Three years after it was first revealed, the developer behind the The Legend of Zelda-inspired Tunic has finally offered a promising update on the game’s progress. The adorable-but-tough indie was announced all the way back at E3 2017 and looked to be one of the most inspired takes on classic Legend of Zelda seen yet. Upon its reveal, many were quick to fall in love with its character designs and vibrant art style.
Originally named Secret Legend, Tunic is an action-adventure game where players take up the role of a tiny fox in large, colorful, and dangerous world. The gameplay sees players exploring the wilderness, uncovering old ruins, and defeating all sorts of creatures along the way. Taking after The Legend of Zelda, the game world is divided up into areas that cannot be accessed until the proper item or ability is unlocked. Despite the Zelda influence though, the game is played using an isometric view (similar to the recently released Hades). Tunic was originally planned for launch in 2019 on PC, Mac, and Xbox One, but then was pushed back to July 1, 2020.
Speaking with IGN, lead developer Andrew Shouldice offered an update on how the game is going and when it is expected to release. Asked how the project's development was coming along, Shouldice noted that ”things have really hit their stride” and that the game now “knows what it is.” Having completed the full conceptual backbone of the game beyond the starting areas shown off in demos so far, he mentioned that it was now easy to add new content and polish. Additionally, more people have been brought onto the team, including Eric Billingsley, lead programmer behind Cuphead (which saw a surprise release on PS4 earlier this year). Asked if the game was going to launch in 2021, Shouldice did not offer a specific yes or no, but he did mention that “more work has been done on this game in the past year than any year before."
As for whether or not COVID-19 had an effect on development, Shouldice was quick to note that, while it did slow progress in a way, the team behind the game was “already-distributed”. However, as with Nintendo earlier this year, the pandemic has had some unexpected effects on game development cycles even amongst those that were previously confident in their release dates. With luck, Tunic's small, mostly remote team hasn't been hit too hard by the pandemic's way of greatly complicating production.
Although the interview concluded without a solid release date, it is nice to know that Tunic is still coming along and not stuck in some sort of development hell. Players have already seen the effects of trying to rush out a new game too quickly firsthand (the recently released Cyberpunk 2077 is a prime example), so a developer taking all the time they need to deliver a bug-free product is definitely something more people should support. Whatever the case, Tunic is looking to be a solid title in whatever year it may release, be that 2021 or later.
Source: IGN