Tunic

[CrichStand]

This has now gone fully next level with the Soul puzzles. Very Fez. Figured some stuff out I needed to do and tracked down a couple so far but I’m struggling to work them out. 
 

And having said that, I immediately work one of them out! 😂

[Larsen B]

Hearing Samuel talk about it on the Back Page made me realise that the game isn't just aping 16-bit Zelda and (specifically) Demon's Souls, it's very deliberately trying to evoke the sensation of importing them from Japan.

 

The instruction manual full of snatches of English which give you the slightest foothold into comprehension. A deliberate rhythm to the combat that seems archaic and full of obtuse puzzles. The pen scribbles in the manual where the hidden player has managed to grasp some small but notable discovery. Inventing a language (which is translatable) so that sensation would be universal across players, regardless of region.

 

And beneath all that, it still perfectly functions as a modern adventure game simply aping 16-bit Zelda and Demon's Souls. Gloriously pretentious.

[idiwa]

I'm loving this and grabbed it on day one. I never really played a lot of Zelda and tbh the only one I put loads of time in was Minish Cap. But I do have a massive place in my heart for Alundra on the PS1 and this just feels the same. yeah I know Alundra was a mimic of Zelda but... humour me.

 

I feel kinda stuck now though and worst I don't even have a sodding clue how to articulate this on this thread. I think I need to draft a reply with all the shit I've done and spoiler it. 

 

One question: Is the game linear? do you have to do things in strict order or is it a bit loosey-goosey? Thanks

[idiwa]

On 24/03/2022 at 09:46, SteveH said:

 I'm loving the soundtrack. It is giving me real Secret of Mana vibes at times. 

 I had come in here to moan about the difficulty, completely forgetting about No Fail mode. Back to that bastard Siege Engine boss!

 

23 hours ago, CrichStand said:

Soundtrack reminds me most of Fez. It’s fantastic. The Graveyard and the Ziggurat pieces of music are especially good.
 

 

I noticed the soundtrack is now on Spotify, a few days ago it wasn't available. 

[SuperCapes]

19 minutes ago, idiwa said:

I'm loving this and grabbed it on day one. I never really played a lot of Zelda and tbh the only one I put loads of time in was Minish Cap. But I do have a massive place in my heart for Alundra on the PS1 and this just feels the same. yeah I know Alundra was a mimic of Zelda but... humour me.

 

I feel kinda stuck now though and worst I don't even have a sodding clue how to articulate this on this thread. I think I need to draft a reply with all the shit I've done and spoiler it. 

 

One question: Is the game linear? do you have to do things in strict order or is it a bit loosey-goosey? Thanks

 

We need a pint to discuss that absolute titan of a game sometime. Not enough people have played it, and I pray it is part of whatever Sony Gamepass shenanigans comes about soon. 

 

What a game. 

[Jamie John]

I've listened to lots of different things about this this week and am definitely going to check it out. What's the consensus on combat? Should I just enable the invincibility mode from the start?

[Ferine]

3 hours ago, idiwa said:

One question: Is the game linear? do you have to do things in strict order or is it a bit loosey-goosey? Thanks

Not really. There is a fairly intuitive order I'd expect most people to follow, but you can easily break that sequence either intentionally or by happening across a hidden alternate path.

 

If you're stuck my first suggestion would be to check the manual. Generally it will offer hints of what to do next, or at least allude to places you haven't been.

[Dapple]

1 hour ago, Jamie John said:

I've listened to lots of different things about this this week and am definitely going to check it out. What's the consensus on combat? Should I just enable the invincibility mode from the start?

No, I'd say leave it off, at least initially. I've turned it on a couple of times when I've not had the patience to keep going with a couple of bosses. But it goes off again afterwards.

[Siri]

Beat the Forest Fortress boss in the most craptastic fashion earlier this afternoon:

 

Spoiler

The Seige Engine basically lunged at me in the corner, in a panic I combat rolled out and ended up getting the poor bastard in a stun loop on his weak point, while I still had something like three magic dagger casts available whenever it tried pulling some other shit.

 

Considering I died about 10 times beforehand, drubbing it in the most heinous fashion was a bewildering feeling, and I probably won't replicate it 

 

Now I need to figure out the next part - but I absolutely love the fact that it is so cryptic, and it requires more thought, exploration and trying things out than just raw execution. It's just a lovely feeling of discovery throughout, and I can't wait to dig in again tomorrow when I've got some time.

[cassidy]

13 hours ago, Jamie John said:

I've listened to lots of different things about this this week and am definitely going to check it out. What's the consensus on combat? Should I just enable the invincibility mode from the start?

I didn't until I met the Librarian boss. And from then on. I've left it on. Cos the Quarry area later in the game will fuck you up otherwise. 

