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

A very long time in the past, a Shaun of a time long gone reviewed a recreation from one other Shaun of a time long gone. That recreation was known as Shoot the Moon (Free), and it was a triumph of easy gameplay married with a slick presentation to create a captivating and enjoyable recreation. 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 assessment Shaun Coleman’s cleverly-titled Punch Kick Duck (Free).

Punch Kick Duck is one other motion recreation, however this time as a substitute of taking over the shoot-em-up style, the developer has provided his tackle one other standard style from the great outdated days of the arcades: the single-plane beat-em-up. Assume Irem’s Kung Fu Grasp, and also you’ll be on the proper 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 may have however three strikes in your arsenal. Nicely, you’ve learn the title so you’ll be able to most likely take a guess which strikes they’re. You’ve acquired a excessive punch, a mid-level kick, and a ducking sweep.

It’s all quite 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 greatest to select up your ft once you aren’t preventing as a way to keep forward of him. Attain the steps and also you’re dwelling free to maneuver on to the following flooring. Don’t overlook to select up the cash the enemies drop when you’re at it. Extra on these later, too.

As you progress up the flooring, issues get extra difficult. A number of the enemies are pushing carts at you. Others toss bottles. You’ll be able to take care of all of this stuff utilizing your similar set of strikes, however you’ll should be taught which of them are greatest 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 at all times feels recent. You’ll get a distinct association of enemies every time you play, and there are a number of issue settings that blend issues up much more. The problem by no means feels unfair, and should you learn to play nicely sufficient you’ll be able to simply get via flooring unscathed.

Okay, let’s speak about cash and characters. The cash enemies drop can be utilized for a couple of various things, however probably the most enjoyable you’ll be able to 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 rigorously created and appears as pure in-game because the titular duck. It would take lots of enjoying 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, however it’s enjoyable to alter issues up visually. You may as well use cash to proceed should you’re defeated mid-stage. That’s much less enjoyable, however you are able to do it should you like.

So how does it monetize? The bottom recreation is free, and also you’ll have to observe some advertisements every now and then if you wish to hold issues that approach. If you happen to’re bored with the necessary advertisements, you’ll be able to drop a candy two bucks on an IAP to take away them. If you wish to spend extra money, you should purchase 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 thought if you wish to pace up the character unlocks and don’t thoughts watching them. All fairly affordable stuff, notably by trendy requirements.

Let’s speak concerning the presentation, as a result of it’s completely dynamite. The sport seems to be and sounds incredible, and it’s interesting each by way of artwork fashion and technical prowess. Shaun Coleman’s panache for pleasing, personable character designs helped make Shoot the Moon stand out and it’s on even higher show right here. You can mistake it for a cartoon, and I adore it. Oh, and you may play in portrait or panorama orientation, and the sport is simply as viable to play both approach.

The one draw back to the sport is a common one for beat-em-ups. If you happen to actually hunker down and settle in for a long-term session, you may 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 suppose Punch Kick Duck is without doubt one of the good ones. However I do know some folks aren’t as eager on the fixed slugfests with enemies and their infinite twin brothers and sisters, and if that’s you then you definitely may find yourself bouncing off of this recreation. The excellent news is that it’s free to attempt in any case, so… you understand, give it a attempt.

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 nearly 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 hold having fun with this nice slice of beat-em-up motion. Maybe you ought to, too.