The new game demo dominating the Steam charts is an Escape from Tarkov parody game called, siiiiiigh, Escape from Duckov.
Yes, Escape from Duckov is a real game (proof here) that's geared for release sometime this year. It's billed as a single-player top-down looter-shooter where you "loot, escape, build, and eventually become a mighty bird soldier." It's obviously pretty blatantly inspired by Esape From Tarkov, the at-times controversial first-person extraction shooter that's been kicking around in beta since 2017.
Everything about Escape from Duckov essentially sounds like a sillier (Glocks are called Glicks), more casual (no multiplayer) take on the extraction shooter genre, and frankly, I would be 100% on-board with that idea if it weren't for that ducking name. Escape from Duckov?! It's not even punny!
Anyway, despite the name of the thing, people seem to really be vibing with Escape From... y'know what, I'm just gonna call it the duck game. IGN reported that it was the top Steam demo at the time of its reporting, and right now it's the fourth most-played demo on Steam, according to Valve itself. That's pretty impressive for any game, much less an Escape from Tarkov clone about ducks.
The story puts you in the unfortunate shoes of someone who's woken up from a strange dream and found themselves with li'l webbed feet instead of the aforementioned shoes. You're in Duckov now, and it's a highly dangerous place for ducks. Tread carefully when you venture outside your base, kill things, loot everything, and then return to upgrade your weapons and expand your settlement. Quack quack.
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