This game makes me feel lonely

[Kintoki]

I really really like this game. from its release its always one of the first games i download on a fresh system, especiallly a handheld. but ive never finished it. infact i dont think ive ever made it very far. the biggest reason is because every time i pick it up and decide to play i start feeling sad after a while. i get this deep sense of loneliness the further i progress to the point i stop playing it. does anyone else get this feeling? do u like this feeling? am i the weird one?

i wouldn't normally ask its just its been something i been wondering for years now. i know some ppl like the negative emotions a game can give them and i know im not usually one of those ppl. best example is my friend describes his love of souls borne games as this butt clenching uneasiness. that same feeling is the exact reason i dont like those games lol. but in the case of tunic its not uneasiness. i cant think of any better way to describe then loneliness. do others feel this and that makes them like the game more, or do most not feel this at all when playing it?

[Sapphiet シャイ]

Allow me to preface this by saying that, a game's atmosphere and source of vibes is nearly always dependent on subjective opinion of the one experiencing it: therefore, I would like to allay your feelings and promise that you're not 'wrong' for feeling this way, or 'incorrect' in any way. If you feel lonely playing TUNIC, that's okay, and perhaps you're closer to the spirit of the game than most players.

The setting of TUNIC is placed smack-dab in the middle of a world that is struggling to breathe the very last gasp of a dying dream that slowly begins to fade as time goes on; you take the role of a lone fox who is haphazardly placed into the world, but you also take the role as a player, as YOU; in the canon lore of TUNIC, there have been players before you, some who have 'beaten' TUNIC and others who have 'failed' or even 'given up' in the narrative; whatever choice you make in TUNIC, it is 'lore-friendly'. It is written into the game, though I won't tell you why, just in case you haven't made it that far.

If I may offer a heart-to-heart here-- from one stranger to another-- if you feel incredibly lonely while playing TUNIC, please don't force yourself to. The last thing that Andrew Shouldice (the developer of TUNIC) and anyone else who has worked on, or played TUNIC, would want you to feel, is loneliness and sadness. I personally understand this feeling; I grew up playing games in my youth for many, many hours, just trying to figure out what to do next to increase the replay-ability of the game, and I discovered that sometimes you have to make your own fun to keep things fresh; I only realized how shallow this view was (for me, personally) once I had made actual friends and had begun to play games less persistently.

My advice to you would be to, perhaps, stream TUNIC for friends to watch as you play: give them a quick rundown on the way the game works, and tell them what you've learned so far, and help keep an eye out for things you might run into. Introduce TUNIC to more people you know; connect with other users who love TUNIC from the bottom of their hearts; discuss it, think about it, and by all means, feel free to obsess over it; this world is chock-full of amazing secrets, amazing lore, amazing storytelling, in places where you may never notice it. You're also more than free to participate in more simple passtimes related to TUNIC: perhaps you just REALLY love foxes (I certainly do!) and you enjoy the concept of playing as one in TUNIC. Feel free to even roleplay as the character as you play-- imagine what they might be thinking of, or feeling out. Remember: your fox has no memories! It doesn't remember good, or bad things, and it doesn't understand anything in the world, only with your help, can it possibly know. :)

Another piece of advice I'd like to offer is:

When the sun has decided it's time to set and when the moon is politely asked to cast its' haunting glow over the world, you might find that not everything has been quite as lonely as you were led to believe.

If you feel lonely, it means you're feeling something,
and if you feel something, it means you're alive.

----

I hope my little passages have helped you a little bit. I've experienced loneliness in games a lot of the time-- and it's really hard to handle sometimes. If you're really having trouble with loneliness in TUNIC, I'd recommend you to talk to someone about it, and not to write TUNIC off as a loss. Consider it a challenge: listen to the world, listen to the music, listen to your heart and allow yourself to feel the good things-- as well as the bad things-- and I hope you have the best time in the world doing it.

We're all rooting for you. Every player who has come before you, and every player who will come after.

