Introduction
The last thing the princess sees is the image of her mother’s back heading towards a raging war, traveling to protect that which she cares about. This image is burned into her mind moments before being thrown into a cold, creepy dungeon by the henchmen of the Wizard. He seized the opportunity created by the absence of the Queen in the castle and used his dark powers to transform it into his dominion. Your task: to escape from the clutches of Wizard and restore the castle to its former glory. That is the premise of TSIOQUE (pronounced chalk), published by OhNoo Studio. This point and click 2D adventure game calls upon a player’s ability to think outside of the box to get past the obstacles and puzzles in the castle, all the while evading the demon guardsmen and the unsettling gaze of the Wizard.
Gameplay
Playing as the princess herself, TSIOQUE’s biggest appeal perhaps is its gameplay. As a point and click adventure, a player can spend a good amount of time just furiously clicking everything in sight to see what moves or makes a sound, or what could be utilized in solving a puzzle. Every object of interest in view of the player made some sort of movement or sound, adding to the challenge of finding the correct items that would lead to the next step or the next room. Stimulating multiple senses, the game very much requires that players think creatively of what items could be used to trigger an event or used in another puzzle in a different part of the castle.
Once past the initial bit of the game, the princess makes her way to the center square of the castle, which acts as the core hub of the game from where the princess can access various portions of the castle, both previously and unexplored. Through the hub, the player can comb through areas once again to gain new items or to utilize puzzle pieces picked up in another area. A central hub makes a lot of sense for this type of game and creates a fluid method of revisiting areas.
However, while exploring the castle, the player is engaged in a variety of methods, separating TSIOQUE from other games of the same genre. Gameplay is not limited to simply clicking on objects to trigger events in the scene. Spread throughout the castle, quick time events and reaction-based actions require the player to think on their toes and hastily respond to avoid guards or grab onto a ledge to prevent themselves from falling off. Smaller puzzles appear through a window, allowing the player to stop for a moment to examine machinery and utilize pieces and equipment gathered in other areas. There even are moments of stealth gameplay.
Lore/World Building
Rating the story in TSIOQUE proves a difficult task. At first glance, the plot of the game wades shallow, at best. Two pivotal characters’ names are Queen and Wizard. The idea of the princess taking matters into her own hands does sound interesting, and, that is the main storyline that carries throughout the game. The redeeming feature of the world of the game, however, is how much of the story is told through gameplay. Much of what happens does not occur in a cutscene or dialogue (although those are present), most of the information about what is happening comes through the actions of the princess or in the environment and enemies. While playing the game, there are aspects of the environment that change based on your actions, telling a story as you go through a manner besides explicitly stating it.
Aesthetic (art style/soundtrack)
Part of the game’s magic does in fact come from the aesthetic of the game. The art style lends to a dark and serious atmosphere because of the plot of the game, but it also allows room for some comedic effect as well. Some of demon guardsmen look quite goofy, with buck teeth and mismatching attire. Princess Tsioque also assumes this air of serious yet humorous at the same time. Her expressions are especially spot on, reflecting the intensity of the situations happening around her. The scenes and the castle itself are incredibly detailed, providing some depth to the action of clicking on objects. The sounds the creatures make mostly assist in the somewhat comedic side of the game, with the demon guards letting out funny yelps as they are injured trying to capture the princess.
Overall
TSIOQUE implements a plethora of defining characteristics to elevate gameplay and add depth to the environment, while distinguishing itself from others in the same genre. Its dark and atmospheric yet comedic story line yields to an interesting combination of a serious attempt of escaping kidnapping to prevent darkness from taking over and watching idiotic enemies fall straight off a rickety staircase. The hand-drawn 2D style of the game makes for an enjoyable experience of solving puzzles and responding to events and enemies in the environment.
Rating: 7.9/10
Here is the TSIOQUE Trailer:
TSIOQUE is available for PC via Steam.
Steam Review
Having spent my entire life gaming, my interests have expanded over to how the gaming industry has grown and developed into a globalized market over the course of my life time, as well as how games can build community and create a sense of belonging for people. I'm also trying to climb ranked in Overwatch so if you want to queue together, let me know
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