The review of Tunic, a cryptic action metroidvania

We have waited a long time for this title, widely treated and protagonist of the Summer Game Fest, as well as having announced its release date at the last edition of The Game Awards. Let’s talk about Tunic and of the work that the developer alone Andrew Shouldice he has dedicated to us for the past seven years. We also briefly anticipated it in our selection of the indies of February 2022, it is an isometric adventure game strongly influenced by the Zelda saga. Available on Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series S | X, Tunic is a homage to a bygone era in the videogame field, able to involve us for several hours with a truly unique story and which presents various difficulties, both in understanding the story and in terms of gameplay. But let’s see specifically these aspects in our dedicated review.

The Tunic Review – An Adventure for Real Foxes

As anticipated, Tunic is a action-adventure isometrico centered on the story of a small fox that leaves for the wilderness, where enemies of different sizes and each with its own attack characteristics are fought. It is a world full of mystery, where many details remain quite obscure and whose meaning is not very clear to us. Starting with a characteristic that strikes us from the beginning: several indications and explanations are given to us in a decidedly and totally incomprehensible sign language. This aspect makes it very difficult to understand the meaning of the message that appears on the screen.

This applies both to certain save points and energy recovery, represented on the screen by a classic vital bar, and to understand the use and meaning of certain objects. However, we can observe that not all the indications foresee the sole presence of this runic alphabet, as for example on some signposts. The pejorative aspect, however, of this element that confuses us is that also the “instruction manual”, an element also taken from the first chapters of Zelda. . The pages of the latter are obtained as you progress through the game, and it features this alphabet.

Paradoxically, therefore, we have a manual in hand, in full respect of the amarcord inspirations of this game, but without the necessary tools to understand it and to effectively understand what is happening. Furthermore, as anticipated, scattered all over the world, there are pages of this manual. The pages are hidden in various places and are definitely worth picking up and browsing. Among these, we have maps, a bestiary that lists all the monsters and the use of some items.

Important objects and runic languages

In this regard, the idea that a tool is a key to progress is a tempting element in perfect metroidvania style. To this, we must also add the fact that we also have a good playful component based on chance. We explain ourselves, even if we are poorly equipped and based on the choices we make in the combat phase, we can open passages and passages thanks to the use of the enemy’s sword. This at least as long as we have to use a stick as a weapon. Even just stumbling, you can arrive in an area where you “should” not be, discovering secret places and caverns in a world with very particular graphics.

Several choices of this title seemed truly original to us. On the one hand, the runic language that leads us throughout the game, combined with the mostly constant lack of dialogue when our fox encounters different characters, which are clearly not the random enemies we have to fight hard against. Furthermore, we are not required to decode a secret language.

A simple and geometric graphic

Together with this stylistic choice, the graphic sector is also decidedly particular, recalling in part the shapes of Minecraft. All the natural elements are reminiscent of geometric shapes, just as the movement of water does not seem to be fluid like a liquid, but more full-bodied as if it were colored tempera poured on the screen.

In general, Tunic really remembers a physically rudimentary worldhow much conceptually mysterious. Quite abstract shapes, but which make the function of some elements intuitive, contribute to making the game we have on our hands unique. The developer has managed to find a balance between abstraction and stylization to return a visually interesting and not at all hyper-realistic game.

The review of Tunic in a nutshell

In conclusion, Tunic is an experience inspired by several famous titles of the videogame landscape, including Monument Valley, in addition to the Zelda saga. With a soft and original aesthetic, a game has been conceived that incorporates the sensations of amarcord titles. An aspect powered by elements like the manual modular as you go and challenges with enemies that are always different and challenging. A title not too long-lived in itself, cuba a handful of hours for those who manage to defeat enemies without particular effort, but who can go as far as at least 12 hours to be completed, between the gameplay itself and secrets to discover.