[monkeydog]

I feel like I have to finish this before I can talk about it much. It's hard to preface any spoiler you'd want to discuss. Activating the yellow squares though

 

Spoiler

I almost spat out my tea when I found the manual page for them.

 

[CrichStand]

Tracked down and solved half of the Souls plus got a few of the additional secrets now. There are another couple that I’m not sure how to solve just yet. Unlocked the key to deciphering the language but not sure what the numbers do. I know what they relate to but not what they’re actually for. Also, 27hrs in and only just discovered the hidden room that allows you to customise the Fox, near to the start of the game! 😀

[Fondue]

On 25/03/2022 at 20:17, Dapple said:

No, I'd say leave it off, at least initially. I've turned it on a couple of times when I've not had the patience to keep going with a couple of bosses. But it goes off again afterwards.

I turned on the infinite stamina pretty early on though - not being able to roll out of trouble at will just go too frustrating.

[Dapple]

6 minutes ago, Fondue said:

I turned on the infinite stamina pretty early on though - not being able to roll out of trouble at will just go too frustrating.

Me too, I turned it on for the first boss and it's been on ever since

[monkeydog]

I turned stamina on for the first boss eventually.  Turned it off for the world.  Might turn it on for The Quarry, but not yet. 

 

Fuck doing the second two bosses 'properly' though!  Just went with no fail mode. Great feature. Batting my head against difficult bosses isn't my idea of dad-gamer time well spent.  

[thesnwmn]

Having grabbed all three keys now and therefore done a number of bosses I cannot imagine doing at least two of them without no fail. I cannot see how anyone extracts any fun from that. It's so counter to what I think it good about the game in general. I can see how it might make some of the world exploration more interesting because I just wander around with reckless abandon 😂 In fact enemies as a whole often just annoy me now because they don't reset after you run by until you change rooms. But then imagine going to the central town and every time having to kill the same fucking mobs over and over. Yay, much funs right?

 

But of course each to their own which is what's fantastic about the options. My no fail run has no impact on anyone else. Who cares if I've made combat nothing. It's my game. I paid for it (except Game Pass).

[Siri]

Stamina hasn't been that big of an issue personally, although some hidden aspects of the game help a lot:

 

Spoiler

Namely being educated about the post-roll running mechanic, and the stamina upgrades. Now I'm in The Quarry proper, I'm finding I can tank gunshots fairly regularly, meaning the only problematic enemies are the dynamite fellas.

 

I'm currently at the Ziggurat, after I decided that I'd probably be better off using a new toy to open up The Quarry and access upgrades instead of fighting the Librarian straight away.

 

Spoiler

I'm hoping it will help if I'm able to get to the teleporter that's hidden away somewhere in the area - I'm already aware it exists because of the system, it's just a matter of finding a way in.

 

And mald when it turns out to be in plain sight, like the mountain shortcut to the top of the quarry and the stairs that take you to the boxes at the front of The Quarry.

 

Also: that feeling of putting on the Scavenger's Mask and completely ignoring corruption so you can slap enemies silly in The Quarry is wonderful.

 

Still got a lot to learn, though!

[SteveH]

 I bow down to anyone that managed to do the Quarry and later section playing normally. I died more times trying to get halfway through the Quarry, than I have done in all the Dark Souls games combined. And as for some of the hidden stuff, I'd imagine Stephen Hawking would have been tearing his hair out.

[panda_t]

Re the quarry -

Spoiler

there's a gas mask square-panel-talisman-thing you can get (I think in that level?) and if you equip then proximity to the glowy black/purple stuff doesn't shrink your health any more. Slightly odd when I hadn't noticed any of other little panels change your look but it does actually give you a gas mask

It's not quite as bad/hard as it seems

 

EDIT - just seen someone said this upthread, APOLOGIES

[Siri]

Alright, I've gone through the Ziggurat!

 

Now I have the choice of either getting demolished by the Librarian, or getting demolished by the Scavenger Boss.

 

I've had a few goes against Scavenger, I can get him down to about 1/4 health before all my (known, and replenishable) resources are out. Magic Orb or confusing the bastard on the edge of the arena seems to give out the most reliable damage, but I need to get better at dodging all the attacks this fucker does.

 

Spoiler

I also need to explore the quarry again, as I just realised that the guide points out A FUCKING GUN is somewhere to the west after going down the spiral stairs.

 

Sheer copium to imagine blasting the librarian to bits.

 

[Jg15]

Finally found the hookshot last night and went running around all the areas where I saw hooks to get chests etc. I still see items on little islands and outcrops though and haven't worked out yet how to get them. I'm assuming there is a jump ability or something down the line?

 

Everytime I play this I chip away something else, it just feels so satisfying. This is such a perfect Gamepass game but I am easily siding on buying it to further support the Dev.

