to the overall enjoyment. Many players find the humor, alongside the plot, to be the main draws of the game, despite its cliffhanger ending. Overall, it is described as a funny experience reminiscent of a simpler version of 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 the game 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
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, as players report frequent frame drops and low performance even on high-end PCs and lower settings. Many users experience subpar frame rates, suggesting that the graphical demands do not justify the performance struggles.
- “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.”
- “Performance-wise, it's very mediocre. I get 30 FPS on the Steam Deck on low settings, and on my decent PC, I struggle to get 60 FPS on the second-lowest option.”
- “This indicates poor optimization because the graphics aren't impressive enough to require that much processing power.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with particular praise for the first area, which stands out positively. Overall, players find the soundtrack enjoyable and fitting, contributing to a comfortable gameplay experience.
- “What a nice game, great music, and the gameplay is super comfortable.”
- “The music is... okay... except for that first area.”
- “The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety throughout the game.”
- “I found the music to be uninspired and forgettable, failing to enhance the overall experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers appreciate the character designs, noting that they are visually appealing and contribute positively to the overall character development in the game.