Duck Side of the Moon Review - Fowl Play In Deep Space
Space exploration usually involves desperate survival mechanics, but it turns out the infinite void is incredibly relaxing if you tackle it as an overworked waterfowl.
I've played my fair share of intense sci-fi games where every shadow hides a terrifying alien. Duck Side of the Moon throws all that out the airlock. Developed by Starbrew Games, this cozy collectathon sends Doug, an exhausted duck astronaut, crashing into an asteroid belt populated by anthropomorphic geodes. Instead of fighting for my life, I found myself embarking on a surprisingly emotional coming-of-age journey. It's silly, it's earnest, and it's exactly the palate cleanser I needed.
Waddling Through The Cosmos
The core loop revolves around zero-gravity exploration and gathering resources at your own pace. There aren't any oxygen meters or hostile creatures to ruin your day.
Seamless Flight
Doug controls like an absolute dream. You get a built-in booster and bounce off spring-loaded launchpads that make darting around these floating islands ridiculously fun. It feels completely freeing. I just glided between the rocks, zapping floating minerals with my mining laser and taking in the gorgeous, stylized art direction. You have total freedom in how you traverse, blending ground waddling with smooth aerial drifts.
The Point Of No Return
Before you blast past the tutorial area in a rush to see the rest of the galaxy, make sure you vacuum up every single collectible. Duck Side of the Moon has a strict point of no return for its starting zone. If you leave early, those chests and missing outfits are locked away for the rest of your save file. Trust me, you don't want to realize you missed a crucial upgrade four hours into the game. Take it slow and mine everything you see.
Geodes And Emotional Damage
The narrative sneaks up on you. You start by just chatting with quirky talking rocks and doing simple fetch quests.
A Heartfelt Narrative
Then, out of nowhere, the game hits you with deeply relatable themes of burnout, parental expectations, and figuring out where you belong in the universe. The cutscenes are genuinely touching. I went in expecting purely goofy antics and ended up feeling incredibly attached to Doug's personal growth. Chippy, your overly protective onboard computer, adds some great context to why you're so restricted early on, tying the story and mechanics together beautifully.
Collecting Bolts And Feathers
You spend most of your roughly five-hour playtime grabbing crafting materials to upgrade your ship and unlock adorable outfits.
Inventory Quirks
The gathering system is wonderfully low-stakes, but the inventory management gets annoying quickly. Every piece of ore you pick up takes up a single slot, and vital quest items eat up your limited space too. You're going to be juggling your pockets constantly. It's a slight bump in an otherwise perfectly smooth ride.
Minigames And Quacks
When I needed a break from mining, I stumbled into a carnival area packed with minigames. I spent an unreasonable amount of time at the bowling alley and shooting gallery just to earn tokens for vendor items. It's a fantastic distraction. I also can't forget the most important mechanic: the dedicated quack button. You can press it anytime, and if you hold it down, it acts as a sonar ping for hidden items. I spammed it constantly (I'm not apologizing for the terrible duck puns either, it's a fowl habit). The rewards are usually new cosmetics, letting you dress Doug up in everything from a chef uniform to a frog suit.
The Verdict
Duck Side of the Moon delivers a cozy, stress-free adventure that perfectly hits the mark. It balances charming exploration with a narrative that has surprising emotional weight. If you want to chill out and dress a duck in a backward baseball cap, you're in the right place.
8/10 A quacking good time from start to finish.
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.
