Tunic arrived a little later on PlayStation consoles, but by then, its status as a hit indie game was already assured. Largely created by just one person, this plucky action adventure transcended its humble origins to become one of 2022's best-rated games.
It's not too hard to see why. At first glance, it looks like a simple Zelda-style excursion, and in some ways it is. With its inspiration worn proudly on its sleeve, Tunic is successful in capturing the feel of the classics. Simple yet surprisingly tough combat, a picturesque map to explore, and all kinds of items to unlock — it's speaking a pretty classic gaming language, and on its own that would've probably been enough.
However, it speaks a whole other language, one you literally can't understand at first. The overworld map is vast and absolutely packed with secrets. As you progress, you slowly peel back the layers to not only discover new areas and items, but meaningful narrative moments. The collectable pages make up a manual that provides valuable hints, but also pertinent story details. It all ties together so neatly; you may not be able to read the made-up runes on signs, but you get just enough clues for everything to click.
The end result is a robust, cohesive game that's satisfying to see through to the end. The challenging boss fights are rewarding to conquer, and the myriad puzzles are intelligent brain ticklers that'll have you scribbling down actual notes. Throw on top a pleasing, low-poly style and ethereal music, and it's no wonder Tunic won the hearts of so many this year.
Push Square's Game of the Year list is primarily decided by an internal staff vote. Our community Game of the Year poll is also taken into account. Feel free to agree or disagree with our list in the comments section below.
You can check out all of our Game of the Year coverage by clicking the link.
Comments 23
Tunic is fantastic!
A love letter to old school Zelda games with a little bit of Dark Souls tossed into the mix.
I loved it!
I do plan to play tunic at some point but the souls like difficulty was putting me off, but, I just found out in the options you can turn on "no fail mode" which means you won't take any damage, is the game still worth getting if I used that setting for bosses?
Played it on Game Pass didn't like it very much if I'm honest. Far too much backtracking and not keen on the combat.
Really good game but hard as heck if you aren’t an exquisitely thorough gamer. I ended up somewhere I shouldn’t have been and was really underpowered. I’m going to have to play with a walk-through, I think; and I almost never need to do that. Still, I think it’s an OK way to play a game you like, if you would otherwise move on without a guide. In any case, I think number eight for the year is about right.
I only wish the manual got translated to english in game. Maybe a mod for thr pc version does that.
@UltimateOtaku91 It not bad. They can still kock you back but that's it.
Picked it up on my Switch. It’s a lovely wee fusion of Zelda and Dark Souls. A bit too short for the price though.
@UltimateOtaku91 there’s a great amount of exploration to do if the combat isn’t your thing
This is a decent pick for #8. This game and last year’s Death’s Door are very similar to me in how they played and were received. Neither was a personal favorite of mine, but they’re both objectively strong signs that the indie game space in a very good and creative place.
A game I want to play someday. Very atractive to me. Long time I don't play a game of that style.
@UltimateOtaku91 yeah, you can switch it off and on as you want, doesn't even affect achievements.
One of the best indie games in ages, the look the soundtrack, the exploration, the secrets, all incredible. The combat, gets a bit in the way sometimes, it can be pretty tricky and the game asks a lot of the player, more than I could give it. I mean there's a whole language to decode!! Amazing achievement for such a small team (really one guy for a lot of it). Shout out to the manual pages, they look truly amazing.
I remember finding out how to deflect attacks with the shield with no guide or messing about with those ability cards when playing it on Xbox. Love the music and boss fights. Haven't finished it yet but plan to as I'm close-ish to the end.
Great game. Played it on game pass a while back
I have seen this played in livestreams and it looks like a game that I would enjoy. I hope that it releases physically.
One of the worst games I've played in some time. Don't let the trailers fool youb
This article is the first I've heard of it. Looks kinda cool though.
@PhenomenalOne I don’t think most of PushSquare’s audience are relying on trailers. Your experience is surprisingly one of the few overtly negative ones I’ve seen. Most thoughts and reviews I’ve found have been positive, but no game will be for everyone.
Looks interesting, if it comes out on physical I might get it (or really cheap digital).
If Elden Ring didn't exist, this would be my GOTY easy. It still might be, just not easy.
@Cyberpsycho I agree. I tried getting into it several times actually, because I kept hearing people gushing about it, but it just didn’t click with me. I appreciate the artistic vision for this game for sure, I just didn’t find it fun to play🤷♂️
Absolutely fantastic! I have loved isometric games since the days of Knight Lore, Batman, Head Over Heels and many others on the ZX Spectrum, and Tunic feels like a time machine back to that era and, of course, the first Zelda games on NES. Love the art, love the sense of exploration, very clever to incorporate the souls-like mechanics and engaging combat. Also, I think it's really inspirational that this whole game was made (mostly) by one talented guy. Kudos to him and everyone that collaborated!
Exquisitely crafted, its worth spending time with this one.
I almost gave up on an early boss, combat is tough and unforgiving and a little too much for my old reactions, but its been updated with an accesability option which lets you get through when its too much (infinate stamina and 'no die').
Once you start opening up a lot of the map, its ingenious how its all fitted together. Worthy of respect, this title hits hard and is well worth your time.
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