Escape from Duckov Review Overview
What is Escape from Duckov?
Escape from Duckov is a PVE top-down looter extraction shooter game by Team Soda where players take on the role of a soldier duck! It’s a duck-eat-duck world out here—facing challenges in the world of Duckov, gathering resources, building a base, upgrading gear, and trying to make it out alive and escape.
Taking inspiration from other extraction shooters like Delta Force, Arena Breakout Infinite, and most evidently Escape from Tarkov, Escape from Duckov takes all the familiar elements of the genre and puts them into one duck-themed package. Featuring five large maps, tons of loot to collect, enemies to eliminate, and more surprises, it promises a fun PvE experience that is unique in every run.
Escape from Duckov features:
⚫︎ PvE Extraction Shooter Gameplay
⚫︎ Over 50 Customizable Weapons
⚫︎ Tons of Resources to Collect
⚫︎ Crafting Galore
⚫︎ Playing as a Duck!
| Digital Storefronts | ||
|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 Epic Games |
 Mac App Store |
| $17.99 | ||
Escape from Duckov Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Familiar Extraction Shooter Gameplay Without the Stress Tons of Grindy Fun Meaningful Progression Playing as a Duck! |
RNG Can Be Horrendous Could Benefit From Co-Op |
Escape from Duckov Overall Score - 82/100
Escape from Duckov is one hell of a fun extraction shooter that scratches the itch for the genre in an easy-to-digest package without the initial stress of PvP and more complex game mechanics. It boasts smooth controls, simple but thrilling point and shoot gameplay, and exciting, meaningful progression with just enough of a challenge to not make it a bore. RNG can make or break your runs, but it’s just a small part of everything else good about the game. And of course, the best part—you play as a duck!
Escape from Duckov Story - 7/10
At first, there doesn’t seem to be a gripping story at all aside from the fact that you must survive the ordeal, but for an extraction shooter, it’s not really a necessity anyway. There is some kind of environmental worldbuilding presented in the form of journals left out in the wild, telling tales of other factions and shady stuff going on in the world, as well as through the quests you are tasked to undertake for your bunker buddies, but that’s most of it. The premise is simple—survive, gather resources, progress and upgrade your tools and weapons, and eventually you’ll escape. Maybe.
Escape from Duckov Gameplay - 8/10
Escape from Duckov’s top-down extraction shooter gameplay is extremely fun—hella grindy, but fun. Controls are snappy and intuitive, and its progression route is rewarding, to say the least, motivating you to keep going. Upgrading your duck’s skills, armor, weapons, the bunker—everything feels meaningful. However, despite that, its RNG can be pretty whack at times, often making many of your scavenger hunts fruitless because no matter how much you look, the one darn Bulb you need for something in the bunker just doesn’t appear.
Escape from Duckov Visuals - 9/10
Don’t mind the fact that it looks silly-looking at first glance—its spherical and polygonal 3D art style is charming. Cartoony ducks duking it out with loaded firearms or melee weapons have never looked this good. Aside from the ducks (and the dogs), the assets all around the map are rendered well too, elevating the game to more than just a duck shooter. Performance-wise, it runs smoothly, with little to no lapses in frame rate or glitches—perhaps in partial thanks to its very accessible specs.
Escape from Duckov Audio - 8/10
The game’s sound design is decent—guns sound weighty, footsteps and the quacking of your enemies are solid. However, the soundtrack is just alright—not terribly bad, but nothing special either. Most of the music tracks are played in the bunker, and when you finish up your runs. It’s basically jazzy elevator music. Still pleasing to the ears though, so much so that you might just end up staying in the bunker a little while longer.
Escape from Duckov Value for Money - 9/10
For $18 and with an immensely long campaign that would net you at least 50 or so hours (up to 200 if you’re a thorough completionist), you’re getting bang for your buck with the sheer amount of content and the hours you’d need to go through it. However, keep in mind that the game is a single-player PvE with a lot of progression, so there’s not much new things in terms of its core gameplay the more you go on—there’s a lot to discover though, as well as the option for player mods from day one to spice up your game.
Escape from Duckov Review: Winner Winner Duck Dinner
I do love myself a fun extraction shooter—not because I’m terribly good at shooting down opponents, but more so of the fact that I am a (virtual) hoarder. I love swimming in resources, gathering them, eliminating others who dare to try to get my materials…all that jazz. Hence, when I found out about Escape from Duckov…my mind went on overdrive immediately. Take my money, I screamed. I freaking love ducks. I love extraction shooters. It’s the best deal ever.
Now, don’t let the game’s initial silly looking first impressions fool you. This is an immensely fun and rewarding extraction shooter. While it takes most of the more complex structures from other games and makes them simpler, it doesn’t make it any less fun—and for heaven’s sake, you’re playing an adorable duck. It can’t get any better than that.
Welcome To Duckov
As the title suggests, the game takes place on a strange egg-shaped planet called Duckov where catastrophe has ravaged the land. Most of the world has evacuated…except for you. Waking up from a strange dream at the beginning of the game, possibly from the shock of it all—you find yourself in its cutthroat world full of hostile enemies.
Were you a human? Were you another species entirely? Or have you always been an adorable duck who can pack a punch? No one knows, but one thing’s for sure—you must find a way to escape from Duckov, even if that means scouring the land for it while also keeping yourself alive and well.
That’s the entire premise of the game. Simple, no frills, a straightforward motivation—and sometimes, that’s all you need. There’s some lore scattered in there presented to you through notebooks and journals you find while exploring, as well as through the quests your bunker mates hand out to you for completion.
