To say I’m excited about the full release of Tchia would be an understatement. Ever since we got to see a preview build of the game back in August, it has been seated firmly at the top of my list of most anticipated games coming out in 2023. Its tropical locale, and the many options it presented for exploring and interacting with the wider world, had me giddy to get my hands on a playable build and run wild within its setting.

We’ve still got a little ways to go before the game releases in earnest, but the game’s developer Awaceb was kind enough to let us play a hands-on preview build of the game in the meantime. Now, having gotten my hands on the game for a handful of hours, I can safely say that my excitement was well-placed.

As with the hands-off demo presented last year, we were dropped into a section of the game where we needed to assist some of the island’s inhabitants and complete some tasks to progress the main plot. Items needed to create an offering needed to be gathered, and a young girl about the same age as the game’s titular protagonist was the person to go to for said items. To that end, Tchia must track her down and otherwise spend some time with her before she would hand over the necessary materials.

While this may sound like your typical in-game task, it was far less restrictive than it sounds. Instead of railroading the player into completing this task, it was largely left as something to be completed whenever one feels like it. The game’s world was…