An almost perfect modern classic.
I really enjoyed Tunic and its immersive world. I think they have managed to do something very special, which is to recreate the experience of a classic game and integrate it into the game itself.
Starting completely from scratch with THE reference to Link's Awakening through a wonderful adventure game that culminates in one of the most interesting mechanics I've seen for a game of this genre: the instruction manual.
I think it's the inclusion of this instruction manual that makes Tunic such a special game. It encourages you to keep going, most of its pages you can quietly get as you progress through the game and I would almost say it forces you to not only complete the game, but to seek out its ending. It may seem the same, but I tell you it is not.
Tunic's puzzles have been one of the few recently that have forced me to take out paper and pencil to either solve it or start thinking about it. It is a great success the way they have had to hide the clues to solve them, as well as to complete THE puzzle of puzzles. Truly, that classic, discovery and early youth feeling, they have succeeded.
However, not everything is perfect for me. The game has its own language that, although understandable at the beginning, I would have wished that as we accumulated more pages of the manual we would learn more words of that language until we could fully translate that missing vocabulary. I know that, with dedication, it can be done, but it would have been the icing on the cake to have that translation happen in the game itself as a way of evolution and understanding as we discover its secrets.
On the other hand, combat feels basic and becoming a bit slow and poorly responsive. However, it is true that the enemies are not very difficult to defeat (removing the mage boss, which was a nuisance hahaha).
Even tho it has some flaws, I really loved playing Tunic!
I really enjoyed Tunic and its immersive world. I think they have managed to do something very special, which is to recreate the experience of a classic game and integrate it into the game itself.
Starting completely from scratch with THE reference to Link's Awakening through a wonderful adventure game that culminates in one of the most interesting mechanics I've seen for a game of this genre: the instruction manual.
I think it's the inclusion of this instruction manual that makes Tunic such a special game. It encourages you to keep going, most of its pages you can quietly get as you progress through the game and I would almost say it forces you to not only complete the game, but to seek out its ending. It may seem the same, but I tell you it is not.
Tunic's puzzles have been one of the few recently that have forced me to take out paper and pencil to either solve it or start thinking about it. It is a great success the way they have had to hide the clues to solve them, as well as to complete THE puzzle of puzzles. Truly, that classic, discovery and early youth feeling, they have succeeded.
However, not everything is perfect for me. The game has its own language that, although understandable at the beginning, I would have wished that as we accumulated more pages of the manual we would learn more words of that language until we could fully translate that missing vocabulary. I know that, with dedication, it can be done, but it would have been the icing on the cake to have that translation happen in the game itself as a way of evolution and understanding as we discover its secrets.
On the other hand, combat feels basic and becoming a bit slow and poorly responsive. However, it is true that the enemies are not very difficult to defeat (removing the mage boss, which was a nuisance hahaha).
Even tho it has some flaws, I really loved playing Tunic!
This review contains spoilers
I've now played animal well, tunic, outer wilds, and obra dinn back to back. this puzzle mystery exploration mashup was not on purpose and is not my usual genre, but it's been a ton of fun and I'm still craving more
tunic is unique in that it's really two mostly disconnected experiences attached by a pricetag. you spend most of the game with a proud zelda-like more in the style of zelda1 than LTTP, but then after you've spent enough time unlocking instruction booklet pages and understanding how the world works, you realize there's this entire """ARG""" peppered throughout the book that you weren't privy to before. it was immensely satisfying unlocking that last page and flicking through the entire book lovingly curated with doodles, hints, and maps. the puzzle aspect of this game has a real haunted cartridge found at a garage sale vibe, which is an experience that will only become more alien and strange as we continue on into the download-only era. thankfully that feeling is preserved here in this fantastic game.
the other part of the game, the game bit where you walk around slashing your sword killing bosses and clearing dungeons, is pretty good. there aren't really any headscratchers, the way forward is usually pretty clear, and the combat is not exceptionally difficult. as a zelda game, I enjoyed it about as much as minish cap, my favorite 2D Zelda, but less than any of the 3Ds. the art style is probably the only time I haven't hated this voxel style, and in fact it's probably the only execution of it I've seen that was actually pleasing to look at. if I had to make a mild criticism, it is disappointing that this game with a very obvious love for the classics did not emulate one of the best features of zelda, the items. it's difficult to call tunic a metroidvania because progression is much more knowledge based than item based. it only really happens twice that you unlock a new ability and have that moment of "oh, this changes things! where can I use this?" I wish there was more of that.
tunic is unique in that it's really two mostly disconnected experiences attached by a pricetag. you spend most of the game with a proud zelda-like more in the style of zelda1 than LTTP, but then after you've spent enough time unlocking instruction booklet pages and understanding how the world works, you realize there's this entire """ARG""" peppered throughout the book that you weren't privy to before. it was immensely satisfying unlocking that last page and flicking through the entire book lovingly curated with doodles, hints, and maps. the puzzle aspect of this game has a real haunted cartridge found at a garage sale vibe, which is an experience that will only become more alien and strange as we continue on into the download-only era. thankfully that feeling is preserved here in this fantastic game.
the other part of the game, the game bit where you walk around slashing your sword killing bosses and clearing dungeons, is pretty good. there aren't really any headscratchers, the way forward is usually pretty clear, and the combat is not exceptionally difficult. as a zelda game, I enjoyed it about as much as minish cap, my favorite 2D Zelda, but less than any of the 3Ds. the art style is probably the only time I haven't hated this voxel style, and in fact it's probably the only execution of it I've seen that was actually pleasing to look at. if I had to make a mild criticism, it is disappointing that this game with a very obvious love for the classics did not emulate one of the best features of zelda, the items. it's difficult to call tunic a metroidvania because progression is much more knowledge based than item based. it only really happens twice that you unlock a new ability and have that moment of "oh, this changes things! where can I use this?" I wish there was more of that.
