I’ve been on my Xbox lately, with Guardians of the Galaxy, Hitman, and LOADS of other games that inhabit Gamepass. I settled on Tunic this week because every podcast that I was listening to last week was talking about how enjoyable it was.

They were 100% correct.

Tunic is an isometric action game from Dicey and published by Finji. It was released on March 16th, is available for Windows and Xbox, and retails for $30.

Take the role of a cute little fox adventurer who has just awoken to find themselves on a beach of an unknown country with an odd feeling of adventure. There was once a civilization, but since then has been reduced to ruins. Shreds of a game manual are littered throughout the world that shines a light on gameplay and the world that once was. I am not going to spoil anything, but the story beats are up to the player to stumble upon.

Tunic’s gameplay is all about being Souls-like. You got the health bar, the stamina bar, and the mana bar. You’re dodge rolling to avoid enemies that hit like a fucking truck. Tunic can obtain a handful of items besides just a sword and shield. My personal favorite is the gun. The gun takes a lot of mana and shoots a wide cone of pellets at enemies. You get cute little health vials that refill health and shrines that are littered across the map that act as save/upgrade points.

Dark Souls with a cute, little fox adventurer.

Tunic does not hold your hand. The dialogue and pretty much everything in the game has its own language, there is no prompt on where to go, and there is nothing… Nothing at all. Exploration drives the player and the only assistance that the player gets is the Super Nintendo-esque booklet.

This booklet contains all of the information you need; it is the only remnant of a guide that the player has. Giving hints of areas within the world and locations of upgrade items. It is vital that the player pays close attention to the instruction booklet.

Tunic is in an isometric display, which literally means that you will see chests and items that you cannot reach within view. Little bits of Metroidvania is included here as backtracking is key. A lot of the puzzles in the game are just testing items in areas that you have been previously. Feels good when you get that one item that reveals either a whole new area or a damn good item.

Super colorful and super cute-looking game. I love that the game is so god damn cute, every single area has its own aesthetic, and love how adorable the fox is.

Tunic is so far one of my favorite games of 2022. That no-hand-holding stuff makes the game 100% better. It implies that, realistically, every person will have a different adventure. I went through a majority of the game before I realized that I needed to get a key and with that, I become incredibly overpowered for the area where I had to return. It was just something that happened. I explored and got rewarded for it.

Tunic is an actual masterpiece from the gameplay to the looks and sounds. The endings are absolutely wild!

I just love this game and that little fox adventurer.