Nearly a year out from its release, Tunic still has staying power. Despite being beaten out by tough competition at The Game Awards last month, Tunic still has chances to nab some much-deserved wins at the upcoming DICE awards. While action-adventure games don't typically have the replayability—and thus the staying power—of other genres, Tunic still boasts a respectable daily player counter as it approaches its one-year anniversary.
In light of Tunic's publisher's vocal reluctance toward subscription services, the title may have to look toward alternative means to stay relevant and satisfy its legion of fans. As is, the best possible approach for Tunic could be to look at releasing a DLC pack.
Tunic Leaves Enough Mystery For a Potential DLC
On its surface, Tunic is merely a Zelda-inspired title about an adventurous fox, but hidden underneath its charming exterior is a game that is riddled with deep, sophisticated puzzles. To that end, there are still puzzles and secrets to uncover in Tunic even a year after its release. One of these great secrets—and the most obvious road to a DLC or sequel—is the mystery of The Eyes of the Far Shore.
While Tunic is riddled with hidden secrets, none is quite as intriguing as the message hidden in the Glyph Tower. After a lengthy in-game puzzle, fans were led to a website that contained a cryptic message. In the downloadable audio files on the site, Tunic players discover not only a hidden message but an entire language that could be potentially used as a cipher for future mysteries. It could be the case that these secrets are meant to be solved and understood with only the information available in the Tunic, but it has at least whet the appetite of players for a potential sequel.
At the very least, Tunic has now equipped diehard fans with two in-game languages—dubbed Trunic and Tuneic—for which to work through future puzzles. Plus, now that fans are aware of the depth they can expect from Tunic's puzzles, even more difficult and complex puzzles wouldn't feel out of place in a follow-up.
What Should Change in a Tunic DLC or Sequel
It would be difficult to replicate the experience of a first playthrough of Tunic. Fans would likely anticipate even the most sophisticated and difficult puzzles. Worse, the folksy charm of the original game might start to wear off given enough exposure. Still, the potential for a Tunic follow-up still exists.
If the tiny team behind Tunic wanted to make a total departure from their original formula, it might be the perfect way to continue paying homage to The Legend of Zelda franchise that initially inspired the game. After all, Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link was a completely different game than the original and though it threw most fans for a loop, there are still fans who sing its praises. By learning from its mistakes, Tunic could venture away from the original game while still staying true to the core elements that made it successful.
Interestingly, the finality of the game's ending is still up for debate. The depth of Tunic's world leaves the door open for a sequel or a DLC that has little to do with the original game's beloved little fox. Even if an expansion was to zoom in on another part of the world and follow an entirely different protagonist, it could easily carry forth on the strength of its world-building alone. The lore that has already been established is rich enough to support almost any move that the developers would want to try.
Tunic is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.