Tchia

***Tchia*** is an action-adventure video game developed by Awaceb and published by Kepler Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on March 21, 2023.

## Story

### Setting

The game is set in a fictional archipelago that is heavily inspired by New Caledonia. The archipelago is ruled by the malevolent Meavora who controls the people through manipulation and fear. Characters in the game are shown to have special abilities that allow them to perform extraordinary feats. The game revolves around a young girl named Tchia who discovers she has a special ability of her own and uses it to rescue her kidnapped father. Along the way she meets new friends and discovers more about her family's past. The game's story is divided into chapters which can be replayed by selecting them from the main menu.

### Plot

A young boy arrives at an island that serves as a haven for orphans. Later that night, he joins the other orphans around a campfire as an Old Lady tells them the story of Tchia. Many years ago, Tchia lived on the island of Uma with her father Joxu. On her twelfth birthday, Joxu gave her a Slingshot and Glider. The next day, the pair greet their only contact with the outside world, Tre. He gives Tchia a Tiare Flower and all of them spend the rest of the day together. The three of them awoke in the morning to the sound of an approaching aircraft. Deducing that the aircraft must have followed Tre, Joxu tells Tre to hide Tchia. A man named Pwi Dua and two mystical beings called Maano emerge from the aircraft and confront Joxu. Pwi Dua states that he has been looking for Joxu for the past twelve years and has the Maano tie him up and put him on the aircraft. As they start flying away, Tchia runs after them. Desperate to save her father, Tchia unknowingly uses a special ability and possesses Pwi Dua's machete. While she cuts his face, Pwi Dua throws her off the aircraft and leaves.

Tre saves Tchia and bring her back to his camp to heal her. After waking up, Tchia gives Tre a gift to show her gratitude. Appreciating her gesture, gives her a Ukulele and the pair played music together for the rest of the night. The next morning, Tre tells Tchia that she needs to leave before Pwi Dua finds her and that he cannot go with her as does not want to abandon his home. He then instructs her to travel to Ga Ngazo in the city of Aëmoon on Madra Nöj to find Pwi Dua's boss and the archipelago's ruler, Meavora. Before setting off on her journey, Tre gives her his Boat, Compass, and Flashlight and the two share a heartfelt goodbye. After Tchia arrives at Ga Ngazo, she is refused an audience with Meavora by his Secretary who explains that she must gather items for an offering first. To gather the needed items, Tchia travels to Weliwele and Hunahmi on Ija Nöj. She meets Gaby and her daughter Louise at Weliwele and bonds with the two after completing an errand for Gaby. At Hunahmi, Tchia meets the Chief and performs an errand for him. He then teaches her how to sculpt a totem and use it to open a Totem Shrine Door. With all the items gathered, Tchia returns to Ga Ngazo and is allowed passage to the throne room. While getting the items from her bag, Tchia witnesses Meavora devour an infant boy. Shaken by what she just witnessed, Tchia tries to ask about her father but is stopped by Pwi Dua who recognizes her. He tells Meavora that she is the girl he saw on Uma, prompting a delighted Meavora to bring several Maano to life to capture her. Tchia runs outside but is cornered by Pwi Dua and the Maano. Before they can capture her, however, a Masked Warrior appears in front of her and knocks her off Ga Ngazo.

Tchia awakens on a mysterious island called Ieji Sinöe. She is soon captured and put in a cage by old spirits known as the Mwakens. After playing a song for the spirits, Tchia is released from the cage by the island's guardian Kavere. Kavere tells Tchia that she needs to learn more about her family's past and has her enter the mystical Banyan Tree. Once inside, Tchia sees visions of the past. She learns that her father and mother were once the King and Queen of the archipelago and that she had a twin brother named Makanu who also had powers like her. Twelve years ago, Pwi Dua intimidated the locals into forcing the royal family to go to Hua, the prison of the God of the Depths, Meavora. He then threw Makanu into the pit, leading the boy to be devoured by Meavora. This revived the god and gave him Makanu's powers. As Pwi Dua attempted to throw an infant Tchia into the pit, the Masked Warrior intervened which allowed Joxu to escape with Tchia to Uma. Once outside the Banyan Tree, Kavere tells Tchia that someone will be at the island soon to answer her questions. Knowing that Meavora will retaliate against her friends for escaping his grasp, Tchia refuses to wait around and quickly leaves on her Boat.

