Played On: PS5 (Original) 

Difficulty: N/A

PlayStation has seen a lot of strong indie titles come through their PlayStation Plus subscription services recently and one of the biggest standouts has been Tchia – a charming and surprisingly nostalgic open-world adventure game with real-life roots.

The game takes players to a fictional tropical archipelago that’s inspired by the island nation of New Caledonia – which is off the coast of Australia and where the game’s developers grew up. There, they assume the role of the titular Tchia – a young girl who’s on a mission to save her father and other locals who have been kidnapped by a notable pirate. Unfortunately, this pirate is working alongside a nefarious magical force causing Tchia to be heavily outmatched. However, Tchia starts to find a power of her own that’s tied to a hidden history within her family that ultimately leads her on a journey across the islands to save loved ones.

The personal connection that developer Awaceb has to New Caledonia and the Kanak culture is felt throughout the entire game and it makes for an immersive cultural experience. Different aspects of New Caledonia’s culture, wildlife, and community are organically embedded into the player’s adventure and interactions. Whether you’re simply having a conversation with one of the locals or picking up some grub from a nearby food stand, Tchia finds simple and effective ways for players to become more engrossed in the game’s world and the real-life culture that inspires it.

The choice to have the game’s dialogue be spoken in the native languages of French and Drehu also helps create an authentic feel and makes this game instantly stand apart. Even just coming across new wildlife is really intriguing and it’s great how the game lets players keep a log of what sea-life and land creatures they come across. The way the game chronicles your adventures also make this experience more like a real-life adventure – which is what makes playing this game so memorable.

Frankly, there are a lot of immersive gameplay moments that really stand out in Tchia. There’s nothing like hopping on your boat and sailing across the vast sea or climbing to the top of mountains to see all the different landscapes below. The exploration of Tchia feels so inviting and players will feel like they’re really embarking on a grand tropical adventure. Awaceb has crafted a gorgeous world as well with the artstyle being as warm and fresh as the atmosphere and local people, and the scale of this world is incredibly impressive. Even for Tchia coming from a small team like Awaceb, there are great heights and depths for players to reach and it’s great how the landscape varies across the two main islands. Plus, the amazing music that backs your adventure instills these calming good vibes and Awaceb makes traversal a blast thanks to Tchia’s interesting powers.

Players quickly discover that Tchia has the power to soul-jump into different objects and animals and take control of them. This leads to some interesting combat mechanics as players will often jump into lanterns or pieces of firewood to take down some of the cloth-based enemies. However, soul-jumping has a greater impact on traversal as players can jump into birds and fish to make traveling in the air or underwater much easier. The ability to possess a bird or fish at pretty much any moment is so satisfying and incredibly fun to do. The controls are easy to grasp, and soul-jumping is honestly one of the handier traversal tools I’ve seen recently. Also, it’s kind of cool that different animals come with their own mechanics that range from being able to do flips as a dolphin to pooping on people below as a bird.

Awaceb thought about nearly every detail when comes to Tchia’s power and there’s another aspect to what she can do that’s reminiscent of a classic Zelda entry. It’s actually surprising how much of Wind Waker’s DNA is seen in Tchia, but it’s what makes the game have a nostalgic feel. The game, as a whole, feels like a classic GameCube/PS2 adventure game with some modern updates and a bigger scale. Sailing has a very similar feel to Wind Waker – which is why it feels so epic. Also like in classic Zelda games, Tchia can make certain things happen by playing her beloved ukulele. As players learn songs by completing a rock balancing side activity, they can make certain animals or objects appear and even change the time of day. It’s another handy tool in this game that makes the experience a little easier and is one of the many ways that Awaceb enhances its exploratory feel.

There’s always something new to discover in Tchia and Awaceb has gone above and beyond to litter the map with side activities and collectibles that feel rewarding. Generally, most side activities help players gain something that enhances or alters their experience. Some activities like finding chests and tradeable currency will let players obtain different costumes pieces for Tchia and her boat. Frankly, it’s kind of impressive how many cosmetic items there are for players to find, and they will see that they can really give Tchia and her boat their own unique look.

