Tunic

[Siri]

Alright, beat the Librarian and the Scavenger Boss. Honestly, they're not that hard provided you push for collecting a bunch of stuff, namely:

 

Spoiler

Making sure you pick up the extra flask from the shop, the flask pieces to make up another (I missed one in The Quarry), and THE GUN™. Oh, and the Inverted Ash glyph, but I think you get it early on.

 

Librarian is a genuine faceroll if you ignore the fight and venture into the Quarry/Ziggurath for the upgrades - just kept hooking him in when he's close range, and dodged everything else. I did have to adopt my tactics for the Scavenger Boss though, using the spoilered items to completely ignore my health and just try and get dodges in while using them.

 

Spoiler

Basically, when Scav does the close range claw attack, you can usually blast him with the gun, and while he's stunned you can actually run up to him and get a couple of sword slashes to boot.

 

I still needed to basically chug 8 pots of magic juice, use the replishment 4 sticks of dynamite, and actually kill the bastard on the same frame as my own death to actually win  I can't wait to find out the actual strat for that boss!

 

Anyway, I'm just parked up outside The Cathedral. Very excited to find out where the game goes from here!

[BeeJay]

I guess being a child of the 8/16 bit eras makes me somehow much, much better at 2d combat than 3d. I've found all boss fights in this just about right or a little too easy. For some reason I seem fine with I frames and dodging in 2d games like this but cannot get them working in 3d games with almost identical mechanics.

 

I have however come one particular enemy that is causing me significant issues and I can't really see a way to deal with it without using significant resources. This is the first time that I haven't been able to relatively quickly work out the approach to defeating an enemy.

 

 

[Ferine]

The game's difficulty makes sense given the titles Tunic pays homage to, but I don't think it contributes much to the core appeal. I played through the game on default settings but the combat never really left me with much sense of accomplishment, unlike the puzzles and exploration, so I don't think nullifying it would be that detrimental.

 

Worth noting that you take more damage when you run out of stamina, so it might make sense to just turn on 'No Stamina Restrictions' and see how you fair first, before escalating to 'No Fail'.

 

In terms of using the tools the game gives you: (minor mechanical spoilers)

Spoiler

the hookshot-a-like can make a lot of combat encounters way more manageable, especially when dealing with enemies that keep their distance.

 

You can also parry attacks by tapping the shield button, which is useful for opening up certain foes' defences. The timing on it takes some getting used to, though, and I'd only use it against single combatants.

 

[CrichStand]

19 minutes ago, BeeJay said:

I guess being a child of the 8/16 bit eras makes me somehow much, much better at 2d combat than 3d. I've found all boss fights in this just about right or a little too easy. For some reason I seem fine with I frames and dodging in 2d games like this but cannot get them working in 3d games with almost identical mechanics.

 

I have however come one particular enemy that is causing me significant issues and I can't really see a way to deal with it without using significant resources. This is the first time that I haven't been able to relatively quickly work out the approach to defeating an enemy.

 

 

I’ve found the difficulty to be spot on. The bosses all went down in a couple of goes each.........and  then I got to what I assume is the final boss. Fucking hell! Massive difficulty spike! I’ve done pretty much all of the hidden souls and additional secrets, but I wonder if I’m missing something, as this thing absolutely wrecks me, and I’m throwing everything I have at it. It’s harder than stuff in Elden Ring or even Returnal!

[thesnwmn]

Having seen ending 1 I'm in what I sort of consider the post game. Proper Fez vibes now.

 

The game alludes to the fact that there is more all the time but it doesn't really matter until much later. "Simple" adventure game and then bam. Loving it. First few things found and piecing things together. This could take a little while.

[CrichStand]

Left the boss fight for now. Just bagged the last hidden soul. Now need 6 additional secrets still. Think I’ve just figured the Golden Path out though. Proper chills up my spine moment! Absolutely fucking amazing!!! 
 

Edit - What! The! Actual! Fuck! Just done the last bit of the Golden Path.”YOU WHAT MATE”!?!?!? Absolutely fucking mindblowing!!! Proper genius!!! Game has made me feel like I’m going a bit wrong and uncovering some kind of insane conspiracy. 😂 Been taking notes, photos, and got sheets of paper with mad drawings and scribbling all over them, that look like the workings of a total maniac! 🤣

[Lorfarius]

I'm at a bit of a loss as I'm just at the early part of the game. I found a key and went through a golden door, then a blue one and saw a prison. It booted me outside after a cutscene and now there's nowhere else to go. I only have the sword and can't find any doors or items to use. What have I missed?

