TUNIC - #5 - The Garden Knight

Our first boss!
Support us on Patreon! ► / playframe
______▼ PLAYLIST ▼______
Watch the full playthrough! ► • TUNIC
_______▼ TWITCH ▼________
We're also streaming on Twitch! ► / playframeplus
_______▼ LINKS ▼________
Check out the PlayFrame Store! ► store.dftba.co...
Dan's Twitter (@DanFloydPlus) ► / danfloydplus
Carrie's Twitter (@CarrieFloyd) ► / carriefloyd
PlayFrame Twitter (@PlayFramePlus) ► / playframeplus
To hear Dan talk MUCH more about game animation, check out New Frame Plus! ► / newframeplus
______▼ CREDITS ▼_______
Edited by Carrie Floyd
Thumbnail art by Dan Jones
_______▼ MUSIC ▼________
♫ “Gone Shoppin'” by Dj CUTMAN
• LoFi Hip Hop ~ Dj CUTM...
#PlayFrame #Tunic

[@veryoldpotato]

I love the feeling of "Could I do that the whole time!?" that this game gives.

[@gigabyte2248]

It basically never stops! I'm almost at the end and only just now learning how to press buttons

[@GreyGanado]

As someone who has almost 100% this game, seeing someone play this for the first time is kinda weird, exciting and terrifying.

[@Fyrefrye]

This is the 6th or 7th let's play I have watched of Tunic. I cannot get enough. It's up there with Outer Wilds in terms of re-watchability

[@Imperial_Squid]

@@Fyrefrye any others you'd particularly recommend? Anyone who has really good insights or took a unique path through?

[@Fyrefrye]

@@Imperial_Squid I can't recall every one I've seen, but these are the 3 main ones from my subs (in the order I watched them) Keith Ballard - he sequence broke a certain mechanic pretty substantially due to his experience in other puzzle games. He also tried his had at translation, but gave up in the end (it's not a simple cipher). Materwelonz - Very thorough. Full 100%. Does a reading of the translated manual at the end of the series TitaniumLegman - Nothing super specific here, just a good player having fun in a game that messes with his head a lot.

[@Imperial_Squid]

@@Fyrefrye nice! I've seen 1 and 3, I actually really enjoy Keith! Not a huge fan of titanium dude since he banned me for a TINY spoiler that was buried in a comment thread on an old video... I'll check out 2 though!

[@Kram1032]

@@Fyrefrye Loved Welonz' run of this. Was a lot of fun. And I love just how different her experiences are from Dan's here. - They both do a great job of gradually unlocking this game's secrets, but it's very very obvious that their ways of thinking are quite different, leading to different discoveries made at different times etc.

[@Imperial_Squid]

Dan calling this game one of his favourites of the year, buddy we haven't even scratched the surface of this game! You've got at least like 7 more layers of secrets to uncover before you become truly wise to the world of Tunic, it's a wild ride and I can't wait!

[@aimelle3]

You can almost tell how far someone got into this game based on what they compare it to. (potential spoilers) "It's a Zelda clone!" played like 5-10 hours "It's a soulslike!" - defeated the final boss "It reminds me of The Witness!" - obtained the Holy Cross "It feels like Outer Wilds." - shared their wisdom

[@Imperial_Squid]

@@aimelle3 spoilers PERFECT description and I very much agree with the last one listed, I've been hesitant to even make the comparison since mentioning the similarity alone feels like a spoiler somehow, but yeah fully fully agree!

[@Riyshn]

It is absolutely my GOTY, no question. Honestly, it's almost enough for me to say I'll buy whatever the dev puts out next with no other info than "he made it".

[@brockmckelvey7327]

37:08 RIP Dan, he scrolled too fast and didn't look at the miniature map in the upper right

[@Silas_MN]

managed it pretty well nonetheless

[@generrosity]

There is intentionally too many things for anyone to get at once - just enjoy the differences in his playthrough (and remember KZbinr blindness' 😆)

[@McBehrer]

Did he ever even get the West Garden map? Or did he do the entire area blind?