Familiar Extraction Shooter Gameplay Made Ducky
As a single-player extraction shooter, it plays very similar to other extraction shooters like ARC Raiders, Zero Sievert (which is what it’s most similar to with the top-down POV and everything), and of course, its namesake, Escape from Tarkov, only less dreary and more lighthearted and…ducky. It also takes away the multiplayer aspect of the original game for a wholly solo experience.
Most of the game is taking your ducky self outside of the safe confines of the bunker, pillaging loot, eliminating enemies, completing the quests given to you by your co-bunker NPCs, then returning to base safe and sound. Scattered throughout the map are boxes of different kinds, ranging from combat-related items such as Ammo Boxes and Tactical Weapon Boxes to stuff for crafting and surviving like Misc Boxes and Food Boxes. Of course, you are limited by your inventory space and the tendency to overencumber yourself (I am terribly guilty of all that), so you must strategize and choose wisely on what to get and what to leave behind.
You start off from the bottom of the barrel, scraping by with Rusty Bullets, weaker pistols, and crappy armor that can barely withstand the bullets from the stronger ducks. However, that’s the main cycle of the game, wholly familiar for those who have had a hand at extraction shooters. It’s grindy, it’s cyclical, but that’s the entire point of it—and boy, is it fun seeing yourself progress from being cannon fodder roast duck to winner winner chicken dinner (or should I say, winner winner duck dinner?)
Luckily, controls are easy to understand—point to the enemy and left click to shoot, hold right click to aim better, 1 and 2 for switching between firearms, V for melee, and 3 to 8 are your hotkeys for medicine, food, and whatnot. They work as intended, and there’s no evident delay with input, wholly buttery smooth. I encountered no bugs or glitches in my playthrough, which adds to the whole experience of it all.
Enemies Can Pack A Punch If You’re Not Careful
With all that said, it’s still a top-down extraction shooter at its core, and despite it not having PvP and looking incredibly silly and adorable, it’s anything but easy. Luckily, you’re free to change your difficulty as you please from the bunker, but even the easiest mode can be daunting if you’re not prepared.
You have your normal Scavengers and goon-looking ducks, as well as the stronger built enemies, and the named elite ones who get tougher to beat with every new map. Upgrading your duck, your armor, weapons—everything—is essential. Thus, getting better and stronger feels doubly thrilling with their progression system. Every upgrade feels meaningful and useful, which motivates you to keep going and growing, eliminating stronger and stronger enemies until you can finally escape from Duckov. After all, if it was as easy as it looks, it wouldn’t make for a very thrilling game, would it?
Mod Support From Day One
Extraction shooter gameplay can easily get repetitive over time, and you either love it or hate it. Luckily enough, for those who want a little more, Escape from Duckov comes into full launch with in-game mod support, allowing for more customization of gameplay to your liking.
It’s something small, but most games usually add mod support as an afterthought or after a few months, so with the developers allowing for more personalization in gameplay from the get go really expands the horizons for the game on top of the already 50+ hours you’ll get from the main campaign.
RNG Can Be Mean Though
Gameplay is incredibly fun, I admit, but RNG…maybe not as much. Granted, it is an extraction shooter and that’s the whole point of…extracting items from outside of your safe area. However, Escape from Duckov’s RNG might just be a little too unforgiving at times.
More often than not, you’ll be going back to your bunker without the necessary quest items you’d need, despite searching all over the darn map for that one gallon of Bleach you need for crafting. There is a Merchant where you can buy these quest items from, yes, but he has a limit too, and he only accepts paper cash, which are farmed from other (roast) ducks. This is evident in the beginning where you only have a rather small map (Ground Zero) to explore.
Luckily, it gets better as you unlock bigger, better maps to traverse, but the beginning starts off immensely slow because of the randomization sometimes.
Why Is This Not a Co-Op Multiplayer?!
If there’s one thing that disappoints me the most, it’s the lack of a multiplayer option. Now, don’t come rioting at me—not all games need multiplayer, I know, but with how fun this game is, it’s saddening how it’s not available for co-op. I’m not a big fan of the cheaters and bots that come with most PvP extraction shooters so I see why it may not have been an option in the first place, but a co-op PvE would have been fun too. And come on, who doesn’t want to play as gun-wielding ducks with their best buds?
It’s a PvE game at its core and it’s honestly pretty solid the way it is, but if there was an option to play with other friends or players, I believe it would elevate the experience even more.
Is Escape from Duckov Worth It?
Ducking Worth It
Escape from Duckov is worth the grind, and will definitely scratch the itch for extraction shooter enthusiasts who want a less stressful title but with all the fun and challenge of bigger ones like Escape from Tarkov. It looks absolutely silly, but the meme-ness of being a duck quickly fades into the background with how fun and exciting the routine gameplay and the progression are.
If you’re looking for a singleplayer shooter game that won’t break the bank and is all fun and games, Escape from Duckov might just be your best bet.
| Digital Storefronts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Steam |
Epic Games |
Mac App Store |
| $17.99 | ||
Escape from Duckov FAQ
Does Escape from Duckov have multiplayer?
No, Escape from Duckov is strictly a singleplayer PvE top-down extraction shooter.
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Escape from Duckov Product Information
 |
|
| Title | Escape from Duckov |
|---|---|
| Release Date | October 16, 2025 |
| Developer | Team Soda |
| Publisher | bilibili |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Mac |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Escape from Duckov Official Website |