[thesnwmn]

Like Fez and The Witness this game has the power to make you feel like an absolute genius when you spot something.

 

And then like an absolute idiot when you cannot find what you believe must be somewhere.

[Jg15]

2 hours ago, Lorfarius said:

I'm at a bit of a loss as I'm just at the early part of the game. I found a key and went through a golden door, then a blue one and saw a prison. It booted me outside after a cutscene and now there's nowhere else to go. I only have the sword and can't find any doors or items to use. What have I missed?

My one tip, when you see a little path disappearing round the side of a cliff/building etc keep following it round. Do this everywhere!

[thesnwmn]

17 minutes ago, Jg15 said:

My one tip, when you see a little path disappearing round the side of a cliff/building etc keep following it round. Do this everywhere!

 

If I had one complaint it would actually be that there are a few too many of these and sometimes they're literally unseen (even when holding the left trigger to change perspective). It creates a weird way of playing which is basically walking against every wall/edge to check for secrets.

[CrichStand]

6 hours ago, Lorfarius said:

I'm at a bit of a loss as I'm just at the early part of the game. I found a key and went through a golden door, then a blue one and saw a prison. It booted me outside after a cutscene and now there's nowhere else to go. I only have the sword and can't find any doors or items to use. What have I missed?

 

Thoroughly study the manual. Then thoroughly study the manual again. After that.......study the manual. A lot of the complaints, from the difficulty level to not knowing where to go, through to hidden areas/shortcuts etc, are mostly sorted by just studying the manual properly. 

 

Another thing to take into account is that most games are tailored to today's "everything now" attitude. This is old school, in that it drip feeds stuff and slowly reveals its complexities. Its handled brilliantly. Don't worry about missing stuff as you play, or trying to find hidden bits and pieces etc, you'll more than likely naturally find all the little bits and bobs as the game progresses. You can really trust and rely on the game design. I'm still finding new stuff, from just studying the manual carefully almost 30hrs in!

[Lorfarius]

There's a manual?

[Mr Do 71]

6 minutes ago, Lorfarius said:

There's a manual?

You’ll see.

[thesnwmn]

1 hour ago, Lorfarius said:

There's a manual?

 

By this point I'd have thought you've picked up a page or two. Maybe that happens later than I think.

 

I think really you just need to keep exploring and finding ways to go. There are at two keys in the first overworld I think in case you may have used it on the 'wrong' door (not wrong really, just there are two I think and you'll want one before the other).

[Lorfarius]

Afraid I got bored of wandering and gave up. I might go back to it when I have less thing to play but for now I'm giving it a rest as the Kaito Files are calling!

[Chindie]

I want to like this more than I do. I like a lot about it on paper, but playing it is a bit irritating. The world is actively annoying to get around, not helped by the movement being a bit heavy and even when sprinting not that fast.

 

And that weighs on the other aspects of it, the fact it wants to invoke that feeling of walking in the dark with it, like you would with an old school import game if you couldn't read Japanese, becomes that bit more of a chore when even the simplest things in it are slightly tiresome.

 

And it uses that old trope of hiding things using the isometric perspective far too much.

[CrichStand]

Golden Path complete. Have 6 secrets still remaining. Have looked up the answers to a couple and don’t understand the solutions to them at all. The game had done incredibly well, right up to the final hurdle, by making all of its puzzles and secrets enjoyable to uncover and solve. These final few have left a bad taste after completing everything else.
 

The final boss is also a ludicrous difficulty spike. I still haven’t beaten it. Noticed it seems like I’ve only got about half of the items that power up the Fox too and no money at all. Also, the remaining coins would cost a fortune. So I can’t really 100% the game......which sort of goes against the whole design of solving all its secrets and stuff. Want to say it’s a straight 10/10 but these niggles have probably knocked it down to a 9 for me.

 

Edit - Yeah, one of the secrets requires you to follow a hint in the manual. By doing this it then unlocks something in the manual itself, but only if you’ve done other stuff first. None of it makes any kind of logical sense at all. You then have to decipher the language that is used in the game.........alrighty then........so you can read and solve an incredibly cryptic riddle and then use the solution to it, in a specific location. Absolute bollocks! No fucker would ever in a month of Sunday’s solve that without looking up a solution. Spoils the game.

[CrichStand]

Finished. If you complete the Golden Path you don’t even need to fight the last boss. Absolutely incredible game. A few miss steps with the end game secret puzzles but that’s pretty much it in terms of negatives. One of the best games I’ve played in ages, and hands down the best game I’ve played so far this year (yeah, that includes Elden Ring). The Manual is a phenomenal idea that is executed brilliantly. The best new idea in gaming for years and years.
 

