Review | Tunic

A short non-Zelda review

Tunic is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Isometricorp Games and published by Finji. From the start, it's evident that the inspiration was The Legend of Zelda, and this one you can play on macOS, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. We have our own Zelda outside of Nintendo? And Nintendo didn't sue? That's a first.

So, a fox? Sure thing, I'm down for it. If you feel like isometric adventures with numerous secrets are not your thing, turn away and find something else, because Tunic is both hard, satisfying, clunky, good, not great, and a few other things, but definitely original, especially in its core of puzzle-solving.

The game works great on PS5 Pro, I had no issues, so I guess the game runs smoothly also on other systems.

This was probably the weirdest beginning of a game in a long time—you start and you just play and have no idea about anything.

Story and the characters

This is going to be short. The story is almost as if it doesn't exist. You start on the beach with no intro or any kind of explanation of what is going on. You kind of investigate on your own, and the whole concept is great but also very confusing.

The thing I simply loved is that you collect Manual pieces. The manual is kind of like a set of in-game directions, maps, and all kinds of language decipher solutions for the world in front of you. What does that mean? Well, the game is written (the text) in a mysterious made-up language, so even in the manual you have no idea what something means. By collecting pages and recognizing patterns, you can decipher it and use the manual as a map and a solution guide. It's very, very hard to understand all of it, but the concept is unique. I just think it may be a bit complicated for an average person to understand on their own.

In terms of plot, there is almost nothing. You need to collect keys, open some mysterious doors, and defeat the final boss. Sounds simple enough, right? And the only character is the protagonist, who never speaks.

“What should I do now” is the most-used sentence in my gameplay.

Game design, exploration

Like mentioned, you get to explore and find new paths. Your first objective that you read in the manual is to ring bells. You can almost go in any direction, but even without reading the manual I was able to find where I needed to go, and that led to other paths. Let me just mention that it's hard to find paths; there are so many hidden rooms and pathways, you need to try everything. The isometric view is solid and hides things well.

The problem is that you don't get any hints, nothing. You don't have a weapon, you are weak, you have almost nowhere to go. From that, you get to find a branch, a sword, and a shield. Now you're getting somewhere. You start cutting grass and parts of the map that were previously blocked. Then you find a new manual page, and it says—try holding X. And you do, and you unlock teleports and you get to activate ancient tablets. And the funny thing is—you have that power from the start. You just have no idea that you can do it. It's brilliant design, but only for those who are patient enough to uncover such secrets.

Needless to say, there is a lot to find. Upgrades, main story path, you name it—everything is well-hidden and gives that satisfaction rush when you progress further and unlock a new shortcut. The problem for me was the combat: it felt needlessly hard and frustrating, clunky at points, and that constantly reminded me I'm not playing Zelda, nor some polished Souls-clone, which this aims to be through deaths and challenge.

The second half of the game mostly revolves around finding D-pad combinations for secret doors. It kind of loses the first half’s brilliance and replaces it with already familiar mechanics. Too bad, if you ask me.

Did you know that you can open all ancient doors from the very start? Yup, you can, but you have no idea about it at first.

Combat

Combat is my biggest pain. The reach is ridiculous. When you attack, you can go in a 3-move combo and the reach is like 20 cm from you. Enemies are flying and constantly jumping away from you. I've hated the combat for the most part; I think it's not well-refined and executed, especially some boss fights.

At first it was hard, but after upgrading my stats a bit I found the game not all that hard. It gets easier with a shield for sure. The boss fights are weird, especially the flying boss and the big mechanical spider. I cheesed the whole spider fight by just running behind it. I don't really know what the preferred way is, I just know that it was more frustrating at times than fun.

Too bad you can't find a true sword or something like that, but you can use magic and a gun. A gun?! Sure thing, there you go. Of course, you can't just spam magic attacks, so there is balance in everything.

If you want, you can equip passive skills if you find them, but good luck understanding their meaning. Everything the game offers is encrypted, and you need to invest more effort into reading things than actually playing at times.

Are you sure you need to find everything? It can be a real challenge, even finding the main story path.

Side Content

Side content comes mostly near the end and after. If you want the true ending, you need to find all Manual pages. For that, you will need to find 20 fairies and 12 secret treasures. They all hide behind D-pad doors and locations where you stand and input a combination that reveals that secret. It's all in the manual or simply in the environment. I did like it, but to a point.

The rest is about finding upgrades and enough gold to actually upgrade. I was confused about how to do so at first, but hey, we have a Manual! Still, I had no idea, so for the most part I helped myself with some guide hints. That made the journey less frustrating at times. It's really hard to do everything on your own. Maybe the line is too high; it should be more understandable.

What to do in a room with 4 leaf piles and a broom? Well, my guess is to clean up. Yep, that was the solution, and one of the easier ones for sure.

Conclusion

Tunic is a great attempt to revive the Zelda formula outside of Nintendo. Manual pages are something I've never seen in a game in a way that asks the player to read and understand it. It's crafted with thought and love. The design is like old gaming magazine guides, which I love, but the cryptic text all over the place and the made-up language left my experience with more questions than answers, and at times it was really frustrating how to solve certain puzzles.

If the combat was better, more refined, and the boss fights were good, this would be a great game that heavily relies on old-school gaming schemes and pure brain energy, but instead, I was frustrated and left with a bit of disappointment at the end. The whole premise is predictable, but the journey is not. In my 15-hour journey I had my fun, but many games did this better, especially Zelda.