Tunche

Story
The Amazon rainforest isn’t just a setting here—it’s a character dripping with mystery. You play as one of five heroes (including a literal guinea pig wizard named Qaru) searching for the mythical Tunche, a forest spirit blamed for vanishing villagers. The plot? Straightforward. You’re chasing ghosts, both literal and metaphorical, through procedurally generated jungles and temples. Dialogue is sparse but quirky, with Qaru muttering spells and Rumi, the spear-wielding warrior, dropping stoic one-liners like “The forest tests us.”

Where Tunche stumbles is depth. The lore feels like a postcard—beautiful but brief. Environmental storytelling hints at darker secrets (ancient murals, abandoned rituals), but it never digs deeper. The family angle, though, adds heart: playing co-op, you’ll joke about who’s “adopted” when someone keeps dying to a poison frog. It’s less about narrative payoff and more about the shared journey.

Graphics
Visually, Tunche is a love letter to hand-drawn animation. The Amazon bursts with neon greens, glowing mushrooms, and spirits that shimmer like bioluminescent fireflies. Character designs are whimsical yet rooted in folklore—Pancho’s luchador mask and Nayra’s feather headdress feel authentically inspired. Bosses steal the show: a towering river serpent coils through the screen, and a shamaness floats atop a lotus, hurling curses like confetti.

That said, the roguelike structure means you’ll see the same bamboo thickets and ruins repeatedly. After five runs, you’ll recognize every mossy rock. Still, it’s hard to stay mad when the game looks like a storybook come to life.

Audio
The soundtrack is a folksy fusion of pan flutes, drums, and ambient jungle noise—equal parts tranquil and tense. Combat sounds are punchy (Qaru’s fireballs crackle, machete slashes thunk), though enemy grunts get repetitive. Voice acting is minimal but effective: hearing your sibling’s character yell “HELP ME, YOU LAZY LLAMA!” after being grabbed by a vine never gets old. The real star? The Tunche’s guttural roar echoing through the trees. Chills.
 

Gameplay
Tunche blends River City Ransom combos with roguelike progression. Each run lets you unlock permanent upgrades (health boosts, crit chances), but combat is where the fun (and frustration) lies. Stringing together light/heavy attacks, dodges, and screen-clearing ultimates feels great… until a swarm of poison dart frogs stunlocks you into oblivion.

The family chaos factor elevates it. Teamwork is optional—you can revive downed allies OR steal their health pickups while cackling. The roguelike randomness keeps things fresh-ish, but enemy variety is lacking. You’ll fight the same spectral jaguars and shamans 20 times before seeing the cool lava-turtle boss. Pro tip: Play on easy mode unless your family enjoys passive-aggressive respawn debates.

Multiplayer
Local co-op is Tunche’s beating heart. Up to four players can couch-crowd the screen, and the chaos is glorious. Picture this: Dad’s mashing buttons as Pancho, your kid sister is accidentally yeeting Qaru’s spells into walls, and you’re all screaming when a surprise Anaconda boss drops from the ceiling. It’s messy, unbalanced, and utterly memorable.

But here’s the rub: No online multiplayer. Your cousin in another country? They’re out of luck. Also, the camera zooms out so far in co-op that characters look like ants at a rave.