The creator of one of last year's best indie games nearly threw the whole thing out a year into development

Screenshot of Tunic's playable fox character holding a sword
(Image credit: Finji)

Tunic was a standout indie game last year, but creator Andrew Shouldice almost scrapped the project during its first year of development.

Shouldice began work on Tunic in 2015, when it was originally called Secret Legend, and the game went through a ton of changes between then and its eventual release. "There were so many old versions of this that got cut," Shouldice reveals to Edge in issue 386.

Shouldice describes one area in particular that was reworked over and over again. " It started out as a desert, then a different desert, then a desert with cliffsides, then a dark forest, then a different dark forest," he recalls. The desert-turned-forest area eventually was removed entirely. "There's a place in the game where it is supposed to go – it just isn't there any more," Shouldice says. He regrets not keeping it in the game, he tells Edge, as he spent a lot of time working on it. "It would have been nice if that effort was realised somehow," he says.

But Kevin Regamey, who was the audio director on Tunic and is a friend of Shouldice, reveals that during the first year of development, Shouldice nearly binned the whole thing. Shouldice sent Regamey a short combat prototype, which Regamey describes to Edge as "basic targeting and circle strafing". After a couple of weeks, Shouldice sent over another build which he called a "macro prototype of the overworld".

"I'm probably going to throw all this in the trash," Regamey remembers Shouldice saying about this overworld prototype, "but I just wanted to get an idea of what it felt like to adventure, to find secrets, to do the whole Metroidvania." The idea baffled the rest of Regamey's team, who could see the workings of a whole game already.

Luckily for us, Shouldice spared the project and created one of the best indies of recent years. Tunic had five nominations at this year's BAFTA ceremony, and snagged the awards for Artistic Achievement and Debut Game, as well as a prestigious DICE award and strong critical reception.

In our Tunic review, Sam described it as a much cuter Elden Ring.

Freelance contributor

I'm a freelance writer and started my career in summer 2022. After studying Physics and Music at university and a short stint in software development, I made the jump to games journalism on Eurogamer's work experience programme. Since then, I've also written for Rock Paper Shotgun and Esports Illustrated. I'll give any game a go so long as it's not online, and you'll find me playing a range of things, from Elden Ring to Butterfly Soup. I have a soft spot for indies aiming to diversify representation in the industry.

Read more
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one
Balatro Joker card
"I was in super crunch mode": Balatro creator opens up on the toll the stress of indie development took on his "physical and mental health"
ben starr dressed in harequinn makeup chomping down on a banana
"I still have a job to do": Balatro creator says selling 5 million copies hasn't really changed his lifestyle, and he's focused on updates instead of new games
Balatro Joker art
Balatro creator was "shocked" at his poker roguelike's high review scores: "I don’t think I would have rated Balatro higher than an 8 and I made the damn thing"
Latest in Action
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted Status
How to remove Wanted status in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe facing off against samurai warrior on red bridge
An Assassin's Creed Shadows fan is showing off some of the RPG's most impressive little details, and it's done more to get me interested than Ubisoft ever did
Latest in News
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
fool me once
Harlan Coben’s new novel is set to be "more of a sequel" to the hit Netflix series Fool Me Once: "I don’t know any time that’s ever happened"
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 is Steam's latest viral hit – an open-world drug dealing simulator with 98% positive reviews, co-op, and a free sample to get you started