[@Hollowboi_2003]

​@@McBehrerHe did the entire area blind, only caught a glimpse of the page in the corner of the screen

[@rukh03]

Wow! You really made it all the way to the Garden Knight before your first death! I'm impressed.

[@brandonporter8509]

I can’t believe he only was killed by garden knight 2-3 times it took me hours. And yes I was tempted to just turn on the invulnerability or infinite stamina but. I honestly think the fact that I had the option to just make it easy and turn on the god mode cheat is why I didn’t get frustrated and just learned to get good. The option to make it easy is honestly what made me feel Like I wasn’t stuck just dealing with a difficulty spike.

[@Estar686]

I bought this game halfway through part 3 of your playthrough and have been LOVING it so far! Also, nothing like playing a game and dying a bunch of times to remember that Dan is quite good at videogames.

[@Imperial_Squid]

I've never wished death on someone harder than I have on Dan in those first episodes, he kept coming so close to seeing that revival cutscene but the guy is just too good at video games 😭😂😂

[@Estar686]

@@Imperial_Squid I suppose playing this immediately after 100+ hours of Elden Ring will do that for ya lol

[@7Seraphem7]

On the plus side, holding off that long does show that all the offerings you used to level up got sent their.

[@Nubivagance0314]

"Could I do that the whole time?" Yes. This game is built on letting you do everything from second one of the game but just not telling you how until you've progressed.

[@Stratelier]

Yeah, there are surprisingly few things actually gated off by some kind of intended progression path. The shield, for example, sure you can discover the backdoor to it but it's on the wrong side of a closed gate so you need to acquire the key to the house to get it.

[@Megaboss_Bor]

It might be a difference in age/language thing, but this game fully captured the sensation of being a kid not knowing the English language, in a time where reading the manual that belonged to a game was a huge benefit. Discovering pages of knowledge about everything you could always do is exactly the sensation I love. Dan showing less glee and sense of being mesmerized maybe makes me realize that the Miyazaki "this is awesome but I barely understand the language" is a bilingual nostalgia perk that is somehow very common but exclusive to anglo countries. That being said, I enjoy your approach Dan.

[@hermes2002000]

Actually, that is exactly the feeling the developers of the game tried to emulate, but them being anglo speakers trying to understand a game in Japanese as kids.

[@setsuretsu]

Wholeheartedly agree. As a non-native speaker, it reminded me of playing english ROMs of old SNES, GBA or DS games, back when I could barely understand or speak english - so much had to be figured out on the spot or based on context clues. That a game could evoke the same feeling for native english speaker is truly unique.

[@finngswan3732]

As a native English speaker, I couldn't read much as a kid thanks to my poor eyesight. I had bad attention span as well, but I remember not bothering to read no matter how hyperfocused I was. This really takes me back to those days of filling in blanks and not knowing all the controls.

[@LepidoliteMica]

Figuring out how to (almost) naturally read the language has given me a deeper appreciation for this game. I've come to a groundbreaking revelation about the time loop core to it and the true extents thereof, and at the same time realizing that the macguffins are quite literally called "Questagons" and that isn't just a fan nickname for them just tickles me.

[@jamesclarkson156]

Just a note Dan, you can block some boss attacks. It takes less stamina than you think. But grats for beating the Graden Knight so quick. They only get tougher.

[@Tks525]

Have to say that the way this game naturally lets you discover juuuust the right thing you need and gently nudges you in the "correct" direction for a first playthrough without holding your hand is amazing game design. (And in case anyone is wondering: you can "sequence break" the heck out of this game)

[@Kram1032]

This is so fun to watch from a perspective from somebody who already knows all the secrets. (Yes you were able to do that this entire time)

[@generrosity]

That "( )" phrase is really the tagline of the whole game eh

[@Landis963]

I was giggling madly when he talked about unlocking the platforms...

[@Kram1032]

@@generrosity truly!

[@Kram1032]

@@Landis963 same!

