chia It’s one of those games where I liked a lot of things, but I didn’t always play it. It’s a joyful and charming game in many ways. The heroine is fun, the Soul Jump mechanics are fresh, and the cultural homages to New Caledonia are wonderful. But the thing is, it often gets a bit obtuse or tedious. Not to mention that there are times when it’s not good to tell yourself what to do.
Tchia stars a young woman who lives alone with her father on a small island. It’s only two, though a friend named Tre stops by with supplies. All seems peaceful and well at first. The reason they are there, however, is quickly explained, as a vicious man with otherworldly Cloth minions comes and kidnaps his father. Tre tells her that Meavora took him and she has to go and confront her. However, during the abduction, Tchia also discovered access to strange powers, granting her telekinetic and soul-hopping abilities that allow her to enter animate and inanimate creatures and objects.
It’s so refreshing and charming. Even when the meetings are short between people and Tchia, we feel that these moments are significant. The quiet opening showing his life with his father. The brief moments he spends with people on different islands. Their reactions to their surroundings range from cheerful to amusing and sometimes even terrifying. There is a sense of variety and realism here. And all this surrounded by this beautiful language and this fantastic music. Not to mention, there’s this Soul Jump mechanic that
chiaThe main problem with it is that it’s often not very good as a game. It will tell you to do things, but it won’t explain how. You need Stamina Fruits to increase her stamina bar for things like rock climbing, gliding, and swimming, and you can find one on the island where Tchia lives with her father, but it doesn’t. there is no introduction or prompt to find it. You’ll be asked to collect pearls for a quest, but you won’t be taught how to dive or what a pearl clam looks like. Play a soulful melody to change the time of day! Well, how do you get the ukulele out to do that? These are the first examples you’ll come across in the first 15-30 minutes, but it’s a recurring theme.
It also lacks many of the quality of life features we’ve come to expect from games beyond tutorials. To find your way, you’re supposed to treat the game like the real world, relying on maps and signs to tell you where you are and where you need to go. Which could be new. Except that it is often difficult to know exactly where you need to go. This aggravates the tedious nature. Especially if it happens that completing a task, when it doesn’t generate a major bonus like a new Soul Melody, can honestly feel a bit unsatisfying.
Although the only time chia I was really disappointed when its many performance issues surfaced. Since the release, and even before, several patches have appeared. These took care of some of the PS5’s biggest issues, like everything going completely black after a cutscene-to-gameplay transition or when a loading screen is complete. Once I finally started fighting Meavora’s minions, setting them on fire became more of a nuisance than a challenge. Especially if they get stuck on rocks or other environmental features.
chia it’s undeniably charming, it offers an amazing Soul Jump concept and it’s this loving tribute to New Caledonia and its culture. But at the same time, it can sometimes be intimidating to play. Whether it’s actual bugs, which to be honest Awaceb seems to be trying to make real progress on fixing, or design decisions that keep things obtuse, it can be frustrating. It’s honest to be sure and I’d say it’s worth someone’s time, but it’s also a game you might want to watch for a while before making a decision on it.
chia is available on PS4, PS5 and PC.