Ahead of the Game - Quack Bag: Duck Mafia shows you what happens when you block a duck's path on the street
It's a proper street showdown
- Shoot your foes as a dangerous duck
- Merge and maximise your backpack
- Earn money for upgrades and more
It's all about shooting anything that stands in your way in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
Okay, now - this is just getting ridiculous. I'm starting to feel like there's some sort of duck-based conspiracy afoot, as all I've been seeing on the Early Access section on Google Play lately are ducks. And I suppose conspiracies are very much on-brand in this week's entry, which is aptly titled Quack Bag: Duck Mafia.
It is, as you might expect, exactly what it says on the tin. You play as the duck mafia out to get fellow duck mafias (sometimes they're pigeons and turkeys, and that's okay). You were essentially just rolling around in your old-school mafia-looking car out on the streets one day when a bunch of duck mafia goons in fancy top hats decided to wander into your path to block your way just because they felt like it - and so in your divine rage, you've decided to take up arms to eliminate them all.
What results is a backpack management auto-battler where you pick everything from crude knives and baseball bats to shotguns and hand grenades, and as you merge lower-level ducks and gear into higher-level ones, you'll also get to unlock more grids to add to your "backpack".
You'll then need to organise and maximise your space Tetris-like to make sure everything's efficiently placed, because weapons can only work when placed next to a duck. There's a surprising amount of strategy involved here for something that has such a hilarious premise, and when waves are over, you get to retreat to the main menu, where you can upgrade your duck's talents and your weapons with all your hard-earned cash.
What I absolutely love about it all is that each time you mow down your enemies mercilessly with your high-powered guns, they'll explode in a flurry of feathers or get disintegrated into a pile of bones. And each time you win, an explosion of cold, hard cash fills the screen - just like it should in a proper duck mafia scenario.
So, how do you play Quack Bag: Duck Mafia?
As mentioned, it's currently in its early access phase on Google Play, but honestly, I don't see anything unpolished with the way it plays at the moment. I love how the ads aren't intrusive - it's all optional, as you can choose to watch them if you're looking for extra grids, more powerful weapons, and other perks in battle. The visuals and sound effects are all lovely too, and the derpy ducks, being the stars of the show, are as adorable as they are deadly - and I couldn't ask for more.
