TUNIC

TUNIC
N/A
Metacritic
92
Steam
87.003
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Release date
16 March 2022
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
92 (10 105 votes)
Recent
90 (129 votes)

Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure.

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TUNIC system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel i5 Quad-Core
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Storage: 1 GB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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quenizhor
quenizhor

Very good game. Highly recommend if you like figuring things out through puzzles and a bit of hardcore isometric combat.

13brojac
13brojac

Great game! The combat and the exploration is fun and rewarding, but the real star of the show is the game manual and the game mechanics themselves. Slowly learning about the game through the pages is awesome, and the a-ha moments that come from piecing together the puzzles as you go can't be beat. The end game puzzles are also generally really clever and can be pretty devilish. I appreciate that, as hard as they can be, you aren't required to engage with them to beat the game or experience the bulk of what it has to offer. It's just a really nice bonus for those of us that enjoy the challenge. All around really well designed and fun, definitely recommend.

My one complaint is that puzzles that rely on forced perspective to hide stuff from you are kind of cheep. Especially when it's something like a hidden path that your character can just see.

Dacan
Dacan

A cute game where you play a fox. You unlock pages of a manual that helps you on your adventure, revealing mechanics of the game and giving you hints for secrets to find. There are SO many secrets too. At times where to go next and some of the secrets and hints seem a bit too obscure, but I recommend not going online for help unless you absolutely need it. Overall great game... highly recommend!

UnovaPal
UnovaPal

Love the little fox guy doin' dodge rolls. Regular enemies are a bit easy to fight, but bosses are really fun and atmospheric. Adorable art style. Has an amazing second act and the handbook is a treat of a puzzle. (9/10), would get eviscerated by the final boss again.

Inkskie
Inkskie

I ABSOLUTELY adore this game! The music, art style, and gameplay is phenomenal, and the implicit approach to the story was a unique take that I think really suits this game. The puzzles are AMAZING, and the fact that some of them are super challenging to find and solve made them so worthwhile, but I do admit that I am a puzzle-lover, so some may find the ambiguity and elusiveness of the puzzles meh. The act of putting together the guide for the game as well was such a unique aspect that I think added even more to its genius!

As for the combat that I've heard many complain, I honestly do not feel like the difficulty took away from any aspect of the gameplay, nor did it leave me feeling overwhelmingly frustrated. Saying that, the bosses do require strategic-thinking and pre-planning, so if you hope to beat it without that mindset and keep throwing yourself at them, then frustration is definitely a possibility.

So, all in all, if you are looking for a quaint indie game that has great graphics, music, story line, unique approaches, and strategic combat, don't hesitate to play Tunic!

Lupin NSA
Lupin NSA

I can't stress enough that this is probably one of my favorite games released this year. The second half of the game isn't going to vibe with everyone- it's heavily puzzle based where the majority of the game before that is focused on combat and exploration- but I would recommend patience and just use a guide for the parts that you don't want to spend putting together yourself.

That said, I love this game. Please play this game. Thank you.

NebulaAurora
NebulaAurora

One of the best games I have ever played! Figuring out the puzzles and finding the secrets of this world was an amazing experience! Definitely my game of the year!

Eekce
Eekce

You ever have a game that reaches you at the right time, really resonates with you, becomes a part of you? That's how I feel with TUNIC. I loved every bit of it playing blindly (the best way to experience this game), and honestly? I just can't put my love into words.

coffeecat
coffeecat

One of my favourite games of the decade. If you like Dark Souls and Zelda A Link to the Past, you'll love this game. It has tons of secrets, BUT all the secrets are very possible to unveil with the tools the game provides you. It has this in-game manual and you find its pages as you explore. It feels like you're playing an snes game with its manual on your lap, but the manual is *inside* the game. It's also written in runes, so it has that nostalgic feeling of playing an non-localized game in a language you don't understand as a kid. The difficulty is a bit high, but they added options to make it easier that you can turn on at any time. There's no shame in not git'n gud.

It's also cute af

PTibz
PTibz

TUNIC is my GOTY for 2022. It evokes the same feelings of true discovery that Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild did back when it released. Going in without knowing anything is the best way to play. Everyone should give it a try!

qazmlpok
qazmlpok

Tunic is a game with a concept that certainly sounds great. My problem is entirely with the execution.

Much of the game is about mystery; you start off with little idea of what you're capable of, and learning through the environment, accident, or the in-game instruction manual how to do things, and presumably you've always been capable of this, just had never any idea you had the option. This is good.

The problem is that this extends to the level design as well. The (almost always) fixed camera constantly hides things, including treasure, shops, ladders, and even entire areas. Expect to spend a lot of time running into walls, just in case there's a secret path there. I personally hate being kept in the dark from things the character I'm playing as should be able to blatantly see. It's acceptable if it's just a limitation of the gameplay or genre, e.g. your own character blocking your vision in a third person camera game. It's far less acceptable when it's so blatantly intentional, and pervasive throughout the entire game.

It's not as bad when it's something like opening up a shortcut; I came out of a forest and discovered I had walked back to the save point. "Oh, that's neat - now I can get there faster. I didn't even open anything up, so I bet I could've gone that way from the start if I had thought of it". The problem comes down to the overuse. Constantly searching for these areas gets tiresome, especially because many of them aren't optional. There's also no in-game way to permanently mark it; the instruction manual has comments written already, so it'd be nice if there was an option to add your own.

Beyond this constant running into walls, the dungeons are also very small and mostly linear. I'd rather see more sprawling, intricate areas, then just getting mixed up while always on the hunt for hidden chests or what not. I hadn't realized how linear they were until I got completely stuck and revisited every single area at least once trying to figure out what to do. So I guess it "worked", but it's still disappointing.

Combat is fine. I didn't think it was anything amazing, but also not horrible or anything. I don't have anything to say about it.

I'm pretty sure I got close to the end, or at least one not-best end. Then I got stuck. The navigation is just so infuriating at times, and I ended up getting stuck in the worst of it. I'm pretty sure I know how I got in to this areas, but simply couldn't find my way out even after 20 minutes of frustrated searching. And I realized that I simply was not having any fun, had no desire to inflict any more of this on myself, and quit.

Scoot
Scoot

Absolutely fantastic blend of old and new. Where learning the game's systems is part of the puzzle, all wrapped in zelda-style world and dark souls combat, all wrapped in a gorgeous presentation and a great soundtrack.

Piano Man
Piano Man

I can't remember the last time I was this engrossed by a puzzle game; if you want a Zelda-like game with some devious puzzles, cannot recommend this enough.

Koblstone
Koblstone

Don't open a wiki to find the solution to puzzles, this is one hell of a puzzle game, you don't want to ruin the enjoyment of this game. Get out a notebook and start taking notes, use the words you know to crack the code and translate the guide.

jeiaz
jeiaz

Before this game, only two video games had ever been release: Disco Elysium, Fallout New Vegas and Mario 64. This is the third video game that was released.

Birza
Birza

This game made me feel the warmth and curiosity that I used to feel when I was a kid starting to play videogames like Donkey Kong series. Since at that time games weren't translated to my native language and I still didnt know how to speak english, everything was harder and hidden, just like Tunic. The game has its own langague, which makes the discoveries pleasants just as back on my old days :)

Magnificent!

Folkesmeister
Folkesmeister

one of the best games I've played in recent years, and the only one to give me that same acute feeling of mystery and wonder that I felt when first playing video games as a child.
I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you are a fan of the legend of Zelda, and like games with many layers to unpack.
Combining beautiful music and visuals with very satisfying gameplay, what Tunic manages to do is a small miracle!

Anonymous
Anonymous

This game is awesome! Very engaging, game play is smooth and the graphics and artwork are incredible. The music provides the perfect ambiance.

Stagelight
Stagelight

this game was honestly incredibly fun... until the final few hours of the game. the puzzles required to obtain the true ending were ridiculously obtuse and unfun, and even if you knew the solution, executing on it was difficult and tedious enough that i can not recommend this game in good conscious to anyone.

i wish i could like this game, but the final few puzzles were so tedious and frustrating that it retroactively soured me on the whole experience.

Fairlion
Fairlion

You thought this game is open world like Hollow Knight but when you look at the walkthrough you find out that it is linear. And if you miss a path then it is dead end.

Phr00t
Phr00t

If you enjoy the type of game that confuses you so that you want to learn more, play this game. The sense of discovery, hidden mechanics, "a-ha" moments are great! But if you get frustrated easily by a game that doesn't hold your hand in the traditional sense, you may not enjoy this game.

Don't look anything up (until after you've beaten it one ending) and you'll have a great time!

Zelda meets Dark Souls in a good way, not a bad way.

avecousansvous
avecousansvous

Open ended exploration like Zelda 1 on NES. Doesn't hold your hand, very fun, great on Steamdeck. Also great if you have a 3 button arcade/Sega controller as the game has 3 inventory slots.

Generix
Generix

Great game, immersive, atmospheric, great world to explore with possibility of drawing your own unique path, nice music and combat system with a touch of nostalgia. Highly recommended to people who enjoyed Hollow knight and zelda games.

taylor68
taylor68

Such a charming game! dont be too fooled by the zelda looks, its much more difficult than any zelda game I have played. The bosses require a souls like approach in that you die fast and you need to memorize their attacks. I went in blind, and its been one of the best games ive played this year. Tackling all of the end game secrets (and there are many) I made it halfway through them and finally gave in and followed a walk through. I wanted to solve all of them, and there were just too many for my time, but damn the first 10 I solved on my own were a great feeling. Digging through the in game instructions manual to find all the clues really harks back to the SNES days when I was a kid.

GamingandWhiskey
GamingandWhiskey

Tunic is very fun to play in the beginning, but the developers jumped on the bandwagon of making games too hard for the casual player and that ruined it for me. The game was Dark Souls/Elden Rings meets Zelda. The boss fights were frustrating and not enjoyable. the story the world the art were all great, but when it became a job and after playing an hour and dying more times than you have in Dark Souls and Elden Rings combined it just outright was not fun . Ruined the game for me.

nathan.zumwalt
nathan.zumwalt

An amazing game that is full of surprises. Collecting the manual pages is a very cool mechanic... several times I said out loud "wait, I can do what?" Legend of Zelda nostalgia made it more fun for me, but the game doesn't lean on that exclusively (if you didn't play Zelda as a kid, you'll still enjoy it).

spacey-interruptions
spacey-interruptions

Tunic is brilliant. While there are elements of Zelda and Dark Souls, it really is it's own experience. It manages to forge it's own identity and be a standout in a market awash with clones.
Tunic is adorable, memorable, tough as nails, and well worth your time and money.

DragoonWraith
DragoonWraith

Utterly charming, TUNIC doesn’t just capture the feel of old-school Zelda-style adventures and cash in on nostalgia—it gets clever with the tropes in some beautiful ways.

The game isn’t very hard to complete—for the “bad” ending, that is. Some of the extra, optional puzzles—including some for the “good” ending—are incredibly challenging (provided you resist the urge to just google the answer). Having broken down and looked up a few hints here and there, I’d suggest that you often know more than you think you do. The hints can be very subtle, and sometimes when you’re thinking “no, that can’t be it,” it actually is. But the hints are all there—it’s refreshing for a game to trust you to figure them out. You should trust yourself, too.

SlicingHaunt
SlicingHaunt

Cool game, final boss was really hard, much harder than the rest of the game.
Still enjoyed it although it was frustrating.
If there ever comes a follow up game I will play it.

Arcadia
Arcadia

"Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure." This description is misleading and leaves out the high difficultly level of the combat. I would have not purchased if I had known how much like Dark Souls this game is trying to be. I really liked the game at first (super cool visuals & mind bending exploration) but then the combat became overly difficult to qualify as having fun. I wish they would add a mode that was focused on gameplay & exploration instead of unbalanced combat. Or add the ability to select your combat difficulty - easy, normal, hard.

gertaarl
gertaarl

This game could only have been better if I'd picked it up with a friend in 1989 and the internet wasn't yet a thing and we stayed up all night deciphering and beating this game while eating too many sunflower seeds and Dr. Pepper.

Thohean
Thohean

Fuck this game. Needs an option to turn off this bullshit fake language, so I can understand what the fuck I'm supposed to be doing. Wandering around for hours, dying over and over again. The areas I can go, are to powerful for me. No shield. No magic. Just a sword that kinda sucks.

Edit:
Played a few more hours. Found a shield, but my previous review stands. This game is garbage, even with putting it on "easy mode".

Killdozer
Killdozer

Boring and tedious slog

One of those "WHERE THE F-ING F AM I SUPPOSED TO GO AND HOW DO I GET THERE!?" games. Horrible game. Starts out with cute quaint graphics that wear out their welcome in about 20 minutes. Just boring walking around trying to figure out how to get to the next objective. The whole cutesy "find the map" piecemeal was a neat idea but in practice just sucks. And yes, the enemies are more aggressive and swarm-y than the simple design suggest, and with no quick travel or functional map you just spend hours wandering around the same 7 or 8 screens wondering where the F to go then get swarmed, killed and back somewhere else, and they way the game is set up, all the paths are hidden, so it's even more tedious.

This game has a lot to offer the patient, maybe....but for me, the frustration and boredom just ruined the experience. Wait for it to be under 10 bucks then give it a shot. I really wanted to this one too, but final review. IT SUCKS.

Miniike
Miniike

video games might actually be the best medium

i dont think any other piece of art has so perfectly scratched my competing neurodivergent desires for the Comforting Familiar and the World Expanding-New. exactly as comfy as it should be for someone like me who grew up on zelda and grew into dark souls, yet also with a bunch of shit ive never seen before and never will see again. the golden path puzzle is the most absolutely insane shit ive ever solved on my own in a video game, feels like "what if you could solve the endgame puzzles in braid or fez feasibly on your own."

a worthy inclusion besides outer wilds and hypnospace outlaw in this space of indie games that are fueled by p much nothing but discovery. all are some of my fave games to exist in and have given me some of the most memorable striking moments. ive cried over this game just existing several times. this is so fucking important

Neptune Thunder
Neptune Thunder

This is probably the best game of all time.

