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What is TUNIC?
TUNIC is an isometric adventure game that wears its retro Zelda inspiration on its sleeve. That being said, TUNIC is not Zelda. For starters, you play as an adorable little fox instead of a weird elf boy. The vibes are different. If you like Zelda, I'd probably tell you, "Oh, TUNIC is a super awesome homage that you should definitely play!" and if you hate Zelda, I'd probably tell you, "Oh don't worry, TUNIC is nothing like Zelda and you should definitely play it. You'll love it. I promise." Okay, I can't actually promise anything. But TUNIC has certainly sparked in me a very strong desire to try to spread the experience.
TUNIC is a really interesting game in that it never really tells you where to go. It never directly tells you much of anything, in fact. And yet I never really felt stuck (barring one instance that can be attributed to a sudden flare of stupidity)-I always seemed to naturally find my way right where I needed to be. As somebody who's spent a lot of time playing Nintendo games, which can err on the side of hand-holdiness... well, I'll just say that TUNIC holds a very refreshing respect for the player's intelligence.
The only guidance you have is the game's handy-dandy instruction manual, which serves both as an incredible love letter to gaming's past (I used to love reading game manuals as a kid; they made up a significant portion of my second grade "hundred books in a year" challenge reading list. It's really too bad that they're considered obsolete by now) and also as a unique game mechanic in its own right. As you explore, you'll collect more manual pages that will slowly give you deeper insight into the game's mechanics and what exactly is going on (never too much insight though!). It's really satisfying near the end of the game to start looking more carefully at the pages and recognizing how they may relate to piece together puzzle solutions. But I can't speak too much on that-don't want to give anything away!
When I say TUNIC is like Zelda but actually not like Zelda, what I mean is that it aims for the same hands-off exploration and sense of discovery present in Zelda 1 or A Link to the Past. You stumble upon and complete dungeons in increasingly breathtaking locations, though they don't really feel like dungeons in the same sense as Zelda's... they're more combat-oriented than anything, and there's not so many dungeon items to solve puzzles with. Though the combat mechanics are simple, boss fights are a lot of fun-it's the sort of game where every boss feels impossible when you first encounter them, but as you slowly grow more familiar with their attacks, you finally find yourself able to topple the goliath. It's a hard game, but a satisfying one. (Though it's worth noting that there are various accessibility options to give yourself a leg up if necessary.)
Puzzle-solving lies disconnected from the main flow of dungeon exploration in order to achieve a larger, less self-contained/more interconnected scale. It's entirely possible for you to just play TUNIC as a simple adventure game, having fun with the combat, watching the credits roll, and then being done with it. But there's so much more to find if you dig a little deeper-it's been my search for secrets after the credits that has made TUNIC truly a memorable experience for me. If anything, I'd recommend you play the game with a friend or two-I mean, I think most gaming experiences are better when shared with others, and while TUNIC isn't a multiplayer game, some extra brains wouldn't hurt when trying to crack those more obtuse optional puzzles. If you feel you can't figure it out on your own, piecing things together with a friend is certainly more fun than just looking up the answers.
That being said... I find that part of the reason I was tempted to turn to the internet for a little help (shoutout to this Steam guide that seeks to give little nudges on puzzle solutions without directly telling you the answer (though I'd recommend that you don't look at it until you've seen the credits your first time and/or are really truly stumped on something)) was not because I couldn't do the logic or anything, but because I was working under certain misconceptions; once these misconceptions were cleared up, I could continue on with many of the puzzles perfectly on my own. So here's a few teensy hints on a few manual pages for anybody who's struggling that shouldn't give too much away. As with any guidance, I recommend you don't turn to these unless you've spent significant time trying to figure things out on your own first. And don't just plow through and read all the hints at once! Actually mess around for a bit with each one in mind before turning to the next if you're still stumped.
PAGES 47 AND 48
How do I use the Seeking Spell?
As you've hopefully seen through your own experimentation, tapping out the sequence depicted on page 48 will cast the Seeking Spell. The three little floating lines will head towards the nearest secret for you to solve as listed on the checklist to the right. As intuitive as it sounds, it admittedly took me a while to grasp how I should be using it... the overworld has enough secrets lying around that it can seem at first that the Seeking Spell is pointing you around in different directions non-sensically!
Having trouble with the puzzles even after locating them?
One thing that tripped me up when looking for patterns was the fact that so many are symmetrical. When this happens, try to narrow your focus to just one of the reflections, and things should start to make a bit more sense. (Though not every puzzle will follow this format!)
PAGE 49
What in the world do these numbers mean? Is there any more information for me to glean?
If you're looking for a clue, well, page 22 might hold a hint for you.
Still confused by my last declaration?
Perhaps it would help to know that the Golden Path is not a location.
Remaining desperate, can't understand the game's demands?
I assure you, most all that you need already lies in your hands.
PAGE 54
Ah-ha! Looks like I've found a hint for deciphering the writing system! But how should I approach this?
One of the first things I tried to do, thinking I was clever, was head into the settings and change the game's language to observe how the symbols would change in response. To my surprise, they did not change at all. Unfortunately, localization was not quite that comprehensive... no matter what, these runes translate to English! Don't speak English well? Or at all (I'm impressed you're even reading this page)? I'm sorry... deciphering this is going to be a bit more difficult for you!
What are those two words written on this page trying to tell me?
As alluded to by the little doodles, one says fox and the other says sword.
It's trying to tell you something about the structure of the language!
Where can I play this game anyway?
It's available on PC and all major consoles of the moment (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)! I personally played on Switch, and I will note that there are some slight performance bumps... but nothing that significantly hurts the experience (and besides, it'd probably be much worse on my laptop anyway). I'll also slyly note that at the time of writing, TUNIC is 50% off on Steam (that's $15 instead of $30 for Statesers!). TUNIC has hands down been my best gaming experience of the year-if my plea here can convince even just one person to give the game a shot, I'll be happy. Have fun with it! Reach out if you ever need a puzzle hint or something (anything!)-I'd love to talk about this game more.
