Awaceb is an indie studio based in New Caledonia, an island in the French territories. They started their journey into game development with the release of Fossil Echo in 2016, a beautifully crafted and story-driven side-scroller role-playing game. Staying with what they've proven to be brilliant at, they developed Tchia and published their latest creation through Kepler Interactive on 21 March 2023. Tchia is a big step forward for Awaceb as an Open-World RPG with the same level of outstanding story and even more heart than before. New Caledonia is Awacab's Co-Founder's much-loved homeland, and Tchia is similar to a tribute to his home. In Tchia, you'll get to see just how much inspiration was drawn from New Caledonia and its folklore through a rich and vibrant environment and an absolutely beautiful story.

You start your journey on Uma Island, a small tropical island with an even smaller settlement. You play as Tchia, a young girl living with her father on the island. But everything goes wrong a day after her 12th birthday. Pwi Dua, Meavora's henchman, comes looking for Tchia; he is unable to find her and instead takes her father to Meavora. Meavora is the tyrannical ruler of the game's islands who commands fear from the people, along with an undying loyalty from his servants made of fabric, who are brought to life with dark magic. It's up to you to rescue Tchia's father and put an end to Meavora's rule. With a sharp wit, quick thinking, and a little magic, you'll have to rise up to the challenge.

Along the way, you'll get to explore the various islands in this Open-World Indie RPG, while also getting to experience the incredible cultural values inspired by New Caledonia. Tchia's magical abilities, like her Soul-jump, allow you to possess most animals and use their abilities to your advantage, be it to navigate the vast world or to progress your current quest. But inanimate objects are no exception either; you can possess and take control of things like rocks or lanterns as well for a stealthy approach. There is an approach or use to suit any occasion, unless you're after the humor in watching a rock roll uphill or causing some chaos with flying coconuts using Soul-shot.

Using Soul-jump to get around is likely the most amazing skill to have in Tchia; due to her small stature, you'll need animals like deer or birds to get around quickly or get a birds-eye view of what's going on in your surroundings. The Soul-shot, another fun ability, ties really well into the soul-jump in the sense that you can shoot the object you possess as a projectile. There are limits to everything, and you'll need to keep an eye on your Soul-bar. It does run out eventually, but it does recharge over time or by eating food. And if that's still not enough, you do have the possibility of extending it further through Totem Shrines scattered throughout the game. Unfortunately, as diverse as wildlife can be, it is also a very scarce topic in Tchia. Intentional or not, it slows progression down to a crawl unless you come across some wildlife that can help you get around faster.
 

You're not limited to the Soul-jump, though; you'll also be equipped with a glider. If you like free diving to your objective, then you'll definitely need it. Traversing the vast world of Tchia will require you to climb, fly, swim, and sometimes even dive. These aren't endlessly usable but nicely balanced out by one of the more unique innovations in Tchia, as you don't have a health bar per se. You go in with a stamina meter. Your stamina is as the name says, your stamina, which runs out while climbing or gliding, but it also doubles as your health bar. Worry not; it recharges fairly quickly when on the ground, but if you're free-falling and your stamina ran out, you might be in some trouble. Similar to the Soul-bar, you can increase your maximum stamina by finding Stamina Fruit scattered throughout the world, so it's best to keep an eye out for those.

There isn't exactly an inventory in Tchia, and it's more closely related to a quick-access radial. Sadly, it is extremely limited on slots, so you'll need to be mindful of what you take with you. Some of your quest items go into the same inventory, and with your already limited space simply shrinking, you really have to weigh your options. Carrying food is already a big priority if you plan on using Soul-jump quite often, but then you'll also get trophies from mini-games taking up what little space you have, and there's nowhere to leave it. You'll need to be very flexible and careful with what you decide to take with you on your adventure.

