Though the French might call it Nouvelle-Calédonie, and of course, it was captain Cook that named the island New Caledonia, the name of the French Colony archipelago was one of many reasons I initially wanted to play Tchia. It is a gorgeous adventure game designed to bring you into a world inspired by the Kanak people, based on the life and culture of those in New Caledonia. Tchia, named after the young woman you play as, is the type of game that makes me jealous of being a kid now. I’d spend hours, days even just walking around exploring the islands and Coral Sea.

This is an adventure game in the truest sense. We’re once again climbing to the highest point like a Ubisoft game to mark up our map and exploring the environment for trinkets, upgrades, and rest points. In fact, in the city with Tchia’s glider on hand, I was reminded that just about every game now is like Just Cause as I jumped off a massive crane. Of course, that is minus the explosions and destruction. You’ll be focused on collecting items, completing the story, finding all the mini-games, eating all the food that will make you hungry while playing, and so on. Tchia seems very wholesome and grounded.

Then Tchia’s dad is kidnapped and the magic comes into play. Some of that wholesomeness almost disappears and you’re dropped into the world to explore Ija Nöj and Madra Nöj. Humming “How Far I’ll Go” and belting out “You’re Welcome,” you explore the sea in a slightly modified take on what is typically called a wa’a kaulua in Polynesian cultures. I’ll stick my hand up and say I don’t know what this type of boat would be called in Melanesian culture, which New Caledonia is part of. Though you are thrown out into the world with this boat, told to talk to people and collect whatever they ask for, and you are free to explore.

The story in Tchia isn’t really the point. It is there to get you into the world, but it doesn’t push itself and command your attention too much. As I’ve alluded to, it is mostly a collection of fetch quests and cutscenes to aim you in the right direction. It doesn’t have great pretensions of what it is. I say that knowing that I’ve sat through several musical cutscenes and make no mistake, that is what they are. There is a gameplay element, as you strum/pluck away at your instrument of choice to a rhythm mini-game. A mini-game that I (a musician outside of this writing lark) just can’t get.

Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the rest of those rhythm-focused musical titles all eluded me. Spinning a pointer around a diagram (mostly) of notes/chords as short-lived prompts come into view isn’t something I’ll pick up quickly. Thankfully you can press-in the left stick on your controller (I’d highly suggest playing with a controller) and this will automatically complete those elements, freeing you up to read the subtitles so you know what the song is about. This brings me to a negative about Tchia, not because of my heavily discussed dyslexia but something else.

In the settings, you’ll find several assists and accessibility options including “more legible font,” holds instead of mashing, a field of view option for a third-person game, and so on. A large portion of Tchia is about accessibility, including reducing the intensity of some scenes for younger audiences or those who might find some things distressing. To be clear, I’m all for that. Though all voiced lines are in French (and possibly some native tongues of New Caledonia) and you can’t change that whatsoever. For me, that isn’t so much of an issue. I can read the subtitles or understand the French that I know.

All of that said, not everyone is comfortable reading subtitles while trying to complete musical mini-games. Furthermore, while we believe that about 95% of the western world is literate to a point, children under the age of 15 (the target audience) globally are believed to be about 86% literate. This isn’t about making a joke regarding Twitter, I’ve met someone who is self-admittedly illiterate and I’ve seen how that affects them. As I’ve said before, games can sometimes be a struggle for me. Knowing this is a barrier for someone else makes this something that is absolutely worth mentioning.

Not all cut scenes are accompanied by fun musical moments, but those that are can be a pressure to keep up if I don’t switch to the automatic playing element. The only instrument/rhythm mini-game that didn’t get too busy too quickly was the Bwanjep and Sonaï, two percussive instruments made from tree bark and dried seeds. As a simple instrument with only two notes to play instead of 8 with a further 32 notes through accents and keys, the build to quick tempos and higher beat measures isn’t too difficult. There are plenty of other mechanics that make Tchia a sandbox of exploration and mini-games, including the claw machines found in seaside towns.

