SuperDuck!

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

SuperDuck! Is a family-friendly Puzzle-Platformer released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022. This game is very clearly directly based on the 1992 Simpsons-licensed game Krusty’s Fun House (wow, deep cuts, right?), which itself was strongly inspired by the classic 1991 game Lemmings. However, as I often say, there’s nothing wrong with a game being a copycat, so long as it’s a good copycat, so the question is, is SuperDuck! A good copycat? Er… Copyduck?

The presentation here is pretty good, featuring pixel art characters and backgrounds. It’s nothing impressive in any way, but it is at least appealing. This is joined by some really adorable squawking from the ducklings whenever they’re nearby, and it’s all backed by some nice, chill background music. I will knock this game’s presentation in one area, though – the menu interface looks like it’s from a cheap mobile game.

As for the gameplay… yeah, this is a pretty good take on the Krusty’s Fun House style of Puzzle-Platformer. For those who aren’t aware, the concept is that there are a bunch of rats (ducklings here) wandering around aimlessly, and you need to create a path through the level to guide them to an exit. Where Lemmings had players doing this directly using a cursor, Krusty’s Fun House and SuperDuck! have players moving through the level in the form of a Platformer, where they need to pick up and place down boxes to help enable the ducks to reach their destination.

SuperDuck! doesn’t do anything to shake up or revolutionize the formula Krusty’s Fun House established, but it’s nevertheless a good rendition of that formula, with some excellent level design. One level in particular actually got me to smile with how clever its puzzle is, and plenty of others required a bit of thinking. I’ll note that the game has 56 levels, and at $4 this actually seems like a pretty good bargain. For comparison, Krusty’s Fun House had 58 levels.

As for complaints, I have two. Firstly, the actual platforming here isn’t that great – the titular SuperDuck! Jumps pretty high, and players don’t really have much control over this, something that becomes frustrating when players need to dodge hazards. And secondly, while the game does have a “fast forward” button, it doesn’t speed things up enough, meaning you’ll still be waiting doing nothing as the remainder of your ducklings reach the exit.

Still, while there are definitely areas where this game could be improved, I was overall delightfully surprised by SuperDuck! As a modern alternative to Krusty’s Fun House, this is surprisingly competent. And while this game doesn’t do anything especially new or game-changing, it is nevertheless a solid Puzzle-Platformer that’s well worth playing for fans of the genre, and especially those who enjoyed Krusty’s Fun House back in the day.

tl;dr – SuperDuck! Is a family-friendly Puzzle-Platformer that’s clearly directly inspired by the classic game Krusty’s Fun House (which in turn was inspired by Lemmings). Players must navigate levels, moving around blocks to clear a path for a flock of ducklings to reach an exit. This game doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it is nevertheless a solid take on the classic formula, with some good level design. Definitely worth a look for Puzzle-Platformer fans.

Grade: B-

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