Ok, I can explain.
I've fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole with this game recently. I bought it and streamed it once back in
2022 and didn't think much of it. Then a few weeks later I got addicted, completing the base game and all of its achievements. Recently, in a moment of weakness, I purchased all the DLC and got addicted again. While I work on other things, I thought I'd funnel my obsession into something productive and work on a short review...hopefully short anyway…

Let's keep it nice and simple. In this game, you look at a pool and watch ducks. That is wholly it. every 5 minutes, a new duck spawns in. Clicking on a duck will let you spectate them, and clicking again makes them quack. You can also give each rubber duckie a special name in the collections menu. Some of the ducks do special actions every few minutes, like the Dragon duck breathes fire, and the propeller duck can fly. I can't stress enough that that's really it. Ducks spawn in, they float in the pool, and you watch them ♥♥♥♥ around. It's so simple and there's, debatably, no game play at all, and yet I've put in over 10 hours while writing this.

Since there's nothing much to talk about with the gameplay, then I'll move on to talking about the maps. With the DLC, there are 3 stages, Infinity Cool, Quacking the Ice, and Hippospace Download (inspired by the game Hypnospace Outlaw). Infinity Cool is my favourite. It's a basic pool with a few floaties on the side that can actually fall in. The top pool has a slide leading down to a hot tub area, which has a vacuum tube leading back up to the main pool. not too much there, but it's nice and simple. I didn't like Quacking the Ice initially. The upper pool is just a longer version of Infinity Cool's upper pool with a bit inside a ski lodge cabin, and a slide leading down to an Icy pond. I didn't think there was a way back up to the top pool, until I was utterly delighted to see a Zamboni come out of the shed and push the ducks into a mini cable car. Hippospace Download is my least favourite map. It has a massive pillar in the middle with another pool on top, a lazy river section, and more than a few slides. there's a lot of duck based play features, and even a hidden usable catapult, but it's just too cluttered. With a massive spire in the middle, the camera gets caught way too easy..

The negatives, of which there are only a few, need to be talked about. Once a duck spawns in, there's no way to despawn it, and the special and event ducks that can spawn in go away after the map is reloaded or quit. The camera can be difficult to say the least, getting caught and zooming in without input. I know part of the point is you have no control, but the inability to drag and drop ducks out of stuck spots and back into the pool is a sticking point for me.

So in summary, this is not a game. It is a glorified screen saver at best and a useless time waster at worst. But at only $2 for it.... I have to recommend. Despite it not even being a game, I find myself giving it 8 stars. Its creative and looks beautiful and a great way to spend an afternoon getting high on stream or on call with some friends. Even by yourself, it's a fun distraction. I've played 10 hours so far, will I be able to play more? Who can say. The only thing I Know is as soon as I finish typing, I'm opening it right back up to complete my collection.

PROS:
-Very easy to use menus and options
-great collection menu
-very nice music and amazing graphics
-potted plant duck

CONS:
-camera can be wonky
-gets boring in long sessions
-clown duck

8/10
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐★★

Ok, I can explain. I've fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole with this game recently. I bought it and streamed it once back in 2022 and didn't think much of it. Then a few weeks later I got addicted, completing the base game and all of its achievements. Recently, in a moment of weakness, I purchased all the DLC and got addicted again. While I work on other things, I thought I'd funnel my obsession into something productive and work on a short review...hopefully short anyway… Let's keep it nice and simple. In this game, you look at a pool and watch ducks. That is wholly it. every 5 minutes, a new duck spawns in. Clicking on a duck will let you spectate them, and clicking again makes them quack. You can also give each rubber duckie a special name in the collections menu. Some of the ducks do special actions every few minutes, like the Dragon duck breathes fire, and the propeller duck can fly. I can't stress enough that that's really it. Ducks spawn in, they float in the pool, and you watch them fuck around. It's so simple and there's, debatably, no game play at all, and yet I've put in over 10 hours while writing this. Since there's nothing much to talk about with the gameplay, then I'll move on to talking about the maps. With the DLC, there are 3 stages, Infinity Cool, Quacking the Ice, and Hippospace Download (inspired by the game Hypnospace Outlaw). Infinity Cool is my favourite. It's a basic pool with a few floaties on the side that can actually fall in. The top pool has a slide leading down to a hot tub area, which has a vacuum tube leading back up to the main pool. not too much there, but it's nice and simple. I didn't like Quacking the Ice initially. The upper pool is just a longer version of Infinity Cool's upper pool with a bit inside a ski lodge cabin, and a slide leading down to an Icy pond. I didn't think there was a way back up to the top pool, until I was utterly delighted to see a Zamboni come out of the shed and push the ducks into a mini cable car. Hippospace Download is my least favourite map. It has a massive pillar in the middle with another pool on top, a lazy river section, and more than a few slides. there's a lot of duck based play features, and even a hidden usable catapult, but it's just too cluttered. With a massive spire in the middle, the camera gets caught way too easy.. The negatives, of which there are only a few, need to be talked about. Once a duck spawns in, there's no way to despawn it, and the special and event ducks that can spawn in go away after the map is reloaded or quit. The camera can be difficult to say the least, getting caught and zooming in without input. I know part of the point is you have no control, but the inability to drag and drop ducks out of stuck spots and back into the pool is a sticking point for me. So in summary, this is not a game. It is a glorified screen saver at best and a useless time waster at worst. But at only $2 for it.... I have to recommend. Despite it not even being a game, I find myself giving it 8 stars. Its creative and looks beautiful and a great way to spend an afternoon getting high on stream or on call with some friends. Even by yourself, it's a fun distraction. I've played 10 hours so far, will I be able to play more? Who can say. The only thing I Know is as soon as I finish typing, I'm opening it right back up to complete my collection. PROS: -Very easy to use menus and options -great collection menu -very nice music and amazing graphics -potted plant duck CONS: -camera can be wonky -gets boring in long sessions -clown duck 8/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐★★