Indie Watch: Tsioque

Point and clicks have been enjoying something of a reemergence in this industry over the last couple of years, bolstered by HD remakes of beloved titles like Shadowgate last year or the remaster of Grim Fandango last January. It is a genre stronger than ever thanks to more recent releases like the Legend of Grimrock series, The Book of Unwritten Tales and the lesser known Pajama Sam.

Games like these have been shown to still be in popular demand by gamers and developers have wasted no time in coming up with fun, unique ways to expand upon simple point and click mechanics with the most relevant example of this being Telltale Games’ series of acclaimed episodic titles.

But you don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel in order to produce a kick ass car as OhNoo Studios proved last year with the release of their dark fantasy epic, Tormentum. Though well received by those who played it Tormentum wasn’t overly profitable, not an uncommon situation for an indie developer with a lack of resources to dedicate to marketing.

Which is why they’ve turned to Kickstarter to help bring their next game, Tsioque, to life and perhaps shine some light on a brand new Jaguar.

Ok. That’s enough car analogies.

DON’T MAKE HER ANGRY

The game stars Tsioque, a warrior princess trapped in her own castle by an evil wizard who seizes control after the queen leaves to go to battle.

She’s not the kind of princess who waits for Prince Charming to rescue her – she’s brave and stubborn, and has an unusual talent for bringing unintended chaos and destruction wherever she goes.

This stubborn personality shines through in the gameplay as Tsioque constantly appears pissed off or annoyed at her current misfortune moreso than frightened by it. Just look at those eyes.

Those eyes pierce the hearts of men and demons alike, I tell you.

Her personality actually contrasts quite nicely with that of the minions of the evil wizard. They’re bumbling morons and it’s quite humorous to see her navigate around them, taking advantage of their stupidity with hilarious results.

For example early on in the demo I played I befriend a spider who aids me in alluding these fiends in the next room by turning off the lights, causing them all to bump into each other one after another, the last bump sending them all into a chasm with a comedic and satisfying yell.

Events like these are expertly enhanced by the game’s score which changes dynamically to fit the current situation. It’s all brought together into a rewarding visual experience thanks to the game’s 2D hand drawn animation which is done frame by frame to create beautiful animated sequences that brim with character.

FEATURES 

• A 100% hand-drawn adventure with a unique atmosphere and a vivid, individual style, by the award-winning animation filmmaker and self-proclaimed genius Alek Wasilewski.

• Story with a twist – a clever storyline that may surprise you.

• Humor? Check. Darkness? Check. Suspense? Check! What more could you ask for?

• LOTS of 2D animation – all characters and items are hand-animated, frame-by-frame, old-school-style.

• A living, breathing environment, full of hidden interactions. Did we mention the game would have lots of animation?
  

• No 3D, but on the other hand, no pretentious pseudo-retro pixel art. We love the classics, our nostalgia for pixels is as strong as the next guy’s, but we are not taking cheap shortcuts nor purposefully limiting ourselves. We are using the available resources and technology the best we can.
• Exceptional soundtrack by Edward Harrison (NEOTOKYO, LUCKY DAY FOREVER) and Elle Kharitou, dynamically illustrating the gameplay and adjusted to your every action.
• The protagonist – a little girl with a talent for bringing chaos and destruction wherever she goes. Those who dare stand in her way are in for a lot of trouble…
• Beautiful, hand-drawn backgrounds. 
• Fully voiced dialogue tracks.
• Not just for children – a multi-layered tale, created with respect for both younger players and older, more demanding ones, which can be appreciated by everyone on their own level.
• You can “die” in this game! – It’s an adventure game, so explore, solve puzzles… but beware. You will not always have the comfort of infinite time for solving a problem – sometimes you may need to think fast! Other times, you may want to think twice before choosing a course of action, as the wrong decision may cost you your freedom… or worse!
• Non-episodic storytelling – you will find no “Find out what happens next, pay more money!” cliffhangers here. We are not particularly fond of episodic gameplay, so here, you get the complete experience – the story told from start to finish, from the introduction to the grand finale.
• A changing, mysterious and dangerous world – even before the Wizard’s attack, the castle held many secrets. Now, bound by a powerful spell, the castle has not only become home to demons and magical creatures, but also, itself, has been affected by the evil power… It bends and shapeshifts, forming layers upon layers of transformation and illusion… It is an essential part of the plot and – especially later in the game – is tightly integrated into the gameplay.

PLAY IT RIGHT NOW

You can find way more information about Tsioque on their Kickstarter page as well as download a demo of the game from either Steam or their website.

The one thing I wasn’t a fan of that doesn’t get mentioned in the video is how moving the mouse moves the entire gamespace. It seems to add an unnecessary weight to moving the mouse which is undesirable when needing to perform quick actions.

Aside from that I’m definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the final version of Tsioque.

-Kevin Ryan