Inspired by Nintendo’s Zelda: A Like to the Past (1991), Tunic is by Canadian developer Andrew Shouldice in Halifax of Nova Scotia.

And it is fantabulous. Not only is it an audio and visual delight, it’s intricately pieced together and the brilliant world design is magnificent.

Right here, we have one of the best games of 2022. Oh yeah!

Tunic—Cute Fox? Yes! Plus, Glorious Action-Adventuring

Tunic fits neatly into the action-adventure genre and is available on Steam and Xbox One/ Series X/S. Here’s the aim of the game from the official Tunic website description!

“Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure.”

The game starts out minus any story development, you’re just dumped into the beautiful world packed full of greenery.

And off you go! Exploration is the name of the game, with the environment contained within an isometric world a bit like Monument Valley II and the the Link’s Awakening remake.

And it’s the SNES era Zelda games it takes massive dollops of inspiration from. There’s even a brilliant homage to video game booklets that were packaged with every title.

You collect pages in Tunic’s world and gradually piece out the booklet, which provides instructions on what to do.

That uncertainty will irk some gamers, as at first it’s unclear what to do. But that knowledge will come with time, little one!

What doesn’t change in time is Tunic’s high difficulty level. If you’re expecting a cutesy romp along here, you are very much mistaken.

It is tough—right from the word go.

Perseverance is rewarded, though, as you get your sword, shield, and then journey through the gorgeous environments with a most epic soundtrack (more on the latter further below). Just look at this thing in action!

As Tunic progresses the vagaries of the story begin to clear and everything makes more sense.

Although you are left to wander around aimlessly at times wondering what to do next. A hallmark of ’80s and ’90s Zelda games! Excellent attention to detail, eh?

But minor issues aside, the game is just a goddamn joy to play. It’s so smooth and flows from one area to the next and you swoon at the bloody thing.

Some in the gaming press are hailing this as potential Game of the Year, above even that pesky Elden Ring thing everyone got hyped about.

Tunic probably won’t win, as indie games tend to be ignored for the big award in favour of AAA titles, but we do think this is an instant classic.

It’s bloody epic and we love it. A glorious homage to Zelda, a unique challenge in its own right, and the best game to emerge from Halifax of Nova Scotia.

About Tunic’s Subtle Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Tunic was composed by Janice Kwan and Lifeformed. The duo makes music together and live in Taipei, Taiwan.

Apparently, it took seven years to piece together.

It’s heavily synth-laden and, most of the time, dreamlike and woozy. It shimmers in the background and helps keep you calm.

The soundtrack here is important as, again, Tunic can be bloody frustrating with its difficulty setting.

But that music soothes you and encourages you to head back in for another go.

It reminds us of Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. That endless runner requires perseverance and the fantastic music is one reason why you keep wanting to dive back in.

Overall, an interesting take on the soundtrack for what’s a very intriguing, multi-layered, mysterious, and engaging video game.

Tunic? Munich, more like! Sorry, we’re out of good pun ideas today…