Comparing this masterpiece to Zelda or Dark Souls is a compliment to both Zelda and Dark Souls.
And this is coming from someone who really likes tloz mm, I'd say the main difference is this game doesn't insult your intelligence.

In Zelda you reach a dungeon, solve some easy puzzles that are mainly there so the game is longer and you can justify spending money on it, and get your item, beat a boss that sort of thing.

But in tunic there aren't any silly puzzles to solve (maybe some of the fairy ones), it's just that everything else has a secret that you can solve.

The whole game uses a writing system that's similar to runes. You can decipher it, it's not too hard, but it's going to take pen and paper and some deduction skills. And that isn't even the only language in the game, sounds encode messages too.

Every page of the manual you get is filled with secrets, so is every area in the game. Many things are things you could do from the very start of the game, and that makes it all the more fun

On top of that the manual is so pretty, you'll spend a fair amount of time just gazing at it in awe

StarryEyedDemon
StarryEyedDemon

Half the game locked behind a shitty nigh impossible boss (not even the last one) "Oh git gud" i hear you say, actually no, i don't because comments aren't on for this review Oh and the games not even the same in the second "half" as far as i've been told. It does some shitty puzzle one eighty with no more combat or antything its just a pointless fetch quest. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. you can get far better games for less.

N1ce Sh0t
N1ce Sh0t

A true gem, Tunic is a delightfully clever title that doesn't just pay homage to the golden games of years gone by, but manages to transcend them and stand on it's own.

From the moment you drop into the world to the moment you end the game, Tunic manages to delight every step of the way. In the beginning, it feels like a true homage to those games of the past, with some clever ways of bringing some ancient concepts into contemporary times. One of the most nostalgic, and important, concepts the game introduces is the Game Manual. On your adventure you'll come across various pages to the game's Manual that you will stitch together. At first blush the Manual is novel, but doesn't seem like it will teach you much you couldn't figure out for yourself. It seems like it will be this game's version of collectibles. It's a really nifty spin on the concept... But as you progress further, you start to realize that without the Manual, you are doomed to just feel your way around the world and _hope_ you figure things out. Very unlikely in this game. And just so it's said and noted somewhere, the developers very clearly put a nod to this Manual concept in their own store page for the game. When they mention "REBUILD A SACRED BOOK" and introduce the manual concept, they foreshadow the "good" ending by imploring you to find all the pages. Nicely done, devs.

But that's one of the most interesting things about Tunic. It reminds you of those days gone by when you were a kid and couldn't fully understand the game you were playing. Maybe you were too young to read, or maybe too proud to consult the manual. Maybe you just didn't have the attention span to be bothered to read what you were supposed to do. Tunic manages to capture that feeling you had as a kid playing games that you didn't really fully understand, but enjoyed anyway. Tunic manages to achieve this in a variety of ways including the use of a made up language that makes it next to impossible to fully "read" the manual or even the dialogue and signage in the game. You might get a key word here and there in isolation, but you don't have the context to make that much sense of it. It really lends itself to that feeling of being a kid trying to make sense of the game you really wanna play and beat. Hell, even just pausing the game and seeing the game shift to a CRT effect helps add to the nostalgic effect.

Beyond just tugging on heart strings and relying on nostalgia, Tunic manages to stand on it's own. It's a unique game in the modern age that doesn't hold your hand at all and if anything pushes you away to figure it out on your own. Exploration is extremely rewarding and you feel exceedingly clever as you figure the game out. Every discovery you make feels important from items, to locations, and even the enemies. You feel a sense of danger as you work your way through the world and you never truly feel all that safe even after you feel like you "know" the game and it's mechanics. This is further relayed through the game's excellent use of environmental storytelling.

Tunic's use of environmental storytelling is top notch. In the beginning you are washed up on a beach and wander into familiar adventure game settings like meadows and forests, with some basic enemies that aren't all that threatening. As the game progresses the mood takes on more sinister tones. Of course, most games do this, but what makes Tunic stand out here is how the mood matches the increasing sense of danger that the world presents... that, and how it manages to use this sinister progression to tell a story about the world itself. Without going into too much detail, as you progress through the game, it manages to put a clever twist on what is really going on under the adventure-themed veneer. What initially might be chocked up to as just the "magic" of the world is explained in an unexpected way.

Tunic is a top-notch indie gem that achieves that sense of adventure that games "used to" give you. You'll need to explore, you'll need to pay attention, you'll need to backtrack, experiment, and figure things out. For people who just want to play a game that takes you from A-to-B I think it will be frustrating - there is a bit of struggle throughout the game as you try to make sense of everything - but that's the point and overcoming the challenges presented is extremely satisfying. If you're someone who looks things up regularly for games like this, you're only robbing yourself of the experience by doing so. Tunic is at it's best when you're piecing it together, one page at a time.

DrClaw
DrClaw

If you are like myself and you loved games like Nintendo's: A Link to the past on SNES, then you should really enjoy Tunic! totally recommend this title.

Sky Reaper
Sky Reaper

Tunic = Foxes * (Dark Souls + Zelda)

Also, with all the puzzles this formula is the mindset you need to put yourself in :)

Index154
Index154

Rating

8/10 (A-tier)
Immersive, full of secrets and surprisingly challenging (in a good way).

Details

    • Somewhat minimalistic art style but very gorgeous visuals overall (mostly due to lighting effects)
    • Really really good music and sound design
    • Challenging and fun combat. While I found it a bit awkward at first (especially the dodge), the combat mechanics and controls have grown on me over time
    • Surprisingly cool and tense boss encounters
    • One of the game's unique features is that there is almost no tutorial (or maybe none at all? Don't really remember). Instead you can find pages of a manual by exploring the world. This makes exploring the game and learning new things quite interesting. The manual explains many things through graphics and drawings but there is also a bunch of text written in a made-up language which you COULD theoretically decipher yourself. Luckily that is not required though
    • A lot of funky secrets. Many of them are connected to stuff in the manual
    • There is lore to be discovered although I don't understand it at all myself
    • It's not hard to get lost without knowing where to go next. I had to look up online where to go at a few points during my playthrough

Crazyjoedude
Crazyjoedude

I'm only a few hours in at the time of writing this, but I'm loving it so far. The manual system is indeed a very unique and clever concept. It's funny that the most valuable items to find in the world are bits of knowledge. Everything is a puzzle. Yes, you could use the internet and breeze through it, but this system strongly encourages you to discover everything on your own by making it fun to do so. Any fact about how the game works is essentially a spoiler, so by avoiding using the internet, it simulates that sense of wonder that was only truly possible in games before the internet.

Mostly it's a zelda-like. That's pretty obvious and it wears it proudly on its sleeve, because the foreign language/manual gimmick is honestly enough to make it stand out. It does feel like there's a bit of Fez DNA in here. It also has the souls-like checkpoint / body-retrieval system that has become so popular these days. While I do feel like that's a bit overdone right now, it's a decent system and it's going to be around forever.

Anyway, great game. If you love puzzle-solving adventure games, it'll undoubtedly scratch that itch. If you don't hate games that make you think and want to try something new, it's probably worth a go too.

Matys
Matys

Incredible art design, great soundtrack and an amazing level design. You can feel all the love and dedication that was put on this game development.

phfphefph
phfphefph

some of the best puzzles i've ever seen in a game. a true call back to old school games and even beyond that.

it good.

Bonesaw!
Bonesaw!

This game is flat out awesome. Fun and entertaining for someone who just wants to play a chill, aesthetically pleasing adventure game. And for those who would like to dig deeper, it offers intense, head scratching puzzles that are completely satisfying to figure out. As an older gamer, this scratched an itch I've had for a long time. Super fun, super rewarding, and honestly one of the craziest, most original puzzle game experiences I've ever had. Can't recommend enough.

NorthernHFX
NorthernHFX

This game is a gem! I could describe it as a top down Zelda game with the puzzle mechanics of FEZ, but that would be selling it short. It masterfully unfolds layers upon layers of story and mechanics to you in a way that is both natural and obvious. The manual with its cryptic language just gives you enough info to place the dots in front of you, letting you connect them on your own to immensely satisfying results. Not only did I write down notes while playing, but I went as far as doing crafts with scissors and glue to solve some of the game's most intricate puzzles. Seriously. This game is an utter delight!

Anonymous
Anonymous

I think this game does a great job at making you feel like when you're a kid and you have no idea what you're doing, you're just exploring (specially if you grew up in a country whose language didn't have any video games, which is my case). It starts simple enough, and before you realize, you are writing all sorts of crazy stuff and trying to piece puzzles together like a crazy person hahaha very fun game, the exploring is very rewarding and it makes you feel kinda alone, but in a good way.

Phlort
Phlort

A cool enough, souls-like indie, that doesn't really benefit from the formula it emulates.

Though I love the art-style, gameplay and the nice vibe the game presents, there's plenty of other factors that led to me uninstalling:

1. The very strange decision to collect tutorial information through pages scattered around the world.
2. Every sign and item is marked with a language, foreign to the Fox protagonist.
3. The level design is vague and doesn't guide you in a meaningful way, and the lack of a legit map leaves a lot to be desired in terms of exploration.

I don't hate this game, I guess it just wasn't for me. If I could recommend a game I see as perfecting this formula I would say play: 'Death's Door,' as to me it is superior in gameplay, story and level design.

Overall, this game has the framework of a solid game. I wish it would lean more into Fez/ Legend of Zelda and less on the bonfire spawning systems of Dark Souls, as it doesn't do it any favors.

No review score as I have not finished the game.

MegaJigglypuff714
MegaJigglypuff714

outer wilds + zelda + dark souls

goes hard on combat, then on puzzles.

"it has a little something for everyone" - 10/10 IGN

DeezNuts
DeezNuts

Man, this would easily be my GoTY if not for Elden Ring. I played the hell out of this game and figured a lot of the puzzles on my own - the sense of accomplishment I got for finishing the game is above anything in recent memory. Figuring out the game world through fragments of information and observation is really rewarding.
Tip: Prepare something to draw/write on if you wanted to play this game without a walkthrough. The puzzles are really hard - and sometimes complex.

worlds worst mahjong player
worlds worst m…

Normal ending with controller.
The bosses are fun and the exploration is interesting.
Some of the progression was too obtuse for me and I think the repeated use of forced perspective to hide things gets tired pretty quickly.
Note that if you want to 100% the game, it becomes less of an action-adventure game and more of a mystery game. I did some of these optional tasks and eventually decided it wasn't my cup of tea.

kbza94
kbza94

It's just amazing. It's charming, mysterious and dangerous. Exploring around is very satisfying and the game keeps rewarding your curiosity and advancement at a satisfying rate.

I saw a couple users criticizing its length but i don't share that opinion at all. I feel the games lasts for as long as it needs to and (without getting into spoilers) it has some inventive and deep puzzles that kept me hooked beyond the main goal. Think "The Witness" and the like ;).

Impecable vibes.

Sclay48
Sclay48

The aesthetics and music are incredible, and there's a wonderful sense of exploration that often rare in games nowadays.

Nixu
Nixu

tl;dr Cute fox! 10/10 >:3

The game is very atmospheric and almost tranquil.
The story is told using environmental hints, pieces of text in the manual, and few pieces of dialogue.
If you have played The Legend of Zelda series TUNIC's protagonist might remind you of Link.
Gameplay-wise the game also resembles the original Zelda game as the game is about adventuring and discovery. Some of the puzzles in TUNIC are trickier than in Zelda games, which I feel is welcome. The game also rewards trying out things. The game is fairly short if you don't get lost too often, but I do not think that it is too short either.

I would recommend TUNIC to anyone interested in adventure games.

Nightserg
Nightserg

My review page.
Follow me on twitch!

The gist of it:

This year has been very dry in terms of big triple A games, but indies come and go by the dozens with a lot of average ones and some small good ones, but every once in a while there is a surprise, one you did not expect but hoped it would be good. Tunic is not only good, but it's probably the best indie game released this year, a fantastic and mysterious zelda-like game that will hold your grip until the end.

👍 The good parts:
+Fantastic level design.
+Gameplay mechanics are being revealed progressively in a fun and smart way.
+Great atmosphere.

👎The bad parts:
-A bit short.
-True ending is unrewarding, tedious, and pointless unless you're a completionist.

Story

Alright, this will probably be the shortest proper review I ever made for a finished game. The gist of the whole game, story, and gameplay-wise is discovery. If you've played any souls-like games or games like Hob(recommended u play that as well), the story is presented in a very obfuscated way. You wake up on a beach, you walk to a temple, and you kinda sorta figure out what you have to do. That is it.

The more you progress, the more things get revealed to you, and even as you reach the end, some things remain unclear. It's not something you haven't seen before, like I said, if you've played souls-like games, it's similar. It won't blow your mind, nor will it make you cry. None of that is found in Tunic however it is nice to see on rare occasions games telling stories through the environment rather than directly in your face. Tunic excels at that. It's a shame that the endings are not that great, at least in my opinion. I watched the true ending on youtube, and I still felt unsatisfied. Still, sometimes the journey matters more than the destination.

Story rating: 7.5/10

Gameplay

This is the part where I cannot tell you anything because the entire gameplay and its mechanics are based on you finding out how and what to do.

All I can say is, the combat is pretty basic, you hit stuff, you dodge stuff, and you block stuff. It's stamina-based combat like any soul-like game, and dying makes you lose some of your currency which you can spend on upgrades and stuff. Puzzles, bosses, secret paths, and so on and so forth are all in there. That is all I can say, the rest is up to you to discover, and I can tell you, it was very impressive how they designed the reveal of said gameplay mechanics.

It's not an easy game, do not let the looks fool you, it will feel incredibly overwhelming at first, but the game will always find a way to ease you in its brilliant gameplay. You find something, and then you're like A-HA!, and then more stuff gets revealed and it just becomes more natural to you. You evolve with the gameplay.

Gameplay rating: 9/10

Audio

Not much to say here either, no voice acting so the game revolves around its sound effects and music, and they are quite as good as everything else it does. The music feels charming, yet scary, it has this synth-ish vibe to it that fits so well with the whole mystery. Everything here feels well designed, with no cut corners which is rare to see in an indie game.