[@Landis963]

Notable translations go here! (Also, if anyone wants me to go back and translate things that have shown up in previous episodes, let me know and I'll add those back!) 6:48 "[Garden Knight] A sleeping guardian, one of many." 19:45 "With [3] keys we sealed the Heir. A key is no mere toy. Seekers of Ruin, leave here." 20:12 "Questagon [Red] goes here." Blue and Green are identical. 24:54 "[CYAN PERIL RING] Raises [DEF] when you are in [PERIL]. [INVERTED ASH] Quaffed potions restore [MP] instead of [HP]. [LUCKY CUP] Foes leave hearts to heal you a bit. Rare. [(15%)] [MUFFLING BELL] Sneak sneak sneak... Foes notice you less. There are many more cards! What do they all do? It's a secret! (see p. 51)" 25:52 "I'm Stuck!" (The scribbles below are the first hints at deciphering the language) 35:47 "And so, the cycle continues. Ruin Seekers, drawn to the beacon, are tested. Those who abandon their quest are forgiven, and simply disappear. Those who are strong enough to remember their true hero selves will, through violence, begin the cycle anew. Will you be the [Heir-to-the-Heir], and wait within the shadow oubliette? Before long a ruin seeker will be drawn to you. Their gifts will recall your past life, and you will grant them the same false hope you were given. To break the curse, a ruin seeker must by some miracle invoke a relic from beyond this plane..." 39:15 "How do I get to [THE RUINED ATOLL?] Traverse the far shore with [platform] and with prayer." 49:38 "Many have sought the secrets of this world, drawn by the _great power_ and other secret legends. [The Librarian] has learned much, including powerful sorceries. He makes his home high above the clouds, waiting for foolish ruin seekers to bring him more pages. Although powerful, his tragedy is his belief that the [Holy Cross] resides in the [Cathedral]. He will never visit _the far shore."_

[@elenafriese891]

Wait, how do we know how to translate this stuff?

[@Riyshn]

@@elenafriese891 Obsessively comparing everywhere it appears in-game to find patterns, as a starting point. Also a few pages of the manual that give insight into how the script itself works.

[@elenafriese891]

@@Riyshn oh, wow. How complex a conlang are we dealing with here?

[@Riyshn]

@@elenafriese891 Not too bad, honestly. The worst part is working out exactly what the rules are for how the glyphs work and what they represent. Well, that, and it not being a standard writing system at all means you either have to translate by hand on pen and paper, or do what my BF did for us and write a whole app to handle the unique characters to let us transcribe.

[@elenafriese891]

@@Riyshn oh, wow. That *is* impressive But question: what writing tool handles this system best? Like, it looks like it's built to be etched into things, but I have a feeling someone who went to the trouble of translating it might have a better idea

[@benjaminfriedman8053]

I don't know why watching someone play this game that I've 100% is so satisfying. I think it's because it's specifically tunic, and I get to relive the exploration through Dan. That said, it's so frustrating to see that he's parried some of the ranged attacks on accident and never seemed to figure it out! He's so close!

[@zutaca2825]

You should put a spoiler warning on that last bit

[@thmsbarber]

regarding the "I wonder if I've been able to do this from the start?" the answer is almost always yes

[@Stratelier]

I like the extended moment that happens on your first death, where you have to visit the other fox to get revived.

[@tzisorey]

For all the Zelda-ness of the game, at least it doesn't have the audio alert for when you're on half-a-heart. Especially given how Dark-Souls-y it is.

[@GKLechuguilla]

It's funny see Dan do the Guardian Knight fight in less than 5 attempts, when I tried way many more times

[@Imperial_Squid]

Spoilers below I'm really looking forward to seeing Dan do the Scavenger Boss boss fight, that fight legit took a day of playing for me 😅

[@zutaca2825]

@@Imperial_Squid mechanical spoilers: That was the fight that made me learn how to parry

[@Imperial_Squid]

@@zutaca2825 also mechanical spoilers Oh cool! I went heavy magic and just ripped into her with the gun and magic echo and inverted ash cards, the parry timing is just way too finicky for me 😅

[@zutaca2825]

​@@Imperial_Squid even more mechanical spoilers I went for magic too, but using the card that gives you mp when you do a successful parry

[@Imperial_Squid]

@@zutaca2825 spoilers The card that WHAT?! I've played this game like three times and gotten every achievement and only now found out there's a card that GIVES you mana?! This fucking game man I swear...

