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DONALD DUCK PK
review | GAMECUBE
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a.k.a. PK: Out of the Shadows
Publisher: Ubi Soft. Developer: Ubi Soft Casablanca. Released: November 2002. Genre: 3D Platformer. Other versions: PS2. Posted 4th July 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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Whilst Mickey Mouse continued to headline Disney games heading into the 21st Century, 2002 would see his long-time partner in crime, Donald Duck, star in his final lead role. Donald Duck PK would wrap up an 11-year run of seven platform adventures that offered plenty of quality and genuine flashes of brilliance. Developed by Quack Attack creators Ubi Soft Casablanca, PK would capitalise on the cel-shading trend to create a slick, morning-cartoon vibe, with the mercurial duck getting his shot at a 3D platformer with shooting elements and gadgets.
Donald Duck is cast as a security guard in a likeable intro sequence that shows him manning the cameras, daydreaming about playing the hero. As fortune has it, this is exactly what transpires as he is whisked away, gifted a costume and the moniker ‘PK’: Paperinik, the Italian name for the Superduck / Duck Avenger comics. This, along with a brief VR training sequence, proves an encouraging start, setting the scene for a fun escapade.
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PK looks dashing in his cape, but the levels struggle to leave an impact
PK controls well, responding quickly and assuredly to inputs, with a solid build ensuring there’s little in the way of technical hiccups, aside from the odd iffy jump and an occasionally errant camera. The shooting, which is accompanied by a lock-on feature that allows easy strafing, also functions without incident. Visuals showcase PK as the game’s most dynamic element, combining a good standard of animation (his cape is especially cool) with a clean, effective cel-shaded style, helping our intrepid hero look suitably dashing. Whilst the enemies are a little generic, it’s all pretty sturdy.
Sturdy, but rarely inspired. Reviewing a game that gets most of the basics right but offers very little of its own identity always presents a reviewing dilemma. It’s not a game you can talk about at length, unfortunately, as following its promising introduction, PK rather defaults to standard platforming fare. Like many of Donald Duck’s travails in gaming, it’s aimed at (and suitable for) children. It will provide a brief distraction for youngsters, but unlike Quackshot, there’s little sense of magic or adventure, and this stems from both a lack of creativity and a lack of personality.
Sturdy, but rarely inspired. Reviewing a game that gets most of the basics right but offers very little of its own identity always presents a reviewing dilemma. It’s not a game you can talk about at length, unfortunately, as following its promising introduction, PK rather defaults to standard platforming fare. Like many of Donald Duck’s travails in gaming, it’s aimed at (and suitable for) children. It will provide a brief distraction for youngsters, but unlike Quackshot, there’s little sense of magic or adventure, and this stems from both a lack of creativity and a lack of personality.
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Boss battles deliver the best moments and it’s a shame there are only two of them. Around the mid-point of the game, you’ll face malevolent scientist Zoster and his mechanised contraption. He tests PK via homing bombs, laser beams and electrified floors across a multi-phase fight that tests all of your dodging and shooting acumen. The final encounter with General Zondag is equally grand, as the player threads through waves of fiery attacks and must time charge attacks in a narrow window. These see the game at its most exciting and engaging.
Whilst PK’s platforming is serviceable, it’s also painfully unoriginal. Not the biggest sin a game can permit perhaps, but it’s an issue that comes to define all aspects of its design. PK obtains a number of special powers, but whether it’s a jetpack glide, a ground-breaking floor punch, or an Indiana Jones-esque rope swing, they all feel like matter-of-course inclusions, with the linear nature of the levels leaving little room for imaginative or exciting application. They’re rarely used to uncover secrets, or to offer alternative solutions to platforming challenges, and the game feels very prescribed as a result. There’s even a couple of completely pointless stealth sections, which you might as well just run through. The first few levels are particularly dull, and though things improve as the concentration of platforming challenges increases, the settings remain unmemorable.
Whilst PK’s platforming is serviceable, it’s also painfully unoriginal. Not the biggest sin a game can permit perhaps, but it’s an issue that comes to define all aspects of its design. PK obtains a number of special powers, but whether it’s a jetpack glide, a ground-breaking floor punch, or an Indiana Jones-esque rope swing, they all feel like matter-of-course inclusions, with the linear nature of the levels leaving little room for imaginative or exciting application. They’re rarely used to uncover secrets, or to offer alternative solutions to platforming challenges, and the game feels very prescribed as a result. There’s even a couple of completely pointless stealth sections, which you might as well just run through. The first few levels are particularly dull, and though things improve as the concentration of platforming challenges increases, the settings remain unmemorable.
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This lack of depth proves a defining hindrance to PK. Its qualities are only skin deep. I don’t mean everything falls apart when you investigate more closely, just that its foundation isn’t capitalised on with any sense of ambition or ingenuity. Too many of the levels have a generic, cartoon sci-fi future vibe with nothing to distinguish them individually. They’re nondescript to the point of disorientating at times, with few visual landmarks and next to nothing in the way of interesting or interactive scenery. After such a concerted attempt to establish a narrative at the beginning, dialogues are reduced to a small smattering of pointers thereafter, with so little to set the scene that encountering the game’s bosses will likely take you by surprise.
The adventure is brief, sporting around a dozen levels that can be beaten in a couple of sittings. Incentive for repeat runs is tenuous, with 40 scientists can optionally be rescued, though this aspect is poorly conceived. Whereas most platformers encourage the player to explore the levels and find secret areas, PK doesn’t really have any, so instead, starts a brief countdown timer whenever you’re near to locating a scientist, a task rendered onerous by an often-unhelpful camera. Should you fail to locate them, it will mean restarting the level, because when the timer reaches zero, they promptly die. You’ll need to rescue all of them to unlock an extended ending scene, but it isn’t worth it, either for the payoff or having to replay the game.
The adventure is brief, sporting around a dozen levels that can be beaten in a couple of sittings. Incentive for repeat runs is tenuous, with 40 scientists can optionally be rescued, though this aspect is poorly conceived. Whereas most platformers encourage the player to explore the levels and find secret areas, PK doesn’t really have any, so instead, starts a brief countdown timer whenever you’re near to locating a scientist, a task rendered onerous by an often-unhelpful camera. Should you fail to locate them, it will mean restarting the level, because when the timer reaches zero, they promptly die. You’ll need to rescue all of them to unlock an extended ending scene, but it isn’t worth it, either for the payoff or having to replay the game.
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The boss fights are the game's most exciting bits. Sadly, there are only two.
Ubi Soft Casablanca’s platformer would provide an inoffensive but uninspired end to Donald Duck’s gaming odyssey. Whilst it gets the basics right, produces reasonable graphics, solid platforming and a couple of great boss fights, its deep-rooted lack of originality, personality and longevity point to a game that needed more time in development. A quick comparison with Jak & Daxter and Sly Cooper revealed how far behind the curve PK was by comparison. Time had finally caught up with Donald Duck, his final starring role marking a muted conclusion to an at times spectacular run of platformers.
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VERDICT"Donald Duck's final starring role marked a muted conclusion to a glittering gaming legacy. PK produces reasonable graphics, solid platforming and a couple of great boss fights, but a complete absence of originality and a chronic lack of depth render it forgettable." OVERALL: 5/10 |
OTHER GAMES STARRING DISNEY CHARACTERS REVIEWED
Castle of Illusion (1990, Master System)
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Kingdom Hearts II (2006, PlayStation 2)
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