I have been an avid critic of Link's Awakening since first playing it a few years back. The gameplay style is fun if not a little confusing in part due to the confusing nature of the world design where everything is open to you but nothing is actually open to you. I find it a cheap way to hide linear design behind the vignette of an "open world". That being said, I was very willing to give TUNIC a try when I first saw it. I liked the art style, the world looked pretty enough to keep me engaged and I was really looking forward to the combat since playing Elden Ring has made me more hungry for things with that Souls-like formula. That being said, this game has a myriad of problems that the worst of both of those franchises has along with a few extra bits and pieces just for added touch.
Starting with the good, however, since there is genuine merit to this game. The art style is cute. It's very clearly inspired by other big breakout indies like FEZ with its own little twist on it. The sound design is gorgeous, too. The music is wonderful and really sets the mood for each area. The world design is rather cute as well. I feel as though if I really wanted to I could get rather immersed in this world, as it has plenty of realistic elements along with that bit of mysticism that keeps you wanting to know more.
And the presentation is effectively where my praises stop and the criticisms begin. As the gameplay in itself is infuriating in every way. Firstly, the combat, which was my biggest draw to the game. Many are calling this game a Souls-like however I think that's a bit off the mark, as while the game may be hard, incitivises attacking your enemy only when their pattern allows it and there's a dodge roll, it's not fair like Dark Souls. When you die in a Dark Souls game, it really feels like it's your fault. It was never out of your control, you simply lacked the expertise to get that one hit in and got punished for it. This game is not fair. Windows of attack are small and the game will sometimes throw multiple enemies at you, just to make your experience more miserable. And the fire pits that bare similarity to Dark Souls' bonfires are used so sparingly that you'll often be trekking back multiple times through one area because you died to something simply out of your control. The roll is way to fast and is a better movement tool than an evasion tool. The shield does nothing but impede your attacks, giving you no window of opportunity to counterattack. Often times combat will amount to "attack once, step back, wait out the three second animation of a guy swinging at you, attack again, repeat until dead" and it just becomes boring. It says a lot about a game's combat when you csn turn it off from the very beginning. The only incentive to attacking enemies is to clear the path so you can get to your next destination but sometimes running around is even easier than that. If you can avoid combat entirely and it is at the advantage of the player to do so then your game needs tweaking. Although there is a level system, it has more to do with exploration than it really does with beating enemies, as you need certain items before you can level up at all. This would be fine if exploration was not the most cryptic thing alive. Once again comes my problems with this style of gameplay. I absolutely hate it when games pretend to open something up to you, only to hit you with an empty room and a sign that says "come back later". It's always just annoying. If your game is going to be linear, I'd just rather have a sense of direction so I'm not wandering around for an hour before giving up. I looked up walkthroughs twice in my 3 hours with this game, something I have only done once in my 25 hours with Elden's Ring, and that was just cus I got tired of looking. I don't think I would have genuinely known there was a leveling system if it wasn't thanks to walkthroughs. While I like the style of cryptic storytelling the game is going for, it really impedes my enjoyment of the game if the cryptic nature of the game is everywhere. Im a good fifth of the way through the game and the main plot still has yet to reveal itself.
In conclusion, if you like Link's Awakening, this game is for you. If you like Dark Souls this game is not for you. If you hate Dark Souls, this game is also not for you. This game really only serves to be a harder version of Link's Awakening and while I can see merit in that, the gameplay style of Link's Awakening is just my least favorite in an action-adventure game. And I certainly don't think it works here. That does not mean I would not like to see more from this studio, because I do think that even this game is good, it just was not what it was hyped up to be in my mind.
Starting with the good, however, since there is genuine merit to this game. The art style is cute. It's very clearly inspired by other big breakout indies like FEZ with its own little twist on it. The sound design is gorgeous, too. The music is wonderful and really sets the mood for each area. The world design is rather cute as well. I feel as though if I really wanted to I could get rather immersed in this world, as it has plenty of realistic elements along with that bit of mysticism that keeps you wanting to know more.
And the presentation is effectively where my praises stop and the criticisms begin. As the gameplay in itself is infuriating in every way. Firstly, the combat, which was my biggest draw to the game. Many are calling this game a Souls-like however I think that's a bit off the mark, as while the game may be hard, incitivises attacking your enemy only when their pattern allows it and there's a dodge roll, it's not fair like Dark Souls. When you die in a Dark Souls game, it really feels like it's your fault. It was never out of your control, you simply lacked the expertise to get that one hit in and got punished for it. This game is not fair. Windows of attack are small and the game will sometimes throw multiple enemies at you, just to make your experience more miserable. And the fire pits that bare similarity to Dark Souls' bonfires are used so sparingly that you'll often be trekking back multiple times through one area because you died to something simply out of your control. The roll is way to fast and is a better movement tool than an evasion tool. The shield does nothing but impede your attacks, giving you no window of opportunity to counterattack. Often times combat will amount to "attack once, step back, wait out the three second animation of a guy swinging at you, attack again, repeat until dead" and it just becomes boring. It says a lot about a game's combat when you csn turn it off from the very beginning. The only incentive to attacking enemies is to clear the path so you can get to your next destination but sometimes running around is even easier than that. If you can avoid combat entirely and it is at the advantage of the player to do so then your game needs tweaking. Although there is a level system, it has more to do with exploration than it really does with beating enemies, as you need certain items before you can level up at all. This would be fine if exploration was not the most cryptic thing alive. Once again comes my problems with this style of gameplay. I absolutely hate it when games pretend to open something up to you, only to hit you with an empty room and a sign that says "come back later". It's always just annoying. If your game is going to be linear, I'd just rather have a sense of direction so I'm not wandering around for an hour before giving up. I looked up walkthroughs twice in my 3 hours with this game, something I have only done once in my 25 hours with Elden's Ring, and that was just cus I got tired of looking. I don't think I would have genuinely known there was a leveling system if it wasn't thanks to walkthroughs. While I like the style of cryptic storytelling the game is going for, it really impedes my enjoyment of the game if the cryptic nature of the game is everywhere. Im a good fifth of the way through the game and the main plot still has yet to reveal itself.
In conclusion, if you like Link's Awakening, this game is for you. If you like Dark Souls this game is not for you. If you hate Dark Souls, this game is also not for you. This game really only serves to be a harder version of Link's Awakening and while I can see merit in that, the gameplay style of Link's Awakening is just my least favorite in an action-adventure game. And I certainly don't think it works here. That does not mean I would not like to see more from this studio, because I do think that even this game is good, it just was not what it was hyped up to be in my mind.