[Lorfarius]

2 hours ago, Jg15 said:

Finally found the hookshot last night and went running around all the areas where I saw hooks to get chests etc. I still see items on little islands and outcrops though and haven't worked out yet how to get them. I'm assuming there is a jump ability or something down the line?

 

Everytime I play this I chip away something else, it just feels so satisfying. This is such a perfect Gamepass game but I am easily siding on buying it to further support the Dev.

 

I'd just go for the DLC. The dev gets paid by MS when the game is played the first time, I always download stuff and open it to show some support even for games I might never play 🤣

[Isaac]

This is a masterpiece, isn't it?

 

Don't want to go back and read the thread yet for fear of spoilers, but I just figured out the upgrade system and unlocked the well, not used any accessibility modes at all yet. Thought the challenge has been fine so far, a decent level but not annoying.

 

Absolutely loving how the mysteries slowly unravel in this though, it's masterfully done.

[tobert]

I have enjoyed what I have played of this but am put off by the difficulty,  both in terms of enemies but also talk of how much stuff is hidden away which requires working out.  I was looking for something bright and breezy as a counterpoint to Elden Ring but it looks like this is also requires significant investment

[monkeydog]

I ended up no failing myself through the ziggurat onwards.  Really don't have the reactions or patience, which is fine, I think.

 

Finished but not completed. Missing 6 manual pages and want to collect all the

 

Spoiler

hero shrine items in the ghost world.  I only did a couple.

 

[Popo]

I've also started this and found it fun, although I've yet to see what everyone else sees in it yet.

 

Playing both Elden Ring and A Link Between Worlds simultaneously, though, I think I'll leave this for a bit before I try to get into it properly.

 

It's definitely got something going on, and I don't want it overshadowed by other games.

[schmojo]

This is beautiful and clever and almost right up my street.

 

Except I'm allergic to the punishing, catholic approach to games. There's enough grinding and trudging in the world without doing it recreationally. So I expect I'll stick all the buffs on, because the puzzling really reminds me of Fez, and the exploring is designed for those who go left when they see a big arrow pointing right.

 

They've been both intelligent and thoughtful by including the accessibility options, I just know I have to overcome a psychological boundary that says I'm not playing it 'right' by using them. They mean that I'll actually see the rest of their work, whereas I'd have hit a wall in other games.

[monkeydog]

5 minutes ago, schmojo said:

They've been both intelligent and thoughtful by including the accessibility options, I just know I have to overcome a psychological boundary that says I'm not playing it 'right' by using them. They mean that I'll actually see the rest of their work, whereas I'd have hit a wall in other games.

 

They're a couple of great features.  It could almost do with being upfront with them. I've never thought to look at accessability options in games before.

[BossSaru]

I'll admit to using the 'No Fail' mode quite freely towards the end of the game. I loved the look and feel of it but some of those bosses are too unforgiving and I do not have the time to invest in getting good enough these days. That said, I did beat

Spoiler

the Librarian

unaided on my second attempt, which I was happy with.

 

Really good that the accessibility options can be switched on and off, so you can challenge yourself without ever feeling that you are unfairly stuck on a boss or section.

[thesnwmn]

14 minutes ago, schmojo said:

This is beautiful and clever and almost right up my street.

 

Except I'm allergic to the punishing, catholic approach to games. There's enough grinding and trudging in the world without doing it recreationally. So I expect I'll stick all the buffs on, because the puzzling really reminds me of Fez, and the exploring is designed for those who go left when they see a big arrow pointing right.

 

They've been both intelligent and thoughtful by including the accessibility options, I just know I have to overcome a psychological boundary that says I'm not playing it 'right' by using them. They mean that I'll actually see the rest of their work, whereas I'd have hit a wall in other games.

 

I have worried about it a little since turning on no fail mode right from the start.

 

It definitely changes the game. Enemies are literally an annoyance for the most part. I just run towards them and mash attack. Any that do require a few tactics to kill (and there are a few) are easy enough to learn and thus brush passed too. The result is removing that challenge entirely which is great as I know I'd not play for more than an hour without it but means I have to remember not to just be annoyed at their existence.

 

I almost wonder if a mode which simply removed all non-boss enemies and made the "boss battles" a "boss chat" would be more appropriate. Lean into the "no fail" and tweak the game such that you don't trivialise the combat but instead remove it entirely. But then of course collecting many of the early items wouldn't quite fit.

 

6 minutes ago, monkeydog said:

They're a couple of great features.  It could almost do with being upfront with them. I've never thought to look at accessability options in games before.

 

I think making it obvious that they're there when you start the game would be great. It's fantastic to see them there so literally anyone can explore at least the first half or two thirds of the game (before it gets into the more complicated discovery stuff I think I'm starting to hit).

 

I think almost every game should have the no fail setting. I know the "easy mode" thread covers this repeatedly but this game is a perfect of example of why it's so great for me. Encourage people to buy/play your game however they see fit for the most part.