With the world of Tchia spanning across several islands, you have access to4 a raft to sail between islands and take in the sights on the way. Docks are paramount to getting around because they act as fast travel points; unfortunately, you can only fast travel to and from the docks you unlock. This does make life a bit more tedious when traveling since you'll have to get to a dock first, and when you're in the middle of an island, you're looking at a hefty travel time just to get to another dock. At the very least, being able to jump to the nearest dock to fast-travel to others is a deeply needed mechanic in Tchia, just for the sake of keeping it interesting.
 

Tchia has a foot in the Indie genre with its various fun and interesting mini-games. You can find these scattered all over and in the story's cinematics. If you're skilled enough with music, you can freely play Tchia's Ukulele in a similar mini-game style or follow along as the music plays during cutscenes. Totem Carving, Rock Stacking, Target Practice with your slingshot, and so much more all form part of the many mini-games in Tchia that keep gameplay interesting. But the mini-games aren't just a fun time waster; some of them do come with rewards in the form of new cosmetics, boosts to Tchia's power, or locations for hidden treasures. These same mini-games also tie into the culture that inspired the world you play in.

Along your path, you'll find small camps inhabited by Maano. The Maano are servants made of fabric controlled by Meavora. They only have one objective. Capture Tchia. The second they see you, you'll have no choice but to take them down. Now, how would a 12-year girl do this? With the fire, of course. These camps typically have a fire happily blazing or a few lanterns you can possess, then set to explode in a fiery blaze or even shoot with your slingshot. Provided you burn the fabric pile they guard, you can make short work of the Maano. You'll find there are plenty of options to make a nice bonfire out of them as long as you're careful, or you might find yourself being covered in fabric that drains your stamina until you inevitably blackout.

As previously mentioned, Tchia is deeply rooted and inspired by the old traditions of New Caledonia. When you're not out exploring, you get to experience the rich folklore through various cinematics or practices like Coutume. Coutume in Tchia is the practice of giving thanks or an offering to someone who hosts you or gives some of their time to you. Similar to a thank you note, with more steps but oddly charming. The world of Tchia is very musically driven, where any occasion is a reason to pick up an instrument and live in the music, it keeps the atmosphere on the lighter side, but it can detract from the plot unless you understand why it's happening. Though that does become apparent quite soon, provided you're paying attention.
 

In Tchia you'll get to explore the vast and vibrant lands and do some virtual sightseeing. The landscapes are vibrant but not at all overbearing. You feel like you're walking through the tropics while exploring closer to the beaches. There is, however, a clear imbalance in some parts; forests feel heavily overpopulated where grasslands actually lack grass. So you're walking through an area that seems unrealistic with how the trees are placed or grassy plains that come off as very flat, boring, and lacking. The character design is quite well done as to not be too much while maintaining a child-like aesthetic, similar to looking at the world through a child's eyes.

Tchia's sound engineering and music are what makes it so appealing; both aspects are absolutely awe-inspiring. While walking around, you'll hear the wildlife around you; this in itself builds a really nice and peaceful atmosphere around you. No creature is too small to make a sound in Tchia; even your footsteps change depending on where you're walking. To save the best for last: The music production for Tchia is quite brilliantly done and implemented. Each song plays a unique part in each cutscene and helps to convey the general emotion while playing into the traditional inspiration. The use of traditional instruments adds incredible depth to the environment and immersion.

The biggest saving grace that Tchia has is the customization options. As you progress through the story, you'll unlock new options with which to customize Tchia to your liking. These options range from hair, clothes, and face paint all the way up to customizing your raft. The combinations are nearly endless with the vast amount of options you get, though it won't come easy. Treasure boxes and quests are your only source for getting more clothes, caps, hair options, and raft customizations. If you want to add your own special flare to Tchia, you'll need to go out and look for it.

Aside from a few missing mechanics and usual features of this genre such as the lack of fast travel and wildlife to Soul-jump into, Tchia is still a brilliantly designed game with beautiful visuals, rich culture to explore, breathtaking music, and so much more. The atmosphere might seem unnecessarily cheery and light, but that might be the main message the game has to offer. That even in the darkest time, no matter how hard it gets, you can still find joy around you as long as you hold your head high and push forward.

Jay Claassen
Editor, NoobFeed