Ha! Exactly the same here. Finished Elden Ring after 120 hours and I thought this was the perfect game to chill after that. Then I realized it was a mini dark souls but with confusing level design. Turned god mode immediately. Bad timing on this release.
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TUNIC |OT| A Secret Legend [Now out on PlayStation/Switch!]
- Thread starter Dancrane212
- Start date
- OT
Ha! Exactly the same here. Finished Elden Ring after 120 hours and I thought this was the perfect game to chill after that. Then I realized it was a mini dark souls but with confusing level design. Turned god mode immediately. Bad timing on this release.
Yeah, also... if you're interested, this is where I like to farm for money.
If you get the guy up another level, that one guy facing away from you when you climb up, you get around 100, or maybe just under 100, each run which is really short.
edit: Oh, just for clarification, this is in the Eastern Forest pretty early on, right before that guardhouse fight probably where you saw a boss lifebar the first time and you lifted the lever right after to open the gate.
I'm honestly not 100% sure if you can do this in the late-game, but I think you can after you get your body back. If the entrance to the forest is blocked off still in the daytime, the warp point for it you see in the video is the one off to the right in the "warp hub" that you need to teleport jump to (from the right of the southeast warp option at the hub).
edit: Yes, you can still grind there after you get your body back and turn it day again. In fact, it's faster then because you don't have to climb the ladder to grab those coins across the way. Just warp/jump there.
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After just over 20 hours I'm calling it quits today. Beat the final boss (with no fail mode eventually) and did a bit of post game stuff. What I could not solve myself (or didn't bother to), I checked out on youtube.
Tunic is a masterpiece IMO. It's not flawless, but its highlights shine so bright that it makes me forget about the combat related things I did not enjoy. At least almost... I really would have loved a traditional difficulty setting instead of the two accessibility options. As it stands, you only have the choice between brutal (normal), still brutal (no stamina loss) and no challenge at all (no fail mode) when it comes to a few boss encounters. Yeah there are consumables but not always there is a shop right around the corner and afaik they are gone when you die. It was a very anticlimatic end when I just tanked the final boss after a dozen or more unsuccessful tries.
The puzzles on the other hand, oh boy. Some of them are just amazing and the use of the ingame manual is incredible. I loved getting the bits and pieces together and uncovering all the small and big secrets the game has to offer. This is close to The Outer Wilds' level of ingenuity - my personal benchmark for "non traditional", gameplay driven puzzle mechanics.
The only puzzle related thing I disliked (end game spoilers!)
I think Tunic would work even better on a portable system (or with xcloud on your phone) for second screen gaming. I played Baba Is You that way and I had no problem spending half an hour on just one puzzle, because I would not need to focus entirely on the game and eventually the solution might come to me almost at its own at a random point. Playing on the big screen however, I don't have that much patience.
Progession is great, too. Getting new things after solving a puzzle or finding a hidden passage feels so rewarding. That's probably the biggest reason why I played the vast majority of the game without the accessibility options, even though combat feels kind of clunky to me. I wanna feel badass at the end of the game when I'm maxed out and easily smash enemies that gave me headache earlier on. And Tunic definitely nails this aspect.
They also did a marvellous job on the presentation. Graphics, sounds, world design - it all comes together perfectly. And another shoutout to the manual, because if that is not the cutest thing ever, I just don't know anymore.
Tunic is a masterpiece IMO. It's not flawless, but its highlights shine so bright that it makes me forget about the combat related things I did not enjoy. At least almost... I really would have loved a traditional difficulty setting instead of the two accessibility options. As it stands, you only have the choice between brutal (normal), still brutal (no stamina loss) and no challenge at all (no fail mode) when it comes to a few boss encounters. Yeah there are consumables but not always there is a shop right around the corner and afaik they are gone when you die. It was a very anticlimatic end when I just tanked the final boss after a dozen or more unsuccessful tries.