The whole game is a trip back to how games used to be. Reminded me of the first adventure games I played back in the day on the BBC, C64, Master System etc. Also took me back to playing stuff like Monkey Island, OOT and Alundra. A fantastic achievement in its own right. 

[thesnwmn]

Golden Path complete here too. Such relief and elation when it worked.

 

Spoiler

About 40 minutes piecing that together and trying to enter it. Small mistakes here and there. Thought I was on the wrong track for a period. It's such a long code without feedback that knowing you're even getting there is a trial of will and belief. Do i have the right pattern? Am I entering it correctly? Am I doing it the right way round (does that even matter)?

 

And my god the save game solution for page 9 is incredible. The whole game is very 4th wall breaking with the manual and notes in it but that is another level. Massive grin and laugh when the extra save game appeared.

 

What's left...

 

Spoiler

A few more fairies, a few more treasures and then the proper ending I guess.

 

[CrichStand]

4 minutes ago, thesnwmn said:

Golden Path complete here too. Such relief and elation when it worked.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

About 40 minutes piecing that together and trying to enter it. Small mistakes here and there. Thought I was on the wrong track for a period. It's such a long code without feedback that knowing you're even getting there is a trial of will and belief. Do i have the right pattern? Am I entering it correctly? Am I doing it the right way round (does that even matter)?

 

And my god the save game solution for page 9 is incredible. The whole game is very 4th wall breaking with the manual and notes in it but that is another level. Massive grin and laugh when the extra save game appeared.

 

What's left...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

A few more fairies, a few more treasures and then the proper ending I guess.

 

Yeah the Golden Path is one of the all time great puzzles in video games. So cool! When it dawns on you what’s going on.......absolutely fantastic! Then you solve it and it’s a proper, “WAHOOOOO” moment.

 

As for the Holy Cross.........I was almost at the end of the game before I realised what it is! 😂

[metallicfrodo]

Question for those who got a reasonable distance, hint being Ghost

 

Spoiler

The fight in the cathedral against all the different enemies. Is that really supposed to be doable? I ended up putting no fail on to get past it, because after it’s removed a load of your health and magic bar it seems impossible to not do it that way. Did I miss some way to get powered up for it?

I’d also agree with the comments about hiding routes with the viewpoint. It was quite cool early on but it feels massively overused and forces me at least into running along every wall in case I’ve missed something which is getting pretty tedious.

 

That’s the only real misstep for me so far. Beyond that I think it’s a fantastic game.

[CrichStand]

43 minutes ago, metallicfrodo said:

Question for those who got a reasonable distance, hint being Ghost

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The fight in the cathedral against all the different enemies. Is that really supposed to be doable? I ended up putting no fail on to get past it, because after it’s removed a load of your health and magic bar it seems impossible to not do it that way. Did I miss some way to get powered up for it?

I’d also agree with the comments about hiding routes with the viewpoint. It was quite cool early on but it feels massively overused and forces me at least into running along every wall in case I’ve missed something which is getting pretty tedious.

 

That’s the only real misstep for me so far. Beyond that I think it’s a fantastic game.

I finished the game normally without using any assistance. I thought that particular bit was quite tough at first, until I realised there’s a specific way to beat each enemy and then it seemed easy. One of the statues even replenishes your health and stuff fully. If you’ve studied the manual well, you should know how all the collectibles, upgrades and stuff work by that point too, which makes the fight even easier. I had loads of stuff I could have used but didn’t.

 

Its such a cool game! It’s really interesting how using the manual well can lessen the difficulty. If you work stuff out, find out what stuff does, pick up on lots of the little secrets etc it makes things a lot easier. However, if you don’t use the manual well and don’t pick up on stuff, and play this like most other stuff, then the game can become considerably harder.

 

Again, with those hidden areas........loads of them are in the manual itself, you just have to study it well. The ones that aren’t (I’m not even sure if there are any that aren’t in the manual), they’re pretty obvious just from looking at what’s on the screen. You certainly don’t need to wander around pushing the character against walls and stuff, randomly hoping to find things. Yeah, you can do that if you want, but I’m not really sure why anyone would!

[thesnwmn]

5 hours ago, CrichStand said:

Again, with those hidden areas........loads of them are in the manual itself, you just have to study it well. The ones that aren’t (I’m not even sure if there are any that aren’t in the manual), they’re pretty obvious just from looking at what’s on the screen. You certainly don’t need to wander around pushing the character against walls and stuff, randomly hoping to find things. Yeah, you can do that if you want, but I’m not really sure why anyone would!

