Tunic

Tunic turns its many influences into something that feels both familiar and gloriously new. [Eurogamer Essential]

A person’s experience of playing Tunic will absolutely be what they’ve made of it. Those uninterested in secrets or super-challenging gameplay can move along the main path as they please, thanks to these different settings. But there will also be players that revel in knowing everything about the world and defeating all of its bosses. The amazing thing is how Tunic serves all of those players without compromising on either front. This is a delightful, puzzling journey. [Polygon Recommends]

These grumbles aside, Tunic is a resolute and intelligently made adventure in its own right. Modern reimaginings of the "classics" often reproduce mechanics of old games in cleaner ways but without understanding the game's design from a holistic level. Nostalgic platformers give you coyote time, but then fill their world with needless dialogue. Retro shooters throw hordes of enemies at you, but fail to construct smart spaces in which to fight them. If this plucky fox 'em up flatters-by-imitation too much, it is only because it has examined its reference in its entirety. Like an overhanging camera view, Tunic sees Zelda from the top to the bottom. It is a tribute well-paid.

As I played through Tunic, I found myself using its instruction manual just like I used those Zelda player’s guides back when I was a kid. I constantly flipped between maps, studied mechanics and enemies, and even paused just to admire the excellent artwork. And every time I saw glowing white pages in Tunic’s world, I rushed over to grab them, eager to see what surprises might be written inside.