‘Punch Kick Duck’ Overview – Do What the Game Says and Everybody Will get Harm – TouchArcade

A very long time in the past, a Shaun of a time long gone reviewed a game from one other Shaun of a time long gone. That game was known as Shoot the Moon (Free), and it was a triumph of straightforward gameplay married with a slick presentation to create a captivating and enjoyable game. Within the years since then, each Shauns have been busy with varied issues, however destiny has seen match to discover a motive for the lives of the Shauns to cross but once more. I’m Shaun Musgrave, and I’m right here to evaluate Shaun Coleman’s cleverly-titled Punch Kick Duck (Free).

Punch Kick Duck is one other motion game, however this time as a substitute of taking up the shoot-em-up style, the developer has provided his tackle one other in style style from the nice outdated days of the arcades: the single-plane beat-em-up. Suppose Irem’s Kung Fu Grasp, and also you’ll be on the precise web page. You information your duck (or different character, extra on that later) throughout every stage, preventing off the varied enemies that assail you. You’ve however three strikes in your arsenal. Effectively, you’ve learn the title so you may most likely take a guess which strikes they’re. You’ve received a excessive punch, a mid-level kick, and a ducking sweep.

It’s all slightly easy at first. A bunny approaches and also you give it a punch. A pig rolls up and also you give it a kick. A lanky weasel approaches and also you give it a sweep. They present up in teams, however so long as you retain your wits about you it isn’t an excessive amount of to handle. Oh, and there’s a bear chasing you. You’ll be able to’t do a lot with him, so finest to choose up your toes once you aren’t preventing so as to keep forward of him. Attain the steps and also you’re dwelling free to maneuver on to the following flooring. Don’t neglect to choose up the cash the enemies drop whilst you’re at it. Extra on these later, too.

As you progress up the flooring, issues get extra sophisticated. Among the enemies are pushing carts at you. Others toss bottles. You’ll be able to cope with all of this stuff utilizing your identical set of strikes, however you’ll should be taught which of them are finest for which scenario and when to make use of them. It’s such a easy system at its core, however because of the number of enemies and interactions it all the time feels contemporary. You’ll get a unique association of enemies every time you play, and there are a number of problem settings that blend issues up much more. The problem by no means feels unfair, and in case you learn to play properly sufficient you may simply get by way of flooring unscathed.

Okay, let’s discuss cash and characters. The cash enemies drop can be utilized for a number of various things, however probably the most enjoyable you may have with them is in utilizing them to unlock new characters. There aren’t a ton of characters right here, and that is sensible. Each is fastidiously created and appears as pure in-game because the titular duck. It is going to take a number of taking part in to unlock all of them, so that you’ll have one thing to intention at for fairly some time. Every time you unlock one, you get somewhat animation of the character popping out of a bundle. Very satisfying stuff. The gameplay doesn’t change, nevertheless it’s enjoyable to alter issues up visually. You can even use cash to proceed in case you’re defeated mid-stage. That’s much less enjoyable, however you are able to do it in case you like.

So how does it monetize? The bottom game is free, and also you’ll have to observe some advertisements every now and then if you wish to maintain issues that manner. If you happen to’re bored with the obligatory advertisements, you may drop a candy two bucks on an IAP to take away them. If you wish to spend more cash, you should buy a few further characters a la carte for a couple of dollars apiece. There are additionally voluntary advertisements that may earn you some further cash, and that’s not a foul concept if you wish to pace up the character unlocks and don’t thoughts watching them. All fairly cheap stuff, notably by trendy requirements.

Let’s discuss concerning the presentation, as a result of it’s completely dynamite. The game appears and sounds implausible, and it’s interesting each by way of artwork model and technical prowess. Shaun Coleman’s panache for pleasing, personable character designs helped make Shoot the Moon stand out and it’s on even larger show right here. You may mistake it for a cartoon, and I adore it. Oh, and you may play in portrait or panorama orientation, and the game is simply as viable to play both manner.

The one draw back to the game is a normal one for beat-em-ups. If you happen to actually hunker down and settle in for a long-term session, you would possibly discover it getting somewhat repetitive after some time. As somebody who loves the style, it’s not often a difficulty for me with good ones, and I do assume Punch Kick Duck is likely one of the good ones. However I do know some folks aren’t as eager on the fixed slugfests with enemies and their limitless twin brothers and sisters, and if that’s you then you definitely would possibly find yourself bouncing off of this game. The excellent news is that it’s free to strive in any case, so… you already know, give it a strive.

Punch Kick Duck is a blast to play, and a beautiful deal with for the eyes and ears. It’s nice to see Shaun Coleman tackle one other style and put his distinctive spin on it, and the outcomes are pretty much as good as I might have hoped. I hope our paths intertwine once more in one other ten years so I can see what he does with the single-screen platformer style or one thing. For now, I’ll simply maintain having fun with this nice slice of beat-em-up motion. Maybe you ought to, too.