Of everything that showed up at PlayStation Showcase 2021, Tchia managed to stand out. This colorful adventure game got the attention of a lot of viewers, even though it was wedged between trailers and teasers for everything from a Knights of the Old Republic remake to God of War: Ragnarok footage. Tchia is set in an archipelago based on New Caledonia where the titular protagonist sets off on an adventure, making the most of her jumping and free-climbing skills to traverse the islands. As she explores, Tchia will meet new characters, learn songs for her ukulele, unlock items, and more.
However, the newest Tchia trailer emphasized a supernatural aspect of the game that really helps set it apart. Tchia can possess animals and objects, gaining their abilities and making the most of them to explore and overcome obstacles. It's an ability very reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey's Capture mechanic; in Odyssey, Mario's new companion Cappy can make Mario take control of his enemies, which opens up all kinds of ways to solve puzzles and clear challenges. As similar as the mechanics are, Tchia appears to improve on Super Mario Odyssey's idea by virtue of Tchia's fluidity of possession and the range of things she can become.
Tchia's Improvements Over Super Mario Odyssey
The speed of possession in Tchia is totally different from Super Mario Odyssey's method. In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario has to throw Cappy at an enemy to take control. It's fairly simple, but it does require a little finesse to do accurately and quickly. If Mario wants to leave an enemy to Capture something else, it's a matter of jumping out and finding a new target, but depending on the situation, that can be a little tricky. On the whole, Super Mario Odyssey isn't designed to have Mario constantly hop from one Capture target to the next, and instead balances Captures with 3D platforming.
Tchia, by contrast, seems more avid about players controlling things as often and quickly as possible. The PlayStation Showcase's gameplay trailer for Tchia shows her flying around as a seagull, then leaping out of the bird to take control of a dog below before she hits the ground. After she leaves the seagull and prepares to possess the dog, time slows down, giving players ample opportunity to jump right into their next target. Bearing the game's physics-based traversal and aerial tricks in mind, Tchia seems designed for this kind of slick, fast-paced, parkour-esque possession. That's a great improvement over Super Mario Odyssey's delightful but somewhat slow mechanic.
Tchia Encourages Skillful Possession
Tchia's fast-paced possession is made more meaningful by the volume of things that Tchia can become. Super Mario Odyssey had a few dozen unique enemies and items that Mario could control, but Tchia claims there will be hundreds of things to possess on top of dozens of items. The sheer variety of potential targets in the game means Tchia strongly encourages players to always be on the lookout for another possession target, leaping from animal to object to animal as they race around the game's archipelago.
There's no doubt Tchia borrows some inspiration from Super Mario Odyssey seeing how Tchia's various animals have unique abilities she can use to affect her environment. It's a good thing that Tchia leans into Super Mario Odyssey's ideas, though. Possession mechanics are pretty uncommon in video games, so it's great to see another title picking up on the notion. That's especially true for an indie game that's happy to experiment with the mechanic and introduce new ideas. Anybody who loved Super Mario Odyssey should definitely keep an eye on Tchia, because it looks like it may scratch the same itch.
Tchia is scheduled to release in 2022 for PC, PS4, and PS5.