The puzzles on the other hand, oh boy. Some of them are just amazing and the use of the ingame manual is incredible. I loved getting the bits and pieces together and uncovering all the small and big secrets the game has to offer. This is close to The Outer Wilds' level of ingenuity - my personal benchmark for "non traditional", gameplay driven puzzle mechanics.
The only puzzle related thing I disliked (end game spoilers!)
Figuring out the golden path puzzle was one of the best moments in the game. However, I was missing the final page, which - technically speaking - is necessary to solve it. I even guessed it correctly that there is not a change in direction in the last tile, but when I entered the code it did not trigger. Now I know that I made a mistake at some point in that code, but with about 100 inputs (25 tiles x 4 inputs each) I just could not bother figuring out where I made that error or if there is another input required for the final tile.
That's when I looked up the solution and found out that you have to find 10 fairies that are scattered across the entire world with only very vague hints where to find them. That was a bit too much for me as I was kind of burned out of all the puzzle solving at this stage. I probably should have played this game in shorter bursts instead of 6 hours weekend sessions heh. So I watched the other ending on Youtube. A bit of a bummer, because I was so close to figuring it out myself.
That's when I looked up the solution and found out that you have to find 10 fairies that are scattered across the entire world with only very vague hints where to find them. That was a bit too much for me as I was kind of burned out of all the puzzle solving at this stage. I probably should have played this game in shorter bursts instead of 6 hours weekend sessions heh. So I watched the other ending on Youtube. A bit of a bummer, because I was so close to figuring it out myself.
Progession is great, too. Getting new things after solving a puzzle or finding a hidden passage feels so rewarding. That's probably the biggest reason why I played the vast majority of the game without the accessibility options, even though combat feels kind of clunky to me. I wanna feel badass at the end of the game when I'm maxed out and easily smash enemies that gave me headache earlier on. And Tunic definitely nails this aspect.
They also did a marvellous job on the presentation. Graphics, sounds, world design - it all comes together perfectly. And another shoutout to the manual, because if that is not the cutest thing ever, I just don't know anymore.
Question regarding Ruined Atoll.
So I activated three out of the four obelisks. One of them, however, is broken and both ends are pouring stuff into the water. What am I supposed to do here to fix it?
Someone please help. I'm really early. I did beat the first boss but I cannot find the shield. I saw the shield once, when I first started. But I couldn't get it at that time. Now I'm wandering around and I can't find it anywhere. Can't find where I first saw it.
You don't need to fix it, you just need to activate the fourth obelisk.
Additional hint: Figuring out how to get to that fourth obelisk is your next step.
... you beat the first boss without the shield? The Garden Knight?
Do you really even need it in that case, sounds like it would just weigh you down :D
If you saw the shield you should have been able to just walk up and grab it, I don't think it's blocked by anything. It's in the passage behind the Old House.
Just 100% the game, getting all pages. Great game, though the boss battles were not fun.
I didn't get the hourglass until the very, very end. I guess it's not that necessary. Also I didn't know how to "activate" anything until well into the game. I know it's in the guide if you get the page and look, but I feel like that should be more explicit to be fair. Not knowing you can use those squares to warp, or that the obelisks can be activated with that kneeling, etc - that's a big deal and waste of time if you don't know.
I didn't get the hourglass until the very, very end. I guess it's not that necessary. Also I didn't know how to "activate" anything until well into the game. I know it's in the guide if you get the page and look, but I feel like that should be more explicit to be fair. Not knowing you can use those squares to warp, or that the obelisks can be activated with that kneeling, etc - that's a big deal and waste of time if you don't know.
The fairies were 100% line puzzles and/or flower/bump "line" puzzles. So any time you saw a line puzzle or bunch of flowers, that was a fairy or chest or both. There were 20, not 10. 10 wasn't hard to get, 20 was a pain.
I didn't know you can run and upgrade until third boss! lol (they don't really need spoiler, but anyway)
That boss was too hard for me and watched a video for it and found out about those things! Now this amazing game is much easier and can enjoy it even more than before.
That boss was too hard for me and watched a video for it and found out about those things! Now this amazing game is much easier and can enjoy it even more than before.