Audio rating: 8.5/10

Graphics, performance and tech analysis

Once you start playing the game you'll feel overwhelmed, and that is due to its insane level design and how masterfully crafted it is. It's a top-down metroidvania/zelda-like kind of map which are rare these days. You'll find tons of secrets and shortcuts and paths that will make you question how the hell did they create all of this?

The atmosphere is varied, with lots of unique locations from charming to dreadful zones, nothing is ever the same in Tunic. Tech-wise the game is very pretty for an indie game. It's nothing super fancy, but it does its job very well, and it also runs smoothly. I had no bugs or issues, except maybe a crash or two.

Graphics, performance and tech analysis score: 9/10

Conclusion

Don't look up videos besides the official trailer, don't read too much about the game, just get it and start experiencing its difficult beauty. It's a short experience, wish it had more zones, more mechanics, and whatnot but despite that, it's still an amazing game, and so far, my indie of the year.

Final score: 8.5/10

ryguy
ryguy

Amazing depth to a nostalgic experience. Very satisfying exploration, discovery, and some of the most elaborate puzzle solving I've ever completed. Runs great on deck.

JazzInYourEye
JazzInYourEye

I enjoyed it, but it's a bit linear and a bit short for my taste. Still a ton of fun, and it supports Mac!

۞∃иAɔʁ∀۞
۞∃иAɔʁ∀۞

I thought that it may have been able to rekindle some of the beloved nostalgia from those classic top down zelda games we all know and love, but in comparison I just found this game to be awfully dull, lifeless and boring.

Fireally
Fireally

Tunic is an absolute gem, leaving you to your own devices and encouraging you to poke, prod, experiment, and go where you fancy. Making knowledge of the game a progression system is amazing, and I got excited thinking about what I could accomplish in a second run because of what I learned from my first playthrough. It's an absolute joy and so enthralling that I thought I was playing for longer than I was. I honestly can't say much more without spoiling the experience of it!

The combat is balanced well, the world and story are interesting to interact with and learn about. My only gripe with the game is its last ability is a little difficult to work with in certain locations.

Datastream
Datastream

Very hard-hitting nostalgic vibe and the fact that the manual is unreadable reminds me of the time when I was a child and couldn't read english so that doubles down on that.

Gameplay is smooth and engaging. Exploration is fun. And as you learn more about the world you might even start to be able to translate the runes in the manual.

Upodly
Upodly

One of a kind Masterpiece 10/10. For anyone reading. Please just buy the game and expirance it for Yourself.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Despite its outwardly bright and cheerful appearance, Tunic is one of the most melancholy and surprisingly complex games I've ever played, even in the early parts (heightened with the very excellent soundtrack), and more so once the story starts to reveal itself. I needed to look for help with some of the more challenging puzzles, but the feeling you get from solving them completely on your own is so satisfying that I'd really recommend trying your best to take them on yourself unless you're really stuck. Highly recommended!

Baneslave
Baneslave

This game is hard to review without spoiling major parts of the game.

Thus, shortly: I found this game really enjoyable.

Pyronoid!
Pyronoid!

Remember manuals? They were nice, huh? Where you'd buy a brand new game with your hard earned cash and on the trip home, before you even booted up the game for the first time, the instruction manual would be there. Offering you a wealth of information about the game, ranging from ostensibly useless to explanations of crucial mechanics, maybe even some stuff that's not in the game itself!

See, the thing about manuals is - and this isn't a criticism of people who love them a whole bunch, it's totally understandable, nor the concept themselves - they do *kinda* spoil the experience in a way. Not in a way that totally ruins the experience, that would be an absurd suggestion; but, you could argue, a manual written in a certain way with certain content can rob the player of the *discovery* that comes with the experience of playing the game. They almost create a difficult relationship between the game designer and the player - the designer can spend all this effort making sure the mechanics are the game are explained via their gameplay, but the player might just be reading the manual to get the full understanding themselves, so it's a bit of a weird stand-off.

TUNIC is a game which clearly draws a lot of its design from the sheer love of instruction manuals, but transforms that love into one of the freshest and most interesting mechanics I've seen in a game in years. Quick explainer, for the uninitiated: TUNICs manual is an in-game encyclopedia which is slowly put together over the course of the game by collecting its pages. You can think of it like, say, the collectible diaries in Bayonetta, but rather than offering supplemental information which leans harder on narrative than gameplay, TUNICs collectible pages *are* the games manual!

There's an interesting dynamic at play, thanks to this set-up: obviously, a game designer always has control over how and when you collect new items, learn new abilities, encounter new enemies, and even the pace and order of tutorials given to the player, if any. The game designer reaching past the player character to speak directly to you, the player, and explain mechanics, is nothing new, but there's something unique and charming about the implementation in TUNIC and how it ties into your experience of the game. Over the course of your first play-through, your understanding of the game will develop through a tandem of your own exploration and experimentation, and gentle nudges along by the manual, written in a foreign language but for the odd keyword, intended to use your existing understanding of "how a video game works" to lead you to conclusions about how *this* one works.

Even with this arrangement - being given a literal handbook to reference within the game at your command - it's a game of real depth, which only opens up more and more with enticing secrets and insisting nudges. You might be forgiven, if this is the only review you read, for thinking TUNIC is just a game about walking around and finding stuff: it *does* have combat, multiple weapons, spells, boss fights, everything you expect from a game wearing it's Legend of Zelda influence on its sleeve so proudly, but honestly, it's probably the least interesting part of the entire experience for me. Not that this makes me knock any points off of it, and really, it's probably essential - what good are swords and spells without a plethora of beasties to use them against? - it's just that, well, the game features an entire suite of accessibility features intending to make combat *less* of a thing, and I think that was a really wise decision. It makes a lot of sense to use combat as the bone, but this is a game with some really impressive meat on it.

dc345
dc345

I finished Tunic, which makes me if not the cleverest person in the world, then certainly the cleverest person I know. Oh my gosh it's good, easily my game of the year so far.

People talk a lot about "soulslikes", but as far as I can see it doesn't mean much beyond "it's hard". Well, Tunic made me feel like Dark Souls did when it rocked my world eleven years ago. An intricate, involved world that is bursting with possibilities and the knowledge that something amazing is only a moment of inspiration away. A delight in exploration, experimentation and discovery. A design philosophy that, given the choice between risking patronising me and baffling me, will choose to baffle me every single time. It's even taken a leaf out of Miyazaki's storytelling inspiration with its core conceit of an incomplete narrative in a foreign language where not everything can be understood

Toasted~Marshmellow
Toasted~Marshmellow

I don't dislike the game, it just doesn't deserve a 90% positive rating. I've gotten to the second boss, (the engine system thing in the deep forest). The gameplay isn't anything terribly intresting, the level design isn't anything special and I haven't seen any real puzzles or logic tests yet. I haven't felt it does anyone thing really well, or anything that stand out. it's a pretty game to look at though with the lighting and atmosphere that is well done.

Colomaio
Colomaio

This game brings puzzles to a whole new level! Starting with the beginner puzzles, then understanding the environmental puzzles, all the way to decoding the cryptic puzzles found deeper in the game was fun and exciting. The guidebook was honestly so clever and fun to read through, and the game always added a new mechanic that never made gameplay stale. A very big thank you to the developers for making this gem.

xCarl
xCarl

Amazing game. The design of the map is a masterpiece, discovering shortcuts that can be used since the beginning but are perfectly hide by the elements of the world is epic

Monorea
Monorea

Great game but not what you expect from looking at it. Many puzzle elements with things hidden everywhere for you to solve, going trough this game as just a zelda type game would mean you miss ALOT. Look and try to understand things when you get information items in the game, i have seen playtroughs where people ignored it and they missed a lot of the mechanics of the game.
I enjoyed this a lot, just need to say this again
Don't expect it to just be a zelda type game, you will be frustrated and you will miss out on things.

Bobby Oh'Killum
Bobby Oh'Killum

Probably one of the best games I've played in such a long time. The art style, the combat, the music... Everything goes well together. After 100%ing the game I will be doing another play-through because I love it that much. Please take the time to play this

Augy
Augy

Game was a lot of fun overall, but had some extremely frustrating points that lessened the experience a bit. The music is great, the artstyle is great, enemies are great, overall it's a very solid game, but especially towards the end the puzzles quickly become frustrating.

There is no feedback for when you are doing a puzzle incorrectly, and there was more than one occasion where I had the right solution, but was standing in the wrong place, so I thought I had done something wrong.

Solid 8/10, I think people should play it, but don't worry about 100%

kwortic
kwortic

A real gem. I can count on one hand games with this quality and depth. If you enjoyed Hollow Knight, Outer Wilds, The Witness and Souls like games just buy it.

Crissa Kentavr
Crissa Kentavr

This is a twitch game not an exploration game. Maybe they didn't mean to be, maybe they did, but I am not finding it puzzling at all, but repetitive and boring combat.
That said, it's beautiful, the in-game language being a puzzle is a nice touch, and it seems pretty smooth to play. It reads well on the Steam Deck, I don't feel I need reading glasses for it.

I don't like twitch games with single paths; this is not a replacement for Breath of the Wild.

lhkk99
lhkk99

Man, it starts so good. The starting of this game, the first few hours, are immaculate. It looks good, it feels good, the gimmick of gameplay mechanics being hidden is really clever.

...And then the second half hits. There are no new mechanics to learn, you've seen all the beautiful areas, and there's just a slog of battle after battle. And to add insult to injury, you're locked into a single linear path. The point where I quit is an arena area (mandatory, if that wasn't obvious) where you have to complete 6 battles in a row without dying; all your upgrades have been taken from you, and some of the battles have dozens of enemies at once.

I might recommend Tunic to people who already do no-damage runs of their favorite games, or thinks the game looks good enough to give the first few hours a try. As for myself, I'm going to start thinking twice about buying any game that's inspired by legend of zelda.

Imbalance
Imbalance

Tunic is a phenomenal puzzle game with some pretty good combat attached. The soundtrack, visuals, and presentation contain staggering amounts of care, precision, and polish. Even if there weren't any depth, it would still be an absolute ly wonderful little fluffy cake of a game to dig into and enjoy. The art is soft and cute, but somehow completely sufficient for portraying the spectrum of objects, creatures, and landscapes you'll encounter, neon colors mixing with grey and green ruins, and much, much more. It's snappy to control, and runs very well on a wide variety of machines, including on Proton/Deck.

So what makes this game special? Tunic's collectible "manual" - a half-map, half-infodump that you can't understand most of - reminds me of when I read Japanese promotional websites for Mega Man Battle Network 6 as a kid and had to intuit what the pictures meant about new features and content. Give your full attention to Tunic, try to solve it, really try, and you'll be staring agape at the screen more often than not, shouting with joy and bewilderment. Play with a couch co-pilot, if you can. Sometimes another perspective really helps to clear the roadblocks this game throws at you. In the same way that I told myself I wasn't going to look guides up for Outer Wilds (and failed), I banned myself from looking anything up for this game, for months after its release, and my experience was better for it.

Combat is definitely satisfying , though still second to the secret sleuthing that propels the game forward. I never felt really frustrated, and when I was, it turned out I had missed a key element of how combat worked that I needed to master, which is a good sign. I did just miss an item that trivialized some of the fights, though, evident when I finally got stuck and needed to find it to get a leg up.

Make sure you've got a good sound system or pair of headphones, and don't be afraid to crank up the volume. You'll hear this game in your head for weeks after you're done. The game does a very neat effect where it’ll dampen (but not pause) the soundtrack while you look at the manual and write things down , its tracks quietly underscoring most of your critical thinking, and then when you return to the game world, the song comes back in full swing and supports the solution you just found. It’s an incredible feeling.

Tunic's real game is in scarcity of information, and controlling what information is fed to you when, resulting in a masterful I-can't-believe-this-thing-was-here-the-whole-time revelation every time it happens. This means the game is an excellent crucible for speedrunners, as a last added bonus .

Cloudy
Cloudy

If Tunic is a good game for you, it's almost certainly the best game of that type.
If you couldn't beat the first boss of a Dark Souls game, don't buy Tunic.
Otherwise, buy Tunic.
It's that simple.

Pergandii
Pergandii

TUNIC is one of the best games in the genre that I have played. When you think you "get" the gimmick you discover something new and remind yourself why you are playing. Several moments in this game are as profound as kicking down the ladder in Dark Souls.

hlebaron98
hlebaron98

●︎□︎❖︎♏︎⧫︎♒︎
♓︎⬧︎♌︎♏︎♋︎◆︎⧫︎♓︎♐︎◆︎●︎♑︎♋︎❍︎♏︎⬧︎□︎⬧︎□︎❍︎◆︎♍︎♒︎.
●︎□︎❖︎♏︎⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎♌︎♏︎♋︎◆︎⧫︎♓︎♐︎◆︎●︎♑︎♋︎❍︎♏︎⬧︎□︎⬧︎□︎❍︎◆︎♍︎♒︎. ●︎□︎❖︎♏︎⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎♌︎♏︎♋︎◆︎⧫︎♓︎♐︎◆︎●︎♑︎♋︎❍︎♏︎⬧︎□︎⬧︎□︎❍︎◆︎♍︎♒︎!!!

Blockley
Blockley

Tunic is a hard game were you, Explore, Get your ass kicked, Kick ass, and explore again. I don't usually enjoy souls-like games but this one is an exception. Fucking hate those weird Dinosaur things tho

Dr. Overlord
Dr. Overlord

Honestly one of the most perfect games I've ever played. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would play it again in a heartbeat. 10/10

Tips for clearing the game:

-In your first play through look up a guide to get the gun before any other weapon [missable]
-Don't break any of the fox effigies (those things you find that look like fox hats) [missable]
-Fight the final boss at least once to get the bad ending before collecting all the guide pages and handing them over to him for the good ending. [missable]

-Look up guides for finding the fairies and the treasures some puzzles are impossible to figure out without any help, you can try but I don't recommend it.
-Explore and open every chest you come across, you will naturally find all 15 gold coins that way.

