REVIEW – Tchia is an open world adventure game and the first major project from Awaceb studio. The game is set in the Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia and uses its rich and diverse landscapes, cultures, music and traditions to create a fictional world and a universal story. The protagonist of the game is Tchia, a young girl with a special ability: the ability to take control of any animal or object. With this power, called soul leaping, she can explore islands, solve puzzles, make new friends and play her fully functioning ukulele. The game enchants us with stunning graphics and music, but is it deep and varied enough?

The game, Tchia, is made by the Awaceb studio, whose founders are from New Caledonia. This Pacific island nation was the inspiration for the game’s world and story. In the game, you play as Tchia, a little girl who lives on a beautiful archipelago with her family and friends. Tchia has a special ability to take control of any animal or object. She uses this ability to save her father and homeland from the evil tyrant Meavora, who wants to conquer the archipelago with his alliance of soldiers.

Tchia is a physics-based sandbox game with plenty of opportunities for exploration and creativity. You can climb, glide, swim and sail between islands. Throughout the gameplay, you will encounter a wide variety of animals and objects that you can crawl into and use their unique abilities. For example, you can fly as a bird, explore as a dog or play music with your ukulele. In the game, you can not only roam freely in the world, but also follow the main storyline, in which you have to complete exciting missions and battles. You will also meet many colourful characters to chat with and make friends with. The game’s atmosphere is also greatly enhanced by its original music, which adds local instruments and melodies to the experience.

Like a postcard come to life!

Perhaps Tchia’s greatest strength is its graphics. The game features the diverse landscapes of New Caledonia, such as tropical forests, mountains, lagoons, coral reefs and wrecks. The game depicts these locations with richly detailed textures and lifelike light and shadow effects. Vegetation and animal movement are also believably animated. The game also features weather changes so you can see the sunset, rain or storm. Perhaps the best part of the game’s visuals is the sky, where you can admire the stars and the midday light.

The graphics and music beautifully depict and evoke the atmosphere of the New Caledonian archipelago. The game’s graphics are colourful and detailed, full of life and movement. The vegetation is dense and varied, the animals are lively and cute, the buildings are stylish and authentic. The story is told in fully animated and synchronised scenes, spoken in indigenous languages of New Caledonia, such as drehu or nengone. The story is simple but heart-warming and funny, full of twists and turns and surprises.

And the atmosphere of Tchia is a real tropical dream, enhanced by the graphics and music. The game’s music combines an original orchestral soundtrack with New Caledonian instruments and melodies. The game’s music not only fits the game’s world and story, but also influences it: the ukulele melodies played by the player can trigger different effects in the environment, such as evoking rain or attracting animals.

Creative and varied gameplay

Tchia’s gameplay offers the player a wide variety of ways to explore and influence the world, including climbing, gliding, swimming and sailing between islands. The game’s physics engine realistically simulates movement and collisions. The game features a wide variety of animals and objects that you can crawl inside and use their unique abilities. For example, you can fly as a bird, explore as a dog or play music with your ukulele. In the game, you can not only roam freely in the world, but also follow the main storyline, in which you have to complete exciting missions and battles. You will also meet many colourful characters to chat with and make friends with. The game’s atmosphere is also greatly enhanced by its original music, which adds local instruments and melodies to the experience.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the gameplay is Tchia’s soul-shifting ability, which allows her to take control of any animal or object. This ability is not only useful for exploration, but also for puzzle solving and combat. Every animal and object has a special feature that we need to exploit. For example, we can use a turtle to break through a tree branch, a parrot to lure a guard away or a lantern to light up a cave. During a soul change, Tchia’s body changes to that of the animal or object, but she retains some of her features, such as her hair colour or ukulele.

Another important part of the gameplay is the ukulele game, which is fully interactive and free to play. With the ukulele you can not only play music for yourself or others, but also influence your environment. For example, if you play the rain melody, it will rain; if you play the animal melody, animals will flock to you; if you play the fire melody, you can light a torch or a campfire. You can also use the keyboard or the controller to play the ukulele. There are also moments in the game when you have to play the ukulele as a rhythm game, for example when you sing a duet with a friend or when you have to beat an opponent with music.

A moving and colourful story

Tchia is the story of a young girl growing up and becoming a hero. Tchia is a cheerful and adventurous child who loves nature and animals. One day, she learns that her father has been kidnapped by the tyrant Meavora’s armies, who want to conquer the archipelago with their allied armies. Tchia sets out on a journey to save her father and her country. On her journey, she makes many friends who help her on her mission. In the game we also meet characters representing the different cultures of New Caledonia. The game also features characters speaking several local languages, such as Kanak and French. The game provides subtitles for these conversations in several languages, including Hungarian.

The story of Tchia is not only exciting and humorous, but also touching and instructive. The game presents the rich history and folklore of New Caledonia. The game also includes episodes that recall Tchia’s past or dream of its future. Emotions such as love, friendship, sorrow or fear also play an important role in the game. The game teaches us to cherish our family and country, to be brave and persistent, to help others and to enjoy life’s little pleasures.

Mistakes and shortcomings

Unfortunately, Tchia is not without its flaws and shortcomings, which can spoil the gaming experience. There may be bugs in the game that prevent the player from completing missions, or that spoil the graphics or sound. The optimisation of the game also leaves something to be desired, as the game sometimes lags or freezes, especially in larger areas or when there are more enemies. The game’s controls can also be quite clunky and imprecise at times, which can be frustrating in combat or platforming.

Another weakness of Tchia is its lack of content. While the game offers players a huge open world, this world can be quite empty and boring at times. There are not many varied activities or side missions to keep you busy. The main mission is also quite short and simple, which doesn’t give the player much challenge or motivation. There is not much progression in the game either, as Tchia does not gain any new abilities or items along her journey.

We love it, but we don’t love it

The game Tchia is full of original and fun ideas that show the talent and creativity of the Awaceb studio. It reveals a beautiful and atmospheric world that showcases New Caledonian culture and history. And the story is a touching and humorous tale in which Tchia tries to save her father and his islands.

But unfortunately, these virtues cannot always mask the game’s flaws and shortcomings, which often outweigh its advantages. Tchia is buggy and unoptimized, which can interfere with gameplay. The game’s physics-based and soul-jumping mechanics don’t always work smoothly or interestingly, and its content is sparse and boring, which is not reason enough to return to it.

Tchia is therefore a game of mixed emotions, with potential and charm, but these don’t always manage to fulfil themselves. Perhaps a few fixes and updates could help, but until then we recommend this game to those who want a short and light tropical adventure.

-BadSector-

Publisher: Awaceb, Kepler Interactive

Developer: Awaceb

Style: Action-Adventure

Release: March 21, 2023.