Ducky’s Delivery Service review for PC, Nintendo Switch

As strange as it sounds, throughout my time playing Ducky’s Delivery Service, I was consistently reminded of one game: Super Mario Bros. Or, more specifically, Level 2-2 of Super Mario Bros, otherwise known as the first water level.

On the surface, this comparison probably sounds absurd. After all, Ducky’s Delivery Service is about a flying duck (delivering mail, as you probably gathered from the name) – arguably about as far from swimming as you can get. And yet, somehow, the comparison seems unavoidable.

This is because even if the setting is different, the mechanics feel awfully similar. You float across the screen. You have to rely on momentum as opposed to running in one direction or another. You use one button to flap your wings. While it’s far from a one to one comparison, I feel like SMB and Ducky’s Delivery Service have more in common than you might assume at first glance.

Obviously, there’s more to Ducky’s Delivery Service than just that surface-level comparison. The game shows that there’s ways to stretch that core mechanic out far beyond just one level. There are the usual runs, where more packages delivered means more points means unlocking more of your progress – but there are also time attacks, in case you really want to up the difficulty and see how well you’ve mastered flying (and throwing packages at mailboxes, but as someone who didn’t master that, I’ll just say it takes more skill than I possess).

Still, when you get down to it, Ducky’s Delivery Service feels very much like a classic platformer – if not the archetypal 2D platformer. It’s obviously not going to have the same level of fame or influence, but it’s fun enough that it’s worth playing.

C.T. Matthews provided us with a Ducky’s Delivery Service PC code for review purposes.