[@brockmckelvey7327]

Thank you so much for playing this, Dan! Here's hoping we get to see a one-off for NEO The World Ends With You and/or Cris Tales (cause that game is like playing a painting it's so beautiful)

[@Phoeniiix]

some translations, for those curious (some spoilers included): 6:47 - A sleeping guardian, one of many 14:14 - The second bell the hero strike(s?) 15:08 - Hole in time 19:46 - [SPOILERS] With 3 keys we sealed the Heir. A key is no mere toy. Seekers of Ruin [this is what the character is referred to as], leave here. 33:29 - just a well? 36:21- A secret cave they have forgotten In related news ive been translating so much of this text i dont even need my notes anymore ._.

[@Landis963]

Oh hey, a fellow translator!

[@Megawott104]

Thanks for your work! These bits of info are great!

[@finngswan3732]

Are there instructions for translating?

[@Landis963]

@@finngswan3732 not in-game ones. There's a few points in the manual where the unseen owner of the game has scribbled some notes on cracking the code, but besides that theres a lot of comparative analysis that needs to be done.

[@ICountFrom0]

Once I discovered it's not 1 for 1, but rather phonetic (ish) I realized I wasn't going to be able to solve the translation riddle, and ... well... went and grabbed a published guide.

[@King_Hodop]

You cleared that waayyy faster than I did, and you were more underleveled! Congrats, I applaud your skill. 👏

[@finngswan3732]

For anyone intimidated by the stamina management, you can turn off stamina depletion in the accessibility settings. Edit: Since he activated one: Those Pilllars always sound so ... terrible. Shout out to the sound design in this game.

[@TheIrishAlchemist205]

Spoilers Once I found out why I legitimately felt a little sick to my stomach

[@finngswan3732]

@@TheIrishAlchemist205 I WAS WAITING TO COMMENT THIS WHEN IT COME, BUT YES. SAME.

[@flameleaf10005]

Im really loving that youre playing this game. I first played it about a month ago and loved every part of it. I cant wait for you to get to the end. One tip i would have is that you dont have to be afraid to use bombs in combat, theyre very usefull even against regular enemies and the game does give you a fair amount. 34:53 yes, and i love that they dont tell the player till later

[@justember794]

I like how the spin at the end smoothly transitioned into the endcard.

[@LukeBeeman]

Food $200 Data $150 Rent $800 Candles $3,600 Utility $150 someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my fox cult is dying

[@chameon378]

OH, wait, I know this one from cult of the lamb! So you can render fats into candles to help reduce costs for the candles. Alternatively, induct the landlord to reduce the costs for the rent, hope this helped!

[@rocovailo2862]

Man, it's so great to see Dan play this game finally~ His original video is what clued me into this game and I was instantly hooked. One of the only games I've ever used a physical notebook for and it was super fun~! Hopefully Dan might use one as well and it would be super cool if he incorporated showing us his notes in these videos~! I got so involved in it I would just make doodles on the side as I was solving puzzles. I'd show my own but I wouldn't want to spoil anything haha X3

[@ringlhach]

Manual pages at the start of the episode: 10/11, 12/13, 14/15, 16/17, 18/19, 28/29, 30/31, 32/33, 34/35. Pages found this episode: 20:44 24/25 24:23 20/21 35:10 6/7 49:30 36/37

[@lenabeanzx]

found you through this game, I'm so excited to watch the rest of this playthrough! Your personality is so wholesome! Can't wait to watch your outer wilds playthrough after :)

[@TheIrishAlchemist205]

Loved this ever since your first playthrough ages ago Dan. Everything about this game is top tier for me, even if difficult at some points. I'm so close to finally finishing and I can't wait to see you progress! I think now that I'm this close to a full 100 I'm understanding a lot of the deeper meaning and I don't know that I like it - such a great game.