She sails back to Ija Nöj and finds Louise who is happy to see her return. The two play a song together, leading Louise to express her feelings to Tchia. The pair kiss and Louise places Tchia's Tiare Flower on the other side of her ear. Moments later, they see Pwi Dua's aircraft landing at Weliwele. Once in the village, Louise, Gaby, and the other villagers were taken captive by Pwi Dua. Before Tchia can save them, she is interrupted by the Masked Warrior who chases after the aircraft. Frustrated, Tchia is approached by a young boy named Youl who tells her that he can help her. Once at his home at the Wildlife Refuge, Youl tells Tchia that they can stop Meavora by destroying his Fabric Factory, Xupi Maano, on Madra Nöj. Tchia goes to Xupi Maano to take some pictures for Youl so he can tell her how to destroy it. While there, she notices a prison holding her father, Gaby, and the Chief captive. Tchia hugs her father and promises to free him soon as several Maano arrive. Youl deduces that the prisoners can be freed by destroying the factory's chimneys to shut down power. To open the hatches covering the chimney, Tchia travels to three other factories on the island and destroys them so that they stop supplying power to Xupi Maano. Afterwards, she returns to the factory and destroys its chimneys, freeing the prisoners.

However, as Joxu and the others start to walk out of their cell, Pwi Dua arrives in an aircraft. The Masked Warrior arrives and attempts to help Tchia stop him but is too late. Pwi Dua throws explosives into the compound and escapes. Gaby, the Chief, and the other prisoners are killing from the ensuring explosion. Tchia and the Masked Warrior search the rubble and find a heavily injured Joxu. The Masked Warrior unmasks, revealing herself to be Tchia's mother, Heia. Heia holds Joxu's hand in his last moments before he succumbs to his injuries. Sometime later, Tchia and Heia take Joxu's body back to Uma and bury him. After the funeral, Tchia spends the rest of the day bonding with her mother. In the morning she finds a note from Heia telling her to meet on Ieji Sinöe. After arriving on the island, Tchia is informed by Kavere that there is more for her to learn in the Banyan Tree. Once inside, Tchia learns that Kavere was the Masked Warrior that allowed her and Joxu to escape twelve years ago and that she rescued and trained Heia. Tchia also found out that Kavere had stopped Meavora decades ago by using her own power to transform him into a wood worm. After leaving the tree, Tchia returns to the campfire beside Kavere's home. Kavere explains to Tchia that she and Heia have a plan and show her a large object called a boucan.

A short while later, Tchia and Heia travel to Ga Nagazo and confront Meavora. Noticing Tre in a locked cage beside the throne, Tchia agrees to surrender and be devoured if Meavora releases him. Tre pleads for Tchia not to go through with it, but she tells him not to worry. After being devoured, Tchia meets all the devoured children Meavora had devoured over the years. Louise emerges through the crowd of children and introduces Tchia's infant brother Makanu. Louise explains that Makanu is still an infant as they do not age inside Meavora due to time working differently. Tchia then reassures Louise by telling her she has a way to get them out of there. She manages to expose Meavora's heart and throws the boucan into it. This causes Meavora to not only expel all the children from his body but also causes him to lose all his power and return to his wood worm form. As they debate on what to do with him, Heia promptly squishes and kills Meavora. Unfortunately, his death causes the magic keeping Ga Nagazo floating in the air to disappear and cause it to tumble towards the ground. To everyone's surprise, Makanu uses his power to save them all and reconnect the throne room with the rest of Ga Nagazo on the ground. Shortly after, However, Pwi Dua took Makanu hostage and fled outside. As his aircraft arrives, he criticizes them for never learning and fatally strikes the boy with his machete and throws him. Heia manages to catch her son but is horrified to see that he has already passed away. This causes a vengeful Tchia to possess Pwi Dua's machete once again and sever his hand before he escapes. As everyone mourns Makanu's death, Tre steps up and reveals he has healing powers. He is successful in reviving Makanu but soon dies from the strain it causes on his body. He is later buried beside Joxu on Uma.

With peace finally restored, Heia returns to the throne as Queen and raises Makanu. Meanwhile, Tchia returns to Uma with Louise and all the other children Meavora had devoured. Along with Kavere who moves to Uma to take care of them, they transform it into a haven for orphans and lost children. With the story now over, it is revealed that the old woman telling it is none other than an elderly Louise who tells the children it is time for bed. Louise later finds an elderly Tchia visiting the graves of Joxu, Tre, and Kavere. The two then walk through Uma which has expanded over the years into a bustling community. They pair climb the arch overlooking Uma's lagoon and shout into the heavens.

## Gameplay

### Items and Abilities

Players control the titular protagonist, Tchia, from a third-person perspective. She has a special ability known as Soul-Jump that allows her to possess and control small objects and animals. She can then use this to her advantage to travel around the environment quickly, reach otherwise inaccessible areas, or solve puzzles. This ability is only limited by the Soul-Meter which decreases every time Soul-Jump is used. While the meter replenishes over time, it can be restored instantly by Eating food. Soul-Jump is further enhanced with Soul-Throw which allows her to throw objects at aimed targets. The Soul-Meter can be increased with Soul Fruit which are awarded after completing a challenge within a Totem Shrine Door. Tchia can also play Soul-Melodies with her Ukulele. These have special effects like summoning animals and plants or changing the time of day.

