For a long time, any and all conversation aroundTunicresulted inevitably in comparingTunictoThe Legend of Zelda.There’s no two ways about it:Tunicis incredibly similar to an old-fashioned isometricZeldagame, and that’s on purpose. Developer Andrew Shouldice has been very clear that the game is heavily inspired by Nintendo’s classic action-adventure franchise. The green-clad fox at the game’s helm is an obvious Link parallel, andTunic’s charming adventure on a colorful island full of mystery almost feels like a secondLink’s Awakeningreboot. Perhaps the biggest thing standing inTunic’s way is the necessity to distinguish it fromThe Legend of Zeldaand make it feels unique.
Shouldice went a long time without revealing much information aboutTunic, but as gameplay starts to come forth,Tuniclooks more and more unique. There’s gameplay elements and design philosophies in there that don’t seem to come fromZeldawhatsoever, or at the very least are very different takes onZeldaideas.Tunicalso has an increasingly deep vein of lore that players have still only had a taste of, and that kind of rich storytelling will go a long way in differentiating Shouldice’s project fromZelda.There’s a lot of hope yet thatTunicwill stand on its own two feet.
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Tunic’s Ideas are Adding Up
At a glance,Tunic’s combat is very similar to oldZeldagames such asLink’s AwakeningandA Link to the Past. It’s isometric and involves a lot of simple sword swinging and running around enemies. However, there’s alsosomething similar toDark Soulsbaked intoTunic’sgameplay. For example, dodge rolls are a crucial part of combat inTunic.Rolling costs stamina, and players have to manage stamina carefully or they’ll get exhausted, leaving them defenseless. Journalists and critics who’ve already played the upcomingTunicdemo also indicate thatTunicis actually pretty hard. AlthoughThe Legend of Zeldaalways offers a decent challenge, it sounds like difficulty is baked deeply intoTunic’s identity, which helps set it a step apart fromZelda.
Shouldice also deserves a lot of credit for developing lore forTunic.Gameplay trailers have recently indicated thatTunicis filled to the brim with an odd language that isn’t translated for players, but clearly means something significant. While that language is an intriguing story element in itself, it also goes a long way in helping players empathize with the fox protagonist, who’s lost on an island and exploring a mysterious, unfamiliar place. The game reportedly also includes mysterious hint sheets that resemble old-fashioned game guides. They’relargely inTunic’s mysterious language, so while they could just be fund homages to early video game history, they could also mean something greater.
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Tunic is a Promising Indie Entry
At this point, it isn’t fair to say thatTunicis aZeldaclone anymore. It’s getting clearer and clearer that, whileTunicis definitely heavily inspired by oldZeldagames and still borrows a lot of their ideas, it doesn’t actually play completely the same as aZeldagame. There’s plenty of new things that Shouldice plans on mixing into the game that set it apart. Shouldice has even clarified before thatTunicisn’t intended to be the indie version ofThe Legend of Zelda, and that there’s lots of other ideas being combined with that main source of inspiration.As more information aboutTuniccomes out, it looks clearer and clearer that that really is the case.
The indie game industry has always been built in part on nostalgia and love for foundational franchises. For instance,Metroidvanias are a highly influential genreinspired by just a couple successful sidescrolling games from previous gaming generations.Tunicmay be similar toZeldain a lot of ways, but being a love letter to a classic franchise is only one aspect of its identity. TheTunicdemo releasing on June 15 will give fans a chance to determine for themselves how close it is toZelda, but all signs indicate that there’s enough going on inTunicto call it a game of its own.
Tunicis in development for PC and Xbox One.
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