Just finished it by going for the B-ending where you don't have to fight the boss. I finished the first form but didn't feel like doing the second phase. I am happy with the B-Ending and it seems like it is the "best ending". Though I used a lot of guides to get all the stuff. Child me would'Ve loved all the secrets and stuff but I gotta work tomorrow and it was a fun weekend romp.
I liked it, though it wasn't amazing. I think I enjoyed Death's Door more. Crow>Fox
I was kinda let down by the music. Nothing memorable yet I am still listening to the score of Death's Door.
Oh yeah, I hate it when games are a breeze during world traversal and combat but turn into Sekiro level difficulty when the boss arrives. Keep you games consistent, eitehr it's hard or easy, not fucking both whenever you feel like it.
I liked it, though it wasn't amazing. I think I enjoyed Death's Door more. Crow>Fox
I was kinda let down by the music. Nothing memorable yet I am still listening to the score of Death's Door.
Oh yeah, I hate it when games are a breeze during world traversal and combat but turn into Sekiro level difficulty when the boss arrives. Keep you games consistent, eitehr it's hard or easy, not fucking both whenever you feel like it.
Nothing about your immediate way forward is hidden, it's all spelled out in the manual.
Page 10 tells you the order of places you need to go to get to the West Bell. Pages 28, 29 and 30 have maps showing where you need to go, and then maps covering your exact route.
However: The point you're at in the game is the most straightforward it is ever going to get. This is Tunic giving you the most direction it ever will. If you think this stuff is hidden or obtuse... you literally haven't seen anything yet.
Still find myself thinking about this game...
You know that feeling when you finish something and you are met with an immediate intense feeling of sadness? That's Tunic for me. A game so meticulously crafted and designed that it boggles my mind it was done by one person only. Andrew Shouldice should be incredibly proud of what he made. The act of peeling away the layers upon layers of the island is not only fascinating but extremely fun to do because the game has this island bible in the form of an instruction manual with its pages spread all around the island as you slowly come across them and connect the pages together. It harkens back to the golden days of playing adventure games, making notes and remembering things that you may need to look out for later while not understanding half of it because you imported this hypothetical game from Japan and so you make do with the few English words and images you come across. This entire mood is even done explicitly in the game because whenever you pop up the instruction manual, the pause screen turns into a CRT screen and you can even lay the manual downwards mimicking the idea of putting a guide on your lap while playing.
Furry Link
Stumbling on game changing revelations that in-game are done with no flair at all because it is in essence what was there all along like a magician who's showing you how to do his trick yet you are still blown away by what you're seeing, even when he does the trick all over again. You are met with absolute silence but to you as the player though, it changes your entire perspective on a lot of things. That feeling of insight is incredibly satisfying and is very well done. Games like this certainly do not come often so I can see why it gets compared to Fez (2012) & The Witness (2016) because when you slowly unravel the secrets of the island you get this profound sense of being connected to the game in a way you cannot connect with other games. However, I would say that the act of stumbling onto its secrets feels more like The Witness but its affect is much stronger because there is an in-game purpose to all of it as opposed to just being a puzzle or a secret for the sake of it. It makes the act of going through it have much more meaning. It's more akin to Fez where you get to learn more about your place in the world and the state of it in order to be more connected to it.
It took me 18 hours to 100% the game. I do not know if this is something that is just exclusive to me but any game that has its themes in language and communication, to pass on knowledge and wisdom, always moves me. This, more than any other game (like Fez for example), does it in spades in a lot of ways. When you get to the late game puzzles and you stumble on what the nature of this item called the Holy Cross is... it's one of the best gaming moments because it does the thing where the moment itself can only be done in video games. You can certainly finish the game without going for the 100% but going for the 100% really makes you appreciate just how well designed the world and instruction manual are. The big final puzzle for the 100% has a lot going on for it but once you know how to get there it becomes so very clear and easy. Like dropping pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and seeing it all come together bit by bit. When I ran with the idea I had and found out that it worked after 2 or so hours of taking notes and putting the pieces together.... it profoundly moved me. It was like finding something in the game that was meant for you only. My reaction when I solved the puzzle.
