this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025
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I recently finished the game Tunic, which is sort of like A Link to the Past + Fez + Dark Souls... And it's amazing!

Tunic screenshot

I actually owned the game soon after release but bounced off of it due to being busy with work, picked it back up the past few weeks and finally sat down and enjoyed it. Despite looking like a straightforward and cute adventure game, it gets REALLY deep the further you go in. There's so much to discover and the game gives you just enough hints on what to do and where to go.

Tunic ticks all the boxes for me. The graphics are gorgeous, the combat is fun, the world is fun to explore and rich with secrets, and progression was very satisfying.

The most unique part of the game is that you slowly find pages of an instruction manual containing maps of areas and secrets, explanation of mechanics, and guides on how to play... except it's all written in an alien language, so you have to figure out what it's telling you by paying attention to all the pictures and context clues.

Picture of the manual

Understanding the manual is a bit rough at first but lead to so many "A-ha!" moments when you try something and it actually works. It even foreshadows future bosses and things you'll encounter before they happen which is brilliant. My best advice to someone just trying the game: Pay attention to the manual, seriously!


I won't spoil any more than that, but I really wish more people talked about this game. It's not for everybody, the game is intentionally vague and needs some critical thinking if you're not following a guide, but I think it's absolutely brilliant if you're into exploration and discovery. One of the most unique games I've played in ages.

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[–] 01011@monero.town 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)
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[–] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 45 points 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

To me, the unspoken premise of the game is that you're a kid in 1986 with a parent or cool uncle who went on a business trip to Japan and brought you home a Famicom and a copy of the original Zelda - months before the console even launched outside Japan.

The whole game is about replicating that sense of childish fascination and wonder.

The 'Alien Language' game manual is supposed to mimic the feeling of trying to read the Japanese manual that came with the game, muddling through as best you can with the pictures, and a few random English words they included just because English is 'cool' in a gaming context.

It's a very fun mechanic, and my favourite thing about the game.

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[–] Chozo@fedia.io 23 points 1 week ago

It's an absolutely beautiful love letter to Zelda, and I wish I finished it while it was still free on PSN. So much thought and attention went into every little detail you see and hear. Tunic teaches so many lessons about game design that I wish AAA studios would hear.

[–] MudMan@fedia.io 14 points 1 week ago (10 children)

I wanted to like it, couldn't really get into it.

I see what it's going for, it's just... not my thing. It never clikced with me moment to moment and the self-congratulatory aren't-we-smart information discovery stuff just doesn't work for me in most cases (this applies to Fez and The Witness, too).

I'm not mad that people do like it, though. There's nothing in there I find... objectionable, or poorly designed. I just didn't get into it and that's alright.

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[–] CocaineShrimp@lemm.ee 6 points 1 week ago

Added it to my todo list!

[–] Blaze@piefed.zip 5 points 1 week ago

Thank you for sharing!

[–] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago

Nah this game got covered by many of the indie gaming channels, the game dev channels, was all over Reddit and even 4chan... It was received pretty well. The difficulty filters out some people but besides that it's pretty good.

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