Good luck!

steeb
steeb

An inspired Zelda-like, with an OST from one of the best composers in gaming: Lifeformed. Tunic understands the joy of discovery by integrating the learning of game mechanics with the learning of the setting itself. Tunic's isometric viewpoint works, because it's basically not isometric. The camera moves all the time either for readability or beauty. I like that basic exploration is demanding of resource management and careful observation, but never overwhelmingly so. Great stuff! How deep does the rabbit hole go?

null
null

In an odd way, this game has the best tutorial in any game. Tunic shows you everything you need to know little by little in collectible pages of an instruction booklet. If you're nostalgic for the days when you would go to a store, buy a game, and spend the car ride back furiously reading through the included booklet, you will love this.

As you collect pages, you learn about the story, items, moves and abilities you didn't even know you had from the beginning. It also builds your map of the world. "Ugh" I thought when I saw the pages of the map, "there isn't going to be a player marker on this is there?" Thankfully they do show you where you on the map. Every page is a treasure trove of information. References to different pages and small hand-drawn notes will have you scouring every pixel for secrets and hints.

Apart from the instruction book mechanic (which I absolutely love) the art and music are both fantastic. The combat feels tight and is challenging. There are parts where you might feel a little overwhelmed but overall I felt it was fair.

This game really shines in its exploration and puzzles. Finding shortcuts, deciphering the mystery of the world and of course the way it all ties it together with the instruction book quickly made this a favorite game of mine. If you like classic Zelda games, souls-like combat, and a bit of metroidvania I would highly recommend this.

Kiaryy
Kiaryy

My smooth brain melted everytime there was a puzzle. 10/10 i need a new brain now.

𝙶𝚒𝚞𝚕𝚒𝙶𝙼
𝙶𝚒𝚞𝚕𝚒𝙶𝙼

combat is decent, art and sound design are fantastic, i love the "in-game guide" mechanic and the language of the game, every item and equipment is useful and fun to use, you need to interpret the whole story but i quite liked it, every boss is different and needs a different strategy to be beaten, good enemy variety, perfect map size, the different locations are really unique, could use weapons other than the sword (dagger, comically large greatsword, whip), i played on the keyboard and i can say that there are too many actions that use the 'spacebar', difficulty is medium if you play as intended and borderline impossible without the upgrades (i chose to suffer and played without upgrades and the only enemy i couldn't beat was thesecond phase of momma), this game is all about the secrets you WILL NOT 100% this game without a guide, the game could inform early thatthere are secrets that need d-pad inputs.
17h of gameplay doing everthing i could (after ending the game i used a guide to get what i missed) in one playthough.
this game was 100% worth my money, imagine if they develop the next game as a online coop, would be perfect.

Moldovan Eagle
Moldovan Eagle

NES Legend of Zelda exploration and secrets
+ Switch Link's Awakening graphics
+ Fox
= TUNIC

codewing
codewing

If you like figuring things out. This is your game

derf
derf

Excellent game. Vast world, beautiful environments, satisfying combat. It also has the best use of puzzles/secrets in a game that I have witnessed in a while. I cannot remember the last time I physically wrote stuff down to work out an in-game puzzle! Highly recommend.

Kazune
Kazune

Just play it. No guides, no hints.

Weumpje
Weumpje

Absolutely intriguing to not only figure out the world, but the game itself. Many games will try to copy this.

Nymvaline
Nymvaline

Love the language puzzle. Other puzzles were good too. I turned on invincibility mode to get through some of the fights, because I really wasn't into that - I might replay without it to properly experience those fights though. Strongly recommend using a controller, because there were some required navigation things I was unable to do on keyboard/mouse because I couldn't get the angle right. I also never quite understood the visual language of the game - for example, a thing that I thought was a lost doll was actually a key, and lots of other stuff like that - but I had a friend to help me through and keep me from getting frustratingly stuck when I was just misinterpreting the visuals or doing something completely in the wrong direction for some puzzles.

nomdeplum
nomdeplum

While lovely to indulge in the joy of discovery, some of these puzzles truly are so obtuse as to be impossible without outside help. That may be the point though, to invoke the nostalgic sense of old obtuse games. So I will not dock any points for that. There is one puzzle though, asking you to navigate clunky physics to push around objects that cannot be normally interacted with any any precise way, that is insanely badly designed to the point of being sadistic. I wish this game was longer and there was more to discover, and that there was more of an in-game hint system to help with the game's more obtuse puzzles.

Guy Dudeman
Guy Dudeman

Very few games I've played are this good at making discovery a critical part of the gameplay.

le goob
le goob

best experienced completely blind. phenomenal game

kupokupo
kupokupo

Adorable, intriguing, appropriately challenging, and most importantly, fun

Scapegoat
Scapegoat

Adorable little game; tons of fun mechanics and exploration.

ItsKassie
ItsKassie

It's not what I expected, wanted, or enjoyed. It's a very difficult game, combining both souls like and puzzle elements. The puzzles would be more fun if actually required thinking. Instead most of the puzzles involve just going back to places you've been before to see if something has changed now that you have another item. The secret treasures are more interesting to hunt than every other puzzle in the game.

The soundtrack is drab, and has no dynamic development. Combine this with the absence of dialogue and lack of readable writing means that your ears start to bleed after a while. It's just so boring. Ultimately, you get to the end and you're left asking 'What's the point and why should I care" even if you get the true ending.

The enemies respawn every time you save, so there is literally no reprieve. And like every game that wants to make things harder without putting effort into new concepts there are often hordes of monsters to fight. Nothing more exciting than fighting six of the same enemy at the same time.

StryCross
StryCross

I went into this one, with not a lot of expectations. Heard good things about it, but really didnt know anything about it... Boyyyyy this cute lil "fox with a sword game" just turned into a GotY 2022 Top 3 shortlist for me. Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. SOOOO much love, thought and detail went into it. Massive kudos to the developers, designers and writers for it. Absolutely smashed it out of the park.

Tynnyri
Tynnyri

Positives:

Game looks great, has great ideas like minimalist player guidance and hidden loot chests

Negatives:

Exploration:
This is not an exploration game. There is at any moment 2 paths to choose from: Path with very difficult enemies or the correct path towards your next item. This is the antithesis of an exploration game, where you could pick many routes to the next powerup, and you could go to multiple powerups at different places at once. This game is on-the-rails metroidvania, not an exploration game. How do you mix your genres up this bad, I have no idea.

Legend of Zelda was made in 1998 and while yes, it has the worst designed end dungeon of all time, at least 95% of the game is fun and has great exploration.

Combat:
The combat is just... badly implemented? There are no differences in enemy tells between ranged attacks, lunges forward, large AOE swings or basic forward punches. While focused on an enemy, you cannot change your attack direction, so there is literally no bonus to focusing to an enemy unless you enjoy missing.

After swinging your weapon, you cannot roll for a second. However, this doesn't seem to be tied to attack animation, so you'll have no visual cue how many seconds until your sword is back in idle position until you can roll again.

Enemy bodies and destroyed physics objects block your movement. Why have cut blades of grass as a physical in-game object if they block player for the 2 seconds until they despawn?

After you get the sword, you have a three attack combo, which feels buggy or is again, poorly implemented: You have to spam your attack key to get the third attack, and if you were too slow, the enemies were pushed too far by the second attack to get hit by the third. What is the point of this weird quick time event?

Conclusion:
- No exploration
- No attack buffers/holding for attack combos
- No enemy attack tells

This game is in early access or beta. Or it just plain old sucks.

Go find a finished game to enjoy.

TheShiftyBomber
TheShiftyBomber

One Part Zelda, One part Dark Souls, One part FEZ. This game is incredible and really gives you a sense of mystery and discovery that is so rare today.

Matt11
Matt11

Fantastic game, well worth the money.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Tunic is some of the best storytelling I’ve ever experienced in a game. A truly wonderful emotional experience. The graphics, music, concept and everything are top notch. However, the story/lore does get very dark at times. My 10 year old loves the game but is also disturbed by parts of the story. Personally, I love that the game was able to touch us so deeply, but something to be aware of that I haven’t seen others talk about.

73553
73553

If you're craving a Legend of Zelda style adventure and vibe this game has you covered.

It's a perfect mix of every key point that made the original games outstanding. It has a Souls-Like touch, a beautiful soundtrack and outstanding, polished, Triple A like gameplay.

This game is so refreshing to play as a long time RPG fan. Will Update after i finish.

Đồ tể độc lập
Đồ tể độc lập

how excellent a game tutorial can be? This one is always informative and useful through all phases of Tunic, even though people could't understand any text therein contained. This is a madness.

Skuru
Skuru

This is an amazing game. The difficulty ramp is fair and consistent and the puzzles are hard. I wish i could forget all knowledge and play it again for the first time. It's in my top 5 games of all time.

wiipetsto
wiipetsto

Do you know the times where games didn't think you were stupid. Where a puzzle was a puzzle. Where solving Problems really felt like you achieved something?

Play it! Its Like the first Zelda just better!

strivos
strivos

So I will say that I have mixed feelings about this game. I enjoy the exploration, combat and puzzle solving.

Spoiler warning

What I didn't enjoy was the second part of the game outside of the dungeons.
I though the in game puzzles were very cool. I wasn't really sold on the booklet thing at first, but some parts of it seemed pretty cool, like the learning new mechanics that you always had was really fun at first. The spell casting/ritual thing with the directions was ok once I figured it out.
The golden path stuff was garbage. I really feel they wanted a literal 100 input secret and that is not fun even knowing what should go in. If you are just trying to figure it out, it is super easy to think your approach is wrong just based on a single bad input. Its also not worth it.
The fights at the end of the second part have a huge difficulty spike especially if you have not figured out how to get your stuff back.
I felt like the first half of the game was one of the best iso games I'd ever played. The second was like some weird player mod where all they cared about was stupid hard puzzles and a couple of crazy hard fights.

So how do you rate that? Fantastic 5 for the first half and a 2 in the second for a 7/10? Seems like that doesn't do justice to the fantastic parts of the game brought down by a bad ending.

So if you want to play this I recommend that you know this is no casual zelda clone. It will take thought and play skill and up to a point rewards that very much. But there are things that are going to be beyond many players unless you are willing to put in the time and effort. The thing is the extra completionist effort doesn't seem to be worth it compared to the base game they seem to abandon at the end, which totally is worth it.

drstclair
drstclair

I beat Tunic tonight. It could honestly be one of the best and most underrated games I have ever played. While it seems pretty basic at first, near the end, it tests you in both gameplay and puzzle-solving in ways I have never seen a game test me before. It takes it's main hook, which is finding pages of a literal instruction manual like many of you remember growing up with, and makes it a discoverable and integral mechanism. Honestly a genius game with so much hidden under the hood. It gets my highest recommendations for a game and easily vaults into my top games of all time. A masterpiece that should not be missed.

Antyos
Antyos

This game is absolutely incredible. At first glance, it's a gorgeous taken on classic Zelda-like games. After getting into it, there is so much more beneath the surface. I cannot recommend this game highly enough.

RustyRay
RustyRay

Amazing isometric game, that feels familiar (a lot of shout outs to Zelda, as you can tell by the name) but super original within the gender. With a rich and enigmatic plot that will keep you entangled and puzzled all the way through. The game play goes for a new-classic isometric with an demon souls style (you will die, a lot), and also some beautiful and quite smart puzzle solving moments on late game. An original Map / Mission / Hint / Tutorial system that will bring an smile to anyone that knows what a game's booklet was.

FOXHOUND7045
FOXHOUND7045

One of the best games I've ever played. Soundtrack and visuals are beyond amazing.

Scotteous
Scotteous

I get the concept here, as an avid retro game fan, I really do. But i just hated this game after the first bell. Controls don't feel precise (attacking, rolling) and health feels too low. But the biggest issue is that the “open world” is neither open nor entirely linear.

NES Zelda (the obvious inspiration here) was confusing, sure. But it at least had a variety of environments and an actual manual. It’s also nearly 40 years old, and even then it had hidden shops, increased health pickups, and you don’t have to do the dungeons in the same order each time. Exploration with rewards.

Here I find a dark dungeon, the manual shows a lamp so I need that? But wait, I cant seem to find that anywhere. So maybe i do the dark dungeon to get the lamp? Like a reference to the cave that leads to palace 1 in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link? So now I’m wandering around fighting enemies I can’t see and dying over and over. So just give up, right? But wait, go into the dungeon a bit and now there’s some light. So maybe the challenge really is the dark and I just have to keep trying. See, I can’t tell what the hell the devs want.

Remember Zelda 1? You cant get to dungeon 4 unless you have the raft, you cant get past the second screen in dungeon 5 because you don't have a ladder. You know pretty fast if you should be in a dungeon or not, because they have actual hard blocks. Conversely you can do dungeon 6 after 8, or dungeon 2 last in the set. Actual replayability couched in partial forced dungeon order, which is easily understood based on design.

The rewards in this game simply feel too stretched out, and the design just feels lazy. Why can’t we have a map? Why can’t enemies drop health? If I shouldn't be in the dark dungeon, why not force me back? I think the success of this game is because “ha ha, this feels like an old game, so all the flaws it has are excused because they’re intentional just like actual old games.” Lazy.

This game has a lot of “Game of the Year” buzz though, so what do I know, I guess. I say go play an actual good Zelda, like Link to the Past and save your money. Skip this flawed “throwback”.

Dubbin
Dubbin

If you love cryptic as hell puzzles, get this game.
Easily falls into my top 3 games for unique puzzles

What is love?
What is love?

Charming 2.5D Metroidvania with extremely well-designed puzzles. The ingame manual is all you need, although I needed a hint or two at the very end of the game.

p4nder
p4nder

fox lad, fight enemy, fox adventure

10/10 fox moment adventures

fox

Mica
Mica

Something special. The amount of care and 'has this ever been here before' is astounding. A game to be constantly surprised and to look back and recontextualize everything.

GOTY 2022

Zeldrïn
Zeldrïn

One of my favourite games I've ever played now. Finding the secrets of the game YOURSELF is such a magical feeling, such a shame that I looked at guides for hints as I played, ruined much of the mystery and got spoiled a few things.. I highly highly recommend playing this game.