It's been a while since I was happy making a mess on my table. I'm already impressed that apparently people out there translated the entire instruction manual, I look forward in going through it later today.
The soundtrack is also wonderful from haunting, melancholic, nostalgic tunes to chirpy, I'm ready for an adventure kind of tunes. All of it is extremely good. It's one of the best soundtracks of the year.
You start the game with just a stick but by the time you reach the end game you not only look at the entire game and world in a different way but you will also forget that the stick ever existed in the first place. There's a lot to it that I am purposely not talking about but it's a game I feel everyone must give a shot at least once to see if you gel with it or not. Heck, even with all of what I did, I STILL have not found out how you could change the color of your clothes lol. If you are into uncovering easter eggs, secrets and losing yourself to a well crafted world then you'll probably enjoy it a whole lot. I will cherish those late night sessions, just a few hours before bed where I lost myself to its world and secrets. The only negative I found was an aspect of the combat. Like, the boss battles are good but the combat somewhat gets in the way because the bosses seem much faster than you, like the controls cannot keep up and I think I pinpointed the reason why. It's because when you press the attack button, the character stands still when hitting. Thus when you attack, it is very deliberate as opposed to like having momentum aka moving while attacking. It gets in the way I felt but it was not game breaking. Even then there are no fail options and infinite stamina so I cannot fully dislike it but it did annoy me as I kept trying to keep at it without enabling those options because I dig the tension. The final boss is the only boss that gave me the most trouble. The game is not souls like difficult but it is within that vicinity especially if you are not the type to search every nook and cranny before moving onto the next place. There are always things to circumvent most of the hurdles you face in the game but it also does not tell you anything about it even though it's all in-front of you. Like the last third portion of the game is the toughest if you do not visit very specific places before continuing on to the end game.
Overall, Tunic is an easy top 3 game of the year and could easily be my Game of the Year by the end because it spoke to me in a way not a lot of games do when it comes to their design or mechanics. I expected the game to be a charming light adventure, something that is akin to the Link's Awakening remake but it was so, so much more than just that. Highly recommend it.
I saw the order. I just didn't know how to get over there because bridges were up.
I did funny enough find the path at the beginning of the game, but went on to do other things.
I will study the manual more, because I don't remember it saying going behind something to get there.
I tried going through the dark room early on and realized I must need an item and abandoned it earlier.
nevermind, i figured it out.
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80% of players got far enough to pick up the stick. 43% played long enough to pick up the sword. 33% long enough to ring the first bell, which is basically the end of the tutorial / demo.
10% found at least one key, 7% found all the keys, then 5% got their body back... so it looks like if the game hooks you enough to get that first key you've got a good chance of sticking around.
All games have a huge falloff in player base as they progress, but with games on Game Pass the number of people who play for less than 5 minutes, because why not, is hugely inflated.
Damn. I find this game incredibly satisfying to grind it out, just like Zelda II.
This is on like... NG++ or NG+++, I think.
That's not even all of my flasks. I can drink twice before they start to go away on the HUD.
I can't remember what it does, lol. I just was trying to find out how to get there again after I saw your post, because I remember banging my head trying to get back there when I first saw it after I learned about the "praying at the obelisks" thing
This is on like... NG++ or NG+++, I think.
That's not even all of my flasks. I can drink twice before they start to go away on the HUD.
Did you figure this out? To get there, go through the "beneath the well" section, I think it's called. That hole in the ground with a ladder going down it behind the windmill.
I can't remember what it does, lol. I just was trying to find out how to get there again after I saw your post, because I remember banging my head trying to get back there when I first saw it after I learned about the "praying at the obelisks" thing
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I did figure it out! Thank you. The obelisk just opens a door where you can get a coin for the well from.
This game is just stunning. Uncovering the games secrets and making progress by tying it in with the old school instruction manual is really inspired.
