Tunic Reviews
Dicey's Zelda-inspired indie adventure Tunic gives players a magical world to explore, if they can handle the game's difficulty.
Tunic sits among the pinnacle of indie titles and is just as fun as it is cute and colorful. There are an astounding amount of secrets to discover in the game and, once you've found everything, you can easily play it again and again to do things in a different order using your knowledge. It's a delightful experience that I just can't get enough of.
In the end, I can’t help but feel increasingly enamoured by the sights and encounters. And by the time you get to the dungeons and underground fortresses, you’ll already lulled into a meditative state, as you give in to your impulses to marinate in Tunic’s sheer abundance: its atmospheric soundtrack, its crisp combat, and its resonant adventures. You become a child once more, eyes glued to the screen, fingers cemented on the buttons of your controllers, piles of notes strewn across the table, as you mindlessly hack at everything in sight: ghostly knights, creaking skeletons, and oversized bosses. How many more hours do I want to keep playing? As long as the night would last, and till the early hours of dawn.
Zelda-like adventure game starring an adorable fox recalls a pre-internet era when games felt like secret worlds
Tunic is something really special. Before anything else, it’s a clear love letter to the old-school action-adventure games of the Eighties and Nineties. Beyond that, it’s an ingenious, brief and occasionally challenging masterclass of modern game design that feels much bigger than the sum of its parts.
Tunic's world is as mysterious as it is beautiful. The world is a treasure trove of puzzles to solve coupled with a myriad of bosses determined to test your fortitude.
If you’re a fan of exploration and puzzle-based adventure games, then playing Tunic is a no-brainer. While it does have elements of Souls games, it has more elements from The Legend of Zelda series and lots of elements from other genres as well. What makes Tunic unique is the way it gives the player items and abilities, without fully explaining them at first, and allowing the player to experiment while exploring its world. Retro players who love cryptic NES titles of yesteryear take note, this might be a GOTY contender for you.
A beguilingly beautiful and practically pitch-perfect mixture of Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls mechanics, Tunic is a boundlessly charming and highly challenging adventure that gets so much right that it borders on ridiculousness.
Tunic is a certified gem that's filled with so many different layers, which keep it original from its inspirations. The level of detail and hidden depth is outstanding for an indie title that shows what can be achieved with clever designs and meticulous planning.
We won't spoil what happens, but Tunic slowly peels back layers right to the very end. It's a cohesive, satisfying game that scratches an old school action-adventure itch, going above and beyond with subversive, cerebral puzzles. It maybe goes on a touch longer than it needs to, but this little gem of a game punches above its weight.
The fact that this charming game was created by a single person is astounding. Tunic delightfully combines what we loved about games from our childhood with modern day influences. With tons of challenging enemies to encounter, cryptic puzzles to solve, and secrets to uncover, this game will ensure you won't regret embarking on the adventure of this cute little fox. There's simply no better way to play this game than on the PlayStation 5, with the intuitive Game Help feature and flawless performance.
Tunic effectively does almost everything you could expect from a game inspired by the pair of green tunic and Master Sword. But don't go in expecting something more than a pale imitation of those things.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Tunic is a great game for a specific audience. The target gamer is someone who has patience, loves puzzles and isn’t bothered by dead ends and roadblocks. For those folks, Tunic is a delightful Zelda-inspired ARPG that unfolds into something bigger than its style suggests. Knowing the shorthand of Soulslikes mechanics will cut through some of the game’s opacity. For some, though, the game’s obstinate refusal to easily give up its secrets may be a barrier to enjoyment, no matter how lovely and inviting the game seems to be.
Tunic is a title capable of being respected, a product that allows Andrew Shouldice to enter the videogame market with a commendable impact.
Review in Italian | Read full review
What a nice surprise this Tunic is. A true love letter to the first Zelda with a souls-like underlay to modernize everything, the game manages to keep players on their toes with its intelligent progression system, mechanics that renew themselves and its enchanting universe that hides much more than it seems.
Review in French | Read full review
Tunic is a charming, absorbing adventure that recaptures the feel of the original The Legend of Zelda better than almost any other game out there (including some of Nintendo's own efforts). The game's enigmatic nature won't be for everyone and a late-game difficulty spike may frustrate even old-school fans, but overall, Tunic is a successful link to the past.
You'd be wrong to assume the cute fox-like protagonist and colourful world implies Tunic is a relaxing little adventure for all ages – it's anything but. Tunic requires a lot of intuitive thinking and patience to navigate its beautiful world with its brilliant in-game instruction manual. Coupled with an unforgiving combat system that punishes impatience and rewards measured study of opponents, Tunic is a game designed for those versed in old-school adventuring and experienced in difficult, sometimes frustrating swordplay. Given all this and its evident Hylian inspirations, and even with some unfortunate performance hitches and obvious downgrades from the versions on other platforms, Tunic feels right at home on a Nintendo console and we recommend it as a creative and concise adventure that both draws and expands upon some prestigious inspirations.
Thanks to a fantastic world, and a series of magnificent puzzles, Tunic is positioned as one of the best independent games of 2022.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Tunic is a masterpiece of adventure and exploration. More than a tribute to Zelda, it is a game that deserves your full attention.
Review in French | Read full review