Tunic

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

This is a pretty clear classic Zelda ripoff and I loved it. I shouldn't say ripoff, but it is clearly inspired by those original games, and packs a ton more into that Zelda-shaped package. You are a cute fox in a beautiful world, and as you unlock different weapons and abilities the world also opens up.

The interesting part of this game is that almost everything is written in a different language, and as you play you find pages of the instruction manual, almost like the ones old games used to come with in their boxes. This is how you get maps, but also how you learn about moves and abilities and ways to interact with the world. The meant the game really opened up at times, and the final hours of the game were a complete delight, learning about how to solve puzzles that had been in my face all game. The crowing achievement of this game is the mountain door puzzle, a puzzle that you see somewhat early but literally cannot solve until the very end. It takes some out of the box thinking and creative uses of the things you have found to solve, and I was blown away with the complexity and level of detail.

But this isn't really a puzzle game! It is action adventure, and I thought the difficulty was perfect. That is to say, it was quite hard, and I had to leave and level up a couple times, in a satisfying loop that meant exploring more of this incredibly detailed world. It reminded me of Hollow Knight in that way, a favourite of mine. The story is told completely through the world, and the details and statues and changing landscape tell a story better than any dialogue could.

So ya, this starts as Zelda, turns into Hollow Knight, and finishes as The Witness, an amazing journey that felt fresh and very satisfying. Not a 10/10 because I can't say I was addicted to it, but every single time I played I was locked in. My time to play video games has become more limited, and this was always a treat to return to.