It would be easy to brush Tunic aside as a typical Zelda clone, but once you get hands on it’s an incredible game. Everything from the level design to the graphics, the twisting story to the rock-hard bosses add up to make a compelling experience and certainly one of the games of the year so far.
It’s best described as a mash up of Link to the Past meets Ocarina of Time. The viewpoint is isometric and overhead while the control system is exactly what you would expect from 3D adventure game like this. You target enemies holding the trigger and this allows you to swoop around them, avoiding attacks, before plunging your sword.
The story is about a little fox that must save a bigger fox trapped inside a strange dark magic prison. As you journey through the world, the typical tropes of kill the boss to claim a crystal emerges. And while Tunic will not win awards for innovation, what it achieves on the gameplay and visual front is outstanding. To put it bluntly, this does Zelda better than Zelda.
That’s a strong claim, but once you start exploring, uncovering secrets and taking down the tough enemies, the sense of accomplishment knows no bounds. This is shaping up to be one of those must play games that everyone will remember, even if it’s quite tough in places.
In regards to the Switch port, there are a few performance niggles that are noticeable but do not spoil the game overall. Playing this on Xbox or PlayStation is advisable over the Switch. If you like adventure games, heck, if you like video games, you need to give Tunic a whirl, it’s simply excellent.
