Escape from Duckov is a lighter-than-life take on the extraction shooter genre, taking what Escape from Tarkov did so well and fusing it with… Birds? It might seem quirky on the surface, but Escape from Duckov is more challenging and violent than you’d expect, and that’s partly why it has rocketed on Steam.
Escape from Duckov has become one of the most-played extraction shooters on Valve’s platform within days of release, and in the first day on the market, the title secured a whopping 200,000 sales – and continued to soar.
Escape from Duckov is Running Wild
Escape from Duckov comes from Team Soda and is published by Bilibili. It’s a far cry from the Russian-backed Escape from Tarkov with its gritty tones and unwelcoming operating model, but it’s still making a name for itself as a legitimately enjoyable extraction shooter.
For now, Escape from Duckov is PvE only, but that might change given the game’s success.
In Escape from Duckov, you assume control of a bird that you customize from the ground up, embarking on raids into a hostile world packed with fowl operators eager to bash the feathers off you. It uses traditional weapons and armor; the only difference here is that you’re controlling an anthropomorphized bird.
One of my favorite elements of Escape from Duckov is the base-building minigame that allows you to fully flesh out a customized hideout.
On Steam, Escape from Duckov has rocketed, in addition to securing more than 200,000 sales.
It hit fourth place in the top sellers chart and climbed to seventh place in wishlist activity before launch. The all-time player peak of 103,402 was secured minutes before writing this article, pushing the game to lofty heights rivalled in the extraction shooter space only by ARC Raiders.
It helps that the game hit a launch window sale, with the price of the game dropping as soon as it landed on the market.
Escape from Duckov is a refreshingly welcome addition to a genre that typically focuses on being as tough and off-putting as possible. Will you give Escape from Duckov a try? Let me know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Escape from Tarkov is coming to console
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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