Tunic’s Golden Path is one of the best video game puzzles ever

TunicAfter almost eight years of development, the game was launched in October. The game’s cute, action-adventure look is reminiscent of Dark Souls and The Legend of Zelda. However it quickly became apparent that these influences were only the top layer of an extremely deep game. It’s the world of TunicIt is a mystery-filled place, so your brave little Fox will have to work out a series of puzzles in order to unravel its mysteries.

[Editor’s note: Spoilers follow for Tunic]

One of the game’s biggest mysteries is the Golden Path. The game’s most complex puzzle, the Golden Path, is often mentioned in the in-game manual. However its purpose seems elusive. This puzzle is one of most rewarding and creative in gaming history, as it gradually becomes more clear.

The route to understanding the Golden Path is not an easy one, but the seeds are laid early on, whether it’s by discovering the enormous stone door at the top of the Overworld’s mountain or by picking up some intriguing manual pages in the Library. Collection of page 49 is the key to unlocking the Golden Path. It contains a 25-number grid and provides the real breakthrough. With a little savvy, it’s possible to connect the dots on previous pages (especially the hints on pages 21 and 22), noting a few golden-colored clues (even if you can’t decipher the language).

Every square refers to a particular manual page. If you look closely, each square can be identified by a hidden pattern of golden lines. These line patterns eventually fit together and form a complex and grand route that crosses the whole grid, before reaching the center. It’s time to hunt.

Picture by Andrew Shouldice via Polygon

By tracing said line, you’ll eventually have the code to unlock Tunic’s mountain door. There’s a pleasing physicality to piecing together the Golden Path this way. Others in the reviewed group were also present during the review. Tunic press Discord server went so far as to print the manual’s template, or recreate it in their own journals. The manual is reminiscent of a time before walkthroughs were available and videogame secrets became commonplace. In that era, gamers would exchange theories and create dungeon maps.

This is the way Tunic’s patterns are hidden is itself a stroke of genius, as well. It could be a hassle to look through virtual pages for gold lines. But each part of the path is kept in a different way. An example of a hint is a coffee stain, while a print error can be a sign. This encourages players to look at things from a different perspective and to reconsider what they may have overlooked or skipped over.

My favorite instance lies on page 9, which deals with the game’s data management screen. There’s nothing on the page itself that seems to correspond to the Golden Path correctly, and it might feel like hitting a wall. But should you decide to check out the Load Game screen itself, you’ll discover a curious new game file that wasn’t there before you picked up the requisite manual page. Load in, and you’re in an endlessly-repeating top-down dungeon, following — what else? — a golden line along the floor.

Picture by Andrew Shouldice via Polygon

This constant recontextualization of parts of the game’s language is fascinating, and begets a euphoric high when you figure out the connections. It’s possible to discover the secret game file before you even know anything about the Golden Path, but if you don’t yet understand its importance, it’s an enticing but impenetrable mystery. Similar to so much in TunicYou feel like you are being trusted by the game to find the right path. When you do that, you will experience an intoxicating feeling.

But the Golden Path puzzle goes beyond its components. Although each stage of this great mystery solver is rewarding and worthwhile, it works together with the overall intrigue throughout the game. It’s impossible to play through Tunic without getting a sense of its hidden depths, from the manual’s runic language, to the rocky remains of powerful golems that pepper the landscape, to the old CRT display that can be briefly seen when you access the manual. As such, a grand overarching puzzle (which also proves integral in unlocking the “true” ending) is a perfect thematic fit. The Golden Path puzzle embraces Tunic’s unflinchingly meta nature and as a result, no matter how bizarre the hoops you need to jump through, it all makes a strange kind of sense.

Picture by Andrew Shouldice via Polygon

Good puzzle design like Tunic’s is key to fostering a sense of buy-in from players, a feeling that they’re unlocking an island’s mysteries rather than solving a game developer’s puzzle. It’s the polar opposite of, say, Resident Evil’s byzantine locked-door-and key puzzles, which, in retrospect, feel ancillary to the overall experience, arbitrary obstacles to be overcome and forget. It’s something similar to The Return of the Obra DINNA game called. This is one-dimensional puzzle that rewards players for completing the required amount of investigation.

TunicThe Golden Path is a great choice. The Golden Path feeds into the mystery that hovers over the island. It hides behind closed doors and creates intriguing patterns. Each successful step feels earned, whether it’s discovering the connection to the mountain door, finding a specific piece of the path, or tapping out the final pattern and claiming your reward. The fact that said reward — the elusive page 1 of the manual — is key to finding the game’s true ending is just the icing on the cake. In many ways, this puzzle isn’t so much about the destination, but the journey there.