I recently finished the game Tunic, which is sort of like A Link to the Past + Fez + Dark Souls... And it's amazing!
I actually owned the game soon after release but bounced off of it due to being busy with work, picked it back up the past few weeks and finally sat down and enjoyed it. Despite looking like a straightforward and cute adventure game, it gets REALLY deep the further you go in. There's so much to discover and the game gives you just enough hints on what to do and where to go.
Tunic ticks all the boxes for me. The graphics are gorgeous, the combat is fun, the world is fun to explore and rich with secrets, and progression was very satisfying.
The most unique part of the game is that you slowly find pages of an instruction manual containing maps of areas and secrets, explanation of mechanics, and guides on how to play... except it's all written in an alien language, so you have to figure out what it's telling you by paying attention to all the pictures and context clues.
Understanding the manual is a bit rough at first but lead to so many "A-ha!" moments when you try something and it actually works. It even foreshadows future bosses and things you'll encounter before they happen which is brilliant. My best advice to someone just trying the game: Pay attention to the manual, seriously!
I won't spoil any more than that, but I really wish more people talked about this game. It's not for everybody, the game is intentionally vague and needs some critical thinking if you're not following a guide, but I think it's absolutely brilliant if you're into exploration and discovery. One of the most unique games I've played in ages.
i've said it before but i don't think i've ever bounced so hard off of something i thought i would love.
i love cryptic, deep worlds, deciphering languages, discovery and exploration. but the combat blocked me from doing any of it.
i died to the first larger enemy (a white blob thing) like five times. i switched the combat to easy mode, and subsequently died five more times, just slower. then i looked up if here was something obvious that i was missing, but no. people were basically describing what i was already doing. dodging, rolling, watching for tells. only there are no tells on those first blob enemies. they just attack. later enemies, like the big spiders, have tells, and those i can sort of do. but the first guys just maul you.
the combat is honestly ass, at least as far as i got. its difficulty is not in line with the theme of the game, and it adds very little to it other than being a roadblock for the puzzles.
It now has two options that make it a lot easier (at least on Steam)
yeah but i'm no longer interested. the mismatch between the world and the combat made me feel like the game was built as a trap, the cute visuals luring people in to punish them. it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Fair.
I would love to have a game like it but without the 'git gud' combat.