A very long time in the past, a Shaun of a time gone reviewed a sport from one other Shaun of a time gone. That sport was referred to as Shoot the Moon (Free), and it was a triumph of easy gameplay married with a slick presentation to create an enthralling and enjoyable sport. 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 overview Shaun Coleman’s cleverly-titled Punch Kick Duck (Free).
Punch Kick Duck is one other motion sport, however this time as an alternative of taking over the shoot-em-up style, the developer has provided his tackle one other widespread style from the great previous days of the arcades: the single-plane beat-em-up. Assume 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 assorted enemies that assail you. You’ve got however three strikes in your arsenal. Effectively, 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 may’t do a lot with him, so greatest to choose up your ft once you aren’t preventing so as to keep forward of him. Attain the steps and also you’re residence free to maneuver on to the subsequent 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 sophisticated. A number of the enemies are pushing carts at you. Others toss bottles. You may take care of all of this stuff utilizing your identical set of strikes, however you’ll should be taught which of them are greatest for which state of affairs and when to make use of them. It’s such a easy system at its core, however due to the number of enemies and interactions it at all times feels recent. 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 for those who discover ways to play nicely sufficient you’ll be able to simply get by way of flooring unscathed.
Okay, let’s discuss cash and characters. The cash enemies drop can be utilized for just a few various things, however essentially 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. Every one is rigorously created and appears as pure in-game because the titular duck. It’ll take numerous taking part in to unlock all of them, so that you’ll have one thing to goal at for fairly some time. Every time you unlock one, you get a bit of animation of the character popping out of a package deal. Very satisfying stuff. The gameplay doesn’t change, but it surely’s enjoyable to alter issues up visually. You can too use cash to proceed for those who’re defeated mid-stage. That’s much less enjoyable, however you are able to do it for those who like.
So how does it monetize? The bottom sport is free, and also you’ll have to observe some adverts at times if you wish to maintain issues that means. In the event you’re uninterested in the necessary adverts, you’ll be able to drop a candy two bucks on an IAP to take away them. If you wish to spend more cash, you should purchase a few further characters a la carte for a couple of dollars apiece. There are additionally voluntary adverts that can earn you some further 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 affordable stuff, notably by trendy requirements.
Let’s discuss concerning the presentation, as a result of it’s completely dynamite. The sport seems to be and sounds unbelievable, and it’s interesting each by way of 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 could possibly mistake it for a cartoon, and I like it. 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 traditional one for beat-em-ups. In the event you actually hunker down and settle in for a long-term session, you may discover it getting a bit of repetitive after some time. As somebody who loves the style, it’s not often a problem for me with good ones, and I do assume 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 countless twin brothers and sisters, and if that’s you then you definitely may find yourself bouncing off of this sport. The excellent news is that it’s free to strive in any case, so… you recognize, 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 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 it’s best to, too.
