Tunic Review (Demo Impressions)

In the first 48 minutes of a game, you should be able to know enough about the visuals of the game, the story, the mechanics, the gameplay loop and many other things. Even better, within the first 48 hours, you will know if the game has done enough to get its hooks into you whether or not you are going to come back, because we both know that if we don’t return or want to return to the game in the first two days, we likely aren’t coming back after that

There have been many times where the original developer of a game isn’t making the game people want. This leads to companies filling in the gaps. Some of the best 2D Metroidvanias have been made while we have been waiting almost 20 years for a original entry in the series. Metroid Fusion on the GameBoy Advance was the last original 2D entry in the franchise. This long wait has left many fans of the genre hungry for similar experiences. Shadow Complex, Hollow Knight and Ori all come to mind in games that not only match their inspiration but in many ways surpass it, setting a new standard in the genre.

The Metroidvania genre has been fully plundered at this point. Yes, there will be more excellent titles to come in the future but there is no shortage for fans to find something in a similar vein. Nintendo also created the iconic series, Legend of Zelda. A series that started out as an adventure game that has evolved over the years into something on a much grander scale. The series has evolved to the point that the top down style that dominated the 16 bit and handheld era has gone largely ignored.

In 2019 Nintendo gave us a taste of what a top down Zelda would be like in the modern era with the remake of Links Awakening and it left many wanting more. In many ways Tunic feels very similar to Links Awakening and that is not a bad thing. Unlike Metroidvanias, there have been very few Zelda likes that have managed to capture the essence of what made the series so special in the first place. The whimsical, fantastical world that begs to be explored and discovered as you uncover every stone and cut every blade of grass.

Tunic manages to capture the magic and even more special, is that Tunic has been developed by just one person who had a dream and decided the only way to see if it was feasible was to devote himself to Tunic in a full time basis instead of part time.

You start as a cute fox in a mysterious yet beautiful land. You are completely unarmed, have no protection and nothing to your name. If this sounds familiar, it’s because this is the Zelda blueprint, that seems easy to duplicate but in fact there is much more to it. One paw after the other, you set out on your journey with wonderfully serene audio scoring your exploration. Words can’t do it justice so just listen to it for a few seconds.

Across the beautiful landscape you find signs which are in a language that you don’t understand, which instead of being frustrating, they add to the mysteriousness of the lands. You need to be careful about where you can explore early on until you find something to defend yourself with. I think there is a stick first but I found the sword which you can equip to a X, Y or B, which is a small way that Tunic allows you to tweak how you play but for the most part the controls are simple and effective and stay out of the way so you can enjoy the world.

One small gripe is that you might use your sword frequently but your alternative items you don’t and sometimes it can be easy to forget which button you mapped the item to and that could be alleviated with a small icon at the edge of the circle.

Once equipped your challenges get harder as you can venture into dungeons in search of treasures and artifcacts, but be wary, you will die quick and you will die a lot. You will die so much that it will push you just to the point of wanting to quit but thanks to a very forgiving checkpoint system, you are instantly back in the action.

The dungeons are excellent and littered with treasure chest and powerful enemies but they are also filled with metroidvania elements. Bridges that need to be accessed from one side before it can be used both ways and the best part is these remain set up upon death. The smart checkpoint system combined with the Metroidvania elements make it feel like even though you might be dying, you are still making forward progress.

One of the best additions that Tunic has made to the Zelda like formula is the telescopes that are randomly placed across the lands. These telescopes give you a zoomed out view to determine what exciting and dangerous things lie ahead. The telescopes come in different sizes which can affect how far ahead you can see to get an idea of where your journey might lead you next.

My experience with the demo ended when I found a way out of a dungeon, I was returned to the title screen but I had barely scratched the surface of the world. Many areas that were available to be explored that I assumed I would go venture into later and this bodes well for the depth that the full game will provide upon release.

Between the score, the aesthetic and the atmosphere that Tunic creates, the game transports me back to the feeling of when I began exploring as Link back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The world feels magical and I want to scour every inch.

Tunic is not trying to hide its adoration for The Legend of Zelda, the similarities are glaring from staple items that wouldn’t look out of place in a Hylian shop, cutting grass and even down to the green garb the little fox wears. Tunic also does enough to feel like it has its own identity thanks to a lot of clever aesthetic choices and game design features.