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 an enthralling 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 evaluation Shaun Coleman’s cleverly-titled Punch Kick Duck (Free).
Punch Kick Duck is one other motion recreation, however this time as an alternative of taking over the shoot-em-up style, the developer has supplied his tackle one other fashionable style from the nice outdated days of the arcades: the single-plane beat-em-up.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 assorted enemies that assail you. You could have however three strikes in your arsenal. Properly, you’ve learn the title so you possibly can in all probability take a guess which strikes they’re. You’ve bought a excessive punch, a mid-level kick, and a ducking sweep.
It’s all somewhat 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 whenever you aren’t preventing with the intention 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 when you’re at it. Extra on these later, too.
As you progress up the flooring, issues get extra difficult. 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 need to 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 at all times feels contemporary. You’ll get a distinct 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 should you discover ways to play effectively sufficient you possibly can simply get by flooring unscathed.
Okay, let’s speak about cash and characters. The cash enemies drop can be utilized for a number of various things, however essentially the most enjoyable you possibly can have with them is in utilizing them to unlock new characters. There aren’t a ton of characters right here, and that is smart. Every one is fastidiously created and appears as pure in-game because the titular duck. It would take a whole lot of enjoying to unlock all of them, so that you’ll have one thing to purpose at for fairly some time. Every time you unlock one, you get just a little animation of the character popping out of a bundle. Very satisfying stuff. The gameplay doesn’t change, but it surely’s enjoyable to vary 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 adverts from time to time if you wish to maintain issues that means. For those who’re uninterested in the obligatory adverts, you possibly can drop a candy two bucks on an IAP to take away them. If you wish to spend extra money, you should buy a few additional characters a la carte for a couple of bucks apiece. There are additionally voluntary adverts that may earn you some additional cash, and that’s not a foul thought if you wish to velocity up the character unlocks and don’t thoughts watching them. All fairly cheap stuff, notably by fashionable requirements.
Let’s speak concerning the presentation, as a result of it’s completely dynamite. The sport appears and sounds unbelievable, and it’s interesting each when it comes to artwork type 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 would mistake it for a cartoon, and I find it irresistible. Oh, and you may play in portrait or panorama orientation, and the sport is simply as viable to play both means.
The one draw back to the sport is a typical one for beat-em-ups. For those who actually hunker down and settle in for a long-term session, you may discover it getting just a little repetitive after some time. As somebody who loves the style, it’s hardly ever a problem for me with good ones, and I do assume Punch Kick Duck is likely one of the good ones. However I do know some individuals 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 may find yourself bouncing off of this recreation. The excellent news is that it’s free to attempt in any case, so… you already know, 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 may 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.
