Tunche Critic Reviews

There is no denying that Tunche is one of the best Indie titles to be released this year. With a gorgeous art style, great character designs, a rock solid gameplay loop and some sweet action it is a joy to play and easy to learn. However it might prove a little too repetitive for some.

Tunche has some performance issues, but it more than makes up for it with its presentation. The combat is thoroughly enjoyable and complex. The visual style and animations are a complete joy, and the rogue-lite elements are incredibly generous and motivating for players to continue run after run. Tunche provides an entraining and, at times, addicting beat ’em up experience, and that’s all I could have asked for.

Tunche is a spirited jungle jaunt. A charming action-adventure that wears its Peruvian heritage with the utmost pride. While the marriage of roguelite to brawler is definitely a solid fit — particularly in multiplayer — it cannot be denied that the repetitious trappings of both genres are readily apparent, which will be enough to turn off some players. Those well-versed in the grind and willing to put in the effort, however, will be rewarded with a very agreeable bout of forest fisticuffs. Now, about that animated series...

Tunche isn't for everyone. Traditional beat-'em-up fans will like the frantic action of the combo system, even if it takes a few runs to get going, but they'll hate the lack of forward progression. Roguelike fans will enjoy the gradual character empowerment but hate the lack of randomization of bosses and enemies. It falls into a specific niche that appeases people who enjoy the minimal mixing of both, and in that respect, Tunche delivers an experience that can be enjoyable if you know what you're getting into.

With a terrific hand-drawn style, an intriguing premise (inspired by a rich vein of criminally under-represented folklore), and solid controls, Tunche does a lot right, but it’s also a game that saves too much of its good stuff for the later stages, which is likely to drive away many looking for more instant gratification. With a more gentle introductory curve in the early stages and more rewarding incentives for progress, Tunche could be the next Castle Crashers, especially if you can rope some mates in. As it stands, it might be too much of a slog at the start to stick with, in order to see the good stuff further in.

Tunche best serves fans and friends of dishing knuckle sandwiches together, but doesn’t synchronise its genre mashups in a way that elevates it above the many RPG-tinted beat ‘em ups stomping around out there.

Tunche combines familiar mechanics with a setting that is rarely represented in video games. This keeps the game’s visual design fresh, but the combat is more than familiar and not up to the standard set by other games in these genres. Tunche can’t scratch the side-scrolling beat-em-up action of River City Girls or the honed roguelike structure of Hades. Unfortunately, this means the game’s charming art and characters are at battle with lackluster gameplay.