Players can also hunt stamina fruit trees and carve totems to enter secret areas to upgrade their stamina and soul abilities so that they can use them longer. There are also some standard races and cliff jumping that players can do to get some good gameplay variety and have some fun in the environment. There’s honestly A LOT to do in Tchia and even for the slight repetitive, checklist feel of the side activities, they make exploring feel meaningful.

Side activities are designed in a way that’ll make players feel constantly intrigued to go exploring and have an addictive power that’ll have them trying to do everything. There’s even a secret treasure hunt that players can embark on that’ll take them across the entire map that’s so much fun and lets them tap into their inner pirate. Tchia boasts some incredibly fun exploration and Awaceb shows some great ambition in bringing players into their clearly cherished homeland and culture. Yet, there are some shortcomings and missed opportunities seen that can’t be ignored.

Despite the game feeling impressively grand in scale and design, there are still some noticeable technical glitches and bugs that can hinder the smoothness of the gameplay. Things like the boat getting stuck inside of a rock or animals not spawning after they’ve been summoned have happened and it can cause some annoying reloads. Also, the only aspect that feels a little under-utilized in making players connect with the culture is the locals themselves. The small chats are nice, but it would’ve been cool to see Awaceb have Tchia interact a little more deeply with people through side missions. Side quests could’ve added a little more depth to the side activities and a personal touch that feels a little missing outside the main story.

Also, there are some key moments where players will play a rhythm game with the ukulele that are poorly conceived. Personally, the difficulty of these sequences does make them kind of fun and the concept behind it isn’t bad. However, because the spoken language is limited to French and Drehu players are forced to rely on subtitles – which can be difficult to read during song sequences. Given that the songs come at important points in the story, you really want to feel invested in these moments. But that’s tough to do when you have to pay attention to the intense rhythm game in front of you.

There is an option to just let the rhythm game auto-play while you watch and listen to the song, but it feels like a decision that shouldn’t have to be made. Both the game and what’s happening on-screen feel important to the experience and it’s a shame that Awaceb couldn’t figure out a way to make these aspects more neatly unison since it always feels like you’re missing something important when the rhythm game is happening.

As for Tchia’s story, it’s very solid and surprisingly has some heartwarming charm. At times when the story focuses on some of the mythological elements of this world that are connected to the titular protagonist, it can kind of lose players. The whole backstory of Tchia’s family and her powers is sort of forced into the third act and the villains feel bland. The pacing also just kind of dips in the latter half of the game and later story moments struggle to have the emotional impact they want to. However, Tchia is absolutely delightful as a protagonist and embodies the spirit and heart that players want in this kind of adventure.

It’s honestly surprising how strong the humor is and there are a lot of moments that’ll have players laughing. The interactions that Tchia makes in her adventure are constantly heartwarming and there’s even a small romance that blossoms. At first, it seemed kind of random for the game to include romance as a part of the plot, but it eventually feels earned by how they capture the moment of a spark-filled first kiss. The game maintains this very warm and personal feel throughout and it all builds towards a satisfying end. There are great themes about family and discovery intertwined into this story that make for some tender conclusions and it’s kind of nice how the game has this full-circle, storybook feel. The story of Tchia doesn’t necessarily have the same kind of pull or intrigue as the gameplay, but still leaves its mark and acts as a fulfilling part to overall experience.

Tchia is a great adventure for players to embark on with its incredibly personal and warm feel stemming from the genuine love that the developers have for their New Caledonia home. Despite some clear shortcomings that keep the game from reaching the full potential of its ambitious and immersive experience, the fun gameplay, charming characters, and sheer spirit of adventure the game boasts will keep players hooked from start to finish.

Watch the Trailer Here: