People play video games for an almost endless number of reasons. Thanks to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Last Of Us, a lot of outsiders are learning that some video games tell incredible stories. 2023 has also shown just how many people like to be scared by their games, especially ones they've probably played before, via the success of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dead Space remake and the resounding reviews for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Resident Evil 4 Remake. You might even play games for nothing more than competitive reasons, loving the thrill of battering someone on FIFA or picking up a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

If you play a lot of games, then you will play them for a variety of reasons. Which game you play tonight may well be dictated by the mood you're in. I recently noticed I've been doing the exact opposite. That my mood hasn't been dictating what games I play, but the games I play have been altering my mood, and not for the better. I didn't realise I could use to my advantage until I played Tchia.

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation has been flaunting Awaceb's New Caledonian adventure for quite a while. I remember the first time I saw it during a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:State of Play, and it didn't really leave a mark on me. But as I watched the final trailer for it before launch, debating whether Tchia was going to be a game I spend money on, it closed with the reveal PlayStation Plus Ex🍃tra and Premium subscribers will get it as a part of their subscription.

tchia stacking rocks
via Awaceb

Fast forward to launch day on March 21, and I'm right there playing Tchia. Your journey begins on a tiny island where you need to meet up with your dad. The map gives you a rough idea of where he is, but it's not a pressing matter. Just catch up with him when you're done looking around. He's in no rush to get going, and neither should you be.

Once you meet up with your dad, you have a meal with him, take a break by the campfire, and eventually have a little go on a ukulele. It's nothing but calm vibes. I'm only a few hours, but some of the soothing activities I've done so far that I've not already mentioned include diving for pearls and stacking rocks. I messed up the latter almost immediately but hey, it doesn't matter, it can be fixed, and it was.

gliding in tchia
via Awaceb

You'll quickly be gifted a raft, allowing you to sail between Tchia's islands. Perhaps the most calming element of the game I have experienced so far is when you're out on open water, safe in the knowledge that Tchia won't immediately expire if she makes contact with the ocean like Tommy in Vice City. If sailing around is starting to feel a little lonely, you can shore up in Aemoon - the first big island you visit. It's not bustling with people, but those you do find are open to a high five as you pass. Just good, wholesome stuff.

While Tchia can certainly be treated like some sort of New Caledonian life sim (minor spoilers for the start of the game ahead) your dad gets kidnapped. Dragged into the sky by villains in a helicopter who clearly aren't familiar with the island clusters' relaxed way of life or simply want to disrupt it. You know, typical bad guy stuff. Even that cutscene didn't flip my mood, although I did briefly feel as if my serene new world was about to be shattered.

tchia on a raft
via Awaceb

Back to how Tchia has had a welcome and opposing effect on me than everything else I've been playing on a regular basis lately. If something is bothering or boring you, you can skip it. Just sit back and let Tchia take care of it for you. If you don't fancy playing the ukelele rhythm game, or you're finding it a little tricky, you can hit autoplay and just sit back and listen to the music.

For comparison, the game I probably play the most right now is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Rocket League. Despite pumping in more hours than I'd care to admit over the years, I am still decidedly average when behind the wheel of a football-playing car. So much so that my win percentage is almost exactly 50/50. When I win, I'm happy, but when I lose, most of the time it drives me up the wall. Because it's a car? I'm wasted on you. Anyway, the same applies to FIFA, and even some story-based games have been causing my mood to dip lately. I finally finished Arkham City for the first time this week, but that final Catwoman mission required so much of my time (because I kept dying, just in case that wasn't clear) that I almost threw in my cape.

I had forgotten games like Tchia existed, or more specifically, I had forgotten the positive effect they can have on me. It's not always about winning at all costs or picking a game that will push your abilities, and sometimes your mood, to the absolute limit. Sometimes you just want to sail around on a raft, play a ukulele, and maybe get around to saving your dad from some bad guys in a weird floating sky fortress whenever you have the time. I'm sure he'll be fine. Tchia really doesn't feel like the kind of game that will eventually inform me it's too late because I spent too long stacking rocks when I should have been working out how to save my kidnapped father. I'll have to let you know.

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