Pros:
+ the art style, visual direction, blur, and lightning effects are outstanding
+ the cutesy look serves as a perfect counterpoint to the complexity of the design
+ overworld and dungeons are smartly and efficiently designed
+ the camera is intelligently used to emphasize and hide elements in the world
+ short cuts at every corner lead to frequent moments of surprise
+ most of the game is designed around invisible systems of interlocking puzzle systems
+ a wide range of puzzles can be solved solely by observation and deduction
+ the in-game manual simultaneously serves as a guide, hint, reward, and storytelling device
+ the retro screen in the background when opening the manual is a really nice touch
+ combat and controls are simple but effective and fit the look and general design
+ enemy attacks are telegraphed well and failure is usually one's own fault
+ bomb reward and piggy bank system minimize grinding for resources
+ the checkpoint system is always fair and restarts are quick and easy
+ every area offers new enemies and requires new combat tactics
+ an integrated hint system helps to find the most obscure collectables
+ sequence breaking is very much possible and encouraged
+ the bosses are actual tests of skill but never unfair and fun to fight
+ the final boss is available very early on and not gated off behind progress
+ accessability options are plentiful and include anti-frustration features
+ the soundtrack is mysteriously introspective and part of the puzzle design
+ so many caves behind waterfalls

Cons:
- the game not pausing in the item menu is unnecessary and makes some tactics unviable
- combat options are basic and lack the freshness of the puzzles
- some puzzles are so obscure that most playery will never see or solve them
- important elements such as the items and cards are never explained
- card effects are mostly useless and their pictures seem random (tincture?)
- invisible enemies and permanently limited health points are frustrating
- the dash mechanic is buggy and can lead to a lot of cheap deaths
- manual pickups do not indicate their respective numbers in the manual
- the final boss cannot be easily restarted and takes some time to reach
- the final boss will test your patience and requires rote memorization
- story beats are barebones and the endings feel abridged

Magic Moments: Too many to count. Finding a treasure room by observing the dungeon architecture and hitting a wall for a real "eureka" moment. Going underground for the last key and wondering how much backstory is never made explicit. Finding a key item twice?!

Best Manual page: The story reveal on pages 7 and 8 is absolutely perfectly executed.


Verdict:
Let me come right out and say it: Tunic is a masterpiece. It's no surprise that Andrew Shuldice and his team had to delay the game various times, even after working on it for over seven years, as the sheer work required to create a game at this level of quality is felt from the very first, somber moments. The creators proudely wear the influence of modern classics such as Fez, The Witness, and the Zelda series on their sleeves, while producing a game that easily stands proudly among them. Behind the perfectly executed facade of cutesy characters, a simple but intricately designed audio-visual presentation, and familiar combat options lies a complex, interlocking grid of secret mechanics that require intelligence, patience, spatial awareness, and willingness to experiment to fully uncover - even the "load game" screen will take you by surprise. At the same time, players who just want to cut some shrubs, collect some loot or grind their teeth on the difficult but fair bosses will find plenty to enjoy here, although not giving explanations for even the most basic items or combat mechanics may be considered a step to far into obscurity. But for everyone willing to really invest time and effort in the world of Tunic, this is one of those gems that will keep you up all night, trying to see where it takes you while hoping the rabbit hole would never end.

Buy it, play it, uncover the manual, read the margins, wonder how they ever came up with those puzzles, play it some more and be glad you got to experience this. Andrew Shuldice's next game cannot come some enough.

so far the gameplay itself is fine but this thing is loaded to the brim with slow, generic filler. for every twenty minutes of gameplay i've had another forty of a bad MCU BioWare game. five hours in and I can count the number of combat encounters on one hand. it's a story heavy game with a very weak story, much more generic Avengers-ish fare than the branding would suggest. not sure if it's worth the effort to break through to where I'm not being handheld with tutorials about how to become friends with iron man

update: i got through to the point where i felt like i was having genuine fun with the combat systems as-intended, but i'm putting it back on the shelf. the game is drowning in fully animated and voiced cutscenes that, even once they improve in quality/decrease in cringe, still feel like too much of a timesink. i like it but i don't think i like it enough to play it for 60-80 hours