Escape from Duckov PREVIEW: I Plucked This Beak-Biting Eggstraction Shooter and It’s No Yolk

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If someone had mentioned that one of the highlights of my Gamescom experience would be a humorous shooter based around birds, I likely wouldn’t have been surprised given my affinity for games like Escape from Duck Hunt. This game earns points just for its name, but there’s more to it than meets the eye, even if it does have some obvious and rather bird-brained flaws.

I promise I’ll stop the bird-related puns now.

Let’s embark on this journey together as we delve into a comprehensive sneak peek of “Escape from Duckov“, unraveling the intricacies of its design, one piece at a time. This game has the potential to evolve into a breathtaking masterpiece.

Extreme Bird Bashing Action

After an exhilarating week at Gamescom, I got the chance to try out Escape from Duckov and let me tell you, it’s a satirical extraction shooter packed with laughter! While it’s not perfect, its quirks only add to its charm, offering a gaming experience that’s full of comedic promise.

In the game “Escape from Duckov”, you assume the role of a customizable bird character. At the outset, you have the liberty to personalize your bird, either choosing a pre-made all-yellow chick or designing something outlandish. The user-friendly sliders enable you to unleash your creativity, potentially resulting in a bird that resembles more of a wandering beak than a traditional avian form.

I mean…

Once prepared, you’ll be immersed in the quirky world of “Escape from Duckov,” a playful nod to “Escape from Tarkov,” the much-anticipated tactical shooter that has finally announced its official release date following nearly 8 years in beta development.

In Escape from Duckov, you follow a simple gameplay loop:

  • Enter the world
  • Loot, shoot, and survive
  • Extract again
  • Rinse and repeat

While navigating the quaint, miniature, and endearing map designs, you’ll discover an array of items useful for constructing stations and enhancing amenities within your sanctuary, trading with merchants, or accomplishing tasks. These items are accompanied by numerous side missions to engage in, symbolized by a diverse assortment of goals.

I was truly taken aback by the intense brutality in the game Escape from Duckov. Instead of using everyday objects like a bat or a gun, you engage in fierce battles against dogs and other birds. The outcome is quite graphic, with an eruption of blood and gore that quickly fades to reveal a ‘loot box’ from defeated enemies – something reminiscent of cooked chicken on a serving platter.

Should you meet your end at any moment, the usual mechanism for retrieving a shooter kicks into action, sending you back to your designated safehouse – in this instance, a bunker. Unfortunately, all items you were carrying will be left behind, but you’ll have an opportunity to retrace your steps to where you fell and recover your discarded belongings.

Similarities Run Deep

In a simpler and more conversational style, here’s how you could rephrase the original statement:

“Duckov’s Escape bears a strong resemblance to Escape from Tarkov in numerous aspects. The similarity is evident right from the names. As I delved deeper into the game, I discovered themes, symbols, gameplay mechanics, and even map names that closely resemble those found in Escape from Tarkov.

The initial map on display is referred to as Ground Zero, one of the starting maps found within Escape from Tarkov. Many popular weapons in this game such as the PM Pistol, AKS74, and TOZ shotgun are commonly used, much like how players in Tarkov can exit a raid by locating a green flare and remaining stationary in a designated area for several seconds. This method of extraction is essentially the same as most extractions found within Tarkov.

Even the trader, stash, and mission systems are reminiscent of Escape from Tarkov.

Given the circumstances, it’s hard to give Escape from Duckov a genuine, unbiased assessment, regardless of how engaging its gameplay or rewarding its combats might be.

There are differences, of course.

In a simpler and more conversational style,

Duckov and Tarkov are two different games with distinct perspectives. Duckov is played from an overhead view, while Tarkov is a first-person shooter. On tougher settings in Duckov, there’s a ‘fog of war’ effect that restricts your vision to the direction your character is looking. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Duckov offers multiple difficulty levels to cater to each player’s skill level.

Also, Escape from Duckov is (for now) entirely single-player.

Imperfection

Shining in aspects like its enchanting color scheme, engaging combat features, and personalization options, not to mention the delightful addition of a canine sidekick, makes “Escape from Duckov” truly stand out. The potential of its hideout construction system is clear, and there’s no shortage of activities to engage in, even at the demo stage.

I also know that expansions, including new maps, are already planned.

Despite the demo showcasing several intriguing aspects, it encountered numerous problems pertaining to its user interface, menu navigation, and accessibility features such as subtitles. Frequently, task and dialogue subtitles were replaced with generic text, which can be challenging given that the game does not feature voiceovers. Additionally, the balance of difficulty occasionally seemed unbalanced.

In Escape from Duckov, some aspects seem rather puzzling. For example, scattered throughout the game map are teleportation points that abruptly transport you to different locations with no apparent purpose. Although I suspect there may be a reason behind their existence, I haven’t come across any explanations so far.

As a hardcore gamer, I’ve found myself immersed in Escape from Duckov for quite some time now. But, I can’t help but feel that if multiplayer (PvP) elements were incorporated into the game, it could grab the attention of many more players like me.

I know the developers have their plates full with tasks such as adding subtitles and refining the user interface, but once those basics are taken care of, I believe a PvP mode would be an exciting addition to Duckov’s world.

Let me know what you think about Escape from Duckov on the TopMob forum.

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2025-08-24 22:19