For those who missed out on the latest on Xbox gaming, last week saw the surprise launch of the independently made action-adventure game Tunic on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Windows PC and on MacOS. For those who are subscribing on Xbox Game Pass (XGP), Tunic is available for you to simply download and play.
To get yourself oriented with Tunic (developed by Andrew Shouldice and published by Finji), watch this official launch trailer below…
In relation to the surprise launch buzz it generated, Tunic gathered several rave reviews from several gaming media outlets. Below are some of notable quotes from the published reviews.
Game Informer: Tunic is a stunning achievement that manages to embody the best of nostalgia while being completely refreshing. It’s absolutely a must-play gem.
Windows Central: Tunic is an absolutely delightful game to slink away to for a few hours to explore, discover, and conquer. Solving puzzles and uncovering the myriad of hidden secrets can make for a calming adventure, but there’s always the potential for an exhilarating moment of victory after a particularly difficult boss.
Destructoid: What’s amazing about Tunic is that I can’t count any misstep. I fell into the world a few times, big deal. The penalty for death is paltry and they’re bugs that can be squashed. Once, a sound queue got stuck playing continuously, and I found myself pondering its significance in futility. I only noticed it wasn’t supposed to be happening when it continued through to the main menu. Sometimes things get in the way of the camera. There was nothing major enough to drag down the experience.
GameSpot: Most Souls-likes tend to adopt a grimdark fantasy aesthetic, but Tunic harkens back to the 8- and 16-bit eras by presenting a vibrant and colorful world that also offers a fiendishly difficult challenge. It’s not simply evocative of games from the late ’80s and early ’90s because it creates facsimiles of their graphics or gameplay, but because it manages to capture a tangible feeling of exploration and difficulty, where an instruction manual is your tool to deciphering everything. It’s the kind of game you would’ve purchased because the box art looked cool, eagerly flipping through the pages of its manual on the car ride home, not quite understanding it all but getting excited at the possibilities all the same. In Tunic’s case, this grand adventure lives up to the expectations.
For the newcomers reading this who are still trying to figure out what exactly Tunic is and what they need to know before trying the game, posted below is an excerpt from the launch day announcement published on Xbox.com written by Finji Senior Community Manager Harris Foster. Some parts in boldface…
A few years back, Tunic was revealed to the world on stage during the Xbox E3 2018 Briefing. This was a huge moment for both of us as a publishing team and for Andrew Shouldice who at the time was handling the duties of game designer, programmer, level designer, character artist, animator, and tester on Tunic.
In the nearly four years that followed, Tunic grew in an astonishing fashion. The development team and the game itself have multiplied in size and thousands of new fans have shared their excitement with us. Starting today we invite you to discover Tunic and all the secrets it has to offer on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and with Xbox Game Pass.
At first glance, Tunic may seem like a cute action-adventure game. You play as a small fox in a big world, fighting monsters and exploring an ancient land. But don’t let its charming exterior fool you, Tunic’s combat will test your reflexes and its mysteries will challenge your perception.
On your adventure you’ll explore a dense and mysterious overworld, from shadowy forests inhabited by dangerous creatures to intricate temples filled with hostile sorcerers. The sword is your primary weapon, but your greatest tool is knowing the right time to dodge, block, and swing. Your enemies will not hold back, so be sure to search your environment for bombs, stat boosts, and refillable health potions. Make a wrong move and your death will send you back to the last checkpoint without giving back any items you used. Be careful out there!
Tunic’s white-knuckle combat system pulls from modern action RPGs while its setting and tone comes from games of the classic cartridge era. But the challenge and inspiration doesn’t end there. Remember the good ol’ days when every game included a full-color instruction manual? A flimsy booklet packed with helpful combat tips, enemy descriptions, and secret hints? Tunic takes the lost art of the instruction manual and injects it directly into the game.
Scattered throughout the in-game world of Tunic are instruction manual pages for you to collect. Each one you find adds to your booklet, creating a compendium of this foreign realm. Study the pages carefully to get a lay of the land and have the upper hand on your combatants. Filled with gorgeous hand-drawn illustrations, the manual appears to be written in some unknown language. Come to think of it, everything in this world is written in these glyphs. What does it mean? Will we be able to translate it? What else might Tunic be hiding?
Mysteries and secrets sit at the heart of the Tunic experience. Every seasoned gamer knows that when a game has a waterfall, they should check behind it for hidden loot. Tunic presents a world overflowing with opportunities to sniff out secrets. When playing Tunic, we encourage you to collaborate with your friends.
In my own experience, I find Tunic to be highly playable, challenging and pretty enticing to play. It has that wholesome approach to its art style and visuals which resulted a unique fantasy look. The gameplay is where Tunic really stands out. The controls are pretty responsive and unique, and the game itself encourages both exploration and discovery to be done. This game also comes with a unique way on learning the functions on gameplay and controls complete with that nostalgic touch of visualizing instructions very similar to what video game manuals of long ago pulled off.
As of now, I’m still making my way through the game. I don’t know yet how long it will take to complete this acclaimed game but I can assure you readers that I am enjoying it a lot. Playing, discovering and learning with Tunic is fun! If you are an Xbox console owner with an active subscription to Xbox Game Pass, I encourage you to download and play Tunic!
In closing this piece, posted below are Xbox-related videos for your viewing pleasure.
+++++
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/
Author Carlo Carrasco 