CHUCHEL Review: Comedy and Fuzz with a Cherry on Top (PC, Mac)

   Well, let me start off by apologizing for taking so long with this update. I had a game already set up to review, that game being a beat-em-up called Way of the Passive Fist, complete with the obligatory references to Fist of the North Star or the LISA games. However, I discovered a bit too late that for some reason, the main method I use to take screenshots on the Steam games (pressing F12 to snap a screen) didn't work for that game. Since I don't know any other useful screenshot programs and I don't want to use the tedious option of the Print Screen option pasted to Paint, I had to put that review on the back burner. Luckily, I found someone willing to help me with that issue...

"......zzzzzz.....zzzzzz....."

    ...well, he said he would help me with this one. Although he might have been asking me when I was going to clear out my Steam backlog. There was quite a language barrier between us. Looks like I'll be doing this one on my own. It's the comedic adventure game CHUCHEL, by Aminita Designs!

(This isn't the title screen. In fact, the previous image was the first screen you see in-game. This one just works for a title, in my opinion)

    CHUCHEL tells the tale of the titular ball of fuzz, a cute little guy with an acorn cap and a deep love for cherries. When his prized cherry gets stolen by a giant hand, he goes on a crazy quest to get it back. Also seeking the cherry is his rival Kelkel, the little pink thing next to Chuchel in the picture above. In their quest for the cherry, the two of them run into a surreal cast of bizarre characters and locations, all created by the minds behind Machinarium, Botanicula, and the Samorost series and a soundtrack by DVA.

Pictured: Kelkel, the giant hand (and it's owner,) and Chuchel, who seems to be having a rage-induced stroke. Someone call emergency services, please.

    The game is separated into a bunch of scenes that can be replayed at anytime. Most of the stages involve trying to help Chuchel get his cherry back. The controls in the game are very simple, like many point-and-click adventure games. All you do is click things. 'Things' being the key word here. Just about every creature in this game is bizarrely designed (in a good way,) a staple of Amanita Design's games. The puzzles generally aren't too difficult, and the game provides hints if you need them. Generally, the only reason hints showed up for me was because I was trying every option just to see what antics Chuchel got into.

Not counting his gibberish chatter, Chuchel's favorite thing to say is an operatic "AAAAAAAA" that makes me giggle every time I hear it.

    There's more than just clicking on weird creatures, though. Sometimes Chuchel gets involved in some minigames, such as snail race against an evil clone, or the point-and click scene where you play through three minigames resembling Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Tetris. Like the point-and-click puzzle, these can be controlled with the mouse, but these can also be controlled with the arrow keys. The minigames, in my opinion, are the weaker part of the game. They work just fine, but these sections tend to show off the colorful world less than the point-and-click sections. It's like Mario and Luigi. They're both great, but one of them has to be second banana, which is why we have characters who can never remember Luigi's name.

Coming soon to consoles! The newest Tetris crossover! It's CHUCHEL Tetris!

    Sometimes instead of actual puzzles, you get a scene devoted to a comedy bit. These sections usually only have one thing to click in order to progress the bit, such as Chuchel messing with a light switch or singing opera while junk gets tossed at him, each ending with the title logo popping up again. Watching these sections makes me think about those old slapstick cartoons like Tom and Jerry, especially how the violence in those segments works. Chuchel can get crushed by a tree, and a few seconds later, he'll be totally fine and trying to crush Kelkel with the tree. It really has a similar tone and I love watching those segments.

Does it come to anyone's surprise that a cherry bomb would be hidden in a cherry?

    Getting back to the game's aesthetics, they are quite a treat! I'm not quite sure how to describe the graphics, but they almost look like a watercolor is some regards. The world and it's inhabitants are so colorful and full of personality, that screenshots don't really do it justice. The sounds and music also present have a joyfully surreal air to them that combines with the graphics to greatly add to Chuchel's antics. Completed puzzles tend to drive it all home where the inhabitants of that scene go into a beautifully designed musical bit for several seconds.

I don't really have any words for these. They're just very pretty, and I regret that I can't add the audio to these.

    CHUCHEL is a really fun and charming game, and another great entry by Aminita Design. It's actually the first of their games I've played fully, having played a tiny bit of one of the Samorost games, and I really enjoyed it's joyful silliness. It's also a game I imagine kids would enjoy, given how cartoony and colorful the game is. I'll leave it off here, but I also want to show a picture that drives home the cartoony nature. It's a picture Aminita Design posted in their announcement for the game's release in 72 hours.

Chuchel Time / C'mon grab your friends/ We're off to very distant lands / Kelekl the thing and Chuchel the fuzz ball / The fun never ends / It's Chuchel Time!