From diving challenges, slingshot aiming, the already mentioned claw machines, races, and totem carving, alongside lots of exploration for trinkets and pearls, there is a lot of fun to be had. Additionally, searching for all the valuable chests and cosmetics boxes gives you the chance to dress Tchia up how you want. Her hair, face paint, dresses, shoes, and practically everything can be changed. This includes your boat which can be slightly altered to have different flags, a different carpet hanging off the side, and the canoes that your boat cuts through the sea with.

Though the gameplay is seemingly the focus, Tchia does aim to be funny at least with its minimalist visual comedy/action story. As chapter five begins, there are a lot of examples of why some might want to enable the option to reduce scene intensity. The big villain, Meavora, and ruler/tyrant of the islands had requested an egg so, of course, Tchia’s new best friend cut the head off of a chicken which obviously stays alive and walks about, spurting cartoon blood everywhere. This says nothing of Meavora quite literally using their magic to pull a baby from its parent’s arms and out of a cage to eat the child whole.

I said the delightful wholesomeness disappears at some point, which is a stark contrast to the gameplay that always has a light tone. Even the most aggressive Fauna doesn’t seem to care that a 12-year-old is either swimming right up next to them, walking by, or flying above. It would be difficult to sell a game where a 12-year-old is in active danger, I know, but there is a slight disconnect in some of that overall. That doesn’t mean there isn’t some more explosive gameplay. You can soul-jump into a cow, take a dump, stop possessing the cow, pocket its unstable turd, and throw that at statues (or people) you don’t like.

The Just Cause comparison is sounding a little closer now, isn’t it? The Soul-Jumping isn’t all about uranium-filled turds, it can often be about just getting around a little faster than Tchia’s little legs can carry her. Quite a lot of the time I’m possessing birds so I can get around faster, but you can be a crab, a shark, a boar, or a cat if you want to ignore everyone and do whatever you want. Though I’m pretty sure that’s what a 12-year-old does anyway. As a fun way of solving problems sometimes, the Soul-Jumping is something I wish was a little more central to progression.

In terms of sharing some cultural aspects and spreading the joy of one’s own (or another’s) land, Tchia might not be a documentary of day-to-day life or anything in great detail about the lives the Kanak people live. Nonetheless, it can offer the looking glass to give someone the idea of exploring and finding out more about this small collection of islands and its people, to do so with empathy and excitement. The truth is, we don’t talk enough about indigenous peoples or their cultures with a desire for knowledge with empathy, and excitement. Tchia isn’t a classroom lesson, but a lens through gameplay.

Playing on PC and notably exceeding the recommended specs to play Tchia, I did encounter a few slight drops in frame rate. However, I think it is worth noting that I’ve always had issues with games running in almost any version of Unreal, from small drops in frame rate to continuous crashes that make me question the point of using the engine. In my 10-ish hours, I didn’t see any crashes but with everything turned up to “Epic/”on and DSLL off, it was mostly in the morning of the day-night cycle as the mist settled in. It isn’t unplayable, but it is notable.

Ultimately, Tchia is colorful, fun, and sometimes less than wholesome with a hint of frivolity. It is a little mystical, and most of all, it is an enjoyable game. The gameplay and story could have been blended a lot better to make a cohesive experience, and those rhythm mini-games could settle down to give some of us a chance. Yet the exploration (including treasure maps), movement, collectibles, and mini-games do a lot of the heavy lifting where other portions might be a bit of a letdown.

A PC review copy of Tchia was provided by Kepler Interactive for the purposes of this review.

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Tchia

$29.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Fun and colorful.
• Soul-Jumping for poo and throwing rocks!
• Some fun and simple visual storytelling.
• Will lead to finding out lots more about New Caledonia.

Cons

• Minor performance issues.
• Those rhythm mini-games are not exactly easy to get a hold of.