4.5/5 ★ – DSullivan's review of Tunic.

I enjoyed Death’s Door, the game that Tunic resembles outwardly the most, and I’m pretty much sold on the “isometric Zelda soulslike” conceit if done well. And Tunic does it well. The interconnecting labyrinth of a map, the simple but methodical combat, the challenging bosses, the accumulation of new traversal options — this is a pretty dope soulslike. But where Tunic really excels is its sophisticated (and sometimes unforgiving) puzzles, which had me drawing parallels with games like Fez, The Witness, Obra Dinn, and the Myst series. Not to give too much away, but the central puzzle mechanic involves collecting pages of a hand-drawn game manual (styled in classic 90s manual fashion — the art is incredible). This is all the information the game gives you on “how to play”. The hook is that it’s in a cipher language, with only the occasional translated word to help move things along. But this is more than a design gimmick: the manual is integral to navigating the world and solving its puzzles. So the game forces you to interpret and infer from the pictorial content of the manual. The information is helpful and straightforward at first — instructions on controls and unique maps for different areas. But there’s a steady drip of the cryptic and mysterious. By the end of the game, the journal culminates in one of the coolest puzzles I’ve experienced solving. Anyway, for fans of indie soulslikes, Tunic is pretty good. Solid production values, decent length, and an intermediate challenge. But for fans of Fez, The Witness, Return of the Obra Dinn (who are ALSO fans of Zelda, soulslikes, and dungeon crawlers…) — I seriously recommend this game. P.S. There are a couple of tough bosses (but mostly the final one), so for anyone worried or easily frustrated, there ARE accessibility options. Playtime: 20 hours Completion: All fairies, all treasures, good ending.