VoLume_SeTTe
VoLume_SeTTe

BUY IT NOW, DO IT, JUST PLAY IT, HAVE YOU PLAYED FEZ? YOU'LL LIKE THIS GAME. DO YOU LIKE USING YOUR BRAIN? BUY THIS MASTERPIECE.

Alva
Alva

Ive played many games similar and highly enjoy the genre. Tunic feels perfect and I loved my playthrough.

PatientBen
PatientBen

Great gameplay, great art style, great music - but most impressive is the way that access to new areas and abilities is blocked only sometimes by item acquisition, and the rest of the time by information - delivered cleverly and nostalgically, too. This means that on repeat playthroughs you can route wildly different paths through the game - I imagine this must be a speedrunner's dream. Not to mention that the Golden Path is one of the most clever endgame ur-puzzles since Riven.

shofel
shofel

10/10 goty, EASILY.

A review stating you would like this if you liked Outer Wilds immediately made me pull the trigger on buying this gem. Go into it blind, don't ever give in to your craving for just looking at a guide, and you will be rewarded by the game's design.

Negative reviews saying that the combat is too hard; honestly it's not much harder than a Zelda game when it comes to fighting mechanics. It's definitely the worst part of the game, but it suffices as a nice addition. RTFM, literally.

deku100
deku100

Tunic is an action-adventure game with a spirit of exploration akin to the original Zelda games. The controls are responsive, the combat is smooth, and the bosses are engaging. One of the most striking aspects is that nearly all text and dialogue are in a runic language. There is also an in-game "Players Manual" which serves as a guide, complete is controls, maps, and doodles in the margins. Since everything is gibberish, the player is required to use context clues in order to solve puzzles that progress the game. Collecting missing manual pages helps expand the player's knowledge base. It makes for an interesting call-and-response gameplay loop that is absent in most puzzle games.

HOWEVER, do not even bother pursuing the True Ending. The gameplay grinds to a halt, and you'll be spending hours running around in circles doing esoteric puzzles that would make even The Witness blush. You'll end up using a guide to figure out the most frustrating solutions anyway. Your hard work will be rewarded with disappointment and anticlimactic nonsense. You have been warned.

In my opinion, the game ends with the final boss. The game is well-designed from the start and through that point. The True Ending gymnastics afterwards is just chaff, but does not ultimately mar the quality of this gem.

polkagrisar
polkagrisar

Me: "Oh!", "What if...", "Maybe...", "WAIT A MINUTE!", "omg"

I'm gonna stop there before I spoil too much of the game.

The best game of 2022! Play it blind, don't look up anyhing about it, don't look up guides or anything. Play with another friend that doesn't know anything about it.

kneekap
kneekap

Excellent game with cryptic clues and pieces of maps/guides you use to help you progress. Much of the rest of the gameplay resembles a 2D Zelda or the more recent Death's Door.

nephalim
nephalim

If an unreadable menu, brutally hard combat that is just not tight enough to make the difficulty feel good, dodge based with a tiny stamina bar, a complex to navigate world with no proper map sounds fun, this is your game. It is pretty graphically but that alone doesn't make a great game.

ChrisVonWelt
ChrisVonWelt

Wow, what a great game. So much charme, so many different worlds that are both beautiful, mysterious and feel really engaging. There is always something new to discover and the combat is challenging but never unfair. The first game that lets me feel the geniuine desire to explore the world and find out what more the is to discover.

Fictitious_Adam
Fictitious_Adam

I've been playing this game for a short period of time, so these are my first impressions.

This game is a steaming pile of turd covered by a shiny candy wrapper. Mindlessly moving about this confusing environment with numerous dead end pathways, a lack of any cues (typical to any exploration and puzzle game) makes for an infuriating experience. This made worse by the fabricated incomprehensible language you apparently can't ever translate, a non-existent story, unrewarding (seemingly) climatic moments/triggers, and horrendous combat mechanics that sucks the joy out of anyone that isn't a masochist. The accessibility features like 'no fail mode' is a clear admittance by the developer of the many failings of this game.

It's really rather unfortunate. I wish I could like this game. Graphically this game is rather beautiful (though the dark areas are too dark while the vibrant colours are too bright). This music and audio work is decent. The characters are cute. Sadly this game leaves far too much to desire.

Mediterralien
Mediterralien

OHO! MY! GAAAHHHHHD!! It takes a lot to take my breath away. I'm barely an hour into this and I am hooked. It's challenging. It makes me ask what's around the next corner. I haven't had more fun just exploring a world aimlessly in years. I passed over TUNIC the first time I saw it. Then some videos started to capture my attention. This is not "just another" anything. This world and this story and this fox are unique and carefully and lovingly crafted. This is going to be one I talk about and play for many years. I can tell. Don't wait. This journey is worth it.

BlondeCyborg
BlondeCyborg

This is a game I would recommend to anyone. It's a beautiful experience and journey exploring and uncovering the secrets of the world. So many eureka moments and mysteries hidden in plain sight. If you're a lover of classic games you will have a blast.

An Opulent Butthole
An Opulent Butthole

A great game. Chill music. Combat is very forgettable. The world and its mysteries are the big draw. I had to use a few online guides because redoing some of my notes felt too tedious for me.

Merim
Merim

Challenging game, a mix between having the gameplay of The Legend of Zelda with the concept of Dark Souls in it. Lots of secrets and contains 2 endings which is Bad and True ending.

Lividtoaster
Lividtoaster

Every puzzle makes me feel like a schizophrenic. Would play again.

Lore
Lore

Like any exploratory game, I dragged my face across every wall... and this game does reward that. I didn't realize there were puzzles until I had to do one. I wasn't aware of the puzzles within puzzles till late game, while looking at the manual, and a guide. Lastly, beware the difficulty spike that are the bosses. You might be challenged, and a couple attempts may be required, but If you managed to get to a boss, It means you CAN beat It. Reminds me of the old Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Tivo
Tivo

First game i have played in some time where I went through and 100% it. its very good. simple yet fun, its a great puzzler and has some dark souls feelings. you will die alot. but its not bad. after you finish a fight that kicked your butt it feels rewarding. its a cutesie looking game but its replayability is fantastic. after first completion you unlock New Game + with harder enemies and more challenges. give it a shot! you wont be disappointed

adamant
adamant

It is amazing. I'm speechless.

Klar
Klar

Great game, figuring things out on your own is a little hard without help but managing it is the best feeling in the world. It's a lot like Outer Wilds but restricts the player with progression in places.

extracrispy
extracrispy

The hero is an adorable little fox with a sword and shield! How can you not love that? 10/10 for Zelda fans.

Sleepψave
Sleepψave

For fans who enjoy secret hunting, top-down Zelda games, and Souls-like games.

It's tremendously easy to spoil yourself for this game. If you identify with the first sentence of this review, you will enjoy the game if you really give it a chance.

9/10

Nougatrocity
Nougatrocity

I have fallen in love with this game, but the less you know going in the more magical the experience is.

A bit of Zelda, a bit of Dark Souls, but 100% its own unique and wonderful thing. This game is a treasure.

dBXYLevi
dBXYLevi

This is now one of my Top 5 favourite video games of all time. The puzzles are outrageously well-designed and the combat is challenging but still fun. It also plays flawlessly on Steam Deck. Can’t recommend it enough

Ronaldus
Ronaldus

Did you play Elden Ring and think: I wish this were harder and starred a cartoon fox? No? Then you also won't get this game. You have no idea where to go, what to do, or how to play. The controls are bad and play just isn't fun. I'm sure there are people who want to "get gud" at this, but I'll stick to games which are fun to play rather than unnecessarily difficult.

Hitokiri_Ace
Hitokiri_Ace

One of my favorite games I've played recently.
Nice music, good story, and fun puzzles.
I thought it would be a bit more Zelda knock-off than it was, and I think that's a good thing.
It did well to find it's own niche, and it did it in a fun way.

It's not a terribly long game, but I enjoyed it the whole way through.
Thanks Dev., keep it up. :)

Phyrebat
Phyrebat

Tunic takes its gimmick of having an in-game instruction manual and gets so much more out of it than I ever expected. Exploring the world of Tunic is a treat as you fight monsters and bosses, find hidden paths and new magical powers, and slowly piece together what you're on this island to do. It is a game about being a confused little fox, wielding a tiny little sword, and solving a strange overarching mystery. The combat can be difficult at times, but the checkpoints are fairly generous and frequent shortcuts mean you're rarely forced to run through the same enemies every time you die.

If you're looking for a game that that's not afraid to be a little obscure and leave the puzzle solving up to you, definitely give Tunic a try!

Maurdekye
Maurdekye

TUNIC has to be hands-down one of my favorite games ever created. Easily 10/10, one of the best games I've played all year.

* Stunning, clean, incredibly well executed isometric 3D art style
* Interesting, subdued story that gets deeper and more complex the further you play
* Unique, compelling, and rewarding mechanics in the form of the ingame manual and (maybe spoilers) the golden path
* Tight, responsive, consistent combat and movement, with enough depth to be interesting and engaging, but nowhere near overwhelming in its complexity
* Varied and challenging but not frustrating encounters
* Lovely music
* Fantastic world building and level design
* Chock full of secrets: secret areas, secret mechanics, secret puzzles, and secret shortcuts

If you enjoy classic 2D Zelda, FEZ, FromSoft games, and games that use knowledge as progression (Outer Wilds, Antichamber, The Witness, Return of the Obra Dinn), you'll absolutely love TUNIC. This game has all the best parts from all of those games, and still manages to be greater than their sum.

The unique mechanic of TUNIC is the game's manual. The manual itself is a point of game progression, wherein you collect its pages scattered throughout the world in order to reconstruct the knowledge hidden within. Only trouble is, the manual is 70% written in a foreign language you can't understand, with only a few scattered words and phrases legible. You'll use inference and deduction to glean as much information as possible from each manual page you find in order to progress in the game. The game delivers moments of revelation again and again when you find that one page which completes the puzzle in your mind you've been poring over for hours, or reveals a hidden mechanic that had been hiding right under your nose the entire time.

All the while acquiring manual pages and discovering the game's hidden mechanics and secrets they reveal, you're also playing a classic Legend of Zelda style open world game about clearing dungeons, collecting their loot, and improving your arsenal with a variety of tools and items, magical and otherwise.

The combat is top notch as well, and every encounter with even basic enemies is engaging and never gets monotonous. That's not even mentioning the variety of fantastic boss encounters, offering both dramatic scale, challenge, and satisfaction from beating them. The Librarian and Siege Engine are two of my favorites.

Even upon beating the game, if you choose to go back and try to locate all the remaining manual pages (which you definitely should), be ready to break out a pen & paper or your image editing software of choice, as the secrets and puzzles only ramp up in complexity from here. I finished with a veritable collage of all the solving I had to do for many of the puzzles required to follow the golden path.

While the intended progression path is well established, the game is incredibly open ended, and can be potentially beaten in any order the player desires with the right knowledge beforehand, much like dark souls.

My only critisism with this game is that in some areas, the orthographic camera of the level geometry clashes visually with the perspective camera view of the background, causing some visual inconsistency and a slightly uncomfortable notion of space-warping. It's particularly apparent in a specific late game area, the rooted ziggurat. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else. The game is just that perfect.

If you even moderately enjoy any of the games I've referenced thus far, you will not be let down with TUNIC. It delivers in every conceivable way with confidence and unrivaled finesse. Everyone should play this game at least once in their life if they have the opportunity.

Exxion
Exxion

Easily my game of the year. The year's not over yet, but I don't think anything's going to top this. Absolutely ingenious in multiple ways I can't even describe, because even mentioning them would constitute major spoilers. Play it.

It draws some pretty obvious visual and story inspiration from Hyper Light Drifter, but the gameplay is different (much slower) and it builds on that inspiration in ways that are, as far as I know, entirely unique.
As far as difficulty goes, it's probably about on par with Hyper Light Drifter, but in a different way. Sometimes a fight seems totally impossible. It's not. Either you just need to learn the pattern better, or you need to figure out the cheese.

I don't have all the achievements due to Proton bugging out and not giving them to me, but I've actually done a 100% run in this playtime. I should have all the achievements except the two missable ones.

Processing...
Processing...

Trying to follow the spirit of Zelda, the game failes miserably in being fun. In particular, the price of 30 euro is just insolent.
The combat system is just a disgrace.
One could think that at least the exploration part is worth mentioning, but it feels just extremely unrewarding. The secrets are mostly secret because of the static perspective (you can't move the camera) while the exploration part is just try and error: exploring in a not indented way just leads to (momentary?) dead ends, having no way to quick travel (I guess).
So this game might be worth a shot if there are absolutely no other games and there is a 80% discount. Otherwise just play Zelda or Elden Ring or so.

Melonman
Melonman

very good but difficult game

would strongly recommend for those that have nostalgia for the original Legend of Zelda, as almost all of the games text is:
(Insert strangely translatable gibberish here: - )
------- Go -> --------------- and ------ 🗡️ ---- to ------- (insert random shape) ------

Note: the game is pretty hard but you can make yourself invincible and give yourself infinite stamina in the settings

Sadface
Sadface

a lot of fun, reminds me of zelda

cbugur
cbugur

Couldn't drop the game until I solved every secret

Pistachio Jones
Pistachio Jones

I really enjoyed my time with this game. Tracking down all of the secrets and solving the manual puzzle to get the "good" ending was an absolute blast.

I appreciate that the developer put in a toggle to make the game easier if needed. I was getting pretty frustrated during the "boss rush" / "arena" fight and almost quit entirely. I saw the option to disable damage and used it temporarily to clear that fight.

latar
latar

lovely looking game with neat gameplay and great art, it wasn't my thing but worth a try

Cypher
Cypher

I went into this game expecting a cute Zelda-like adventure, what I got was that and so much more. If you're a fan of difficult action/adventures and enjoy immersing yourself in finding secrets and solving puzzles, this game worth checking out.

lukehampton04
lukehampton04

So... when does this game start getting interesting? Just seems like every generic adventure trope wrapped in a pretty, yet boring package.

DesmoRex
DesmoRex

9.5/10
This game is amazing...