Great game if you like exploring and discovering stuff, good to approach with an open mind and to try solving everything about how the game works on your own, made it much more enjoyable in my opinion
I NEED TO FINISH IT but oh my god!!! i LOVE the concept of having to figure out everything about the game by yourself, its done really really well...
Lovely art style, combat abit clunky even on easy mode. Feels deliberately vague at certain points to its detriment.
Puzzles a bit too much dense at times, but putting everything together for the true ending was super satisfying
This review contains spoilers
Tunic é um jogo muito agradável aos olhos, com uma trilha sonora simples, mas com a ambientação que ele se dispõe a ser, é muito delicia, além de ter uma mecânica de luta singela, porém eficaz. Até uma certa parte do jogo os puzzles são bem fáceis e intuitivos, porém chega numa certa parte do jogo onde você precisa usar o próprio alfabeto que o jogo criou para entender puzzles, desvendar os mistérios do seu guia e seguir a história, mas foi com esse jogo que descobri que não tenho paciência para desvendar um alfabeto. O jogo vale super apena se você gosta de mistérios que precisam de uma análise minuciosa desde o começo para prosseguir.
GOAT
What a beautifully delightful game full of joyful discovery. The game manual is an absolute gem. Amazing experience and can't recommend it enough.
Many people seem to dislike the combat but love the late/post game puzzling. I actually thought the normal gameplay and early puzzles were fun, but wasn't very interested in sticking around. Perhaps if I had owned the game rather than playing it on a subscription service I might have gone back at a later point to explore more.
Despite loving the world of Tunic, I just never had fun playing it.
Ultimately I only beat it out of spite and to justify my sunk time. Which, doesn't make for a fun experience. This was more a me thing than a Tunic thing. The movement and combat just wasn't for me. Having to almost 'queue' your actions often left me feeling cheated. I'm too old for getting frustrated with games. In my later years I'd like to think I am very much a patient person but Tunic often left me wondering.
Towards the end I just dipped the difficulty and gave up exploring for everything (even though the exploring was my favorite part). When I finished off "Heir" I didn't even stick around for the final cutscene. I was just done.
Absolutely lovely world that unlocks and opens up in great ways. Wonderful sense of discovery and exploration that a Zelda-like needs. Just not the movement and combat for me. I truly did not have a ton of fun.
And man did that game just not want to end...
Ultimately I only beat it out of spite and to justify my sunk time. Which, doesn't make for a fun experience. This was more a me thing than a Tunic thing. The movement and combat just wasn't for me. Having to almost 'queue' your actions often left me feeling cheated. I'm too old for getting frustrated with games. In my later years I'd like to think I am very much a patient person but Tunic often left me wondering.
Towards the end I just dipped the difficulty and gave up exploring for everything (even though the exploring was my favorite part). When I finished off "Heir" I didn't even stick around for the final cutscene. I was just done.
Absolutely lovely world that unlocks and opens up in great ways. Wonderful sense of discovery and exploration that a Zelda-like needs. Just not the movement and combat for me. I truly did not have a ton of fun.
And man did that game just not want to end...
O jogo é bem bonito e fluido.
Me senti um pouco perdido mas gostei muito do que joguei.
Me senti um pouco perdido mas gostei muito do que joguei.
Short game I played for a platinum, but I ended up loving it. Looks beautiful, fun puzzles, combat, bosses, and a truly intriguing world.
nao me pegou, achei o combate tenebroso mas a direcao de arte eh belissima 🫶
De uma chance e perderá horas tentando decifrar os enigmas e todos os caminhos secretos.
experiências únicas que podemos ter com vídeo game. eu queria muito que tivesse muito conteúdo na internet sobre esse jogo. eu amei a história e o jeito que ela é contada. a gameplay tbm é muito gostosa, a movimentação e exploração são muito boas. da muita vontade de esquecer tudo e jogar do zero. te amo raposa
What an amazing idea for a game. Incredibly unique. I don't understand how someone solved some of these puzzles without a guide.
Don't question playing it. Just do it without looking into it. Trust me.
Que jogaço, uma delícia. Puzzles extremamente criativos, mas o ápice, é como vc vai aprendendo coisas novas, mesmo elas estando lá desde o começo. Quando eu achei a página explicando os pilares pretos, o jogo se tornou um verdadeiro 10/10.
Quite liked a lot of the game and the puzzle solving elements were very fun to work out. Busted out a notepad quite a lot which was a new experience for me. The golden path was a highlight of figuring stuff out. Never figured out the language completely but frankly fuck that lmao.
This review contains spoilers
Love the concept of the instructions but kind of just put the game down one day and never picked it up again