I feel bad for anyone who plays this by looking up answers on a web site or youtube. The feeling of making discoveries using the manual with some old school exploration gives me that feeling of playing those classic adventure games long before the internet exisited.
This game has actually changed my approach to how I play a video game by making me patient, demanding exploration and in the end giving a rewarding experience that few other games have.
I feel bad for anyone who plays this by looking up answers on a web site or youtube. The feeling of making discoveries using the manual with some old school exploration gives me that feeling of playing those classic adventure games long before the internet exisited.
This game has actually changed my approach to how I play a video game by making me patient, demanding exploration and in the end giving a rewarding experience that few other games have.
Garden knight is a hefty hitter!
Also, I just recently found a green and red coin but my inventory only shows gold coins.
Also, I just recently found a green and red coin but my inventory only shows gold coins.
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Don't feel bad for them. This game is meant to be crowd sourced in a way, same as you'd hear about codes on the playground back in the day playing old NES games. It's more immediate and larger scale, but it's the same idea. And I'm sure it's how the creator intended it. You can bang your head on a wall for awhile but eventually for most people the only way they're going to 100% it is to get help from "friends" same as we did back then.
Finished the last of the achievements tonight. What a game. Just an absolute joy.
And that manual? My lord. Seeing the handwritten notes/drawings was unexpectedly bittersweet.
I can't say enough good things about this game. I think the fox would make a great mascot for Xbox.
And that manual? My lord. Seeing the handwritten notes/drawings was unexpectedly bittersweet.
I can't say enough good things about this game. I think the fox would make a great mascot for Xbox.
If it's any consolation, that's kind of expected that you figure something basic or the manual makes it clearer which motivates you to explore previous areas to do that activity.
I get that with most of the other reveals, but that one felt so crucial that I was downright annoyed. There are prompts for many other actions, this one felt like it should have been an earlier page.
I think I might've screwed myself into not being able to play anymore. I'm on like NG+5 or 6, so I guess it's not really a big deal. Just seeing how high I can make my numbers go up (20ATT 19DEF 15POTION 21HP 10SP I think it was 14 MP and 31 flasks ).
Anyone got any ideas?
I never activated the teleporter at the Great Library when I was there first to get the keystone thingy from the Librarian, so now later in the game after I died at the first Heir fight and working to get all my stats back, I simply cannot get back to the Great Library to get my MP stats back and restore my body.
I can't go the "front way" because that way's blocked off with the black goo and the teleporter isn't activated so I can't warp there, which is the simple way to get there.
I can't go the "front way" because that way's blocked off with the black goo and the teleporter isn't activated so I can't warp there, which is the simple way to get there.
Anyone got any ideas?
I finished this last night and loved every second of it. The combat wasn't as sharp as Death's Door (which I had recently played for the first time), but it was still good enough, and having No Fail Mode there for two bosses that I didn't want to deal with kept things really fun. The puzzles in this game are no joke and got wonderfully creative. Played it over game pass, but I can see myself picking it up if there's a cute physical edition or if I get the urge to go through it again.
Find a place to rest.
Go to the Old House. Use the bed. This will turn "night" into "day" and the black goo stuff will be gone.
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Thanks, but you can't do that before you get your body back.
Woah... I'm actually kind of impressed that you can do that and struggling to think about how you could get around that. When I was able to fight the Heir I had already regained my body.
Sorry about that.
Got the red key.
My problem now is trying to remember all the places I've been and how to get there. Not sure where to go right now, but recalling previous pieces to search again hurts my head.
My problem now is trying to remember all the places I've been and how to get there. Not sure where to go right now, but recalling previous pieces to search again hurts my head.
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Didn't play for the whole week. Came back and forgot it all. No idea what I should be doing. Wandered around for an hour getting no where. I'll probably cave and look up where I should be headed. I feel like I've walked against every wall, behind every cheekily obscured path and I know a few places I'll need to go but can't figure it out and I'm too old with too little time to spend nights making zero progress lol I will say it is real fun one shotting all the first area enemies.
