Placid Plastic Duck Simulator was a game my partner was very hyped about when I told him I bought it. This led me to have high expectations for a rubber duck simulator. In reality, I think it's best to approach this game with no expectations other than that tagline.
In this game, you watch rubber ducks. That is it. There is next to no interactivity. It is an idle game, a screensaver, something to leave on the TV. And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.
Visually, the game looks fine. It's not pushing any boundaries but it's pleasant. The game has two maps, and I feel it could have benefitted from more, as the two locations do get boring after a while.
The gameplay is very simply, as you idle, a timer will fill up, and you will get a new duck every couple of minutes. There are three packs of ducks, adding up to 79 unique ducks to collect overall. This is less than the steam version which has an extra 26. You can focus the camera on ducks you have, and make them quack, or, if they have interactability, you can use them.
The achievements in this game are entirely RNG based. I really would not recommend this if you're a fan of active gaming, as this game is nearly entirely beaten by idling. Even the most interactive achievements require both idling to get certain ducks, and then idling as you meet the criteria. That being said, I think this is a great achievement game for people who like idle games. It doesn't have the same power curve of most idle games, but it's still quite satisfying to see what new duck you get.
The soundtrack in the game is quite bizarre, being the sound of the radio and the various tunes on it. Some stations were very strange but other ones sounded very relaxing. The sound is spatial, so you hear it louder when you're on the pool chair camera vs in the pool.
Overall, I'd give this game a 3. It's a fine game, and will absolutely meet your expectations if you go into it knowing it is literally a rubber duck simulator. Anything more, and you'll be a bit disappointed.
3.0