Test de Tunic - What does the fox say ?

Sly as a fox

Announced at E3 2017 , Tunic is a game developed by a small team that we have recently interviewed. The idea of the main developer and Dad of Tunic (Andrew Shouldice) was to propose an action game isometric adventures which is pretty, but also very mysterious in his gameplay and in his universe.

You arrive on a fairly large island without the slightest index on your adventure. You must explore, find notes and answers about your presence on the premises, but also that of a strange entity that seems to be prisoner.

It's really the personality of Tunic - let the player discover - and this happens in particular via a little book that you complete as and when via notes that you find throughout your adventure. As a result, depending on your tendency to explore, you can unlock quickly (or not) certain skills. We walk around, we are looking for his way through a pretty malignant level creation and, finally, we fall on a path behind a fir that makes us discover a new note. A very old school vibration of the 90s is felt throughout the adventure and it is a real pleasure to discover in turn these different mysteries. Some will be little sensitive to this side of the game that does not take you by the hand while others will appreciate.

At the gameplay level, we are on a classic, but rather effective system. We have an endurance bar that decreases with each roll or protection with the shield. As long as you have endurance, your dodge gives you invulnerability. The death of your character is equivalent to a loss of gambling and a return to a checkpoint you have activated. Like the mechanics of Dark Souls , we can recover them by returning to the point of his death and it remains in the final very little penalizing.

Faced with yourself, you have to chain the action / exploration phases and of course falling on monsters with totally variable difficulties. Classic enemies generally represent little danger after discovering their pattern. On the other hand, every encounter with a boss is a real cap of difficulty. No more exploration, place at the Baston. These are often much more complicated fights and that put you in the face of the sometimes brutal reality of the game. It can really disconcert at the beginning, but it is also part of the essence of the game we love or not. However, do not worry: the developers thought of people wanting to discover the game without having to carve the veins or break 12 wheelchaats. Indeed, there is a simple mode allowing you, via the pause menu, activate an invincible mode or no longer lose endurance. What to allow everyone to discover this little nugget.

Whether at its graphic charter, its sound appearance or its gameplay, Tunic is a relatively well thoughtful game. It offers both complex aspects while making it difficult to reduce the difficulty of fighting. It will be seen, however, that the game really leaves you with very few clues and that being blocked can quickly discourage the player. Tunic is available on Xbox One and Xbox Series via the Xbox Game Pass and PC at the price of 27.99 euros. Sincerely, if you have the GamePass, I promptly invite you to discover the game.

_Test made by Glaystal on PC with a version provided by the publisher.