I have heard various comparisons to Fez over the last few weeks on podcasts I've listened to, but after finishing the game yesterday, the final few hours reminded me much more of The Witness. (If you know, you know).
Loved the game overall, but have 2 main problems with it.
- I think it can be a little obscure at times. I didn't know where to go after the 3 gems, or the section after that so had to look up where to go next.
- Also, I think getting the
should have been separate to the Golden path, as I can't see how they are connected in any way (again, I had to look up why my Golden Path solution didn't work which told me about the
- Bonus complaint: the page 22
Loved the game overall, but have 2 main problems with it.
- I think it can be a little obscure at times. I didn't know where to go after the 3 gems, or the section after that so had to look up where to go next.
- Also, I think getting the
10 fairies
10 fairies
- Bonus complaint: the page 22
Golden Path direction doesn't work. The page shows the line going 'Up' twice, but the solution only requires one input
I definitely think the Golden Path, Fairies and Golden Collectibles should have been more distinct. Having the Seeking Spell find both Fairies and Collectibles is just annoying, but it would have been way less annoying if that was totally separated from what is otherwise an awesome puzzle.
Are you thinking of a different page?
Page 22 goes up left up right up left. If you ever have to input a direction twice in a row there's a specific indicator that isn't present on that page.
Yeah it's definitely that page. It looks like it should be "Up, Left, Up, Right, Up, Up, Left". Yes, there's usually a crossroad indicator that shows it's a double movement in the same direction, but the line has a definite break on the instruction page, so at the very least it's inconsistent and unclear. It wouldn't be so bad in isolation, but when you have to combine it with 24 other squares for a total of over 100 inputs, it's madness.
Yea, it's definitely a bit obtuse. I was deep into guide territory by then. But on the other hand, the fairies can be found using the seeking spell, which IS in the manual. It finds if there are fairies on the screen you're on. Some of those fairy puzzles are a bit obtuse because of perspective, but most of them are quite clever in their own right and definitely worth doing.
I only realized this was a thing that could be gotten now, after finishing the game several days ago and checking back now haha. I should look this up, I guess..
I don't agree anything should be more explicit per se. But, perhaps the game could do a better job of prompting you to look at the manual more. Like maybe if they had a door or two that involved a "cheat code" in the manual or something like that in the vein of classic manuals that is a really straighforward "puzzle" that is really more for training players to constantly look at the manual and hopefully realize that there is a lot more depth there than at first glance (almost like a final puzzle lite).
Huh that's an interesting progression blocker I've never even considered. I guess most people wouldn't be rushing through without a nearby checkpoint haha (I was like.. how the hell do you have so many flasks?? loll). Definitely feels like something they should address (maybe by activating the relevant thing if you haven't done it by that point).
There's always a very visible and definite crossed line if you need to repeat an input. I can understand it tripping you up, but it's totally consistent.
I thought the Health / Stability bars on pages 15 / 16, or the faint bleed on The Door in The Mountain on page 50, might be cleverly hidden crossed lines due to their positioning... but no, if there's a crossed line it is always bold, definite and obvious.
You're seeing things that aren't there just like I was, which is fair enough given what the game is about.
Yeah, it's not too big a deal since I was only playing at this point to see how high I could make my numbers go, lol. I do have other stuff I could be playing.
regarding flasks only 20 will be on the HUD and in the stats screen, but I can drink 11 before any one of those will start to disappear.
My biggest issue with the game's big meta-secret (major spoilers):
Where does the game teach you that the cross-lines mean a double press of the direction? That tripped me up for the longest time, and the only way I could break through that confusion was by looking it up in a guide.
Where does the game teach you that the cross-lines mean a double press of the direction? That tripped me up for the longest time, and the only way I could break through that confusion was by looking it up in a guide.
Playing this game is such a trip. The atmosphere, the soundtrack, the discovery. Total escapism. Makes my hairs stand on end, love it.
This will happen throughout the game. You're in for a wild ride.