![]() ![]() ![]() What more can I say about Tunic which hasn’t already been said? It is charming, incredibly creative, surprisingly difficult, and chock full of secrets to unravel for those willing to invest the time. I found myself jumping right into a 2nd run through the second I watched the ending, which is a rare occurrence for me and a true testament to just how much I appreciate this adventure. Once complete, players can opt for a New Game + mode which carries over much of what you’ve unlocked, save for a couple of items which unlock through story progression, and throws in tougher enemies in key areas. None of the above mentioned side quests are necessary for completion, rather they are for further expanding this lovingly crafted world and allowing players a few more hours to explore its beautiful landscape. There’s so much to do for those who want to explore, but the game is also catered to those who simply want to barrel through the adventure. The game constantly evolves and has so much hidden underneath its simple looking surface that up until my last moments with the game I was still figuring out secrets, how to unlock sealed doors, how to save fairies, how to get the alternate ending, etc. My surprise at the difficulty aside, Tunic surprised me in other ways as well. I absolutely loved fighting bosses, discovering their weaknesses, and then figuring out how to best equip myself for the battle. Need 10 or 12 shotgun blasts to defeat a boss but only have enough MP for three? Better stock up on the blueberries which allow you to regain a shot. There is a limit to both your stamina and the amount of shotgun blasts or magic attacks you can unleash, so you can’t just spam an attack and hope for the best. Some bosses may be weak to a shotgun blast and are best kept at bay, while others may be weak to you playing offensively and unleashing a flurry of close range sword attacks. Bosses especially take a ton of patience, perfectly executed attacks, and plenty of experimentation to defeat. I quickly learned that Tunic presented a far greater challenge than its cutesy exterior lets on. ![]() Exploration becomes key, with each new boss slain, each new ability gained, comes a new method of exploration and new challenges. As you learn and grow, so too does the world around you. There’s no end to the creativity and excellent level design on display. Lush forests lead to barren deserts, to underground caverns, to libraries at the top of the world, to quarries filled with menacing enemies. What begins as a simple story of a Fox attempting to ring a few bells becomes an epic fantasy sprawling an ever-expanding world with far more layers than I had expected. Tunic is a charming love letter to retro Zelda titles while being wholly unique. Once I allowed myself to give up my preconceived notions of how the game should play, I began to get swept away into its beautiful and incredibly well made world. I had approached Tunic with the wrong mindset. The game began to make perfect sense, and I realized that I had been the problem. New item and no idea what it’s for? Try it out in different areas and in different scenarios! Those gibberish pages you find scattered throughout the world? Read between the lines, examine the pictures, piece the hints together. The map and how to progress began to make sense and I learned that the charm to Tunic was experimenting and making wild guesses. About an hour into my journey, I “got” what Tunic was going for. While cute and fun, I wasn’t immediately drawn into Tunic’s world – the lack of explanation for game mechanics, having to find pieces of the instruction manual (and map) as you progress rather than having access from the start, the inability to read nearly anything in the game – all slightly turned me off.īut then, something clicked. I’ll admit though, that hype faded a bit as I began my journey. ![]() Since its initial release Tunic has been given multiple perfect review scores (including from Gaming Trend) and a plethora of rewards, so you can imagine the anticipation I felt as I booted up the recent PS5 release for the first time, ready to experience the groundbreaking masterpiece that I had read so much about. ![]()
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