Recently released TUNIC. This is an isometric action game inspired by the classic The Legend of Zelda and, suddenly, Dark Souls. Gamers immediately started singing the praises of the game: on Steam, TUNIC has 91 percent positive reviews and the score on Metacritic reached 86 points. But should you spend time on the adventures of a fox cub? I passed the novelty and I hasten to share my impressions!
What is TUNIC?
Single developer Andrew Shouldice has been working on TUNIC since 2015. Talented creators have repeatedly made good games without anyone’s help: sticky Vampire Survivors ingenious Papers, please and super successful Minecraft proves it. Granted, the process may be delayed – so TUNIC was not released until March 16, 2022.
Over the course of seven years, the game has garnered an impressive fan base who have raved about new trailers, added the project to their wishlist, and supported Andrew. The community was intrigued by the adorable visual lamp, adorable protagonist, Zelda-style gameplay, and formidable bosses.
But did TUNIC live up to expectations? Yes, but with nuances. The developer has managed to make an excellent game – however, it may surprise someone unpleasantly. The fact is that behind the cute picture in some places hides the hardcore level of Dark Souls. In addition, some decisions about the design of a game can seem questionable: in some places the game is too confusing.
What do you play more often?
Plot TUNIC
The main character of TUNIC is a brave little fox who comes to his senses in a wonderful but dangerous world. They say that these lands hide a huge amount of treasures and secrets, but the animal is not only interested in this.
It is worth taking a little walk around the area, it becomes clear: once life was very different here. Everywhere are statues of a goddess, or a ruler, or just an excellent fox. The heroes of brave warriors are also immortalized in stone and the tombs of the knights are built with the utmost respect. Obviously, long ago they protected the world from evil, but fell anyway.
Don’t let anyone stand next to the fox cub, he will still get some help. The great fox will bring him back from the dead and help him get stronger, and good weapons can be found in the graves of the fallen warriors.
If we talk about the plot, it is served in the manner of souls. No one will tell the gamer what happened and what the hero is trying to achieve. You can only understand this thanks to hints and short videos – while there is still room for interpretation.
Along the way, the fox will be able to find tablets and diaries, but even those are only partially translated. The fact is that in the extinct world they spoke an artful language, and the hero does not understand. Only as he progresses does he learn new words and understand the notes.
Thus, at first it is not clear why an unusual flower is needed. However, once you bring it to the magic statue, the health bar increases and the scribbles are finally translated.
Unfortunately, the full passage does not answer all questions. Perhaps the fact is that the world is full of secret places where the missing crumbs of the plot can be stored. Although it is more likely that TUNIC is one of those games, the plot of which can be better understood on thematic sites. fans Bloodborne and other projects that changed gaming Miyazaki (Hidetaka Miyazaki) have long been used to this.
Gameplay
By genre, TUNIC is an isometric action game. The hero will have to explore intricately intertwined locations, fight common enemies, defeat bosses and search for items without which the plot cannot progress. For example, the first task is to knock on the two bell towers that unlock the golden gates: this is not an easy thing to do, as the correct places are hidden and guarded.
It is worth dealing with this, because the hero is given the task of finding three magical items. And so forth.
The trick is that TUNIC is built on the principle of metroidvania. In the beginning, most passages are closed – to get there, you have to find something important. Since the fox starts the passage empty-handed, he will need many things.
For example, a sword not only helps crush enemies, but also cuts through bushes you can’t get through otherwise. The lantern allows you to go into dark areas, where every careless step activates deadly traps. Thanks to the shield, it is possible to defeat opponents who do not give an unprotected fox a chance.
Overall, the metroidvania mechanic works great. Over time, the hero will find maps of the area, explore previously unexplored places, find secrets and enjoy valuable finds. However, it was not without problems.
The inconvenience is that foxes can swerve off the main trail, wander somewhere for a long time, and only then find an insurmountable obstacle. It turns out it’s too early to go here – but why couldn’t the restriction be placed earlier so that the player doesn’t take a long journey in vain?
Or you may often encounter a dangerous enemy that you cannot fill. You spin like a squirrel in a wheel next to him, learn the timing, spend consumables, but lose anyway. Then it turns out that you just need a special item to win. A piece of the diary will tell about this, but many will find it after a series of impenetrable skirmishes.
