Charming and cute. When I first saw the game, there were no better words to describe Tunic. From developer Dicey, this action-adventure exploration game with Metroidvania-like elements lets players guide a little fox through an intriguing story set in a mysterious and unusual land inhabited by deadly creatures and shrouded in mystery. This game exudes the same level of charm and fun as Acid Nerve’s Death’s Gate or even the recently remastered The Legend of Zelda, Link’s Awakening, but the aforementioned games are excellent in all respects, and the former is even considered by me to be. As one of the favorite games of 2021, “Tunic” has not been able to keep up fully, and even struggled in some places.
But before I get into the intricacies of this, let’s talk about the broader nature of Tunic. Because of the Metroidvania-like elements of the game, the whole premise is to roam a beautiful world looking for clues and gear to unlock more areas and advance the story. It does mean that, as is common in this subgenre, you have plenty of time to be completely disoriented and also confused about what to do next, but that’s the point of the game because of its nature Above is a massive puzzle that is interconnected and waiting to be solved. You’ll lead the little fox protagonist around the world, overcoming environmental puzzles and battling different types of enemies to achieve certain core objectives that will unlock new territories or make you a more powerful adventurer. To accomplish these quests, you’ll have to go through smaller dungeons that connect to the wider world, or even boss-type enemies. These enemies will not hesitate to show you the true meaning of suffering. In these respects, Tunic excels and is a top-notch game.
Between the wider world and everything that lays on it, whether it’s enemies, locations, or environmental puzzles, Dicey has created a land to explore. You’ll be captivated by the story and immersed in the search for more powerful weapons (whether that’s a sword, a magic crossbow, or a consumable that permanently increases your health, stamina, damage, resistance, etc.) The necessity and desire to become stronger. On top of that, a variety of monsters, many of which are so bizarre that it’s hard to define them (one seems to resemble a paper crane), are constantly designed to test your skills, as well as your ability to wield a sharp blade.
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Add in the aforementioned lovely and extremely magnificent world, one of lush forests, sandy beaches, snow-capped mountain tops, eerie wells and caves, and various unexplained ancient ruins, and you get a piece that looks exactly the same. A land just as delightful to explore. With all of the above in mind, you might still be wondering why Tunic still has moments that irritate me, and that’s because there are areas that are frustrating and take away from the broader experience.
First of all, the combat is not very good. There are very few mechanics at your disposal, mostly centered around swinging your sword, blocking with shields, and dodging attacks, and they’re countered in a way that often feels like you can’t really control and do what you want. Tunic uses an odd set of combat systems, including an aiming system that lets you focus on one enemy during combat (you don’t necessarily have to use this, but it makes it harder to hit the target). The problem with combat is that, let’s say on PC, your mouse is useless, which means you can’t really aim at all, you have to rely on actually repositioning how the fox faces the target attack, when faced with multiple likes surrounded by This can become a huge hassle when dealing with your enemies or when dealing with highly mobile enemies. Needless to say, this is a very frustrating system that could have been avoided by simply targeting the attack, as was the case in Death’s Gate.
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However, the controls and clunky combat weren’t the only parts of Tunic that bothered me, because frankly, those hints were incomprehensible. I mentioned before that games that feel lost are fundamentally the lifeblood of games with Metroidvania-like elements, and that’s a design that has to be accepted as soon as you get into Tunic. But one shouldn’t be dealing with a complicated and pointless manual of tips. The information displayed in the so-called “manuals” lacked coherence and was in an unnecessarily complex and incomprehensible format. In particular, it doesn’t help that you have to assemble an instruction manual by collecting pages that are scattered throughout the world, not to mention the fact that the manual is usually assembled in an odd order because you might miss something to collect on your trip page. The whole premise, if anything, makes Tunic super incomprehensible, and it’s pretty stupid.
Little things like this can bog down and demoralize an otherwise highly anticipated game. Even the story, lacking any spoken dialogue, can make it difficult to keep a close eye on it, which means that the real strength of Tunic is only in the design of its world, how it looks, and the need to discover many more of the many secrets that make up the world. That’s it.
If you’re looking for a well-thought-out gaming experience with simplified controls and a smooth combat system, Tunic isn’t for you. Although, this seems to be a very refined video game, especially in terms of presentation. However, if you can ignore the above and be completely drawn to the world of Tunic and its cute and delightful art style, you’ll have a lot of fun with this indie adventure.
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