With thanks to the folks at Awaceb and Kepler Interactive we’ve been checking out Tchia. As ever we’re bringing you our full video and extended written review. Importantly, we also have our parent’s guide to give you some insight into the content in this almost child-friendly title.
Tchia is available now on PS4, PS5 and PC (currently via the Epic Store and coming soon to Steam). We’ve been looking at the title on PC, and the footage for our video review is captured on an RTX 3060.
The Basics – What is Tchia About?
Tchia will see you taking the rains of our eponymous hero, on a journey to rescue your kidnapped father. The cruel Tyrant Meavora has taken him and Tchia, armed only with a ukulele and a sense of adventure, must fight to free him. Tchia is an incredibly open title, which lets you explore and progress at your own pace. This is slightly less of a surprise when you realise that the developer’s name translates as something close to “no worries”.
Your travels will take you around islands which have been inspired by New Caledonian culture and mythologies. While these have been adapted to suit the title’s narrative, this seems to have been done with an incredible amount of love and respect for the area.
Your journey will be empowered and supported by Tchia’s Soul Jump ability and ukulele soul melodies. Soul Jump lets you leap into and control animals and small objects within the area. These each come with their own abilities which will help you to solve puzzles and to defeat Maevora’s fabric henchmen along your way.
By completing rock balancing challenges along your journey you’ll unlock ukulele abilities, where playing songs can invoke animals, change the time of day and much more. In addition to enabling powers, the ukulele also offers players an intuitive and surprisingly effective music creation tool.
You’ll need to play musing and rhythms throughout your travels, but you can also (at any time) just jam out and play. With a number of modifiers at your finger tips, we’ve already been recreating songs which we probably shouldn’t inside the game.
You can also unlock a significant number of customisation options for Tchia’s clothes, boat and ukulele. These little touches are all part of a wider, laid back approach which lets you approach the title in your own way.
Is Tchia Safe for Children?
Rating: 4 / 5: Mostly Harmless.
Tchia is rated by PEGI at 12 and above, and by the ESRB at T for Teen. These ratings are mostly driven by violence and crude humour, and it’s an odd one to judge from a parent’s point of view. Parent’s should note that the rating here has emphasis on the “mostly” as while the majority of the game is exceptionally suitable for young ones, there are dark elements here and there.
Tchia has a heartwarming story, cute cartoon visuals and an inclusive and respectful setting and narrative. While it’s not a direct link to New Caledonia, Tchia provides a great stepping stone for young people to learn about and experience new cultural traditions. The title also provides some lovely LGBTQ+ representation and on the whole promotes respect and love for each other and the world around us.
In combat within Tchia your enemies will typically disappear on a puff of smoke or flame. While there’s no gore in these fights, blood does make an appearance within the title. While often played for laughs, it’s still worth thinking about.
However, there are also some darker moments within Tchia. The narrative tells stories of babies thrown into an abyss and, while it doesn’t fully happen on screen, babies being eaten by an enemy as well. These darker moments are sporadic and not incredibly frequent, but are certainly important to consider.
Overall, we might say that you could dip slightly underneath the age of 12, but with the considerations towards oppressive themes within the title, we wouldn’t recommend going much under this at all.
Is Tchia Accessible?
Rating:4 / 5: Low Barrier.
It’s clear that the team at Awaceb have worked incredibly hard to make Tchia as accessible as possible. There are very few ways that you can get into serious trouble, and fast travel and frequent autosaves provide another layer of reassurance. In addition, players are even able to simply click to advance to the next story section if they are stuck, or even if they just feel like it.
We’ve found Tchia’s musical elements to be really fun and engaging, but they can also get quite tricky as you progress through the title. Even these have been made accessible, however, by allowing Tchia to auto-play them for you, while you enjoy the music.
The only thing to really consider in terms of accessibility is reading ability. Tchia’s subtitles have been translated into several languages, including all of the major ones as far as we can tell. However, the spoken, audible language will remain only within Drehu and French. Because of this, reading ability will be needed in order to follow the story and tasks presented throughout your journey.
The Run Down – Our Five-Point Rating for Tchia
Gameplay – 4: Tchia’s gameplay brings some really fun and unique elements. The Soul Jump feature can help in a number of ways, and we’ve found that inhabiting the animals along your travels can be a great way of getting around the place. Progression is well paced, and there are a solid number of different activities to try out. It’s a very cosy feeling title, and one which is a little more suited to younger generations, but adults will find some joy here too.
Visuals – 4: I’m not overly enamoured with Tchia’s art style when it comes to people, but it has been well made and has few errors or rough edges. The environments along your travels are bold and colourful, and each area really brings across the laid back feeling. I’ve really enjoyed the contrast between city-scapes and the natural islands and while it could do with some additional texture and polish here and there, it’s a decent show overall.
Audio – 5: Character voices are well acted here, and effects are good too, but the real star of the show it Tchia’s soundtrack. The musical score is beautifully created, as are all of the musical sections which you can play along the way. The soundtrack ebbs and flows along with you on your journey wonderfully. In addition, the free jam mode using Tchia’s ukulele is beautifully created, and I’ve found myself getting stuck there for some time just recreating songs.
Narrative – 5: I’ve really enjoyed Tchia’s narrative adventure. This is a heartwarming tale of bravery, adventure, love, friendship and cooperation which you just don’t see enough of. The inspirations taken from New Caledonian mythologies provide a tangible backbone which is present in nearly every activity and ability throughout the game,.
Replay – 4: There’s an awful lot to sink your teeth into here, with a really good number of side quests and activities. In addition, there are a huge number of customisation options available for Tchia and her boat and ukulele. With no cosmetics store in sight and everything earned through chests and unlocks in game, it’s a breath of fresh air.
The Verdict – Is Tchia Worth It?
Pixel Bandits Somewhere over the Rainbow Level for Tchia is 9 / 10. It’s definitely suited more towards younger gamers, but anybody looking for a cosy experience will get a lot out of this one. There’s relatively little to hurt or panic you, and when you are facing enemies the worst that will happen is that you’re locked in an easily escapable cage.
I have fallen in love with Tchia’s free-jam ukulele mode, and the song challenges throughout the title. With that said though, the option to auto play and even skip game segments will be valuable for anybody who prefers a more narrative adventure.
There’s some polishing which could be done here and there but from a team of fewer than 10 people, Tchia is a remarkable achievement. This one delivers a cosy, heartwarming and fun experience and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something a little more laid back.
As ever, to provide this review and common-sense parent’s guide, we received one free copy of Tchia from the folks at Kepler Interactive.
