Why the Heck is Escape From Duckov So Popular?

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It’s rare for a new extraction shooter to suddenly become popular, and it’s only happened twice – which is strange, especially since both successes occurred this year. ARC Raiders really gained traction after its initial playtest in April, with players praising its quality (and with good reason). However, this wasn’t entirely surprising, as fans have long been hoping for a better alternative to Escape From Tarkov.

It’s surprising to see a new extraction shooter gaining so much attention with little promotion, especially with its launch just days away. I’m referring to Escape From Duckov by Team Soda. Released on Steam on October 16th, it has already sold over a million copies and is seeing a growing player base, recently peaking at over 182,000 concurrent players.

The game is currently very well-received, with 95% of its 6,683 user reviews being positive. However, its cartoonish graphics and overhead perspective might lead some to believe it’s simply imitating a popular game with a duck-themed twist – similar to Duckside – and with similar, inconsistent results. Its Metacritic score of 75, based on only five reviews, supports this idea. While not terrible, it doesn’t quite stand out as a must-play title.

Fortunately, that’s not true. Even though Escape From Duckov is funny, it’s actually a genuinely intense extraction shooter. Still, it’s surprising how quickly it’s become popular and gained so much attention.

The game is primarily focused on surviving and escaping in a single-player experience – it’s a PvE extraction shooter, meaning you won’t encounter other players who can kill you and steal your items. You play as a duck trying to break out of prison with only a stick, and your goal is to survive and explore this strange world. As you progress, you’ll find a pistol and eventually discover a bunker that serves as your home base.

Even though you start with absolutely nothing, you quickly begin building essential structures like a weapon shop, gym, and crafting station, using materials you find while exploring. The game has elements of a rogue-lite, meaning you collect blueprints and unlock skills to become stronger and better at surviving. You’ll also find familiar quests from various vendors, asking you to collect items or defeat enemies, which motivates you to explore the five different areas. Ultimately, everything you do is focused on one goal: escaping the town of Duckov.

Essentially, this game is designed for a single player and has a definite conclusion. Even after finishing the main story, you can expect to spend over 50 hours exploring everything it has to offer.

Ultimately, a game needs to be enjoyable and well-made, and Escape From Duckov delivers on both fronts. It boasts a huge arsenal of over 50 weapons, ranging from standard firearms like the AK-47 and M14 to more creative options like the Cube Gun and the surprisingly effective Billy Gun, which shocks enemies. If you prefer close combat, you’ll find a diverse selection of melee weapons, including butcher knives, a Karambit, and even a Battle Axe.

The game’s cartoonish style gives it freedom with its weapons and shooting mechanics, and surprisingly, the shooting feels really good. While the overhead view isn’t as immersive as games like Tarkov or ARC Raiders, weapons still feel powerful and have realistic ranges. Using cover is key to survival, particularly when exploring deeper areas. Plus, the generous amount of ammunition lets you try out different weapons and modifications.

You’re still fighting to survive here. A dangerous storm is approaching, and you’ll take serious damage if you’re not sheltered. Adapting to the weather, and keeping yourself fed, hydrated, and healthy are crucial. While there might be chaos around you, like people shooting each other, remember that even gunshot wounds need to be treated to stop bleeding.

Even if you only play the single-player campaign in Escape From Duckov, it can still be quite difficult. Like other games where you collect items and try to escape, you can easily lose your progress with a mistake. However, Duckov lets you control the difficulty and play at your own speed, without worrying about other players taking your loot. While the risk of losing progress is common in this type of game, Duckov delivers a similar experience in single-player, but with much less frustration.

Team Soda didn’t just release this game out of the blue. They previously launched two demos this year, which helped them test and improve the gameplay and overall experience. Considering this is a small development team, Escape From Duckov offers a lot for its price of around $16 (and would still be reasonably priced without the current 12% launch discount). However, if you don’t typically enjoy the ‘extraction shooter’ style of gameplay, this probably isn’t for you.

It’s impressive how polished the game is at launch, especially with no in-game purchases and more updates planned. The fact that it’s a solo experience is also significant, considering Tarkov players waited a long time for a player-versus-environment mode, which, when it finally arrived, was poorly executed. What’s truly remarkable is that Escape From Duckov supports the Steam Workshop, letting players design their own weapons, quests, and even entire maps.

The success of Duckov highlights how hungry players are for good extraction shooter games, even with titles like ARC Raiders still generating excitement. For a long time, the genre has been dominated by games like Tarkov – which, frustratingly, requires players to repurchase it even if they already own it – leaving fans wanting more. That’s just how competition works: if you don’t keep innovating, someone will eventually offer a better alternative. Duckov might not hold the top spot for long, perhaps because it’s designed for single-player experiences, but it’s definitely made a splash by giving players a worthwhile option.

Even if Escape From Duckov does well simply because there aren’t many similar games, I’m hoping the developers keep improving it with new content like maps, weapons, and gameplay features, and a better progression system. Games that are constantly updated based on what players want, while still having a clear direction, often become classics. I hope this game finds even a small amount of that success. If Escape From Tarkov could inspire a game like this, I’m excited to see what Escape From Duckov inspires in the indie game community.

Please be aware that the opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of GamingBolt.

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2025-10-23 16:45