Duck Side of the Moon review – A cute and cosy adventure

I didn’t think a game about an astronaut duck could make me feel all emotional, but here we are. Short but wonderfully sweet, Duck Side of the Moon is a cosy game about repairing a spaceship so you can leave the planet you’ve crashed on. But along the way, you’ll make friends with the geode-shaped residents, and maybe finding your way home might not be so important after all.

You’ll complete Duck Side of the Moon in four hours or less, which is the only downside to this wonderful small-world adventure. Free of combat and peril, you’ll explore at your own pace, discovering secrets, collecting resources, and upgrading and repairing your ship as you go. You’ll have various side-quests to complete, like winning a race to show a geode boy just how fast you can fly, or making a rock-cake. You don’t have to do any of them if you don’t want – but you probably will want to eke out as much joy as possible from this delightful little game.

Taking control of Doug, the titular duck who has crash-landed his spaceship, you can either walk or fly, making island-hopping between the planet’s floating landmasses a doddle. From the offset you’ll be equipped with a mining gun which lets you dig out various minerals buried in rock, but over time you’ll unlock new tools, too, like a powerful magnet, and the ability to blow up certain walls of rock to discover new environments.

You can simply stick to the task at hand if you like, which will see you crafting certain upgrades needed for repairing your ship, and following a quest line with key characters. But where’s the fun in that? The world of Duck Side of the Moon is very compact, but it’s worth exploring to see what secrets you can find.

Essentially a game of two halves, Duck Side of the Moon opens up more when you reach the second area of the game, a bigger part of the planet which provides more opportunities for exploration and adventure. Here, there are various minigames you can take part in, from a minecart shooting challenge to a game of bowling. You’ll have to do one or two of them as part of the main storyline, but you can keep playing to your heart’s content, setting high scores and gathering tokens which can be spent in a nearby shop. Ultimately it’s all pretty pointless, but hey, it’s fun.

With a world that’s a joy to explore and a heartwarming story that’ll make even the most steely of you crack a smile, there’s a lot to love about Duck Side of the Moon. Whether you’re looking for a cosy game for a youngster to play or want something stress-free to play yourself, it’s well worth spending some time with. I just wish it was longer: the upgrade loop here is so rewarding that it’s a shame there’s not more involved in repairing your ship.