 

Maybe that's true for the real secrets but it's not for the random chests. I think the continual use of it to hide chests of cash or consumables that you cannot even see when you collect them creates the wrong vibe. By the time you realise or gain confidence that they're just ancillary things and not the secrets of the game it's too late. The damage is done. The game has nod conditioned me to do it and I begrudge it. Almost like a mini FOMO.

 

As you say, any 'real' secret or required path was documented or revealed when you came out of it from the other wise where the entrance was obvious.

 

@metallicfrodowhen you say it removed a bunch if your health...

 

Spoiler

Do you mean via attacks or the miasma effect (I think that's what it is called where you health is sucked away)? If the later then there is a collectable or piece of equipment that can help with that effect.

 

I played on no fail throughout though so maybe there was more to that section than I noticed.

 

[metallicfrodo]

@thesnwmn no I know about the equipment 

Spoiler

There is a later section where you have become a ghost and basically your health and stamina are reset to their starting levels.

 

[metallicfrodo]

8 hours ago, CrichStand said:

I finished the game normally without using any assistance. I thought that particular bit was quite tough at first, until I realised there’s a specific way to beat each enemy and then it seemed easy. One of the statues even replenishes your health and stuff fully. If you’ve studied the manual well, you should know how all the collectibles, upgrades and stuff work by that point too, which makes the fight even easier. I had loads of stuff I could have used but didn’t.!

Hmm okay, I suppose that leads on to another issue then that I have with the game. Those things, I’m assuming like lure and decoy etc are finite consumables. I haven’t tried then out because I’m worried I’ll use then up and then won’t have them when I need them, so haven’t tried them out at all. I appreciate that is partly my issue (I.e. I haven’t used Rune Arcs at all in Elden Ring for fear of running out of them, and am now neaRly at the end of that), but it’s even more annoying when you have to use one in some cases just to work out what they do.

 

For the battle I was talking about in particular it’s fine to say you can use the consumables but if you use a certain one for part of it and then fail another bit repeatedly, you potentially end up not being able to do the first part the next time because you no longer have the consumable that you needed.

 

Anyway fortunately for me there was the no fail option to get me through. I realise I probably did miss out on using consumables, (although bar the bombs I haven’t needed to use a single one prior to that point in the game), but at least I haven’t brute forced past a bit missing something I should have done.

[Siri]

Indeed, I'm currently at that point without the assists.

 

Spoiler

Ghost form is different to Miasma - Ghost permanently halves your Health, Stamina and MP, from what I can tell.

 

I had a read up last night as I hit a wall. Strategy is something along the lines of:

 

- Fight the big bastard first (I believe it's a twinned boss), as they're the hardest

- use the wand to gun down the flyer statue phase as they spawn in, have the glyph that gives back MP so you don't actually lose any MP

- Use Tincture glyph to one-shot the swordsman enemies as they spawn in

- Frog statue involves kiting them all as they spawn and using the gun to kill them in one go

- I think the remaining statue (the skeleton dudes) uses the gun as well, bring and use a couple of blueberries. I might be getting this confused with the big guy, feel free to swap the strat to these guys first if they're the twinned boss guys

 

But yeah, it's hard as fuck, and if I didn't have the items already I probably would have slammed the no-death assist for this part.

 

[NoVisAnima]

Regarding that point SIri

Spoiler

That fight was hard but I didn't use consumables to do it. This is partly because of the bomb thing and a lot of being used to the combat flow you don't have the stamina to roll in, -> attack -> roll out safely. Stamina comes back from standing away from things and not guarding while mentally going "come at me". I also did the big fights last as I could get better at the small fights and could delay health until just before. And going into the big fight with stakes meant I played more cautiously because "it meant something"

 

Regarding the achievement linked secrets

Spoiler

There was only one I didn't get what golden cross inputs were required. They mostly felt like upgraded versions of the faries. I never translated anything out of the manual except for recognising the symbols for up down left and right

 

[CrichStand]

7 hours ago, metallicfrodo said:

Hmm okay, I suppose that leads on to another issue then that I have with the game. Those things, I’m assuming like lure and decoy etc are finite consumables. I haven’t tried then out because I’m worried I’ll use then up and then won’t have them when I need them, so haven’t tried them out at all. I appreciate that is partly my issue (I.e. I haven’t used Rune Arcs at all in Elden Ring for fear of running out of them, and am now neaRly at the end of that), but it’s even more annoying when you have to use one in some cases just to work out what they do.

