Tunche
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Tunche Trailers
Tunche Devblog - #2 Stylish Combat
Tunche Devblog - #1 About the Game (Intro & Arena announcement)
Critic Reviews for Tunche
Tunche is a spirited jungle jaunt. A charming action-adventure that wears its Peruvian heritage with the utmost pride. While the marriage of roguelite to brawler is definitely a solid fit — particularly in multiplayer — it cannot be denied that the repetitious trappings of both genres are readily apparent, which will be enough to turn off some players. Those well-versed in the grind and willing to put in the effort, however, will be rewarded with a very agreeable bout of forest fisticuffs. Now, about that animated series…
Tunche can be an enjoyable game, but it may take some time to get there. Early on the enemies can be damage sponges and you don't have a lot of attack options available, making combat somewhat difficult and quite repetitive. As you level up each character and unlock new abilities and options for the cores you find, the game itself begins to open up and become more enjoyable. Tunche looks and sounds great and after some time, the gameplay itself will become pretty good. You just have to be patient a bit for it to get there.
Tunche is a refreshing take on an established genre. The incredible aesthetics will immediately make this one stand out amongst its peers but its faithful implementation of mechanics hinders the experience. Whilst the rogue-lite features put a fun twist on every run, the repetitive combat can quickly become tiresome. Although there are a few issues, it’s certainly an interesting game that shines when playing with others.
Tunche looks and sounds good, plays neatly and consistently and is fun for couch co-op. However, it takes its punchy ideas and sneaks off into a dark, dirty alley where people just won’t want to go and find it. It is fun if you’re willing to get in there and get stuck in, but you’ll need to step over the broken glass of tiny screen text, try not to touch the wet-stained walls of repetitive, roguelite early encounters, and apologetically deny having any spare change to the drugged up yuppie of verbose exposition. In conclusion, if you are looking for a fight, mate, let us point you in the direction of Tunche.
Tunche combines familiar mechanics with a setting that is rarely represented in video games. This keeps the game’s visual design fresh, but the combat is more than familiar and not up to the standard set by other games in these genres. Tunche can’t scratch the side-scrolling beat-em-up action of River City Girls or the honed roguelike structure of Hades. Unforturantely, this means the game’s charming art and characters are at battle with lackluster gameplay.
There is no denying that Tunche is one of the best Indie titles to be released this year. With a gorgeous art style, great character designs, a rock solid gameplay loop and some sweet action it is a joy to play and easy to learn. However it might prove a little too repetitive for some.
Tunche isn't for everyone. Traditional beat-'em-up fans will like the frantic action of the combo system, even if it takes a few runs to get going, but they'll hate the lack of forward progression. Roguelike fans will enjoy the gradual character empowerment but hate the lack of randomization of bosses and enemies. It falls into a specific niche that appeases people who enjoy the minimal mixing of both, and in that respect, Tunche delivers an experience that can be enjoyable if you know what you're getting into.
There’s a good game in Tunche somewhere, just trying to get out. Some will find it if they dig deep, put in the hours and max out the skill trees so that the combat can shine. Most though, will probably give up early on into the journey. This is a wonderfully presented game with a lot to offer, but the roguelike elements suck the fun out of it, turning what could have been a brisk and enjoyable adventure into a drawn-out slog.
