History VideoGame / Tunic

* StoryBreadcrumbs: Very little of the overarching plot is openly offered, leaving the player to piece together environmental elements, context clues, and information from the instruction manual into a cohesive narrative.
* WordOfGod: In a reaction video for a Speedrun, Lead Developer Andrew Shouldice said that the reason the Fox can't read the language and everything seems too difficult for them is because the Fox doesn't belong in that world. It wasn't made for them and they're not the hero of the story. Andrew also mentioned that he had the idea that glitches and exploits were still within the lore of the world because of this fact.

* StoryBreadcrumbs: Very little of the overarching plot is openly offered, leaving the player to piece together environmental elements, context clues, and information from the instruction manual into a cohesive narrative.

''Tunic'' draws heavy inspiration from [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI that other game about a small hero with a sword and shield and green tunic.]] The game is rather obtuse and full of secrets. The player finds torn-out pages from the manual as they explore, akin to an old NES-era video game manual that contains the tutorial and gameplay hints the in-game tutorial lacks. Each page of the manual has multiple hints and secrets, helping the player learn gameplay mechanics and how to navigate environments as they explore. Late-game content shifts from exploration and combat into more complex puzzles. As such, everything past the tutorial is a pretty big spoiler.

* [[{{Metroidvania Metroidbrainia}}]]: There is some hard ability gating spread throughout the game but it leans more into the ''Brainia'' subgenre as the player has many "keys" from the start that they don't know how to use yet. As well as very well hidden non-gated shortcuts.

* CanadaEh: [[spoiler:The runic language specifically translates into Maritime Canadian English, meaning words like "The" are phonetically transcribed as "Thee", not "Thuh". Parodied in one conversation with a ghost fox who uses a stereotypical "aboot" accent, with another nearby fox asking if they sound weird.]]

* AmbiguousGender: The Ruin Seeker has no masculine nor feminine features and isn’t referred with anyone pronouns, making their gender identity unknown.

* AStormIsComing: After [[spoiler:being slain by The Heir, there are constant flashes of distant lightning and the rumblings of thunder in the lead-up to the final confrontation.]]

* BottomlessPits: Normally not a threat, but standing on a bridge that gets removed will drop your fox into an instant death. You can also weaponize this trope by using [[spoiler:the Magic Orb]] to drag enemies over them, even [[spoiler:the Scavenger Boss.]]

* CharacterCustomization: A hidden room in the Overworld lets you change the color of your fox's fur, nose and clothing. A hidden room in said hidden room lets you change the tuft of hair on their head.

* DarkIsNotEvil: The game's shopkeeper is [[spoiler:a gargantuan fox skeleton that materializes out of the dark each time you enter one of their shops. Despite this, they do nothing but help the player, even offering a little bow of thanks each time you make a purchase.]]
* DevelopersForesight: [[spoiler: In the "purgatory" save file, the character has an impressive amount of items, but no bombs. Using the Holy Cross to get some and then [[ViolationOfCommonSense using them to kill yourself]] causes you to spawn in what's colloquially called the "Devworld", an unfinished prototype of the overworld with unused enemies and a mysterious mural. Should you want to go back to the usual purgatory, just delete the save file.]]

* DoubleMeaning: Your little fox is a [[spoiler:Ruin Seeker. Do they seek ruins? Or do they seek ruin?]]
* DualWorldGameplay: [[spoiler:After you die in your first fight with the Heir, the world changes. Everything is thrust into night, monster spawns are changed, moonlight bridges open up some areas, wooden bridges collapse in other areas, and familiar ground is now [[TheCorruption blocked off by miasma.]] To make things even worse, you are greatly weakened there.]] [[spoiler:You can switch between the two worlds by resting at a bed after collecting all six Hero Relics.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:The ending after completing the GoldenPath (or solving the puzzle early): the Ruin Seeker frees the Heir, but before the Heir attacks the Ruin Seeker presents the guide to the Heir. The Heir reads through it and starts crying about [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what happened in the past]], ultimately relinquishing their power and presumably becoming a mortal Ruin Seeker again. They and the current Ruin Seeker become friends and start having fun together]].
* EitherOrTitle: "Tunic" is obvious, but the other title - written in the game's cipher, and seen in [[spoiler:the title bar of the game on PC]] - is [[spoiler:"Secret Legend."]]

* GasMaskMooks: The Scavengers of the Quarry all wear them. [[JustifiedTrope Justified,]] as the masks protect them from [[spoiler:the dark energy leaking out of the monoliths they're excavating.]]

