Tunic (2022)

This game is really something special. I’ve still not quite finished it, though I suspect I’m in the final stretch. And yet, somehow, it’s still surprising me with new mechanics and reveals.

In an unexpected turn, it’s giving me everything I tried but failed to get from Souls games. I’ve tried very hard to like those games over the years, but ultimately always bounce off because I find the failure cycle impossibly frustrating rather than rewarding. I’m simply not skilled enough to enjoy them, and have neither the time nor the desire to, “git gud”.

Tunic, on the other hand, still has plenty of the mystery and intrigue in its world that, in my opinion, makes the Souls games so enticing, but it’s far more approachable. It’s challenging (at least to my dulled skills), but it respects my time. I may need a dozen attempts at a boss, but every time I die I can be fighting again inside of 30 seconds.

It’s surprising and delightful and dark and actually quite ballsy in equal measure, and if the last hour or two live up to the first eight or nine, this is well on the way to being my game of the year.

I got such highs and lows from this game. The exploration and puzzle solving was so well done. Using the pages I was even starting to uncover a few of the final treasures on my own, which was extremely rewarding. The clues were obtuse but I loved how in many cases just the knowledge of a secret gave you an “a-ha” moment on additional tricks to try and solve the puzzles.

But the combat was a big low for me. Got to the final boss and they just zipped around the arena giving few opportunities for hits. It became a huge chore to get close enough with my tiny sword and widdle down their giant health bar. The game also had numerous slowdowns during that fight, furthering the misery. I ended up just giving up. Made me very unhappy to end my game experience on such a sour note.

What a fun tribute to printed manuals of the old days. That is definitely my favorite part, getting new pages and pouring over them for clues.

One big gripe I have with the game is the lock-on. Funny enough, it was one of the major gripes I had with Elden ring. I know people like to joke about how bad it can be but it is near game breaking bad for me. I just don’t understand who thought it be good to prioritize inanimate objects, or the sleeping bad guy at the edge of the screen, over the enemies right in front of me. This feels like it will be the new “bad camera” and it will take a while for developers to get the algorithm right.

TUNIC confía en el jugador, su inteligencia y la capacidad de resolver misterios de una forma que deja sin aliento por momentos. Si bien el juego puedo entender porqué llega a aburrir o frustrar, sobretodo a medida que avanzamos, creo que parte del viaje es sobreponer esa frustración. TUNIC juega contigo constantemente. Muchos de los secretos que descubriremos recogiendo páginas del manual los teníamos delante de nuestras narices y eso hace que sea mucho más especial descubrirlo, porque ahora tiene sentido el viaje, esa pieza estaba ahí por algo.

Las 4~ primeras horas son, sin duda alguna, de lo mejor que se ha hecho en cuanto a exploración e investigación en un juego de pseudo mundo abierto. Donde pierde es en el combate, donde las opciones son muy limitadas, pero no necesita mucho más, pues sus enemigos son simples y sus jefes sencillos una vez nos adaptamos a sus movimientos.

Stayed with my parents over the weekend, and played this on my Dad's xbox with gamepass. Wow! It has that can't put down factor, and feels very much like the GBC Zelda games which were my favorite. A nice break from how exhausting it is to start up the larger open-world titles I am playing on PS5 and Switch at the moment.

Edit: Also, the soundtrack is great... It can go from chill explore wherever vibes and transition seamlessly to "Oh crap, a pop quiz!?" levels of stress. If you ever played the app pin-out and liked the soundtrack, I think you will like this. Not exactly apples to apples, but they both tie into the game in a similar way to me.