With its particular brand of pattern-based challenge and dependence on the manual, Tunic captures the feeling of playing an 8-bit NES game better than most retro-style pixel art games.

I loved the way it slowly reveals its mechanics and secrets to you, and found the combat very rewarding once you start to understand the various tools at your disposal. I loved the meta aspects to the game, both in its story and in the way certain visuals were designed. Its subtle, and feels honest rather than too clever for its own good (with maybe one or two exceptions).

I found the over-reliance on the Holy Cross puzzles to be a bit off-putting, though. I appreciated them a bit, but it seemed like the game didn't have any other ideas for pulling secrets out of the manual's pages. By the end, it got a bit repetitive, and a lot of the clever stuff was optional. I'd love to see a sequel that not only required the manual for more important moments, but found additional ways to make that work beyond "here are some lines."

All in all, I really enjoyed my time with it, despite its flaws, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next from the people involved.