Aside from possessing objects or animals, Tchia can explore the environment in her human form. Tchia can slide down slopes, perform Tricks while in the air, grab and throw objects, etc. She can also climb any structure or use a Glider while in the air. These are limited by the Stamina meter which will slowly deplete while consumed or when damage is taken. Should the Stamina reach zero, Tchia will pass out and respawn at the nearest Campfire. Campfires also allow Tchia to change her appearance, eat, sleep, and play her Ukulele. The Boat can be used to traverse water quickly and can be spawned at a Dock. Additionally, Docks allow Tchia to fast travel to other docks so long as they have been visited.

### Activities

A wide variety of activities are available across the archipelago in the form of challenges, minigames, and collectibles. The player will be introduced to most of them during the story and can find them while exploring. Activities are revealed on the map after completing a Point of View as well as when the player travels near them. Available challenges include Races, Diving Board Challenges, and Shooting Ranges. These will award Trophies once complete which can be used to play Claw Machines.

Stamina Fruits and Soul Fruits increase Tchia's Stamina and Soul-Meter while Valuables Chests and Treasure Chests contain cosmetic items. Braided Trinkets and Clam Pearls can also be collected and are used in story quests as well as currency to buy Cosmetic Boxes. Earning cosmetics allows players to customize Tchia, the Glider, and Ukulele at Campfires as well as the Boat when at Dock. Throughout various points of the story, rhythm games called Music Sequencess can be played manually or with auto-play.

### Animals and Plants

The environment has dozens of different animals and plants. They can be found in designated locations such as fish in the water, Deer in forests, etc. Using Soul-Jump on animals gives Tchia access to several abilities. For instance, the Dog can be used to Dig up Treasure Chests while the Common Crab can be used to cut the chains wrapped around several of them. They are also useful for traversing around the environment quickly. Aside from finding animals and plants in the environment, they can also be summoned with Soul-Melodies which are unlocked by completing Rock Balancing activities.

## Trophies and Achievements

*Main article: Trophies and Achievements*
The game features a total of 21 achievements on Microsoft Windows and 22 trophies on PlayStation, the extra being the Platinum trophy. All achievements and trophies are obtained upon the completion of certain tasks.

## Soundtrack

*Main article: Original Soundtrack*
The game features an original soundtrack composed by John Robert Matz. It is comprised of 64 tracks and was released alongside the game on March 21st, 2023.

## Settings

*Main article: Settings*
Tchia's settings give players access to several accessibility options. They can also be used to key bind any button to the player's preferences.

## Reception

Tchia received generally favorable reviews upon its release. The game has a score of 77/100 on Metacritic.

## Development

Development for the game started in 2018 and was originally known as Project Caillou. It was developed by a team of twelve people at Awaceb on the Unreal Engine. In August 2019, the Awaceb received funding from Kowloon Nights. In 2021, the publishing label Kepler Interactive was founded by Awaceb and several other studios and was used to fund and publish Tchia. The game was announced at the Game Awards 2020 and originally had a release date set for 2022. However, it was later delayed to 2023 and was eventually released on March 21st, 2023, for Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

The game's location, while fictional, is heavily inspired by the Kanak culture of New Caledonia where the developer's founders grew up. Awaceb sought to craft a game that would give players an experience akin to what the founders felt like when they lived on New Caledonia as kids. Awaceb traveled to Lifou and conducted research for the game for two weeks. As with New Caledonia, characters in the game speak French and Drehu. As it was difficult to find professional voice actors who spoke the latter, Awaceb recruited several locals with no prior experience to voice several of the game’s characters.

## Gallery

### Videos

Tchia - Reveal Trailer - A Game inspired by New CaledoniaTchia - Tropical Adventure Trailer - A Game inspired by New CaledoniaTchia - Gameplay Trailer - A Game inspired by New CaledoniaTchia - Ocean Exploration Mini-FeatureTchia - Soul-Jumping Mini-FeatureTchia - Gameplay Series (1-7) - World, Story, MusicTchia - Gameplay Series (2-7) - Locomotion & TraversalTchia - Gameplay Series (3-7) - Soul-JumpingTchia - Gameplay Series (4-7) - UkuleleTchia - Gameplay Series (5-7) - Challenges & EncountersTchia - Gameplay Series (6-7) - Open World ActivitiesTchia - Gameplay Series (7-7) - Customization & ItemsTchia - Release Date TrailerTchia - Gameplay Deep DiveTchia - Launch Trailer