So far, I have played for something like 2 or 3 hours, I have collected one of the three big souls and am on my way to the second. First I will say, this game has a neat atmosphere with some fun characters and a great soundtrack. I was under the impression that this game was very Zelda-like with some souls-inspired combat. As I had recently completed Tunic, this looked like it might be very similar with a possible emphasis on the combat side of gameplay. So far, I am really getting frustrated with the combat. Enemies do not stagger save for the "not-wizzrobe"s. When traversing the different areas, you almost always encounter groups of enemies that swarm you upon approaching them. Once in the dungeons, combat becomes much more claustrophobic as the dungeons are fairly labyrinthine with lots of narrow, winding pathways littered with clumps of enemies. Then come the combat arenas. Small locked rooms or enclosed spaces often leading to a key item for completing the area. These arenas are like a gauntlet of wave after wave of enemies, some small and some unfairly large or strong. No one of the common enemies on its own would pose much of a threat, but a room full of them becomes hard in a bad way. Keyword: RELENTLESS. This is all hurt by the fact that you have four total health points until I assume you collect enough shards from exploration. Every enemy in the game deals the same amount of damage to you, including bosses, which seems like a very strange choice to me, as it really pushes you to try to never get hit. For an arcade style shoot-'em-up, this works. For a Zelda-like exploration/adventure game with Souls-like combat, it feels bad. There are moments that can be quite like a bullet-hell all while a boss or other large enemy is charging you or throwing out an additional attack. And OH MY GOODNESS, some of the attacks seem way too fast. Huge, hulking enemies have attacks that happen almost the very instant you are in range with no telegraph. I remember the first mini boss I encountered in the urn witch's estate. This massive unit of a knight with a huge mace would just instantly smash your character even when you are directly behind it. It felt like aimbot. now in the mushroom dungeon, there are these hammer knights that have so much health and do the same thing. Combat becomes a chore of, roll in slash once or maybe twice, roll out. I would not say that the combat is not particularly challenging in that sense, it just is very drawn out, imbalanced and not very fun.

"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!

Very good precision platformer. You can tell a ton of work and creativity went into the creation of this game, with fresh mechanics and incredible implementation in the design of each level. There is an abundance of quality gameplay here with just the sheer quantity of levels, and bonuses. It should be well understood at this point that if you are looking for a challenge, this game will provide it. As you gain mastery of the mechanics and movement, you will be rewarded with the knowledge that you can overcome the challenge, and the game's theming is also pretty on the nose with this core concept. Characters are quirky and charming, and you will get to see the characters grow through their own challenges so that is also a side benefit in this game. All in all, one of the most challenging platformers I have played, but well worth playing as you learn to accept failures and get back up to try again.

Have finally made it to the dark world for the first time in my life. Never made it past the desert dungeon before this playthrough, and tower of Hera had me stuck for a while. I was trying not to use a guide but ended up caving after walking around aimlessly for hours every time I would sit down to play. The method of reaching the dungeon was intriguing and very clever, just not something that I was able to understand or come to realize on my own. I don't think that it was bad. It was very cool, though I do feel that there really was not much beforehand that would bring you to an understanding of how it would be possible. Having played almost every other title since then, I can see how the idea was applied in more fleshed out ways and in such a way that one such as myself might come to understand that it is not only possible, but a viable method of reaching new areas. I don't fault the game or the developers. I honestly feel more like the concept was ahead of its time, and for my personal experience, I guess even in hindsight, I could not put the pieces together to accomplish it myself. I can't imagine that I would have easily or even intentionally figured it out myself if I had been playing this game when it was the newest entry, though I imagine that for those who did discover the solution themselves, it must have felt amazing. The boss of the Tower of Hera was another very difficult challenge for me, but it was a fair challenge in my opinion. While yes, it was very frustrating, I found myself compelled to get back up and face the monster again and again, feeling more courage each time until that final sword swing, and finally seeing that glorious moment as the boss exploded into nothingness, leaving a heart container, and the final pendant required to reach the master sword. I definitely feel that I am beginning to understand the reason so many look at this game as a masterpiece. It is ahead of its time in many ways, while other things may be a little outdated. I look forward to continuing my playthrough.

((DISCLAIMER - This review(like all reviews) is biased and is entirely my opinion based on my own gaming preferences.))
Definitely an interesting 2D Zelda-like. I went in completely blind and had no clue what to expect. I got the game on sale but I feel that there was definitely a substantial amount of playtime for an indie adventure title at around 8 hours for my personal completion.

PROS -
- The gameplay is very open and leaves a lot of room for exploring and discovering new things.
- Dungeons all feel unique and filled with combat, puzzles, and exploration, each with a unique and fairly challenging boss.
- The artwork is definitely well done and very reminiscent of 16bit video games like ALTTP with perhaps even a bit more detail.
- There were a few characters who had funny moments and I definitely enjoyed some of the humorous writing.
- Mitra is hands-down my favorite part of the game and the most helpful person in the game. I genuinely looked forward to talking to her and appreciated the little hints she would give.
- Without giving spoilers, there is more exploring to do after completing the game with a very unique method of interacting with the game world. I honestly began having even more fun with the post-game than I had with everything that led up to it.

CRITICISMS -
- The atmosphere was so melancholy that it often times became unsettling in a not fun way for me personally.
- The writing and themes seemed to hit both extremes. At times I would chuckle at a light hearted, sarcastic character line one moment and then walk over to an area that was extremely dark in a sickening way.
- I often found myself lost and with no direction, having to backtrack through area after area just trying to clear the map in hopes that something might happen. Eventually, I realized that all the exploration amounted to was finding little art cards all over the place. The cards function like power stars in a Mario game, letting you enter the final area once you acquire them all. In the end it felt more like a chore to me, searching every inch of the map and dungeons just to get the game to move forward rather than a satisfying or useful collectible that gave any sense of progression.
- There were moments where characters using foul language, seemingly out of the blue, completely broke immersion for me, often during lines that seemed overly meta. While most dialogue in the game is entirely optional, there isn't much more to the writing and characters.
- The story... Honestly, I feel that this game was lacking much direction when it comes to plot, motivation, and character development. It seemed like it was more of a joke that the story is nearly non-existent with names being very much like placeholders rather than parts of a fictional world. In the end, I was left wondering why any of the game was even taking place or even what at all was taking place with seemingly no answers.

I know nothing about the developers or the development of this game, but in the end, I look at games as what they are. As a game, it delivers on some pretty solid Zelda-like exploration, dungeon crawling, boss fights, with the last one being challenging in a satisfying way, and some beautiful pixel-art, varied biomes and creative puzzle-solving. I was not very satisfied by the lack of story, and the atmosphere was not something I personally enjoyed all the time. Overall, Definitely a unique experience that scratches the Zelda itch pretty well, though I would have enjoyed a bit more on the story side of things.

I was going to write a literal essay here. I was going to mention and address the main criticisms of this game. I was going to explain that after playing this game on original hardware and having experienced the game in the state that it was developed for, I have the best perspective to speak on the features, design, criticisms, and overall existence of this legendary work of art.

However, I think the legacy that has followed this game speaks for itself. Why are you even reading my review? Why does my opinion matter to you? The only reason this review exists is because this game exists and because it matters enough to me that I spent time in my precious life sharing my feelings about it. If you are even reading this review, regardless of whether or not you have played the game, it matters to you. Enough said.

If you are ever fortunate enough to play this game, in whatever countless ways exist due to fan appreciation and preservation, you will experience the biggest, deepest and most influential work of high fantasy storytelling to come out of a lumpy gray box in 1998.