Tunic is like no game I have ever played before and I really enjoy how the sole programmer put so much thought into making this game truly different from the wide array of adventure games that look very similar to it. The main thing that had a lot of people running away from the game and even attempting to seek a refund was because the game is not in English... they thought they had downloaded the wrong version of the game but as it turns out, the language used in the game is not any language. It is just one that the programmer made up himself.
I will admit that I was a bit turned off at first about how the game just starts you off on the shore somewhere and doesn't tell you a damn thing about who you are, what you are doing there, where you are supposed to go, and what your objective is. You also will pass a lot of things at the start that appear to be important but when you try to interact with them some strange language pops up that as it turns out, you are not meant to be able to read it.
This is where people might start to get a bit frustrated because that is obviously a key, but what is the nonsense below it? Well that is part of the metroidvania aspect of this game. Instead of telling you that certain areas are off limits until you get some sort of item the language is gradually deciphered in the menus as well as on screen as you progress in the game.
One thing that might not be so obvious early on, and has resulted in a great many people leaving the game for good is something that you really should do as soon as possible. Your options are quite limited by various environmental blocks early on but still, this is not evident that it is what you are supposed to do in the first I would say, half hour of the game.
The only weapon you have at the start that is just given to you is the stick... and this thing is damn near useless in combat. It is only a bit better than not having a weapon at all which is what you start with. As it turns out, they have put a sword in one of the early areas that you are kind of directed towards in a round about way yet, it still might not be so obvious since at this point in the game most of the signs are still in Tunic-language and that is why this particular sign is one that you should definitely pay attention to.
I don't know how it is that I managed to totally miss this in game but it probably has a lot to do with the fact that at the start of the game you are basically just mindlessly wandering hoping that something good lies around the corner. I hadn't even figured out how to use the map and was just basing my direction on whether or not I had been there before. Enemies are quite tough when you only have the stick and I was getting killed quite easily because I at this point, didn't know that upgrading my stats was possible either.
Follow that sign
It is actually very tough to get to the Hero's grave as it is protected by some pretty tough enemies. They are tough for now... later on you will one-shot them. I think I was probably accidentally near the sword at some point in the past but turned around because the enemies were too difficult. In many games, this is a good sign that you have gone a direction that you were not supposed to go in but in this instance I chose incorrectly initially. In the end once I got the sword the game changed for me A LOT. Now enemies that were previously basically stick-proof were getting sliced down quite easily with the sword. Don't get to accustomed to that level of domination though, things get difficult again really soon.
I have spoken to several people that quit playing the game purely because of not being able to find the sword and for me, it nearly happened as well. You learn after that point that this game is not going to hold your hand at all. You are going to have to use your head and explore...explore...explore.
After a couple of hours of gameplay you start to realize that this level of no knowing, is precisely what makes the game as great as it is.