As soon as the game begins, you are introduced to Chuchel and need to wake him up by interacting with the surrounding objects and creatures. Since there isn’t a cutscene yet, it’s easy to assume that you need to pay attention to details or look for clues to pass the level, which is engaging at first. However, the further you progress, the more you realize how annoying the unavoidable cutscenes are, only for the sake of storytelling, not providing any suggestion for the puzzles. There’s already a question mark hint at the top left corner of the screen to help you at any time if you get stuck, so you can go away, come back later and still finish the level without any trouble if you don't watch the cutscenes. This completely annihilates the engaging element when it comes to solving the puzzles, reducing them to clicking things to see what happens until you do it in the right order (based on the hint) and progress to the next level. At least, most scenes are shorter than 30 seconds, so they aren’t too dragging, and there are some amusing interactions in those instances to make it up.
CHUCHEL is an adventure game with a wacky art style and interactive environments with puzzles, as you follow the fluffball protagonist, Chuchel, and his frenemy, Kekel, on the journey to reclaim their cherished cherry.
😇Wins | 💀Sins |
|---|---|
- Quirky, cute character designs and animations. - Kid-friendly jokes. - Unexpected humor. - Easy achievement hunting. | - Unskippable cutscenes. - Unengaging puzzles. - No replay value. |
Gameplay
As soon as the game begins, you are introduced to Chuchel and need to wake him up by interacting with the surrounding objects and creatures. Since there isn’t a cutscene yet, it’s easy to assume that you need to pay attention to details or look for clues to pass the level, which is engaging at first. However, the further you progress, the more you realize how annoying the unavoidable cutscenes are, only for the sake of storytelling, not providing any suggestion for the puzzles. There’s already a question mark hint at the top left corner of the screen to help you at any time if you get stuck, so you can go away, come back later and still finish the level without any trouble if you don't watch the cutscenes. This completely annihilates the engaging element when it comes to solving the puzzles, reducing them to clicking things to see what happens until you do it in the right order (based on the hint) and progress to the next level. At least, most scenes are shorter than 30 seconds, so they aren’t too dragging, and there are some amusing interaction in those instances to make it up.
Unexpectedly, there are some minigames inspired by Pac-Man, Tetris, Flappy Bird, and Shoot'em-ups that are far more entertaining than the main level.
Is this game worth it?
Yes, if you know what to expect... or expect nothing at all. Sincerely, I think this is the kind of game that neither puts a rich story forward nor offers in-depth puzzles. You'll find joy in just watching things take place on the screen like an interactive movie rather than solving puzzles. The animations and character designs are wacky, not meant to be taken seriously. There are instances where I laughed by looking at the characters and how they interact with each other out of the blue. This game is a gift I received after having such an awful day. I didn't play it right away, but I wish I did, as it would've lifted my mood, greatly.
Can I have my cherry back, please?🍒
No...? Okay, I'll find another way, unless I get stuck in this endless loop GIF that the owner made me to.😕
Performance
👾Bugs | 🖥️Specs |
- No bugs or any issues were encountered. | - i5-10400F - GTX 1650S 4GB - 16GB RAM DDR4 - HDD - 1080p - Win 11 |
Final rating: 7/10
CHUCHEL will definitely bring you some form of entertainment if you play it blindly. It's a relaxing one-time experience, especially after a day of hard work since it can be finished in one sitting. This is one of the few games I would save for my children in the future as an introduction to puzzle games in general thanks to its colorful art style and kid-friendly humor.
Thank you for reading my review!
Dear AviaRa gifted me this game on one of my worst days of 2021, thank you!
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The art style of this game looks like they took inspiration from the soot sprites from the Ghibli movies and mixed it with the creative direction of Yo Gabba Gabba ;)