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TUNIC, to me, is more interesting in concept than execution, but I still had a good time with it. It's a Zelda-like game based on the idea of importing a foreign game decades ago; the game doesn't give you much instruction upfront, but through exploration you're able to find pages to a game manual which provides important information. Aside from the concept, I enjoyed TUNIC's puzzles, they remind me of The Witness and FEZ because of how much attention to the environment and fine details is required. It's one of those games where you might want a notebook for the puzzles.

It took me a few sessions to get into Tunic, but as I started understanding what was going on and making some significant progress the game sucked me in. However, my enjoyment of the game wavered at times. The start of the game can be a difficult wall to break through, but after doing so I felt the game opened up and became much easier- this is when I enjoyed it most. Unfortunately, after that middle section I went back to being more mixed on the game as there were a few environments and game design decisions that spiked the difficulty in ways that felt more annoying than things I needed to improve at.

The combat is my least favorite element of the game, it's serviceable, but keeps me from being as high on Tunic as many others are. I played another Zelda-like, Death's Door in the last year, which does combat far better than Tunic and that certainly informs my opinion. Although I don't think I'm being overly critical in saying Tunic has below-average combat for the genre. The movement options feel a bit clunky, especially when locked onto enemies. While the final boss was one of the harder boss fights in recent memory, generally the bosses felt easy, and honestly felt like I had cheesed them when I defeated them, versus having solved their patterns or passed a real challenge.

There are some baffling game design decisions; one that bothered me was consumable items being permanently consumed regardless of if you die. So if you fail on a boss fight and spend significant resources in that failed attempt, on your next attempt you're going at it without any of those resources. The checkpoint system leaves a little to be desired. There are save points that reset your spawn point, but the lack of an automatic checkpoint when entering a new area feels a little archaic, and checkpoints, at times, feel way too far away from the target location (final boss is a great example here). Lastly, after achieving the ideal ending you're unable to keep exploring the world, which is completely baffling considering getting any other ending allows you to return to the world. This completely caught me off guard and actually forced me to download a save file to continue playing, solving puzzles, and attempt the 100%.

Ultimately, Tunic is an interesting game, and a difficult one to recommend to everyone. I would recommend Tunic, but only to a certain type of niche gamer. I really wish they put in the time to create a stellar combat system - if this was on-par with other recent acclaimed releases in the genre it would be an easy recommendation to far more people. On the other hand, what Tunic does with much of it's game design, and puzzles is quite impressive and worth recommending. I believe there are assist options available to turn some of the difficulty spikes into more manageable situations for those looking for a less intense experience. If you have nostalgia for 2D Zelda games you're more likely to love this, same with those who enjoy interesting game concepts and puzzles.

Recommended at Discount

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