This game was expertly crafted as a game that teach you without babying you.
^^^^^^ MORE DEVS NEED TO FUCKING DO THIS^^^^^
PROS:
-great gameplay
-great lore
-great story telling
-great world building
-great astheltically
-great and consistent art style

CONS:
Needs a tad bit more balancing

ZeldakingZ12
ZeldakingZ12

I wish there was a maybe or a play until you get bored option on the review. I got the true ending and it wasn't worth it. I'm not even sure if I would consider the second half of the game worth it, but it had such a unique way of teaching mechanics that I can't not recommend the game as a whole.

Jarn Argence
Jarn Argence

This is a very fun game. While it does bear resemblance to Zelda games, there is a definite Souls influence in there as well. The art style and gameplay are very enjoyable. I highly recommend this game.

INsanable Lecturn
INsanable Lecturn

Difficult in a way that is fair and despite being bad at games, was feasible. Now time to 100% it.

marthastokes
marthastokes

This is a great semi-open world game. It reminds me of the older Zelda games in spirit. It is sort of confusing because the game doesn't give you much information at first. This has become part of the charm at least for me. Bosses are hard. I haven't hard to try over so many times in years. It's the first game I played on my Deck and it's great on the Deck.

suuyo
suuyo

hello yes thank you for one of my favorite games there is
i can't read (yet) though
tunic genuinely strikes an amazing balance of introducing new concepts when they're needed, while not being overwhelming at any point
it also keeps one-upping itself on the "sick as fuck" factor between each segment of the game

Bunnicula
Bunnicula

So far, this game has to be the most adorable and isometric game I've ever played!

GreenPhoenix
GreenPhoenix

The game is a fun zelda like exploration game. This game will not hold your hand, you will need at least 1 of 2 things to get through it.
A) The ability to explore EVERY nook and cranny. Leave no stone unturned ANYWHERE. Especially if it is out of sight. I lost some time playing this because I thought a path was a dead end when I just gazed over the path I needed to walk.
B) The ability to google stuff. Don't feel bad, just enjoy the game. No shame in looking at a guide. I have managed to avoid it, but that is because I am stubborn.

My only gripe is The lantern you get isn't consistently on. This will leave you going into dark corners and being completely unable to see

Owokin
Owokin

This is a riddle of a game and rewards investigation. Everything is there from the beginning, You just need to recognize it.

Fitz
Fitz

One of the most unique games out there. Any fan of dark souls, zelda, or especially puzzle games absolutely must play.

LordGandhii
LordGandhii

Like my reviews? Go follow my Curator page.

Fantastic Mr. Link

While I try to be as honest and fair about the games I evaluate, I am but one little dictator writing these reviews, and thus I am prone to biases. One of the main preferences I have, in particular, is my love for games that place an emphasis on exploration. Skyrim, Elden Ring, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are all comfortably near, or at the top, of my list of favorite games. With that in mind, I walked into this game knowing fully well that I'd enjoy it. What I did not expect, however, was how much I was going to enjoy it. Tunic is a brilliant gem with a fascinating and mysterious world that slowly unfolds itself with each button you press.

Graphics

Tunic utilizes a minimalist art style, reminiscent of last year's Death's Door. In particular, the standout is how well it uses color. Initially it adds to the dreamlike feeling of the game, but eventually I picked up on the brilliantly subtle ways color is utilized to guide you in the right direction. The character designs are also top-notch. Your playable fox hero is absolutely adorable, and I really liked the extra touch of seeing them look at things and react to them as I passed by. My only criticism here is a minor one, and it's that the final boss was obnoxiously hard to follow at times because the game went a little too overboard with the effects, and all of the attacks kind of blended together as a result. However, this didn't significantly ruin my enjoyment by any stretch, and was only noticeable because of how well-done the rest of the game was visually.

Gameplay

Since Breath of the Wild, I think games have started to embrace a "less is more" approach with open worlds, where you're thrown into the thick of things and you're forced to learn and adapt on your own, often coupled with a minimal or nonexistent HUD. Tunic is one such game, but takes this philosophy in a very unique direction. On top of the aforementioned staples of these games, Tunic adds an additional layer of complexity by making most of the game in a foreign language you can't easily translate. Instead, you need to find pieces of a manual to gradually piece together how to play, and what exactly you're doing. The manual mechanic is, in my opinion, probably the best thing about this game. It's such a creative way to ease you into the game's mechanics, and it keeps gameplay fresh because learning the controls is part of the mystery. The game is pretty much what it looks like, but the important thing to note is that it plays much more closely to a Soulslike than a 2D Zelda game. You're mostly exploring and fighting monsters, but there's enough environment variety that this never felt boring to me. The combat is pretty simple (though it takes some getting used to), but it works well enough. There's a handful of bosses, and while they were cool, I did find it very annoying how frequently they would move just out of range, or dodge your projectiles. The stamina system was fine, but I always felt like my attacks were just out of range, and I couldn't really do anything about it besides try to get lucky with my positioning. The bosses were all fair to fight, but I felt they were slightly overtuned since it felt like I barely ever got windows to attack them. Later in the game, you'll begin to encounter more puzzles. And while these puzzles did feel pretty obtuse at times, the final one was extremely satisfying to pull off, and one of my favorite puzzles I've ever seen in a game. In regards to that, yes, I do think Tunic gets a little bit too obtuse at times. The game generally does a good job of keeping you on track with subtle cues, but there were a couple of points where I had absolutely zero indication as to what to do next, and had to consult a guide. I cannot get more specific without story spoilers. Speaking of which...

Story

Tunic's narrative is pretty basic. It's just "ring the bell" or "get the thing", but I honestly don't mind that. The game is intentionally vague and mysterious, but I think the developers were more concerned with nailing the feel of exploring an unfamiliar world rather than the "why" of it. Translating some of the language, I found it kind of amusing just how surface-level a lot of the text was. That said, there definitely is some worldbuilding, although a lot of it is left open to interpretation. The world itself is quite fascinating, and there's a lot to explore, so I feel like the story is more about discovering what's going on in this enchanting little fox world. While there isn't much to this story, the devs seemed more concerned about the world and the feel, both of which were handled quite well.

Audio

Another major highlight of Tunic is the surprisingly stellar soundtrack. It plays a crucial part in setting the tone of the game, and the best word I can use to describe it is ethereal. For a game dead-set on trying to sell you on the world you explore, the music carries a lot of the weight in making that feeling work. It's otherworldly, and emphasizes synths more than traditional instruments, but at the same time entrancing enough to keep you focused on the game. This very well could be one of the best indie game soundtracks in the last couple years.

Content Value

While my playtime seems low, it's important to note that I tend to finish games pretty quickly. You can definitely get double the amount of playtime, if not triple. Tunic has multiple endings, and I was compelled enough to get all of them. There's also a ton of secrets, and it feels like I barely scratched the surface with that. I think the game is most interested in the first playthrough, but I do think the build variety is rather disappointing. I would've liked to see one or two more weapons that you could use instead of the sword. It hurts the replay value, although I do think this game could be interesting to watch speedruns for.

Verdict

Tunic is an amazing labor of love that should be talked about more. Maybe it's because Elden Ring released a few weeks prior to this and drowned out any gaming discussion for a solid month, but this game was a constantly satisfying experience with some incredibly brilliant ideas, and executed those ideas extremely well. It didn't exceed in every front, but it did so in most of the areas it needed to. If you enjoy games that don't hold your hand, this is absolutely a must-play. Besides, how can you say no to a face as adorable as that little fox?

Graphics - 5/5
Gameplay - 3/5
Story - 4/5
Audio - 5/5
Content Value - 4/5

.:9.0/10:.
"Amazing"

**PERSONAL PICK**

+ Brilliant manual mechanic
+ Clever art direction
+ Enchanting soundtrack
+ Incredible final puzzle
+ Adorable character designs
+ Satisfying exploration & progression

- A little too obtuse at certain points
- Bosses were slightly overtuned
- Lack of weapon variety

Dal'jin
Dal'jin

It gives me Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past vibes and I love it.

sfchapman
sfchapman

I certainly enjoyed bits of Tunic.
The art is consistently great.
Exploring the world was fun, until backtracking and combing through it became tedious. (A functional fast travel system would have been nice.)
Puzzling out the manual and mechanics was engaging, until it became repetitive and overly opaque. (Opinions will vary.)
Combat... well the combat was only ever tolerable at best, and it becomes an absolute slog later on.
This might be the worst implementation of a lock-on system I can recall.
Tunic isn't a terribly long game, but I found myself wishing it were shorter.
I started out enchanted with Tunic and I ended up kind of loathing it.

Lenx
Lenx

You start with almost zero information but from time to time you find pages of a book, which are, besides exploring, the only way to find out what you are supposed to do
This "manual" will be your best friend and also your worst enemy, since its 95% written in a fantasy language
But dont worry, it has nice pictures! (it really looks nice)
At some points it gets quite confusing which brings me to the difficulty...

Early in the game the difficulty is very nice but in the end it gets surprisingly brutal
Some combat encounters and puzzles made me go: "Is this for real?!"
Im quite used to hard and complicated games, but i still got stuck a few times
But its not a big problem because:

If combat gets too hard, you can turn on easy mode in the options
If puzzles get too hard, i recommend looking for HINTS in the internet, not the actual solution
Asking people that played the game already can also be a great way to deal with such hindrances

Overall its such a cleverly-made game which impressed me more than once
Simple assets made into something impressive is always respectable
Make sure to play it as spoilerfree as possible and take your time to find out stuff on your own, before searching for help
I definitely recommend this, but if you are a very impatient person, this could be a bit too tedious and-slow paced for you

Kroniid
Kroniid

Amazing puzzles and beautiful art and visuals

Sonicgott
Sonicgott

A beautiful game, but varying degrees of difficulty. Exploration encouraged!

Freak_OUT999
Freak_OUT999

Absolutely loved it. Play it blind for the best experience. Evokes some aspects of the Legend of Zelda games, with more of a focus on exploration and puzzles over combat.

Pacifico
Pacifico

I love it so much! it was hard until I got the sword and shield, but after that it has been amazing! I love it and totally recommend it.

Yal
Yal

It draws you in with a mix of Zelda and Souls callbacks, then gradually turns you into a corkboard-and-red-wire conspiracy theorist as you get dragged into more and more obscure mysteries with the game world. Make sure you play it blind, learning anything about how the game works will rob you of an incredibly satisfying feeling of discovery.

Alternate title: "This was possible all along?: the official video game".

Sinister
Sinister

Zelda, dark souls, and a very interactive mystery all wrapped up into a tight package. Game can be pretty short if you dont care about 100% though.

Bennyboo
Bennyboo

I have never written a review on Steam before but this game was so good I feel compelled to. Can’t say too much without spoiling (and I do think it’s best to go in blind) but this game won me over with the extremely creative puzzles that require some serious outside-the-box thinking. I also like the aesthetic of the game (the in-game instruction manual is a super nice touch :) ) and the boss battles are fun, though definitely frustrating at times lol. It is a bit on the short side, but despite that I think it’s worth getting even at full price.

Mediocre Sneak
Mediocre Sneak

Easy top 5 games I have played

brouh
brouh

Tunic is awesome. I enjoyed this game for the most part and its main concept is such an awesome one that turned out really well and enhanced the whole feeling of mystery this game has. The environments are gorgeous, and the music is so well put together. The biggest strength of this game is the entire feeling of mystery and the exploration itself, but while I did enjoy this game, I also found the combat to be mixed, as well as some weird pacing in the late third of the game.

Tunic advertises itself like Zelda but feels a lot more like Souls when it comes to combat and even storytelling to a big degree aside from the manuals. I feel like it's hit or miss considering that this game's combat system isn't anything as crazy as souls combat and feels trial and errory to some extent. The items you can buy with the in-game currency are the most useful during these times since they let you bypass annoying enemies, but items you use are gone even after you die so I often felt discouraged from using a lot of them which was a massive disappointment, I don't understand why this design decision is even a thing like even Elden Ring has it. I'm kinda disappointed that a lot of the combat in this game overstays its welcome in general. I think having obstacles in exploration is very important but once you make combat a big focus then it detracts from the exploring and puts too much emphasis on the combat making things feel like filler rather than adventurous, I think. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the combat at all because there are some really fun things you can do like using items and fighting enemies in context of the lore, but I wish this part was more refined.

With that aside, exploration in this game is such a treat and I've gotten myself so engaged to wanting to find the mysteries and figure out where to go next. I am a fan of games that don't take up so many hours so when I sat down in a 6 hour session that felt like an entire day, I was really shocked how much density there was in the content. Not only that, but exploring feels absolutely earned, due to the heavy mixture of items and knowledge being your form of progression. Having played Outer Wilds recently, this game gave me a feeling that emulated a chunk of what Outer Wilds did and that alone made me enjoy this game so much. I love being able to explore a world while having to think of where to go instead of exclusively just mindlessly wandering to a new area. Thinking of where to go next really adds so much to the experience and entering an area you've heard was on the map but couldn't get to until now due to your knowledge is incredibly satisfying.

I also love the way maps were done since certain maps of certain areas aren't even in those areas and you'll just stumble across them in your adventure, which then I'll be asking myself where the flip this map is located and then BOOM I find that place and I'm like Holy Flip. This game is definitely not the first to do that but the whole manual idea is what really makes it special. I highly advise not Googling anything here either unless you're dead stuck because the manual will usually give you all of the information you need and you'll just need to decipher it. The lore is interesting to a great extent as well, and a lot of it is well shown in the manual too.

I don't think I can discuss late game easily without spoiling but I think the pacing here is so weird because they introduce a new form of exploration way too late into the game which pretty much all the action is done and you're just exploring a barren world doing puzzles. I really dig these puzzles and I found them to be so engaging but aside from being able to explore one new area and reexploring the others one last time, I wish these puzzles were brought up like somewhere in the middle like second act of the game, probably while exploring and stumbling across them, since late game pretty much has you ONLY doing puzzles after finishing one area. This reminds me of Wind Waker's Triforce Pieces since that game pretty much tells you where the pieces are way too late into the game which pretty much broke the pace immensely. This could've made the second act of the game more interesting and could've foreshadowed the final puzzle a lot sooner, freeing the game from some sections of repetitive combat while you're just in the overworld solving puzzles.

