This review contains spoilers
As a preface, I will restate what everyone else says about this game, which is that its best played knowing as little as possible about it beforehand. The game experience inherently works due to how it teaches the player about the world and its mechanics, and knowing any of this information beforehand cheapens the game experience significantly. Spoilers ahead.
The game wears its influences on its sleeves to the point where I almost overlooked this game as one of those "indie games that is just a well made recreation of a retro game the creator liked as a kid". Tunic is obviously Zelda inspired, but I was surprised by how much it felt like a soulslike game. I feel that the game surpasses its influences however, due to the unique way the game teaches the player mechanics through the in-game manual. As you explore the world there are many moments where you learn something about it that recontextualizes everything you've seen before in a way that feels unique to this game. For me there were probably at least 3 points in the game where it felt like the "real game" was finally starting due to this (those being the hunt for the 3 keys, the event that occurs after you die to the heir, and the hunt for the true ending).
One of my favorite moments in the game was the descent into the rooted ziggurat, and almost everything after that point. I'm not sure if there's anything gating the player from going there in the beginning but I think for most people the blue key is the last one they will get. Here's just a simple list of some of the reasons I think this section of the game is brilliant.
- For almost every area before this point, you're given a map of the area before going there. Wandering into this area without any guide as to what to expect beforehand adds a lot to the feeling that you've arrived somewhere you're not supposed to be.
- Lots of scripted events and imagery add to the oppressive atmosphere of the area, along with the fact that your character is constantly descending deeper into the area.
- The normal checkpoints being replaced with their techy variants makes it so that even the places where the player can expect respite feel foreign and strange.
- The boss awaiting you at the end of this area is my favorite in the game. It's one of those well-made mirror matchup style bosses where they have access to lots of similar moves to you, so beating them really feels like you've outwitted and outskilled them.
- Due to this likely being the last area you go to before the fight with the heir that turns the world to shit, it emphasizes the feeling that you've learned something about the world you shouldn't have/done something you shouldn't have.
This section of the game is so good I think I would've given the game a high rating even if it wasn't consistently good throughout.
I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the combat system of the game. The combat is a soulslike-style melee combat experience involving locking onto enemies, utilizing well-timed dodges and enemy windows of vulnerability to punish. What makes Tunic unique is its extreme take on stamina management. In dark souls running out of stamina means you have to wait an extra half second for it to start going up again before you can dodge or attack, as these actions can be done as long as you have any stamina. In Tunic, when you run out of stamina all your defensive options are nerfed until your stamina goes above a high threshold. I like this system a lot as it emphasizes more methodical use of defensive tools in order to succeed in combat, and punishes the player otherwise. Since attacking doesn't cost stamina the system is designed to reward the player for managing their stamina by only using well-timed dodges as opposed to spamming rolls to gap close or cheese their way through certain attacks. At first it feels very punishing as running out of stamina in a boss fight usually means you just lose, but once you learn how to better manage it, fights become significantly easier.
As for many of the puzzles in the world, I don't think I really have anything unique to say about them other than finding them and solving them was very satisfying, especially the final big puzzle at the end of the game. I had a great time with this game and I would recommend it to anyone.
The game wears its influences on its sleeves to the point where I almost overlooked this game as one of those "indie games that is just a well made recreation of a retro game the creator liked as a kid". Tunic is obviously Zelda inspired, but I was surprised by how much it felt like a soulslike game. I feel that the game surpasses its influences however, due to the unique way the game teaches the player mechanics through the in-game manual. As you explore the world there are many moments where you learn something about it that recontextualizes everything you've seen before in a way that feels unique to this game. For me there were probably at least 3 points in the game where it felt like the "real game" was finally starting due to this (those being the hunt for the 3 keys, the event that occurs after you die to the heir, and the hunt for the true ending).
One of my favorite moments in the game was the descent into the rooted ziggurat, and almost everything after that point. I'm not sure if there's anything gating the player from going there in the beginning but I think for most people the blue key is the last one they will get. Here's just a simple list of some of the reasons I think this section of the game is brilliant.
- For almost every area before this point, you're given a map of the area before going there. Wandering into this area without any guide as to what to expect beforehand adds a lot to the feeling that you've arrived somewhere you're not supposed to be.
- Lots of scripted events and imagery add to the oppressive atmosphere of the area, along with the fact that your character is constantly descending deeper into the area.
- The normal checkpoints being replaced with their techy variants makes it so that even the places where the player can expect respite feel foreign and strange.
- The boss awaiting you at the end of this area is my favorite in the game. It's one of those well-made mirror matchup style bosses where they have access to lots of similar moves to you, so beating them really feels like you've outwitted and outskilled them.
- Due to this likely being the last area you go to before the fight with the heir that turns the world to shit, it emphasizes the feeling that you've learned something about the world you shouldn't have/done something you shouldn't have.
This section of the game is so good I think I would've given the game a high rating even if it wasn't consistently good throughout.
I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the combat system of the game. The combat is a soulslike-style melee combat experience involving locking onto enemies, utilizing well-timed dodges and enemy windows of vulnerability to punish. What makes Tunic unique is its extreme take on stamina management. In dark souls running out of stamina means you have to wait an extra half second for it to start going up again before you can dodge or attack, as these actions can be done as long as you have any stamina. In Tunic, when you run out of stamina all your defensive options are nerfed until your stamina goes above a high threshold. I like this system a lot as it emphasizes more methodical use of defensive tools in order to succeed in combat, and punishes the player otherwise. Since attacking doesn't cost stamina the system is designed to reward the player for managing their stamina by only using well-timed dodges as opposed to spamming rolls to gap close or cheese their way through certain attacks. At first it feels very punishing as running out of stamina in a boss fight usually means you just lose, but once you learn how to better manage it, fights become significantly easier.
As for many of the puzzles in the world, I don't think I really have anything unique to say about them other than finding them and solving them was very satisfying, especially the final big puzzle at the end of the game. I had a great time with this game and I would recommend it to anyone.