Duckers on iOS: Mine for treasures in this relaxing endless runner
The "endless runner" genre on iPhone and iPad has plenty of options, as games like Temple Run, Jetpack Joyride and countless others have climbed the iTunes app charts by offering variations on the survival concept: make it as far as you can in a single direction without failing. While many of these games offer hectic and even stressful experiences as you run or climb in each environment, Retro Dreamer's new iPhone and iPad game Duckers offers a relaxing, yet still satisfying take on the same premise.
In Duckers, you'll find yourself placed in the role of a series of absolutely adorable critters (mostly ducks) that are searching for treasure. While digging in the ground one day, a lone blue duck finds a jar containing a magical blue light or flame that gives the animals the power to mine through endless layers of dirt and collect dozens of treasures along the way. The basic action in Duckers is rather slow-moving and deliberate, as you're shown your animal at the top of the screen and must then tap and drag in the downward direction you'd like the character to move (like a torpedo through the ground), aiming him/her at treasures while also avoiding obstacles.
These obstacles become more difficult to avoid or at least more frequent as you descend into the earth, and come in the form of spike strips, spike-backed turtles, electric lines, turrets and more. If you run into one of these, it's game over, but there are plenty of upgrades and power-ups that you can purchase in the store (using the coins you've earned by collecting treasures) that will allow you to extend your game time, either by reviving a fallen critter or by simply allowing you to take a few hits before actually failing a level. You can also purchase additional environments for your game, allowing the critters to dig through layers of ice, volcanic rock and even cake and icing!
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While the majority of your time with Duckers will be spent digging through the earth, you'll occasionally come upon caverns as you're mining. These put you into freefall and bring in tilt controls, as you'll tilt your device to dodge obstacles (both moving and stationary) while collecting lots of bonus treasures along the way. Outside of these two major features, the game relies heavily on upgrades in the store to keep the mining fresh, so it would have been nice to see some sort of missions system implemented as well (say, collect 100 purple crystals, or dodge five electricity obstacles, as examples).
Even without missions, Duckers is still an entertaining experience, made all the more so with the inclusion of some incredibly cute art and animations. While Duckers may not be as challenging as other games in the genre, it's available to download for free, so there's really no excuse not to try it out and see if the more relaxed setup is to your liking.
Click here to download Duckers on iTunes --->
Have you tried Duckers on your iPhone or iPad? What do you think of the game's theme and graphics? Share your thoughts on this one with us in the comments!