You're never truly alone in this world.

[Toxi]

I definitely felt that.. but it's more to do with the game's world that's meant to be like that. Honestly for me, that was kind of a turn off for the game too, I felt like this game really didn't need that, but that's just me..

it's still a very interesting game if you look at it from a puzzle exploration game and take those moments in for what they are, but if those lonely feelings get bad, I think that's a good time to take a good break from it. While the game taps in those feelings of isolation, it doesn't turn them around to contrast them at any point, what it does is just contextualizing them.

[Nyu]

nah the game is colourfull and happy.
even shining radiation is in the game.

[Black Captain]

Definitely lonely vibes. It’s like a Metroidvania in that regard.

[Nomadski]

Originally posted by Sapphiet シャイ:

Allow me to preface this by saying that, a game's atmosphere and source of vibes is nearly always dependent on subjective opinion of the one experiencing it: therefore, I would like to allay your feelings and promise that you're not 'wrong' for feeling this way, or 'incorrect' in any way. If you feel lonely playing TUNIC, that's okay, and perhaps you're closer to the spirit of the game than most players.

The setting of TUNIC is placed smack-dab in the middle of a world that is struggling to breathe the very last gasp of a dying dream that slowly begins to fade as time goes on; you take the role of a lone fox who is haphazardly placed into the world, but you also take the role as a player, as YOU; in the canon lore of TUNIC, there have been players before you, some who have 'beaten' TUNIC and others who have 'failed' or even 'given up' in the narrative; whatever choice you make in TUNIC, it is 'lore-friendly'. It is written into the game, though I won't tell you why, just in case you haven't made it that far.

If I may offer a heart-to-heart here-- from one stranger to another-- if you feel incredibly lonely while playing TUNIC, please don't force yourself to. The last thing that Andrew Shouldice (the developer of TUNIC) and anyone else who has worked on, or played TUNIC, would want you to feel, is loneliness and sadness. I personally understand this feeling; I grew up playing games in my youth for many, many hours, just trying to figure out what to do next to increase the replay-ability of the game, and I discovered that sometimes you have to make your own fun to keep things fresh; I only realized how shallow this view was (for me, personally) once I had made actual friends and had begun to play games less persistently.

My advice to you would be to, perhaps, stream TUNIC for friends to watch as you play: give them a quick rundown on the way the game works, and tell them what you've learned so far, and help keep an eye out for things you might run into. Introduce TUNIC to more people you know; connect with other users who love TUNIC from the bottom of their hearts; discuss it, think about it, and by all means, feel free to obsess over it; this world is chock-full of amazing secrets, amazing lore, amazing storytelling, in places where you may never notice it. You're also more than free to participate in more simple passtimes related to TUNIC: perhaps you just REALLY love foxes (I certainly do!) and you enjoy the concept of playing as one in TUNIC. Feel free to even roleplay as the character as you play-- imagine what they might be thinking of, or feeling out. Remember: your fox has no memories! It doesn't remember good, or bad things, and it doesn't understand anything in the world, only with your help, can it possibly know. :)

Another piece of advice I'd like to offer is:

When the sun has decided it's time to set and when the moon is politely asked to cast its' haunting glow over the world, you might find that not everything has been quite as lonely as you were led to believe.

If you feel lonely, it means you're feeling something,
and if you feel something, it means you're alive.

----

I hope my little passages have helped you a little bit. I've experienced loneliness in games a lot of the time-- and it's really hard to handle sometimes. If you're really having trouble with loneliness in TUNIC, I'd recommend you to talk to someone about it, and not to write TUNIC off as a loss. Consider it a challenge: listen to the world, listen to the music, listen to your heart and allow yourself to feel the good things-- as well as the bad things-- and I hope you have the best time in the world doing it.

We're all rooting for you. Every player who has come before you, and every player who will come after.

You're never truly alone in this world. :tunicghost:

Beautifully written post.