There are also nuances in the study of the world. In general, the locations are perfectly arranged: at first you feel like there are too many roads, but once you go past them you notice that they are all connected. It seems that the hero has strayed and gone somewhere, but a few sharp turns – and now he returns to the main path.
Since almost every room has secret places, hidden chests and secret passages, exploring the areas is exciting. At the same time, you always know that wherever you go, you always end up in the right place, or you find something cool. Of course, if you don’t end up in a dead end that you can’t get through without the right equipment.
You can’t do without exploring the world in TUNIC. Some useful consumables can be purchased from a skeleton dealer, but there are not enough resources for everything and not every value is for sale.
For example, once you find an extra bottle, the hero can restore health more often during the game. Hilki works as estus in Dark Souls – after a visit to the shrine they are restored. Coins found in chests can be thrown into the pit and open a new slot to strengthen the hero. Canines and other powerful consumables need to be dragged to the sanctuary and pumped.
In addition, dynamite, bombs, icy magic daggers and other good things will come in handy in battle. If you don’t search the locations, there won’t be enough consumables and the character will remain weak. The first boss will quickly make it clear that it’s better to step back and pump.
The problem is that sometimes the author even hides plot tropes too cunningly. The hero can wander into an important room and discover that there is no further way. Is it really necessary to turn around and find another way to the goal? No, there is only a passage hidden behind the column, which is not clearly visible. I more than once encountered such obstacles and circled the area for a long time in search of the right path.
But you won’t argue. There are many enemies, they are diverse, they attack en masse and often challenge. At the same time, each of them needs its own approach. Take octopuses, for example, which are described in documents as friendly creatures that crave cuddles. It is not worth flying at them famously with a sword – first you need to wait for the “hug” and knock it off with a shield. Otherwise you will lose your health in vain.
Opponents don’t surprise with an elaborate moveset, but the hero is constantly in unusual situations, confronting new mobs and using newly acquired tricks. This keeps the battle exciting until the very end.
The bosses are cool too. Their arsenal isn’t as rich as the bosses from the hit Elden Ring, and they don’t make you sweat like they did about Malenya. However, you still have to work hard. Which attack should you block with a shield, which should you roll away from, and where’s the opening through which you can run up and land a few hits? You’ll have to think about it even at the first boss fight.
However, gamers who are not very handy still have a good chance of winning. If you prepare for battle, pump well, stock up on dynamite and other consumables, the boss will surely fall.
The most enthusiastic players can even grind – resurrect enemies in TUNIC after visiting the shrines. If the hero dies, it is worth returning to the place of death and returning part of the lost resources. In general, there are plenty of parallels with soul-like.
You can find flaws in exploration and combat, but TUNIC is still fun to play. The author regularly throws something new and the gameplay base is addictive.
Graphics, System Requirements and Sound
Visual is one of the main advantages of TUNIC. The game looks great: the atmosphere turned out to be mysterious and peaceful, the locations are full of details and the enemies are beautifully drawn. This allows you to look at each new place for a long time, but you do not want to leave the magical world. Visually, games rarely give such a feeling: from recent projects, only a good one comes to mind. The door of death.
System requirements are modest. To run TUNIC, a simple computer with a GTX 660 graphics card, 8 GB RAM and an Intel i5 processor with four cores and a frequency of 2.7 GHz is sufficient. I ran through the novelty on a laptop with a GTX 1650 Ti, 16 GB of RAM and an AMD Ryzen 5-3550H processor – as a result, the FPS did not fall below 60. There are no graphics settings.
It is remarkable that for the entire passage I did not encounter a single bug. Enemies didn’t get stuck in textures, the game didn’t crash to the desktop, and the scripts worked as they should.
Separately, the author should be praised for the sound – it turned out great. Meditative tracks perfectly immerse you in the atmosphere and help you forget the hardships of life. By the way, the OST has been online for a long time, be sure to listen.
TUNIC has become a new indie hit that fans of The Legend of Zelda will love, Hollow Knight, Death’s Door and even Dark Souls. Excellent visuals, a good combat system, a well-developed world – that’s why you should not pass the game.
Do you play TUNIC?
Source: VG Times
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.