"A Zelda-like open world action-adventure game that pays homage to a nearly lost era of video game history when games came with a manual, and you find pages of the manual in the game, so that's pretty cool... "
This was about the extent of my knowledge of Tunic, aside from one person's exhortation to go in blind. Boy, was I unprepared for the depth and creativity of what I understand is a really small indie team. I cannot stress to you how amazing it feels to complete this game. As a fanatic for the Legend of Zelda series of video games, I love each and every individual title for what it brings to the franchise. However, as someone who started their journey after the release of the 3D games, I didn't really have a chance to appreciate the first two games in the series. From what I understood, Tunic was supposed to be a sort of love letter to the original Legend of Zelda game on the NES that it would evoke similar feelings to playing that game. It is so much more than that, and in my opinion, it blows Zelda 1 out of the water. Tunic has become one of my favorite video games of all time. I truly cannot describe the feeling I had as with each successive discovery, more and more of the game began to open up as I learned ways to interact with the world. It is just so satisfying. I always cherished the idea of taking notes for a video game, drawing your own maps, and working out solutions to a puzzle, and this game will get you to do just that in a very real and effective way. And when the final lightbulb lit up and I finally put all the pieces together, I cannot tell you just how excited I was, hastily looking for a pen and paper. I do not think I have ever lost my mind to the extend that I did while playing this game, nor do I think many games have ever been as exciting to me as this one. Over and over, I was floored with the creativity of the developers and I will probably never forget how I felt as I uncovered the various secrets in this game. Tunic rules school in a big way.
Now, I know that no one person's opinion is the rule and not everyone might have the same experience or joy while playing this game. The combat can be quite difficult at times, and the game is also designed with a learning curve built in, as you must play the game to get the instructions, and I could understand how some might not be into that. While I personally enjoyed figuring everything out myself and I am glad that I forced myself not use a guide, there are certain things that I would understand being too obtuse for some gamers who may not want to pour over an in-game manual looking for answers. After completing the game for the first time, I caved and learned online how to translate the mysterious language that you will discover throughout the game, and while there is almost no way players would be able to learn to do so given the information in the game, it does not prevent you from being able to figure anything out.
All in all, Tunic is an absolute must-play for me, and I would recommend anyone try this game. The combat was a satisfying challenge with a tangible sense of progression, the puzzles were unique and an absolute joy to discover and solve, it is awesome to explore the world and continue to discover new areas and hidden paths, the soundtrack is amazing, and I am astounded by the creativity and implementation of ideas throughout the entirety of the game. I love this game!
This was about the extent of my knowledge of Tunic, aside from one person's exhortation to go in blind. Boy, was I unprepared for the depth and creativity of what I understand is a really small indie team. I cannot stress to you how amazing it feels to complete this game. As a fanatic for the Legend of Zelda series of video games, I love each and every individual title for what it brings to the franchise. However, as someone who started their journey after the release of the 3D games, I didn't really have a chance to appreciate the first two games in the series. From what I understood, Tunic was supposed to be a sort of love letter to the original Legend of Zelda game on the NES that it would evoke similar feelings to playing that game. It is so much more than that, and in my opinion, it blows Zelda 1 out of the water. Tunic has become one of my favorite video games of all time. I truly cannot describe the feeling I had as with each successive discovery, more and more of the game began to open up as I learned ways to interact with the world. It is just so satisfying. I always cherished the idea of taking notes for a video game, drawing your own maps, and working out solutions to a puzzle, and this game will get you to do just that in a very real and effective way. And when the final lightbulb lit up and I finally put all the pieces together, I cannot tell you just how excited I was, hastily looking for a pen and paper. I do not think I have ever lost my mind to the extend that I did while playing this game, nor do I think many games have ever been as exciting to me as this one. Over and over, I was floored with the creativity of the developers and I will probably never forget how I felt as I uncovered the various secrets in this game. Tunic rules school in a big way.
Now, I know that no one person's opinion is the rule and not everyone might have the same experience or joy while playing this game. The combat can be quite difficult at times, and the game is also designed with a learning curve built in, as you must play the game to get the instructions, and I could understand how some might not be into that. While I personally enjoyed figuring everything out myself and I am glad that I forced myself not use a guide, there are certain things that I would understand being too obtuse for some gamers who may not want to pour over an in-game manual looking for answers. After completing the game for the first time, I caved and learned online how to translate the mysterious language that you will discover throughout the game, and while there is almost no way players would be able to learn to do so given the information in the game, it does not prevent you from being able to figure anything out.
All in all, Tunic is an absolute must-play for me, and I would recommend anyone try this game. The combat was a satisfying challenge with a tangible sense of progression, the puzzles were unique and an absolute joy to discover and solve, it is awesome to explore the world and continue to discover new areas and hidden paths, the soundtrack is amazing, and I am astounded by the creativity and implementation of ideas throughout the entirety of the game. I love this game!