Tunic (video game)

The fox with a stick equipped and health and stamina meters in the bottom left. An enemy is chasing the fox, and a shrine is nearby.

Tunic is an action-adventure game set in the ruins of a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, in which the player character, an anthropomorphic fox, navigates the terrain and fights off hostile creatures. The player is initially given no directions or instructions, and the majority of the text is written in a constructed language, with only some words presented in the player's selected language, such as English. The three-dimensional terrain is typically displayed from a fixed isometric view, though the perspective shifts at certain points.[1]

The fox character moves around the world by running or dodge-rolling; after rolling, the fox runs faster until they stop moving.[1] The player can freely explore the world, and there is no mandated path to follow. While many areas require specific actions or items to enter normally, there are often alternate ways to gain entrance.[2] The isometric view obscures numerous hidden paths and secrets.[1]

The interface has meters for the fox's health, stamina, and magic. Actions such as rolling consume stamina, which replenishes after a few seconds.[3] Scattered throughout the world are chests, which contain collectible items, weapons, or coins.[4] Items can also be purchased with coins from ghostly merchants found in a few hidden paths. Some items, such as potions, restore the fox's health, stamina, or magic. Other items can be used in combination with coins to increase the fox's maximum health, stamina, or magic.[5] Tunic does not have difficulty levels, but players can toggle unlimited stamina or health in accessibility settings.[3]

Weapons have varying effects; the stick or sword can be swung at enemies to damage them, the shield can be used to block attacks at the cost of stamina, and magic weapons can use magic to fire projectiles, slow time, or grab enemies with a lash. Bombs can be used to cause explosions or bursts of fire, which can set enemies or the fox on fire. Enemies will chase and attack the fox on sight, and die if they are damaged enough, giving the player coins.[5] The player can target specific enemies to automatically direct their attacks; this also shifts the camera, which can reveal hidden passages or objects. If the fox dies, they drop some of their coins and a spirit is left behind that can be recovered on the next playthrough to return them.[3] The end of some areas contains a unique boss enemy, which unlike regular enemies must be defeated to progress.[4]

Throughout the world are shrines with a large fox statue; kneeling at these shrines restores the fox's health and magic, while also reviving any defeated enemies. When the fox dies, they are restored at the last shrine they have knelt at.[3] Some areas also include a teleport mechanism in the form of a golden platform, which allows the fox to access a ghostly realm where they can exit through another golden platform in the world.[6]

Also present throughout the world are pages of the game's manual, which does not exist outside of the game. When the player collects the page items, the pages are added to the manual in the interface, which the player can refer to at any time. Like the in-game text, the majority of the manual is written in a constructed language, and the player does not encounter the pages in order. The drawings, maps, diagrams, and handwritten notes in the manual pages give clues to the player as to how the game works and where to go next, such as showing the fox offering items to a shrine, which otherwise gives no indication that it can be used that way.[3]

The plot of Tunic is expressed through gameplay, with the backstory and context given only as the fox player character collects pages of a manual. This manual is written in a constructed language with the player as the reader.[7]

A fox awakens on a shore, and begins to journey through the game world, which is filled with ruins. After collecting a weapon and shield, and ringing two magical bells, the fox enters a temple and then a spiritual plane known as the Far Shore. There they encounter the spirit of a larger fox trapped in a crystal prison, referred to in the manual as the Heir. The fox leaves to collect the three crystal keys to the prison which can be found within dungeons across the land. Every time the fox is killed by an enemy, they are revived by the Heir.

As the fox collects the crystal keys, they encounter glowing purple essence, which is used to power parts of the ruins, including the golden platforms, and is relayed by glowing black obelisks. While collecting the last key, the fox journeys through a mine—where purple essence seems to be taking over the game world itself—into an underground factory where the souls of foxes are being forcibly confined into the obelisks. After collecting the Keys and freeing the Heir, the Heir attacks and kills the fox. The fox, now in spirit form, appears in a night-time version of the overworld, with many paths obstructed by the purple essence. Most enemies have disappeared and the land is instead populated by the souls of other foxes, which speak only in the game's constructed language. The fox visits the six Graves of the Hero, which now each return parts of the fox's spirit and restores them to life.

