Tchia is a gorgeous and inspiring adventure | Hands-off preview
As I started to watch Phil Crifo, game director and studio co-founder at Awaceb demo Tchia, I assumed it was yet another action-adventure game heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It featured a colourful and cute world, similar mechanics like the stamina gauge that appears when climbing mountains, and other familiar features that made me almost roll my eyes and shrug it off as another game that won’t be a patch on Nintendo’s masterpiece. However, as I continued to see how the world unfolded and new ideas present themselves, it was clear how smart it was, and how wrong I’d been.
It follows the story of a young girl named Tchia who has to fight off strange creatures and save her family on a beautiful island inspired by New Caledonia. I didn’t see a ton from the story, but I didn’t care because of how many cool mechanics were shown off in the short time I spent watching the action unfold. The first to peak my attention was how Tchia could climb up palm trees and use them to slingshot her across the island, moving from tree to tree and making some serious distance.
What made this even more impressive was how Soul Jumping factored into it. Tchia can send her soul into various animals and objects across the island. Some will help her get further across the map, while others will allow her to solve certain puzzles. While swinging from the different trees, Tchia soul jumped into a parakeet and was able to fly up a mountain instead of climbing up its rockface. It’s such a smart idea, but also takes away the frustrations felt in BotW as you’re half-way up a cliff and poor Link’s legs buckle underneath him, sending you to your death.
I watched Tchia become a dolphin that glided through the water, and a mango that could roll across the ground, as well as get launched at an enemy. You can chain soul jumps together in various ways, making both traversal and combat so much fun. Although I only got to see a limited amount of the ability, there’ll be so many objects and animals to make use of, and being so fluid in how fast these transformations can happen, it’s clear how important this mechanic is going to be come the final release.
Another tool at your disposal is the ukulele. Tchia can pick up and play it when she wants. It acts as a nice break in play after fighting your way across the island, playing out in a similar fashion to how Naughty Dog used the guitar in The Last of Us Part II. Playing the Ukulele isn’t just for fun, either. There’re certain melodies that can be obtained, and by playing these at certain points, it’ll unlock secrets, progress the story, and more. The final part of the demo saw Tchia sat on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the gorgeous ocean, and playing a beautiful piece of music. It was wonderful.
The island itself is stunning. I couldn’t help but get some serious Moana vibes, and I am more than ok with that. Along with exploring the lush jungles and grasslands the island has to offer, you can travel by boat across a stunning ocean to uncover landmarks and landscapes heavily inspired by the home of Awaceb’s co-founders. New Caledonia is a tiny island in the pacific ocean, and Tchia has recreated it wonderfully, acting as a love letter to the developer’s home and a special setting for the adventure that will unfold upon its release.
Tchia looks incredible, and there’s so much to do, utilising some smart mechanics to make traversal easier and exciting. There’re tons of customisation options for Tchia and her ukulele, featuring stunning visuals and some beautiful music. It has gone from something I knew nothing of to one of my most anticipated of last year, simply from observing a 20 minute-or-so demonstration. I can’t wait to find out more about it as it edges towards release next year.
Tchia will release early 2023 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via the Epic Games Store.