With all that said, I really dig this game and found it to be such a great experience despite its major shortcomings. I could recommend this to a lot of people and I definitely found myself having so much fun exploring. Cryptic clues can scare many people off but I think the way this game does it is so well done that I hope more games experiment with knowledge-based progression since it's genuinely some of the most satisfying stuff ever.

The Liz Wiz
The Liz Wiz

Beating the game normally is a nice time with simple combat and steadily escalating challenges (though a few gimmicks are honestly pretty bothersome), but the devs do allow a story focused playthrough with accessibility options for those that prefer it.

The real draw with this game is the puzzle-solving, exploration, and discovering the mechanics slowly. Many things can technically be done from the start of the game and the game isn't afraid that people can crack it open quickly either through community knowledge, brute force, or replaying. It's encouraged more than anything. A notebook is recommended alongside this game for those longer solutions (trust me).

HMPerson1
HMPerson1

fun puzzles and exploration, good soundtrack, and very cute

combat sucks, but it can be turned off

Malts
Malts

The Legend of the Illiterate Fox

manywhelps
manywhelps

combat is a little frustrating due to no enemy tether (so you cannot run from a fight unless there is a doorway or ladder nearby) and some enemy groups which gang bang you without the usual design help of more distant enemies holding fire.

flying enemies often hover out of range while sniping or freezing, and the weapon you need to deal with distant flyers uses mana so has limited ammo until you find the next resting point. even worse, a one time use consumable (which needs to be equipped in one of the three weapon slots) rather than a refillable flask is used to restore mana.

oh and your fire bombs can set you on fire too, and quickly use up all your health flasks, and your freeze bombs will freeze you - which is a design choice not worth the achievement it gets you.

other than the above, its a nicely styled game. and there is a god mode in the menu which i used because i simply could not defeat a grouping of 5 enemies (3 flyers), could not reliably pull them individually and could not run past them either.

i read on the forum that the devs are considering combat changes, so if i see an update fixing some of these frustrations i would come back and give this a positive rating.

ZenZenith
ZenZenith

This game is the child of Zelda 1 and Dark Souls 1 in all of the best possible ways. Legit masterpiece.

Zane
Zane

I thought the golden era of gaming had passed, but Tunic reminds me of the spirit of adventure in the same way a lot of the RPG's of my younger years did.

Absolutely critical that it's played without spoilers, Tunic is the Legend of Zelda/Dark Soulsy hybrid of my dreams, and that's not even considering the fox.

MKarma
MKarma

Amazing game, but definitely not for everyone.

Tunic may look innocent at first but it's very challenging. Enemies get difficult really fast and the game almost requires you to want to explore every nook and cranny - or you'll miss so many secrets the game gets even harder. But if you're into those then it's amazing. There's also a lot of depth with puzzles, mostly presented through the cryptic in game manual. It feels super rewarding to figure stuff out on your own.

Give tunic a try if you enjoy a challenge, like exploring and don't mind tough puzzles. Tunic doesn't mess around so be prepared.

Nama
Nama

You must play this game now, and you must play it blind. You are depriving yourself if you do not do these things.

Mouldy Lamp
Mouldy Lamp

So far really fun! A bit challenging here and there, definitely died a few times already. Art style is cool, music is awesome, plays well. :)

Necarch
Necarch

Great game! Absolutely recommend it!

Languedoc
Languedoc

I hesitate to recommend this game to a large number of people, but choose to give it a yes simply because the game was made well and with love.

if you intend to play this game without the use of guides and or accessability features (which are a welcome addition, that i used near the end just to navigate the map faster for collecting things) then be prepared to have external programs open to take pictures of things in game, and write things down in an attempt to decipher the games secret language. understanding how to read the language is required for a lot of the hidden puzzles, but doing so is definitely beyond what many people would be willing to attempt without the use of guides.

for anyone who loves puzzles of that type, then this game is absolutely one that you shouldnt pass up. and for those who dont, the use of guides makes many of the games challenges trivial, but also drastically reduces the amount of time you'd spend in game, potentially making the price point not worth it.

Stitchypupper
Stitchypupper

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

Weppi
Weppi

Best way to experience the game is to know nothing about it.

NavidK0
NavidK0

Super well made, a fantastic example of "show, don't tell". This is a wonderfully crafted game that is definitely worth playing. You can tell a lot of care and thought went into it.

dan devito, gaming advocate
dan devito, ga…

pretty great game. really good combination of elements from zelda and dark souls games. very appealing visuals and sound. only complaint is I got stuck for a short while cause I thought I was supposed to start translating the book to progress, but actually I just had to walk behind a block. just isometric things. minor spoiler but I'm pretty sure you don't actually have to translate the book at any point to progress. it's just something fun to look up the translated version once you finish the game, which I haven't yet.

BlazejJ
BlazejJ

I enjoyed playing through this game and it recalled to my experiences early Legend of Zelda games, specifically the original. The puzzles I went through in the latter half of the game weren't as fun as the novelty wore off. Once I understood the puzzles and could solve them, it felt like another hour of work to read and transcribe answers.

In part this was because in going through the game, I solved all the combat challenges and then went into the puzzles. The puzzles alone weren't complicated enough to keep my interest and if they were difficult, it was only because they were hard to read even after you saw them.

Sojimne
Sojimne

An incredible game that leaves you with goosebumps at each new discovery. Secrets upon secrets upon secrets, means that almost nothing can be said about this game without spoiling it.
In an extremely broad sense, fans of Fez's layered puzzles, and Hyper Light Drifter's atmosphere and combat will love this game.

The only thing that ever had me putting this game down for a night, a week even at times, was the difficulty spikes at some bosses or other pivotal moments. In those moments it really matters to take it slow, learn the fight, don't try to face-tank through an encounter.

And ho wow is it worth it to stick it out past those difficulty spikes, for the environmental storytelling this game gives you is second to none. Most text is in a secret runic language, so story and lore is given to you via the sometimes even jaw-dropping environments you traverse, and the creatures you encounter.

This game is absolutely my game of the year. I'll be thinking about it for a very, very long time. Bravo to the developers.

Long Tall Jodie
Long Tall Jodie

This is going to enter the indie game pantheon as one of the best games ever made.

RedWire
RedWire

At face value, it's a fun little adventure game, like Legend of Zelda or Evoland, but where this game really shines is the secrets. There is always another secret. Explore every nook and cranny, analyze every word (that you can read--most text is written in a fictional language) and pattern that you find, and you won't be disappointed.
The combat and exploring are definitely fun, nothing extremely out of the ordinary but just well done overall. Some of the abilities you get (from items) are quite fun to use, and some secrets that you find will help you use them in ways you didn't think of.
Besides the secrets, this game also does great (imo) with its story and lore. Like the original Legend of Zelda, it plops you down in the world with no instructions and no weapon (but you get one nearby, like in LoZ). As you explore the world, it feels like it has a history and is connected to what you are doing, but it's just vague enough to be intriguing. In this way, it reminded me of Hollow Knight, although HK was probably even more vague.
Overall, definitely worth the purchase, I've thoroughly enjoyed it so far and plan on continuing to play. If you buy this, my recommendation would be to NOT look anything up unless you are good and stuck. And even then, check the info you've gathered in-game first before you check the internet. This game does a fantastic job of burying secrets everywhere and rewarding you well for finding them.

Escoul
Escoul

A cute game where you explore the world, find equipment and fight monsters & bosses. The challenging combat is well made and reminiscent of Dark Souls. This game has a TON of secrets and rewards you for being observant. What makes this game special is the "game manual", a 4th wall breaking nicely illustrated booklet with strong childhood vibes, its pages scattered across the game world. The manual isn't just an 'ol guide that openly reveals all the game's secrets, it's a vital part of the game's progression. The manual is mostly written in an unknown language and has its own secrets you have to uncover. Alternating between gameplay and trying to make sense of the manual is really fun!
While you'll spend most of the time figuring out the game's hidden mechanics, fighting, exploring; the (optional) lategame instead transitions into solving ARG-like puzzles across the game world, requiring a lot of backtracking. If you played FEZ, it's kind of like that.
Unfortunately, the game never helps you decipher its secret language that you'll see all the time during the game. Deciphering it is possible but probably not worth doing on your own, you need it for the sake of finally understanding the entire manual and the very very optional endgame puzzle.
Overall, it's a well made and unique game with challenging combat and I just love the game manual. The lack of language hints and (optional) backtracking towards the end of the game disappointed me a bit but the game is, for the most part, well worth your time!

Sako
Sako

Truly a labor of love, there is a ridiculous amount of hidden depth to the game. The gameplay is fun, like any other good souls-like, but this game truly shines in its exploration and puzzle solving. I recommend you try your best to play the game completely blind. Although if you manage to actually 100% this game without looking up anything at all, I salute you.

[CU] Dolphin
[CU] Dolphin

Great game, absolutely loved it. Exceeded expectations by a lot. This is not the type of game you think it might be. Having to learn everything on your own through context clues of the manual and just by experiment leaves you with so many feelings of accomplishment. Not overly difficult. Game can range from casual to a bit cheesy in terms of difficulty. Near the end of the game, you have the option to solve many obscure puzzles that make you shout "EUREKA!" upon figuring it out. Great game at any price. More should be like this.

TheDoctor2426
TheDoctor2426

Have a pencil and some paper nearby.

HappyToaster
HappyToaster

The very early game is not great, and I was a bit turned off, but after that bump the game is pretty decent.

I'd really recommend avoiding looking up what to do online, unless you get truly desperate. A lot of the charm surrounds to the experience of figuring things out.

Brendal
Brendal

This game is absolutely outstanding. The graphics are amazing in their own way with its simplicity but detailed environment. The lighting was taken much into consideration with every area and deep dark cave. It almost looks like this game has Ray Tracing but it does not which is stunning! The second thing you will notice in this game right from the start is the absolute amazing, perfect soundtrack and high fidelity sounds used. This is a must have and a must play.

Vera
Vera

Wow, I cannot recommend this game enough. It is a wild ride--as many other reviewers note, it is best to go in blind, so I'll keep things general in this review to avoid spoilers. This game is stuffed full of puzzles and secrets, layers and layers of them. Both the story and the puzzles truly blew my mind at multiple points.

As you pick up pages of the "instruction manual" throughout your adventure, more puzzles become clear. Enough hints are eventually dropped that I was able to solve all the puzzles without resorting to looking things up online--other than some of the hidden treasures that are optional and much more difficult than the puzzles you need to solve the game and move forward. This game makes you work for it, to think things through, but still provided enough guidance that I rarely felt frustrated or stuck. It is a truly masterful puzzle experience and I'm not sure what will fill the puzzle void I will have in my life after I finish the post-main storyline extra secret things, because I've never played another game quite like this.

On its surface it's a combo of Zelda and Dark Souls. I haven't played much dark souls but I would say this experience is less punishing, as you only lose a small amount of currency if you die, but does have the element of enemies respawning every time you heal/rest. Additionally, in the accessibility menu you can turn on infinite stamina and/or "no fail" mode where you can't die, in case you'd rather focus on the puzzles rather than the combat. Combat is probably the weakest part of this game, and the thing I got most frustrated with at some points. I did have fun with it for a while, but it did get old to me after a bit and can be a little clunky. There is a part in particular where combat gets a bit rough and I did use the "no fail" mode briefly to get past the annoying bits of it so I could continue with my puzzling. There are a few magic items that are fun, but mana is unfortunately quite limited.

Overall, this game is truly an experience and you will feel very rewarded for exploration, creativity, and problem solving. Enjoy your adventure!

Battlesable
Battlesable

Trust me, just buy it and DO NOT LOOK AT WALKTHROUGHS OR ANY VIDEOS ONLINE, even for little things.
It is the kind of game that will mindblow you, and at the end you will wish that you could erase your memories and play it again from the beginning.

mahajimbo
mahajimbo

Game slaps, slaps you slaps your mother slaps your cat your dog and then your brain. Come for the game play stay for the upside down T and Y's.

wittyfiro
wittyfiro

Visually stunning, user smooth controls, and wonderfully inspired!

Roshambo
Roshambo

It is dangerous to go alone in a furry costume.

iroh
iroh

This game really covered by elden ring dust. BRB trying to learn how to read any word in tunic guide

ohsnapseabass
ohsnapseabass

Cute, charming and challenging. The game doesn't set out to be groundbreaking or innovative, but everything it does, it does well. I will say, some people might be discouraged due to the "translation issue." That being said, I would encourage you not to look up anything, if you've played other adventure games in the vein of the LoZ series, you shouldn't have too terrible of a time deciphering the game manual, especially the further you get into it.

Playable on the keyboard, but this is one of those rare games where I definitely think a controller proves to be the better experience.

giupemnow
giupemnow

The game knows what it tries to be. It is a puzzle game than anything else with secrets at every turn. Originally, my expectation of the game was that of an old schooled Zelda game and it does pay homage to that concept. However, with lack of knowledge that is given to you in the game; the decisions you make are those from the either past experience or from the hints given to you. I will admit however, the game will be difficult at the later sections of the game and many thing are not explained to you. The experience of discovery behind each secrets will taste sweeter.

Mojo_Jojo
Mojo_Jojo

I expected this to be a Legend of Zelda knock-off, but it was not at all. It was something _entirely_ different, and was surprisingly smart, fun, and addictive. It has a lot of the same vibe as Fez - it's full of secrets and puzzles that make you feel proud when you've solved them.

In my opinion, the only bad choice the game designers made was to make the main character look like Link. My guess is that most people pass the game up thinking it's a Zelda clone. I like Zelda games, but they can be a little grindy and aren't particularly smart. This, on the other hand, is one of my all-time favorite games.

dosk
dosk

annoying most of the time, but rewarding

def is difficult for difficult sake, but you have to finish it otherwise you are not a real gamer

DJ_Cas
DJ_Cas

True masterpiece. This an adventure of small fox with RPG style abilities. Anyone who likes adventures I would recommend this game. It reminds me a Will of Wisps by the magic going on there. Try it and don't regret it

Doggomeem
Doggomeem

This may not be for everyone, it's a fun enough souls-like with great combat and world-building. But this game gives off similar vibes as Outer Wilds, which I personally love, and those who enjoyed that game will enjoy this one. The best thing to do for yourself is to never look anything up and experience the game for yourself.

