Developer Awaceb created Tchia as a love letter to his hometown of New Caledonia. The game itself is set in a fantasy archipelago, but draws deeply from its real-life counterpart in terms of environment and story. It feels really authentic as a cultural snapshot. Its stories are deeply rooted in regional folklore, and some of the cast and crew are also indigenous to New Caledonia. From the members of the development team to the voice actors to the composer of the soundtrack, this game is as authentically New Caledonian as possible.
Our main character, Chea, witnesses her father being kidnapped the day after her 12th birthday. Eventually, she learns that the evil ruler Meavora has him and she travels to meet him to save her father and eventually her hometown.
Tchia unlocks many abilities on her journey, the most fantastic of which is Soul Jump. She can transfer her soul into any animal or object and control them. You can Soul Jump onto explosives to take down enemies, or jump into rocks and roll through crevices to easily get into hard-to-reach places.
Some of the unlockable abilities aren’t all that uncommon, but they all have something to do with how the game progresses. means that you can unlock the There is a rock balancing game that unlocks different “soul melodies” that Tchia can play on her ukulele. These songs have effects ranging from changing the time of day to soul jumping with the calls of crabs and birds. Tchia really encourages players to think creatively and solve problems, so it feels like there are multiple ways to approach an objective.
The game relies heavily on real-world physics for many of its mechanics. Tchia can slide down steep terrain quickly, use that momentum to jump high, and glide with her parachute. She has a lot of exploration methods at her disposal, all of which are very fun to play with. Her soul hops on a bird and soars over islands or sails across the sea on a boat. Even a good old-fashioned walk, Tchia allows you to go deep into nature and discover small landmarks.
There are strange cloth creatures, Mano, all over the world, which Chia must destroy. Acting as Meovaora’s minions they are weak to fire so you can use this to your advantage. There are many ways to do this but looking around to use the environment, creativity is key. It proves one more thing. Blowing Maano to pieces is truly cathartic. They don’t pose a particularly big threat, and will give you a visual warning if you’re about to be attacked, but when it matters how you dispose of them tactically, especially when resources are limited. there is.
The cheery tropical setting and boy protagonist might make you think this is a lighthearted holiday adventure, but there’s a lot of darker things going on in Tchia. Certain moments with the antagonist Mevora left us breathless. The game also introduces some very deep themes of self-discovery and identity. It’s humorous, deep, and complex, but the overall plot doesn’t feel dishonest. everything works really well.
Tchia feels very ambitious, especially as a first game from a small team. Sadly, however, it can feel a bit unpolished at times due to bugs that cause his Tchia to phase through floors and characters get stuck in certain segments. Unfortunately, I ran into some bugs that prevented me from progressing through the game, so I had to use the “Skip Gameplay Segments” feature. It’s a shame that you enjoy something so much that you can’t experience it as it should.
There is so much to explore and discover on the island that it can be a little overwhelming. The in-game map feels a bit cluttered and it’s often hard to know where to go. In some cases, it just felt like it proceeded by accident and caused something that didn’t make sense.
Still, it’s really fun to wander around the different terrains and see the wide variety of environments the islands offer, and it’s fascinating to know that it’s grounded in reality. I did a quick Google image search to confirm (spoiler: yes).
Conclusion
Tchia is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced in a video game. Full of heart, but lacking direction at times. A unique experience that showcases the development team’s love for New Caledonia. Everything about Tchia evokes a wonderful tropical atmosphere full of rich history and culture, from the folklore elements of the story to the authentic voice acting by her Drehu, her native tongue of New Caledonia. An unfortunate bug lets the game down and prevents players from enjoying it to the fullest, but at its core it’s a solid, fun, and ultimately beautiful game. It’s clear that a lot of love has been put into this truly exciting debut from Awaceb, and as a day one release for PS Plus Extra, it’s sure to bring a lot of joy to a lot of players.
