Games

Tchia Review: Adventure Explored with Parent’s Guide

Tchia takes players to an archipelago inspired by real-world New Caledonia and offers them hours of laid-back exploration and engaging gameplay mechanics. From ukelele jams to completing diving challenges, there’s plenty to do here.

The game also has a number of challenges that grant players physical trophies, which can help make progressing in Tchia a little bit faster. To that end, here are some Tips for Tchia.

1. Clear big enemy camps

Tchia’s locomotion options – running through the ground as a boar or flying as a bird – make for fantastic and fun ways to explore New Caledonia. But these abilities can be put to better use, too, such as when clearing out Maano fabric-people camps that spawn throughout the islands.

The small enemy camps are annoying enough, but the ones that include sentinels can be deadly. Fortunately, these can be destroyed by hurling explosive objects at them in Tchia’s human form or from a safer distance using Soul Jump.

Climb, glide, and sail around a vast archipelago inspired by New Caledonia in Tchia Game, a physics-driven adventure about family and friendship. Play as Tchia, whose ability to swap into animals and objects in her surroundings adds depth and fun to her heartfelt quest to defeat the malevolent ruler of this world.

2. Use the ukelele

The ukelele is a key component to Tchia Game’s rhythm minigames and a major aspect of its free jam mode. It also allows you to interact with the world in other ways, such as altering the time of day or summoning new creatures or items.

Tchia’s world is inspired by the islands of New Caledonia, where Awaceb co-founders Phil Crifo and Thierry Boura grew up. The developers replicated biomes, music, languages, and traditions, even hiring locals to voice their characters.

The result is a beautiful, uplifting experience that feels like a breath of fresh air in a genre overburdened with grim, blood-soaked action and grindy repetition. Tchia is a narrative adventure that takes itself seriously, but never to the point of self-deprecation. There’s relatively little that can hurt you, and fast travel and frequent autosaves offer reassurance that you won’t get into too much trouble.

3. Eat bananas

Tchia is the kind of game that doesn’t feel burdened by its own ambitions – the work of first-time developer Awaceb in New Caledonia, it’s full of ideas that the churning AAA machine wouldn’t touch. Its heartwarming story, cute cartoon visuals and inclusivity all come together to make it an unforgettable experience.

Throughout the world there’s plenty to find, from treasure chests and cosmetics to fishing trophies and crane games to earn a whole host of options for Tchia herself. Her clothing, boat and ukulele can be changed to suit her style, while she can also unlock new ‘Soul Melodies’ that affect the world around her and play along to scripted music.

The day/night cycle and the way Tchia replenishes her Soul-Meter (through resting at campfires or Food Stands) are great ways to add depth to the open world. Eating the food Tchia finds naturally or when she has it in her backpack will restore one bar of her Soul-Meter.

4. Keep an eye on your stamina

Tchia Game has a strong hands-off approach towards a lot of the standard open-world gameplay. It’s more about immersing you in the New Caledonian culture and letting you discover it yourself.

This is evident in the way it gives players an experience with minimal UI outside of the stamina and soul-jump meter. There are no marked spots on the map, only a rough indication of where you are on it, encouraging you to explore your environment and be more familiar with it.

Stamina also plays a key role in Tchia’s free climbing, as she needs to spend a lot of time clinging onto surfaces, using her ukulele for songs and even combat. This typically just involves flinging flamable objects at fabric enemies to burn them to a crisp, but can be quite tiring and dangerous.

5. Refill your soul meter

Tchia Game is a gorgeous-looking game that offers plenty of activities for players to enjoy. Its no-fail gameplay mechanics make it perfect for novice gamers, while experienced players can get a kick out of manipulating the world in creative ways with Tchia’s Soul Jump ability.

The Soul Jump ability allows Tchia to take control of animals and objects scattered throughout the game’s landscape. Each animal or object has its own strengths and weaknesses, allowing Tchia to traverse the terrain in various ways.

The Soul Jump meter is shown on the bottom of the screen as a green bar. When it depletes, Tchia will be unable to possess creatures or objects until the meter is restored. Fortunately, recharging the meter is simple; simply visiting a food stand or campfire will replenish three bars.

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