Tchia

Tchia is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective. The player assumes control of the titular protagonist, who must explore a tropical archipelago to rescue her kidnapped father. Tchia has the ability of "soul jumping", which allows her to possess and assume control of animals and inanimate objects found in the world, and uses their power to travel to new areas, solve puzzles, and defend herself against opponents. For instance, by soul jumping to a dog, players can use its ability to dig out treasure maps. According to developer Phil Crifo, players can soul jump to more than 30 animals and "hundreds of" objects.

Tchia can explore the archipelago in her human form. She is equipped with a glider and a raft which allows her to navigate between places quickly. Tchia is highly acrobatic. She can quickly slide down a mountain, climb up trees and use it to catapult herself across the canopy, and ascend nearly all types of surfaces.

The game opens with a young boy being brought to an orphanage. Looking to help make him comfortable, the old woman in charge tells him the story of Tchia.

Tchia and her father Joxu live alone on the island of Uma, occasionally visited by their friend Tre. On Tchia's twelfth birthday, an airship lands on the island and a man named Pwi Dua emerges, kidnapping Joxu. Tchia attempts to stop him and discovers that she has the ability to soul jump, letting her possess creatures and inanimate objects, but fails to stop him from escaping before she falls into the ocean. Tchia wakes up in Tre's camp, who reveals that Joxu is being held captive by Meavora. Knowing he's sending people to abduct him too, Tre gives Tchia his boat so she can escape and rescue her father.

Tchia was developed by Montreal-based studio Awaceb. The setting is fictional; it was heavily inspired by New Caledonia, a Pacific nation within the French Republic where the founders of Aweceb, Thierry Boura and Phil Crifo, grew up. In particular, Kanak culture was a major source of inspiration for the team. One of the goals for the studio was to "show what it was like exploring New Caledonia" when the two were still kids.

Most members of the studio travelled to Lifou for two weeks to conduct research, as well as showing a demo to the indigenous population. Similar to the natives in New Caledonia, the characters speak French and Drehu; as there were no professional voice actors who spoke Drehu, the studio had a difficult time recruiting people to record lines for the game. The character of Tchia was described to be "curious" and "a bit naïve". As she slowly explores the world, she gradually meets different non-playable characters and helps resolve their conflicts, breaking down the wall between different communities.

Tchia received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. By May 2023, over 1 million copies have been sold.

PC Gamer called the title, "one of the best open world games to come along in ages" and said it takes place in "an enchanting world filled with adventure, excitement, beauty, physics-driven fun, and lots of charming characters". Game Informer said it "drips with joyful, explorative fun" and has a sandbox world that is "rewarding at just about every turn". GamesRadar+ wrote that Tchia is a "delightful, inventive adventure" and praised the soul-jumping mechanic, which they said is "inventive and enjoyable".