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It's been a long wait since Tunic's initial reveal at E3 2018. It's not surprising it took this long to make: While the game had the support of Microsoft and the indie publisher Finji, the game was still primarily designed by a single developer: Andrew Shouldice.
Now that Tunic has been released, it seems that those years of work paid off. The game is being praised for its expansive world, endearing art style, and sense of mystery and discovery.
Still, Tunic is not the only indie Zelda-like on the market. While game length is far from the only indicator of quality, players might want to know how much the game has in store for them ahead of time.
How Long to Beat Tunic
Even when trying to rush through the game, not worrying about completion and making a bee-line toward the ending, Tunic's completion time will still vary from player to player. In this case, the biggest variable would be difficulty.
Tunic is a difficult game. Not only can its combat be punishing, but its player signposting and guidance are deliberately hindered, with most of the text being in an untranslated fictional language, which can make puzzles and exploration potentially frustrating.
The former can be somewhat addressed by using Tunic's stat upgrade system, or by using Tunic's assist modes to make combat easier. The latter, however, relies solely on the player's internal patience and ingenuity. Overall, a non-completionist run of Tunic can last anywhere from 10 to 15 hours.
Tunic's Maximum Length
Like any good Zelda-like, Tunic encourages players to go off of the beaten path. Not only can players find upgrades for their health, stamina, and stats, but they'll also find new items and collectibles like the scattered page's of the game's manual, written in its unique script.
Aside from the previously mentioned difficulty, a big variable in completionist runs is that it's uncertain how much is hidden. Shouldice has mentioned his interest in community puzzle-solving and social discovery while developing Tunic, so there might be aspects to the game that are only discovered well after release.
From what's currently known, a complete run of Tunic will probably take players anywhere from 18 to 20 hours. While the game's current $29.99 USD price might seem steep for an indie game, there seems to be enough content to justify the cost. And that's not even counting the game's current inclusion in Xbox Game Pass.
Tunic is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.