 

For the battle I was talking about in particular it’s fine to say you can use the consumables but if you use a certain one for part of it and then fail another bit repeatedly, you potentially end up not being able to do the first part the next time because you no longer have the consumable that you needed.

 

Anyway fortunately for me there was the no fail option to get me through. I realise I probably did miss out on using consumables, (although bar the bombs I haven’t needed to use a single one prior to that point in the game), but at least I haven’t brute forced past a bit missing something I should have done.

You don’t need to use the consumables, they just make things considerably easier if you do want to use them. Also, if you check the manual thoroughly you’ll find out that some of them aren’t as limited in number as you think! 
 

Basically that fight just requires you to beat things in a certain way. For example.....

 

Spoiler

The flying drones are designed so that they separate into groups and shoot one another. Think it’s the Skeletons that can be easily taken out one after the other as they spawn, by just doing a combo attack on each one. The Frogmen are similar, but the big ones you can only attack after they’ve attacked you 3 times. 
 

You also need to fight the hardest battle first, easiest last and use the shotgun for big damage in the difficult battle, or keep your distance and use the Fire Wand if needed. The blue berry consumable will refill your magic allowing you to use these more if needed. Use the health refill statue when it’s needed between battles.

 

 

6 hours ago, NoVisAnima said:

Regarding that point SIri

  Hide contents

That fight was hard but I didn't use consumables to do it. This is partly because of the bomb thing and a lot of being used to the combat flow you don't have the stamina to roll in, -> attack -> roll out safely. Stamina comes back from standing away from things and not guarding while mentally going "come at me". I also did the big fights last as I could get better at the small fights and could delay health until just before. And going into the big fight with stakes meant I played more cautiously because "it meant something"

 

Regarding the achievement linked secrets

  Reveal hidden contents

There was only one I didn't get what golden cross inputs were required. They mostly felt like upgraded versions of the faries. I never translated anything out of the manual except for recognising the symbols for up down left and right

 

 

How did you manage to do the Vintage one then? It’s impossible without doing multiple random things including translating the language, in order to get the highly cryptic riddle that’s written in the game’s language, that you need to solve, which gives you the solution that you need to do in a specific place! 😂
 

[Siri]

Alright, did the gauntlet.

 

Spoiler

- Gun the two big guys, switch to inverted Ash and magic heal, switch back

- Frogs, sprint to kite and blast with the gun. Use a berry or two, equip wand

- Flying dickheads, blast them with the wand and get magic pickups back to full, back to gun

- Skeletons, same strat as the frogs with the full magic bar and gun

- Inverted Ash and chug pots, switch back and claim health (I didn't do this as I didn't realise all the pots would be restored)

- Sword guys, murder the small dudes as they spawn, when the bigger guys spawn sprint around and bomb them

- Mages, lol who gives a shit they're free as fuck

 

However, I'm now absolutely freaking the fuck out over the revelations the game gives you, in a good way:

 

Spoiler

The Holy Cross reveal is one thing, but when I caught the drawings in the manual on how the doors actually work and trying it on the door in the mountains.. holy shit, I was wilding out something fierce.

 

And then using the same logic for the 'spell', and getting the page for the golden path... Oh Christ, I'm back to feeling out of my depth again.

 

But now I'm back to thinking 'why was the manual mentioning the holy cross with the librarian', and getting mad paranoid over the way the game camera fixates on perfectly square areas of ground with the pink flowers, and it really does feel like the game is throwing a lot more at the player to figure out the second ending. Shit's WILD.

 

Edit: oh fucking Christ (Golden Path, major spoilers):

 

Spoiler

I basically got half of the faeries when I realised what it actually is.

 

I think I have the entire thing mapped out, with the exception of Page 22 (which is kind of hard to read, but the logic checks out) and Page 55. I figured out Page 9, which was very cool.

 

The problem will be finding Page 55. I'm guessing it's either the final treasure or it's the broken golden gate in the Eastern Forest.

 

Thankfully, I figured out the purpose of the bed, so there's.. a lot of backtracking to do.

 

In all: this is an absolute blast and is making my brain go into overdrive and actually succeeding, unlike Braid/The Witness/Baba. It's very satisfying!

[JoeK]

There's something about the game that leaves me a little cold. I love the little chap you play, but other than him, I'm finding most of the other aspects of the game charmless. It's very well crafted, and it's not bad but...I dunno, it doesn't have as much atmosphere as I thought it was going to. 

 

Also, whilst I like the soundtrack, I don't think it suits the game at all. 

 

Not quite sure how far I'll go on with it. I've managed to pick up the shield, but ventured into a dark, dark area and what I suspect are skeletons have chopped me up into paste.