Tarkov-like by name but not by nature, Escape From Duckov is already flying on Steam

If you had given me ten attempts to guess the premise of the first game to ape Escape From Tarkov's name, I'd never have got it. Honestly, if you'd given me 100 attempts, I never would've guessed Escape From Duckov. Yet here we are. Replacing mercenaries with ducks and swapping FPS tension for top-down carnage, it's Tarkov-like by name, but not really by nature. The tongue-in-cheek wordplay and its PvE looter shooter premise has resulted in a surge of players following its launch today, and I'm tempted to check it out myself.

Please don't go into Escape From Duckov expecting proper, Tarkov-style gameplay. Yes, it's a survival game. Yes, you shoot guns. And yes, you can extract with the loot you find. But there are no careful tactics, no progression wipes, and most blatantly of all, it's not a hardcore, multiplayer FPS game. Oh, and there are ducks. So many ducks.

While Duckov has had its fair share of alpha tests and player feedback, today's full release promises plenty of new content. It's added difficulty modes, for starters, which can be fully customized to your wants and needs.

But I don't think even developer Team Soda expected this kind of response to its playful, loot-based survival shooter. Sure, it's implemented the aforementioned feedback (like dead bodies turning into roasted ducks instead of plain old boxes), but it's peaked at nearly 35,000 concurrent Steam players on release day at the time of writing. This could grow further yet if more players flock for a bit of feathered fun.

To keep players engaged, Team Soda also promises free content updates based on player feedback-after a short holiday, of course. In fact, it already deployed a hotfix to squash some bugs and improve playability. If you're having trouble still, just make sure you've started a fresh save for the full game-you'll have to earn back all that progress.

If you're excited for some duck-on-duck warfare, this top-down looter shooter could be just the game for you. I already see the potential for it to go viral on Twitch and YouTube, so hop in to say you were there before it went mainstream.

Escape From Duckov is available now on Steam, for $15.83 / £15.83. You can buy it here, if you ignore the fact that British people are being shafted on the exchange rates. We probably deserve it.

If you want some more bullet-heavy games, why not check out our best war games list? If you're simply looking for your another great solo experience you can sink hours into, head to our best single-player games guide.

Will you be getting your duck on? Let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and readers discuss the best way to make a hoisin pancake.