[@tzisorey]

Upgrades! Upgrades for FoxKnight!!

[@supinearcanum]

1.) Did anyone notice that the Garden Knight has the same eye colors as all of the fox's hp, stamina, and mana bars? 2.) Has anyone deciphered the Tunic language? It feels like the game wants you to so badly, but I haven't seen anyone talking about it or if that becomes part of the game.

[@SnowDemonAkuma]

Yes, people have deciphered the cipher and translated all of the text. It's not required to beat the game but it is required for some of the secrets. The manual does actually give hints on how to translate it, which is nice!

[@preferablygeneric]

1.) The Red/Green/Blue motif is everywhere, its also the colors of the hexagonal keys you need to grab 2.) The text is decipherable! And it's neccesary if you want to solve the super secret bonus puzzles...

[@supinearcanum]

@@SnowDemonAkuma my big question is is the text phonetic or like a syllabary? Cause the font makes me think it's a syllabary rather than a phonetic setup.

[@SnowDemonAkuma]

@@supinearcanum This is definitely a large spoiler so. It's not a cipher for English letters - it's a cipher for English phonemes. There are 26 letters in English, but there's 44 phonemes, so...

[@huttj509]

It has been deciphered. It's not trivial to do, but it's not hopelessly obtuse.

[@zutaca2825]

Major spoilers, something I just now realized is that The sound when you activate a monolith is the sound of the entity trapped inside screaming

[@Imperial_Squid]

HEAVY plot spoilers, don't read unless you know the deep lore... Yep, it's really unnerving looking back now you know the secrets involved isn't it? Especially when you consider that those things are referred to as "fossils of self, annealed visions of the future" in the manual implying a) there's a time loop (hence the battle fought again and again) and b) those things ARE the citizens of the world, the bodies of the ghost foxes you meet at night

[@generrosity]

... I remember seeing one gamer have to put their controller down for a while when they realized what the little blue orbs meant 😭 and then soon after the blatent reveal

[@TheIrishAlchemist205]

@@Imperial_Squid spoilers Something in the manual or something someone says is something like "those that gave their souls." Considering Ruin Seekers (good double entendre) were warned to stay away from the temple; the corrupted ones in the cathedral; and that what-i-thought-was-God was imprisoned, I don't think they gave much willingly.

[@DokuDoki]

Throwing down a comment for the sweet algorithm, but I will watch this fill series later as I'm currently also playing through Tunic 👀

[@MrDrakeSirlit]

I found the praying mechanic what feels like much later than Dan did.

[@generrosity]

Your intuition about seeing the things you upgraded with is top tier 💚👌 and I'm loving the Soulsian playthrough 😆

[@Fyrefrye]

I left a slightly different version of this comment on the first video in the series when I found it a day or so ago, but I didn't realize how far apart the 1st and 2nd videos were. In case you missed it: It's not much of a spoiler to say you COULD translate the language, but a full translation is not for the faint of heart. I'd only suggest it for someone who personally loves cryptography and linguistics. If you do decide to give it a go later, I know I'd personally love to see a long-form video on your attempt. Maybe put it as an unlisted video in the playlist? Your second guess is far more appropriate to the game itself. As you play you can/will/should be able to do at least some interpretation of either the symbols, the images in the manual, and maybe a few bits and pieces of the language if you try. If you get to the end of the game (or very close to 100%), you might find it interesting to look up a translation of the manual. There is only one (optional) thing that "requires" a full translation to find/solve in game. Everything else can be solved via context clues and partial symbol recognition. I've tried to be as vague as possible here so I'm sorry if this was hard to follow. TLDR: It is a language. Translation is optional, VERY challenging, and includes major spoilers if you look it up too early.

[@Xytall]

I love how Dan unlocks page 20 finally but doesn’t seem to react about finally getting it. 😂

[@mrthefreemanmd]

you kited them to the hot gates, classic strategy.

[@rawvegankid]

I was definitely rooting for the Garden Knight in that first fight. You were so close, but it's been prophesized! Will Kill You! It has to happen!!