God of Rabbits
God of Rabbits

Simply one of the finest games I've played recently and certainly a contender for my game of the year! Tunic is a lovingly crafted masterpiece of an isometric action-adventure game. Tunic clearly plays homage to the 2D Zelda games, but at the same time forges it's own path.

There are so very many secrets packed into the corners of this game that make it a delight to play and explore. Every bush could be hiding a path or a door, and the areas have plenty more stuff to grab as you gather new powers. It's easy enough to stay on the intended path, but the game also allows for sequence breaks and has fairly obscure hidden paths to late-game areas.

Truly outstanding game, well worth the price of entry and very much worth your time. It's more fun to avoid spoilers, but do expect to get stumped on some of the toughest puzzles.

NerfThemAll
NerfThemAll

Closest thing we gonna get to a Zelda game for the PC
If you're a Zelda fanboy like me, you should definitely grab this game...

Outtatime28
Outtatime28

What a cute game that is both challenging and fun! The game slowly tells you more about what things are and what they can do. Makes me think of old Legend of Zelda games

gutterbrain
gutterbrain

A very enjoyable puzzle game with some decent souls-like combat. The game mostly does a good job of giving you the tools to unravel all the mysteries inside it, but it can be a little frustrating at points if you are trying to solve every puzzle. The art and music are top notch.

Yeofoxeon
Yeofoxeon

TUNIC is hands down one of the most immersive games I've ever played. Despite the initial confusion with the cryptic and lacking information at the start, exploring with my curiosity and being rewarded drew me in and sucked me into playing the game easily. That, and the experience/lore of the game was quite amazing for using so little words. I didn't expect to get so emotionally invested in a small little game like this, but here I am.
The twist towards the "third act" and the endings themselves absolutely tugged at my heart strings, just like the mid-point in PMD:EoS. I didn't expect to react and feel so strongly about what happens to little ol' Tune (yes, that's what I personally called the main character), and the highs and lows they encounter, but man. This game really does great at emotions.
Of course, the game has its lows, notably the almost ridiculous spikes in difficulty for the bosses, and the slightly annoying fighting system, but overall, this is a great game that I'm glad I sunk 20 hours into fully completing. If you don't mind cryptic games and enjoy exploring, solving puzzles, and want to listen to an amazing soundtrack, purchase this game.
Lil' Tune is the greatest of bois.

Doegewoonwat
Doegewoonwat

To start of I would give this game a meh, it's a fun game but it has quite a few flaws that just annoy the hell out of me. It's not that the game is hard, it's that sometimes there is little to no balance or testing done in my opinion.

+ Great graphics, beautiful game
+ Nice exploration
+ Overal it's a bit more enjoyment than frustration
+ Nice music

- Enemy design is good but only if it's one enemy at a time, two or three can literally stunlock you sometimes. There is an enemy type that can freeze you and is annoying to get to, they come in packs of 3 or even 4. So, it can happen that if one freezes you, they freeze lock you and bam you die. nothing you can do about it, you just die, that's just bad design. There should be a window before you can be frozen again
- Boss design, some bosses are good but others are plain mediocre or even frustratingly made. The first boss can just clip out of bounds and then well better start over shall we? The second boss however, holy frickin shitballs, whoever tested this should never test any boss ever again. It's not a hard boss at all, it's just so stupidly designed! The parts you have to hit are just out of reach for the character in most cases, any time you can hit it the boss just randomly jumps away 9 out of 10 times and it takes a solid 20 seconds to even manage to reach it. And then there's orbs that follow you and can sometimes due to the layout of the map speed the fuck up and appear next to you and boom you're dead. So yeah, this boss almost made me quit the game on the spot that's how shit it was designed
- Lack of variaty in weapons is a shame
- The inventory button has the worst spot in history. It's underneath the autolock function. But the best part, if you press it by accident during a fight, lets say a bossbattle then you go mental in the inventory because in the pressure of the fight you don't click the button again quick enough. Items get rebound, your sword is suddenly not on the same button anymore, items get changed around etc etc and then you finally get out of the damn screen and oh yeah, the boss shot you and you're dead. why for the love of god is this on this button?! There were so many options you could have done or even pauze during the inventory menu but no, it's next to one of the most used buttons in the game and it doesnt leave the inventory when you release the button, you have to click it again. Shit design

The game just has too many annoyances to redeem it's cool look, they could have fixed these easily with just barely any testing done as I'm not the only one with these issues. So if they had proper testing done then it would've been amazing.

At the moment it's a solid Meh, too many parts that are not hard for being difficult, more for bad design, which ruins the fun

Latere
Latere

"Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure with complex puzzles" is just about the best description for this game without spoiling anything. The way the game is set up, even just explaining the basic mechanics and gameplay is a spoiler. If you enjoy classic Legend of Zelda games or if what was shown in the trailer has peaked your interest, your best bet is to pick the game up and give it a shot. If you are still on the fence read on. There are no explicit or intentional spoilers in this review, but an integral part of the game is exploring and figuring everything (even basic mechanics) yourself.

The music in TUNIC is great. Boss themes are exciting and world themes provide the perfect ambience for exploration. But where this game really shines is in its sound design. Every single sound effect is near perfect. Every interaction will leave you awed by beauty of just clicking on an object. Even mundane actions become very satifying.

This game left me mixed feeling due to a few very poorly explained mechanics. Throughout the game, you will collect in-game manual pieces to what feels like one of those classic paper manuals you find inside the game's case when you buy it. the manual guides you through pretty much everything you need to figure out everything about the game yourself. In fact, the manual acts as a puzzle itself, and you have put the pieces together to figure out how to do everything from running to finishing the game. It does this incredibly well.

The game is essentially divided into two parts: the action-adventure part, and the Witness. I had a ton of fun for the first 5-6 hours of gameplay up until the end. At the end, the game completely opens up and for a while it was cool, but it really felt like I was playing the Witness again. It didn't feel like my time was being respected. I ended up going through the entire map 3 times in a row to complete the objectives, not knowing that you could do them at the same time because I didn't have the goddamn manual page about it. Really frustrating.

Except for a couple mechanics that aren't required to beat the game, just access a few treasure chests that aren't even hidden or secret. That there was no hint, clue or any indication I could do a few things gave a lot of frustration, but I feel that is easy to fix by devs or just by looking it up.

Final thoughts: some of the puzzles require a pretty big jump with potentially multiple conclusions and there isn't feedback you are looking at it wrong. Its easy to get caught in a cycle of seeing a puzzle, thinking you understand it do to other similar puzzles, and then the solution being completely separate. The vast majority, including the "big ending" puzzle, are brilliant.

I absolutely recommend giving the game a shot if you are interested in either aspect of puzzle solving or Zelda-like adventure.

jat2980
jat2980

Absolutely incredible. I can't believe it was made by such a small team

♥Puroseki (she/her)
♥Puroseki (she/her)

Absolutely one of the best action-rpgs ive ever played. Contains within it the DNA of both classic Zelda and Dark Souls, yet stays completely fresh and unique, standing alongside its inspirations without shame. Great combat, astounding puzzles, intriguing story, and a wonderful sense of mystery.

This is one of those games you should experience blind, the type that after it's over, you'll wish you could wipe your memory and experience it fresh again. Don't miss out on this instant classic.

American Patriot USA
American Patriot USA

I don't normally write comments but for the sake of this Game, I had to...

FrytoLay
FrytoLay

Let's cook Tunic!

1/5 cup of Hollow Knight.
1 pound of The legend of Zelda.
1/2 cup of Elden Ring.
3 cups of pretty graphics.

Mix all together and bake it for 14 hours.

8.3 / 10

JacktheRhymenoceros
JacktheRhymenoceros

I'm so glad I stuck with Tunic because I got so lost in this game! I've never really been obsessed over unlocking everything the game has to offer, or getting all of the achievements, or even writing reviews. Tunic might be the only ever exception to that for me. Here are some qualities that I believe you should have if you are considering purchasing and loving the heck outta this game like I did.

Patience: Tunic is a slow burn. There is a lot to experience if you continue to push past frustrations. Most negative reviews here focus a lot on the combat system and there is plenty of room for improvement there. It made me want to punch a baby at times. On the other hand, after getting used to the systems and flaws, making it past a difficult part (an area or a boss) was extremely rewarding.

A growth mindset: You need to feel okay with not knowing. Just know that you'll understand everything in time. It's one of my absolute favorite things about this game. Just like a souls-game you kinda just need to figure things out for yourself. However, if you stick with it, you'll find out how deep this whole thing really goes.

Curiosity: A sense of wonder and a willingness to inspect everything really pays off in this game. Tunic goes pretty deep, so if you don't have a lot of curiosity, you might not get as much out of this game as someone who does.

Grit: You're going to run up against a lot of failure in this game. The bosses and the puzzles will continue to grow in difficulty. When I finally was able to connect all of the dots, I felt a sense of satisfaction and reward that I've never had in any other game.

In all, Tunic is a beautiful game that really appealed to me. I felt like I should question every little detail and yet everything felt intentional. I've never really dove into something quite so elaborate before. This game goes light years beyond its first impressions and upon completing, felt like an absolute labor of love.

tselliot03
tselliot03

Interesting mechanic with the manual, if otherwise just a Zelda clone. A couple of the puzzles might be overly tedious to the point of frustrating, and the main puzzle of the game is too much for the average player, so a few things will be left on the table, including most of the story. Unless you're willing to spend hours figuring out linguistics and transcribing.

Bulwark
Bulwark

This game reminds me of playing a Link to the Past when I was like 6 and could barely read, much less understand a lick of what was going on. I went in completely blind and I'm very glad I did.

Credit
Credit

slenderman the 8 pages except not slenderman and instead of 8 pages theres like 50

nogood
nogood

This is some serious Gourmet shit

Pandabere
Pandabere

At first I thought I would be lost, but I overall found that this game is very straightforward, I would recommend this game because of how simple and challenging it is.

MickNasty
MickNasty

I don't think I've enjoyed a gimmick so much in years. I had a blast puzzling my way through this game. It petered out a bit in the end, because I needed more help than I'd like on some of the later LATER puzzles, but it doesn't take away from the experience up until that point.

I wish I could recommend it harder because holy buttfuck, this game was great, and more people need to know about it right now.

杉

So gratified to have this Zelda-like game after the quick play experience. The great craft of the world that under this cartoonish frame are all for player to explore right after the first view. New weapon, new tools, new treasure room with tiny plausible hint that will make you WOW! With multiple choice and cryptic info, the game designer carefully navigating you into the story and the shadow behind the world. The game also integrates many classic game design with new thought that push the gameplay to a higher level. And that stimulate my obsession to explore more of the tunic world!

CannonFodder
CannonFodder

If you ever knew what it was like to be eight years old, and read the instruction manual on the brand new game you heard about by reading in a magazine, lit only by the streetlights as you drove home, this game is for you.

If you're younger than that, this game is very good, but the punch in the nostalgia this game delivers isn't going to resonate quite as much.

I can't say more, it would spoil everything. GOTY 2022.

Zephy Mc Fluffy
Zephy Mc Fluffy

I really wanted to love this game, but never in my life have I ever seen such a clunky, broken, frustrating combat system.
Shame, the game really looked nice and the music is neat too, but wow absolutely nothing works when it comes to combat.

Taixonne
Taixonne

This is en exceptional game. It is not easy but extremely satisfying in it's execution.
Read the in game manual and you will be fine.

Minstrel
Minstrel

Basically a 2d Zelda game - music is great - probably works better with a gamepad.

NuclearCyborg
NuclearCyborg

Hour 1: haha funny cute fox game
Hour 20: It is currently 2 AM and I'm working on the best puzzle I have ever done in any game ever.

10/10 recommend you go in blind

Fenrus
Fenrus

A truly bad combat system holds this back from being a great game. The exploration aspect is neat, and the world design (except for the god awful foundry) is nice. But due to the bad combat, can't recommend.

Gaxfer
Gaxfer

Tunic is what would happen if you had a top-down style Zelda game, with 3d isometric graphics, and a more DarkSouls style difficulty. Same idea: anchor yourself at a shrine, if you die then you drop some money, but if you can make it back from the shrine to where you died then you can recover. It's not over-the-top difficulty, bosses seem challenging tho, and if you discover shortcuts then you can get back to bosses quickly to retry. Tons of puzzles, charming graphics, great music, and an exploration game with combat gave is the old school Zelda style of adventure game.

BlackLiteJack
BlackLiteJack

I started off playing Zelda, now I'm playing The Witness. Wat.

Odey555
Odey555

Extremely bland combat is what prevents this game from being a great one, which is a shame. The exploration is rewarding and I love the art style, and having the manual in a made-up language you need to figure out is a very neat mechanic.

Kaneda0082
Kaneda0082

A seemingly great game, but marred by a couple of issues which brings it down to a 'good' game. The first being the absurd level of difficulty. It's to the point of not being enjoyable. Luckily they included a god mode that you can toggle on/off in the options. The second being the lack of direction as where to go. It forces you to look up where to go online because you will get stuck and quickly frustrated.

Ultimately this game makes me appreciate the balance of traditional Zelda games.

SaltEnots
SaltEnots

Such a lovingly crafted game! There is so much care put into all the puzzles. Truly a joy figuring everything out. And try not to look things up if you can. Everything that you need to know is contained within the game manual! You can hit A to zoom in.

Daxyl
Daxyl

A little frustrating at first because you barely understand what's going on. But you have all the clues you need. It challenges both your combat tactics and problem solving skills. You'll need help in some places but it's worthwhile.

Tiger64
Tiger64

Tunic is a really clever game in a lot of ways. It knows this, and at times you'll feel like it's taunting you.

lewisbavin
lewisbavin

What a f**king breath of fresh air.

This was an enormous labour of love and it absolutely shows.