Animals and humans have lived in harmony since the beginning of recorded history. While games featuring man’s dopey best friend are essentially a staple of the medium, there is one somewhat cantankerous animal who has quietly amassed a very admirable library of games. That animal, you may be surprised to hear, is the duck.
From bombastic multiplayer games, to precision platforming titles, to storied JRPGs, the duck has acquired some fantastic credits to its name. These games go all the way back to the Nintendo Entertainment System and are still being released to this day. Duck-centric games are the sub-genre gamers never knew they loved.
10 Duck Hunt - The OD (Original Duck)
Duck Hunt isn’t so much for people who want a duck game as it is for those who want to take their frustration out on ducks. But you cannot deny its simple charms. From its notorious giggling dog, to those bulbous-eyed quackers, Duck Hunt is a classic that absolutely deserves its status.
Its pickup and play style will lure you in and grab hold. Though be warned, you may find yourself haunted by the extraordinarily simple, yet incredibly catchy, chiptunes long after you put your lightgun down.
9 Animal Crossing - Build Your Own Ducktopia
From the snooty Mallary to the lazy Drake, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has all the duck villagers you could ask for. With 17 in all, you will actually have to pick and choose which ducks fit the bill.
Even better, you can stack your town with lazy ducks and peppy ducks. There is a healthy supply of sporty ducks you can sprinkle in as well. A duck for every mood! Just be careful with Quilson, as he is the one smug duck. No matter how you build your little utopia there is only one requirement: You are going to need a good pond.
8 Duck Game - Fowl Play
Duck Game is perfect for quick bouts of multiplayer fun. Duck, dodge, and roll past your opponents. Hop around platforms and take your shot, while avoiding your opponents'. All you need to do is hit them once to take them out, but the same applies for you as well.
The frenetic nature of the game means that even if you are defeated early you won’t have to wait long before the next match starts. It even comes with a dedicated quack button. This is an action-packed game with quackitude and it is absolutely worth your time.
7 Kingdom Hearts 2 - The Duck With The Magic Touch
Who will ever forget the touching moment in Kingdom Hearts 2 where a beloved cast member sacrifices their life only to have a distraught Donald say “I’m sorry about the ice cream!” This is the kind of gravitas that only Donald Duck could bring to a game.
Not only does Donald bring the drama, but he acts as your team’s healer. Some Kingdom Hearts fans have (slanderously) claimed he is a useless party member, but those people are almost certainly forgetting the moments where Sora, barely surviving with a pixel of health, had a saintly duck cast cure on him. At the end of the day, Donald Duck is clutch.
6 Ponpu - Bomberman With A Bill
Ponpu is basically Bomberman if Bomberman featured one of the slickest art styles ever seen in a game, with an engaging, elastic style of gameplay incorporating light exploration and dynamic puzzle solving. Oh, and cosmic ducks. Yes, it has an incredible multiplayer mode with a whole suite of modes, but it also has a pleasing single-player campaign to go along with it.
What about those cosmic ducks, though? Well, they are monstrous. These swollen, otherworldly ducks look like something from out of a Lovecraftian horror story. Which is fitting, as that is exactly what they are. Consider it part of their charm.
5 DuckTales - Woo-Hoo
DuckTales is easily one of the most iconic duck games ever made. It is so beloved that it received a sequel and a remake. All the Shovel Knight fans of the world should pay their respects to this timeless classic as well, because that super satisfying pogo mechanic originated from Ducktales.
Scrooge controls like a dream here. The height you can get off of his pogo attack allows the game to have a level of verticality rarely seen in platformers of this era. You will use that to do more than just fight enemies too, as there are a ton of secret treasures to locate hidden throughout the stages (which is pretty on theme for a DuckTales game). So engage in some derring-do and give this classic your attention.
4 Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden - Metro ReDux
Mutant Year Zero is an underrated gem that got lost in the shuffle. This tactical RPG prominently features a grizzled, grog loving duck named Dux. Join Dux, and his stalker buddy Boreman, as they attempt to survive in the post-apocalypse.
Dux doesn’t hit as hard as his shotgun-wielding companion, and instead, he approaches combat from the shadows. Dux comes equipped with a crossbow allowing him to engage without alerting other enemies. This makes Dux extremely valuable, as there is a heavy stealth component to Mutant Year Zero. Come for the excellent tactical combat, stay for the fast-talking duck.
3 Tiny Toon Adventures - A Plucky Platformer
Released at the very end of the Nintendo Entertainment System’s life, Tiny Toon Adventures is an incredibly polished Konami platformer. Stages progress in a linear fashion, but stages often have more than one way to approach them. Players are also able to select one of three characters (to accompany Buster Bunny) who all come with their own unique abilities.
One of these protagonists is Tiny Toon’s own Plucky Duck. He comes packed with the ability to hover for a short period of time. This is, as all platformer lovers should know, an absolute godsend. Moreover, to add to the duck quota, Duck Vader makes an appearance as a secret boss here. Don’t duck this classic.
2 Darkwing Duck - Let’s Get Dangerous
At a glance, Darkwing Duck seems to be a lot like a Mega Man game. The way you move, the way you jump, the way you shoot, and the way the levels are designed are all unquestionably similar to Mega Man. There is definitely some shared DNA here, as this is a Capcom developed game, after all.
However, Darkwing does have a few unique tools that help him stand out. For starters, he can cling onto different surfaces, he can block incoming projectiles, and he can duck bullets. He also has access to different gadgets, though they work more like Castlevania sub-weapons than Mega Man weapons. One last thing, he is a duck version of Batman in a Mega Man game. What else do you really need?
1 Suikoden 3 - Featuring The Waddling Warrior, Sgt. Joe
The Suikoden series is well known for having a large variety of fantasy races, but Suikoden 3 introduced a particularly interesting one (and you should probably see where this is going): duck people! That’s right, there is an entire race of duck people in Suikoden 3. Moreover, three of them are recruitable. That means that it is possible (and preferable) to have half of your party filled with ducks.
Of the three ducks, one Sgt. Joe stands out. He is a stoic, reliable mentor to one of the central heroes of the game. That is right, Sgt. Joe is one of the primary supporting characters in this classic Role Playing Game. Suikoden 3 is a great game in its own right, but it deserves top billing for duck enthusiasts.
Untitled Goose Game - Honk!
Uh oh, it's you again. While yes, technically, there is no duck in Untitled Goose Game, there is one waterfowl who doesn’t concern themselves with such trivialities: said game’s iconic, mischievous titular goose.
Untitled Goose Game is a delightful romp. One where you inhabit a goose and cause utter chaos for the residents of a sleepy town (while solving clever puzzles along the way). Whether you are stealing a child’s toy, or dropping a bucket on someone’s head, Untitled Goose Game will release the inner horrible goose in you. Honk!