[@A.D.M.SPlayz_Games]

Bro refused to touch his shield during Garden Knight

[@Riyshn]

This is definitely the kind of game that having a physical notepad (or tablet+stylus, I suppose) to take notes on is helpful, especially if you want to go full secret hunter and decode the language (please do, it's great). If you do end up with notes, any chance we could get those included in some episodes, or maybe a compilation at the end?

[@MagrokAlpha]

7:00 - 9:00 Dan I know you're ridiculously good at dodging in these games so you don't need it quite as much, but. That heavy thing in your left hand can be used in boss fights too, y'know?

[@StarstormHUN]

Got the game and played it through, I can't wait for Dan to discover all the things. ... And potentially get stuck because I *did* find that sometimes the deliberate vagueness of the game was more a detriment than an advantage. Spoilers after the break: THE MASK. I had no idea what cards did. There is no explanation what the mask does. I was bashing my head at the quarry for HOURS before finally complaining to friends about it and they told me to put that on and then suddenly the game was playable again. I also completely missed the a boss, because the game let me leave the area without fighting it, so I didn't even know of its existence until I explored enough to find a page that referred to it.

[@rmsgrey]

This really is the Zelda of Dark Souls...

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

The further in you go the less this feels like 'just' 3d Hyper Light Drifter and more that there is something else going on in the meta-level. It didn't even need that, being 'just' a variant of one of the best games in years was plenty.

[@hermes2002000]

Dan, I am not spoiling anything, but you should try to read carefully the manual. If you think its not engaging content perhaps you can do it off camera, but trying to parse the content you already have access to is an important part of this game, to the point many puzzles later on will feel downright obtuse if you didn't.

[@inshayana]

just got here and i've been wondering for a while that this game seems like a cute choice for a chill speedrun, if you got the maps and shortcuts memorized.

[@DCHutch8]

Dan, this isn't a spoiler, but just a colorful little addition that I think you've missed, if you're interested- Near the middle of the main map, there's a little pool with a page in the middle that you can't get, you should check behind some trees near there. And there's another secret, inside this secret, if you don't find it naturally, Run against the left corner of this room.

[@oliverobrien2488]

"hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" ~Dan 2022

[@rundinj]

I went looking on etsy and someone made the physical instruction book, I kinda want it.

[@mrphlip]

53:35 "More HP never hurts" surely more HP just means you have additional capacity for hurting?

[@dmj037]

I had an interesting glitch during the fight with the knight where it fell off the platform and down below. I couldn't get to it becuase I was locked inside the arena and it couldn't get to me. Fortunately I had it's health down far enough that chucking the handful of dynamite I had at it killed it, but I got very close to be softlocked.

[@askmeagain43]

I never realised what a nuisence the flying robots that shoot and freeze you are. Semi-spoilers below: When I first played I somehow missed the well for a while and found a secret route to the range weapon in the first area so I able to just shoot them out of the sky with ease by the time I got to this area.

[@NihlusKryik]

6:30 I think it reflected because you were so close

[@Silas_MN]

pretty sure you can reflect the ice projectiles, but not the normal damage ones

[@betachannel3d]

how long until Dan realizes he can hold lock on to adjust the camera when outside of combat?

[@maxdeathlore]

Hey Dan! Hope you figured out by the point where you’re at that you can press the lock on button to reveal some more of your environment!

[@Clarvel]

Dan just... didn't react at all to that pillar activation sound??

[@generrosity]

It's just a sound, and some free MP. Most ppl I see play don't put anything more to it 🤷 also don't forget the commenting rules around a brainvania 😜

[@TheGrandUser]

Will you be trying to decipher the text at some point?

[@sunbro197]

Probably a spoiler. You missed a shop in this area.

[@Imperial_Squid]

Spoilers There's a page that mentions to look for the eyes in a wall somewhere, he'll find out eventually, or maybe he won't! 🤷‍♂️😂

[@professeurgideere5856]

Maybe you put slorms in jaily ?