Collecting enough pages of the manual reveals that there had previously been a civilization of foxes, which looked for power from outside of reality. Seeking immortality, they found a way to entomb the souls of foxes from the past and future into obelisks as a source of power. A religion formed around the power and the Hero who found it, with the faithful exempt from their souls being used. This power was corrupted through overuse, causing the purple essence to begin to erode reality and loop time. One fox, the Heir, was trapped outside of the time loop, but acts as a beacon to draw in a replacement Heir, continuing the cycle.

If the restored fox defeats the Heir, they become the new Heir, and the game ends. The player is then given the options to quit, to restart the game from the beginning in a New Game Plus mode, or else to restart the game from just before the battle. A second ending occurs instead if the player, before fighting the Heir, follows the "golden path". This requires them to collect every page of the manual and solve the puzzle at the top of the mountain that uses the pages. Afterwards, when the player confronts the Heir, instead of fighting they show them the manual, showing how to break the cycle and freeing them.

Critics were "generally favorable" towards the game, according to the review aggregator Metacritic; it was ranked as one of the top 30 games of the year by aggregated score for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5, and the eighth-highest scored Switch game of the year.[21][22][23][24] The gameplay was highly praised, though some aspects had a mixed reception. Multiple reviewers described the combat as challenging but satisfying; Indee of Jeuxvideo.com concluded that Shouldice had tried and succeeded to make the game difficult enough to make the player feel unwelcome in the world.[3][4][5][27][28] Anne-Marie Coyle of PC Gamer and Ryan McCaffrey of IGN also liked the boss battles, with PC Gamer considering them even better than the rest of combat, though Jill Grodt of Game Informer and Brendan Caldwell of Rock Paper Shotgun felt that they were too difficult compared to the rest of the game.[4][5][26][29] Game Informer, however, along with Richard Wakeling of GameSpot and the reviewer from Jeuxvideo, applauded the accessibility options to make combat easier as allowing players to continue exploring the game without being restricted by the combat.[3][4][27] Reviewers in general described the game as a mix between the gameplay of Zelda and Soulslike games or as a tribute to those games, though Zoey Handley of Destructoid and Christian Donlan of Eurogamer went further to describe it as based on an understanding of what gameplay design worked for those games rather than just a copy.[4][25][26][28]

Tunic's plot received less attention than its gameplay from reviewers, with mixed opinions. Handley of Destructoid applauded the way the story was told without words, while Jeuxvideo's reviewer found the game's ending interesting.[25][27] The IGN and PC Gamer reviewers, however, both found the plot interesting but secondary to the rest of the game, with Coyle of PC Gamer concluding that it was "a nice addition to the game rather than a compelling reason to play".[5][26]

The graphics and aesthetics were highly praised; Grodt of Game Informer and Wakeling of GameSpot noted the "simple-but-beautiful visual aesthetic", with the GameSpot reviewer terming it an "extravagant diorama".[3][4] The reviewers from IGN, PC Gamer, and Jeuxvideo praised the colorful and "delightful" art style, with Jeuxvideo concluding that it was a very successful art direction that resulted in a beautiful and mysterious universe.[5][26][27] Game Informer, IGN, and Jeuxvideo also noted the music as beautiful and serene, with Game Informer adding that it made "an intriguing contrast to the tough battles".[4][26][27]

The exploration and secrets aspects of the game were heavily praised as well; Game Informer's Grodt concluded that "Tunic's fighting is great, but discovery and exploration might be its most impressive elements."[4] Critics highlighted the exploration and finding secrets as the core of the game, with Nicole Carpenter of Polygon describing it as pushing the player to "have the courage just to try".[1][5][28] The puzzles, especially the use of the manual, were listed as especially worthy of praise, with Gamespot calling them "utterly fantastic", a sentiment echoed by Eurogamer, Jeuxvideo, Rock Paper Shotgun, and Game Informer.[3][4][27][28][29] Jeuxvideo, Rock Paper Shotgun, and Game Informer's reviewers did all note, however, that the obscure and challenging nature of the puzzles meant that players could get stuck, particularly near the end of the game.[4][27][29]

• Official website