* GoldenPath: What the manual calls [[spoiler:the game-wide puzzle necessary for the best ending.]] The trope is actually averted, you can solve the puzzle at any time if you have enough information.

* InsufferableGenius: If you decipher the lines related to him, it becomes apparent that [[spoiler:not only is The Librarian something of a sore loser, he's also a serial thief who baits Ruin Seekers into his tower so he can kill them and take their Pages.]] Funnily enough, [[spoiler:despite his haughty air and considerable knowledge of magic, it turns out ''he doesn't even know what the Holy Cross is -'' believing it to be a tangible in-game object, secreted away inside the Cathedral.]]
* InterfaceSpoiler: A subtle one. The options menu - [[spoiler:specifically the section where you can remap your controls - references a "d-pad," but the assigned inputs don't seem to do anything in game.]] This is your first clue to the true nature of [[spoiler:The Holy Cross, which ''is'' the d-pad.]]

* RedHerring: Since so much of the game's text is encrypted, one may run into situations where what the English text ''implies'' isn't even close to what the full text means. One of the bigger examples is the nature of the Holy Cross: the Librarian's page in the manual suggests, if you go by just the plaintext words, that it can be found in The Cathedral. [[spoiler:In fact, the decrypted passage says ''exactly the opposite -'' the Librarian ''believes'' that the Holy Cross can be found in the Cathedral, when, in reality, it's not even a physical object within the setting.]]

* SealedGoodInACan: Early on, the player encounters another fox, sealed inside a magic cage in another world. While the game is [[StoryBreadcrumbs sparing on story details,]] it more or less focuses on rescuing her with a set of magic keys. Plus, visiting her in-between shows her surrounded by the offerings you've made. [[spoiler:And then [[SubvertedTrope subverted HARD.]] As soon as she's freed she murders the protagonist, and later instruction manual lore hints that [[GreaterScopeVillain she was actually responsible]] for much of TheCorruption that plagued the land in the past, [[SealedEvilInACan necessitating her sealing.]]]]

* ShmuckBait: Every now and then the game will leave a treasure chest out in the open, spawning in enemies when you try to nab your prize.

* AllThereInTheManual: Everything you need to know about the game - mechanics, dungeon maps, enemy information, secret treasures, etc. - can be found in the game's manual. Played with, in that said manual's pages are scattered throughout the game itself, and it's up to the player to find them. Have fun!

** In Ending A ([[spoiler:Take Your Rightful Place]]), [[spoiler:the Ruin Seeker successfully strikes down the Heir. That means ''they're'' the next Heir, and they're unceremoniously imprisoned just like their predecessor. GAME OVER.]]

** In Ending B ([[spoiler:Share Your Wisdom]]), [[spoiler:the Ruin Seeker shows the completed manual to The Heir. Shocked by what they see within, The Heir lays down their sword and regains their mortal form; the two leave the Far Shore together as friends. THE END.]]

** In Ending A, [[spoiler:the protagonist successfully strikes down The Heir. That means ''they're'' the next Heir, and they're unceremoniously imprisoned just like their predecessor. GAME OVER.]]
** In Ending B, [[spoiler:the protagonist shows the completed manual to The Heir. Shocked by what they see within, The Heir lays down their sword and regains their mortal form; the two leave the Far Shore together as friends. THE END.]]

** [[WarmUpBoss Garden Knight]]: A Sleeping Guardian, One of Many

** Much like ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' the player's first task is to ring two bells.

* SequenceBreaking: The manual encourages a certain order, but every PlotCoupon needed to [[spoiler:fight The Heir]] is technically reachable once [[spoiler:the Magic Orb]] is acquired. And ''that'' is available the moment you start the game.

* FeaturelessProtagonist: One of the Frequently Asked Questions listed for the game on Finji's official Discord responds to a question asking what the fox's name/gender is supposed to be by stating that they are meant to be [[AudienceSurrogate a conduit for the player to project themselves onto]] or build a new character from, and as such, they aren't given a name and their gender is [[AmbiguousGender intentionally left ambiguous]]. [[spoiler:The "conduit for the player" part is supported by the fact that there is a hidden room in the Overworld that allows the player to customize the fox's colors.]]

* ShoutOut: In a nod to ''VideoGame/StarTropics'', one of the steps necessary to solving one treasure's puzzle is [[spoiler:to dip one of the (in-game) manual's pages in water]].