Tsioque | PC Review
The point-and-click adventure Tsioque is the latest release of OhNoo Studio and developed together with Smile. OhNoo Studio consists of three developers that have ‘big ambitions and even bigger dreams.’ Their previous adventure game, Tormentum, was more of a dark nightmare and was received very well. With Tsioque they go in a different direction. In the game you play the princess Tsioque, trying to escape the clutches of an evil wizard that has taken over the magical castle with his minions after the Queen left to go and fight. There are many secrets to discover in the castle and Tsioque will need all her resolve and ingenuity to escape.
Easy And Exciting
Tsioque takes the modern approach to the point-and-click genre, by having the mouse automatically do the correct command, like picking something up, opening a door or using it. The mouse pointer simply changes from an arrow to a hand to imply using or picking up, or legs to imply walking. This way you can easily maneuver through the scenes and solve the puzzles presented. It doesn’t mean that the game isn’t challenging from time to time, though! You can still die or get caught, but that will put you back in the scene right before you made the wrong choice or action. This keeps the game going nice and easy, and prevents frustration.
Twists And Turns
The story is simple at first and gets a big, delicious surprise later in the game. It’s a very short game, even though it doesn’t feel like that. That is meant in a good way, because the game is quite immersive. It evokes the fairytales of old very well, and delivers some nice and funny twists on familiar tropes. And like the greatest fairytales, this game is not afraid to go a bit dark every now and then. If I sound a bit vague here, that is on purpose; I don’t want to spoil the game. All I will say further is that it all falls into place and you’ll look at the game with different eyes at the end.
Adventure And Arcade
The game is lovely, drawn by hand and has a very distinct style. The controls are easy, which helps when some challenges are based on quickness, and there are even a few old-fashioned arcade challenges! In general I’m not a fan of those in adventure games (Space Quest ruined that for me), but here they are not very difficult and add to the atmosphere. You generally don’t get a warning an arcade element is coming, so in several cases I had to start over before I realized what I had to do. The soundtrack does well to conjure that fairytale feeling while you’re playing.
Magic And Mayhem
I really enjoyed the game. Although I was a bit apprehensive about the short length, I had nothing to fear. Tsioque is a delightful and funny little tale of magic and mayhem. Everyone who loves point-and-click adventure games or fairytales in general will enjoy this game, even if it’s rather short. It’s got a big heart, and that shows on the screen.
This review is based on a PC copy provided to The Gaming Outsider by OhNoo Studios for coverage purposes and is available on both Steam and GOG.com.
Tsioque
$13.99
Pros
- Story is Both Funny and Dark
- Beautiful Hand-Drawn Artwork
- Easy Controls
Cons
- Very Short
