Tunche is a charming, excellently designed rogue-like brawler. The Peruvian LEAP Game Studios, created a beautiful hand-drawn art style, with satisfying beat`em up combat wrapped in a procedurally generated run-based game. Yes, this is a run-based rogue loop, but it is a loop that respects the player’s efforts and time. With five different characters, all with unique stories, Tunche encourages the player to come back again and again to the world LEAP Game Studios created.
Developer: LEAP Game Studios
Publisher: HypeTrain Digital
Release Date: November 2, 2021
Plot
Tunche wears its’ Peruvian heritage proudly. The story centers around Tunche, a mythical creature from Peruvian legend. Consequently, monsters are appearing in the rainforest and there is a connection to Tunche. In addition to the Tunche myth, the boss battles center around other myths and legends of Peru and the Amazon Rainforest. Grounding the story around a culture rarely explored in video games creates an immediate hook for players. Occasionally during gameplay, a storybook will be one of the portal choices for the next round. These provide comic panels and text dialog with the story. Furthermore, each of the five playable characters has a unique backstory and rationale. Even A Hat in Time’s main character, Hat Kid, has a story that fits into the themes of the other characters.
Gameplay
While Tunche‘s setting and characters are engaging, the real draw is the tight, combo-driven combat. Any run-based rogue game needs a satisfying gameplay loop. And Tunche delivers. Each section is a self-contained 2.5D space that plays out like other side-scrolling brawlers. Players move into the foreground or background of the screen similar to Castle Crashers of arcade belt scrollers. Up to four players can participate in a run. A combo score is present and some skill buffs are dependent on reaching higher grades. The combat becomes hectic as more enemy types fill the screen. Fortunately, enemies telegraph attacks which allow the player to dodge and counter appropriately. Consequently, Tunche maintains a rewarding sense of flow to the combat. Once a screen is cleared portals open to the next area.
Like other rogue-like games, each portal suggests it’s reward. Orbs provide passive and active abilities. XP allows for new skills on each players’ skill tree. Coins purchase health and orbs. The magic currency levels up the orbs. At first, this can feel like a lot of systems, but they are gradually introduced making it manageable. While the orbs only stay with a character during the individual run, the coins and magic currency remain after a run and allow the player to level up the orbs on a permanent basis. This permanence greatly adds to the value of each unsuccessful run. Even a failed run results in additional currency for upgrades.
Graphics & sound
The hand-drawn 2D cartoony graphics provide a sense of charm and characterization. Each of the four Peru characters has their own sense of style and attacks. The strong heavy character plays his guitar for a ranged attack. The quick bird boy slashes with his wings. Each character’s animations are spot on with their backstory. The enemy variety varies from level to level and connects with the location. Peruvian instruments make up the folklore-inspired background music.
Concerns
I’ll be honest and admit that I struggle with rogue-lite games. The run-based nature often results in the sense of wasted time. Fortunately, that is not the case in Tunche. The persistent leveling of orbs and unlocking of skill tree abilities created motivation to dive in time and again. The loop-based nature did result in hearing the limits of the looping soundtrack, but that is a minor concern.
The only significant concern is inherent in the genre. The 2.5D plane makes lining up attacks challenging at times. Consequently, missing a melee or ranged attack due to character alignment can feel cheap during hectic battles when an enemy attack takes out chunks of health. More often than not, the hit detection is forgiving. But during a long, time-consuming run through multiple stages, any missed attack makes a difference.
Tunche
Tunche motivated me to come back run after run. LEAP Game Studios constructed a deep rogue-like that plays out as a modernization of classic arcade brawlers. Tunche successfully combines genres to create a charming and challenging game that rewards a player’s skill and time.