TUNIC

Tunic is an amazing game. The art is great. The gameplay is great. The soundtrack is great. The sense of exploration and discovery is amazing. The game is a simple isometric zelda-like, but its main gimmick is that in game, you collect pages to an instruction booklet like the ones that used to come with physical game copies back in the day. There are a lot of game mechanics that are available to you right from the start of the game that are never revealed until you pick up the instruction book page for that mechanic later in the game. The game booklet is also written in a fantasy language so figuring out what exactly the book is telling you to do or where to go is a puzzle itself. I had a ton of awesome aha moments when something from the booklet clicked and I figured out what to do next. While I love the game, I should point out problems I had with some of the endgame content. There is more than one ending to this game, and the basic ending is less than satisfying. However, there is a large set of puzzles scattered throughout the game that you have to first find and then solve to make the true ending available. Some of them are pretty simple, but many of them required me to reference an internet guide to find and get the solution to. Among the puzzles I had to look up a solution for, many of those I still have no idea how the solution connect to the environmental clues I was given to solve the puzzle. The game is completely worth completing, but maybe don't feel bad if you need to look some solutions by the end.

There are games where despite whatever issues you might have with it, the attention to detail comes through in every pixel. Tunic is one of those games for me. The level design being the absolute standout. I can't tell you how many times I would find a hidden path, or the game world would wrap upon itself to connect the world together. These moments create those "ah-ha!" moments that you remember even if the details become a little fuzzy through the years. The isometric camera perspective is perfectly utilized in this; being used for puzzles or informing the world design. Combat is souls-like, punishing with limited health. Yet the art, music and puzzles really elevate what makes this game unique. There are puzzles here that are definitely reserved for the enthusiasts of thinking outside of the box. I never felt restricted by them though. I usually do my best to work it out on my own and was rewarded for putting in the effort. Solving a little chunk of them before their depth got beyond what I wanted at the time. Looking up some of the puzzles I avoided, though, really made me appreciate how much depth they could have. Even if I know I never would have gotten them on my own. I found it more comforting than not, knowing there was more to the game if I had really wanted to lose myself in it. All in all, a fantastic adventure, worth of anyone's time.