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One of the biggest surprises of 2022, Tunic is an action-adventure game designed in the scope of The Legend of Zelda. The entire game, from the general environment to the combat, has seemingly taken inspiration from Nintendo’s popular game. Interestingly enough, Tunic was developed by just one person, Andrew Shouldice.
Tunic begins with you washing up on the shores of a mysterious land, and you must investigate the area to find out both why you’re here and how to survive. Throughout your journey, you’ll come across fearsome foes that will attack on sight, so it’s rather important to be properly equipped. Follow this guide to acquire one of the game’s best early game items, the sword.
Explore The Land
After washing up on the shore, head up the stairs and past the yellow square in the road, until you reach a fork in the road. Enter the doorway to the left, with the mailbox, to find a chest with a stick inside. For now, the stick will be your primary weapon for battling the various monsters around the island.
Exit the room and head back slightly to the right, then up the stairs. There will be a few blob-like monsters (Slimes) bouncing around, and a few whacks with the stick should take care of them quickly. On the right-hand side you’ll see a sign for the Hero’s Grave, pointing to a locked door. For now, continue heading up the stairs to reach a type of altar. Interacting with this will begin a little cutscene, but ultimately these are used to heal yourself and act as a save point.
Continue walking forward until a path with a bridge veers to the left. Follow the bridge and you’ll find a key lying on the ground. After you pick up the key you’ll notice the path is blocked by bushes, so you’ll have to double back. Before you do this, you can use the telescope to see what the area below you looks like. Once you get back to the main road, you head left to the set of golden doors. Entering this area will give you a glimpse of the plot of Tunic, as you discover a fellow warrior trapped in this mysterious realm. Eventually, you’ll return through the golden doors to resume your adventure.
Hero’s Grave
Head back down the stairs to the sign for the Hero’s Grave, and use the key to unlock the door. You’ll be in a small connecting area, with a shiny item in the middle of the room. This is a page of the instruction manual; to achieve the true ending for the game, you must collect every page, so be sure to keep an eye out for them. When you exit the area, you’ll find a few more Slimes to fight, and two sets of ladders that go up and down. Going down will only result in a dead-end, so head upwards to find another small area with more Slimes. After you defeat these and find more treasures in the nearby chest, continue walking up the stairs and turn right to head into the doorway.
This new area is called the East Belltower, and you’ll be greeted by a squad of Slimes to deal with. Once they’ve been disposed of, pick up the second page of the manual and turn right. You’ll notice some stairs heading up; they result in a dead-end, so continue going down the right. Deal with the Slime along the narrow path, then take the ladder down. This new area also has an altar. Unfortunately, the ladder is broken and you won’t be able to head back up, so be sure to fully explore everything before climbing down the ladder. After you interact with the altar, head outside to enter the East Forest.
Behold, The Sword
Right away, you’ll notice the East Forest is slightly more difficult than other areas. There are new enemy types that can shoot projectiles from long distances, and who aren’t susceptible to staggering from your attacks. This means that these enemies can perform their auto attacks through your attacks, even though they are taking damage. Another new enemy will be a giant Slime that can obliterate your health with just a few hits. Be careful in this area, as you can get overwhelmed in an instant.
Continue following the signs for the Hero’s Grave and you’ll come across another page of the manual. Pick it up and continue along the right pathway, smashing the pots blocking your way, until you emerge in a new area. This area will have a combination of the giant Slimes and projectile enemies, in addition to a powerful guard. You can either try to fight the onslaught of enemies with the stick or simply run past everyone.
You’ll see the guard standing in front of a locked door. Head to the left and walk along the pathway above the door, and there will be a ladder to the right. There’s a switch at the bottom of the ladder that will open the locked door. Climb back up the ladder and run past the enemies, through the open door. Make your way through the grass to find an opening in the bushes to the left. You’ll find the sword at the end of the pathway.
You'll deal considerably more damage with the sword than the stick, and you can also slash away bushes to explore new areas. You’re now well equipped to continue your adventure in Tunic!