Chicory's melancholic unraveling was nothing but an emotional walk for me. It has such a real captivating idea of stress, anxiety, and unease. Despite being a very clearly inviting cozier work to get yourself into, it's all about bringing those anxious dizzy and frictional creative thoughts to life. In a world full of conversations and pieces on the "artist's experience", this is most certainly one that paints a very personal and graceful stroke of the brush on it.

And I just... love it. All of it. I love that every screen is an encouraging attempt for you to color the place however you like, but you are never judged for leaving it how it is. Every earnest effort is given praise and a warm hug, and home and support are always a call away. Even if you choose not to, you'll find support yourself as you journey. I love how the 'trials' are just little things, small but poignant lessons that help you find your center. I felt teary-eyed at all times during the last four chapters, just building up to capturing that feeling inside, that urge and real sense of want.

I also adore its setting, this lightly fanciful but towny vibe, people of all colors of life simply living and looking up to you as you go. A lot of them are soft and charming, but I enjoy the rare but notable pointed characters you come across too. I especially like how they all seem to be dealing with their own baggage and your color helps them work through the day too. Even when Chicory is at its most twee and hilariously cute, it never ever feels like you left that light permeating sadness that you'll have to deal with by journey's end.

Come join us in making a painting about life.

Chicory is just a super wholesome game full of charm.

It's just full of heart with its fantastic characters and surprising themes about loneliness, pressure and failure all wrapped up in a surprisingly beautiful world.

The story moments to this game feel like almost personal experiences of the developers that created it and I found myself really relating to some of the personal moments of self doubt and depression that feature in some moments. Despite these though Chicory still feels like a game about hope and building a better future past these roadblocks I really liked, but wasn't expecting going in.

Gameplay wise, Chicory plays like the top down game boy Zelda adventure games but instead of enemies you refill the world with colour as you explore. You can be as slap dash or meticulous as you want and the game doesn't punish you for it. It's a surprisingly long adventure coming in at about 30 hours but I never got bored painting or exploring, unlocking new abilities, collectibles and areas.

The visuals are simple but perfect for the game in black and white 2D. I have seen some fantastic screens of areas people have painted resulting in gorgeous environments. Mine tend to be way more simple blobs but they often look nice anyway.

Overall, it's an easily overlooked gem. Please buy it, spread the word.

+ Interesting characters and themes.
+ Fun to explore and paint.
+ Great art design and music.
+ Just warm and charming experience.

I can't believe it took me this long to go back to Greg Lobanov's games after how fulfilling Wandersong was for me, and I absolutely should have done so sooner. I should not be surprised that I adored Chicory; it is everything I am looking for in video games. It's a relaxing and thought provoking title that provides meaningful gameplay while tying that gameplay to strong storytelling and rich characters in a tightly woven narrative. It's like they made Okami a coloring book while retaining the adventure and exploration elements in a 2D top down environment, which amazes me because I can't recall the last time something reminded me of Okami. Chicory reminded me that we are all somewhat lost individuals struggling on our own ends to find meaning in this strange world, and that it's okay if you don't know the answer, because you're not alone. This is probably my GOTY of 2021 and the best game I've played in 2021, which again astounds me because I've played some amazing titles this year and somehow Greg Lobanov's done it again and created an unforgettable experience. Please take the time to play this game and savor the whole experience. I'm lost for words to truly describe what I felt and played through, and it deserves so much more love.

DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME ON GAME PASS. IF YOU WANT ACCESS TO YOUR DRAWINGS I REALLY DONT THINK YOU CAN GRAB THEM BECAUSE MICROSOFT STORES FILES IN THE STUPIDEST WAY EVER. TRY SOMETHING THAT IS NOT THE MICROSOFT STORE.

Cool messages about stuff that doesn't really affect me too much because im not human. Never really done art stuff to feel those art struggles, but the art classes really do simulate some of that stuff and thats cool. Also probably ran on a little too long.

I did enjoy the drawing stuff at hand here, much like I enjoyed Drawn to Life.

The colour choices they give you for drawings can be super annoying. I think the point is just "play the cards your dealt and try your best," but fuck it can be really fucking annoying when you know what you want to draw and do not have the colours.

I was kind of surprised how Into this game I got, but I guess it does make sense. Adult coloring books are super popular, right? Maybe I should look into those because hot damn it was fun messing around with this game. When I was a kid and I got a coloring book, I'd go kind of crazy with whatever colors I liked instead of the colors that, well, technically made sense, and I felt like it was fun to apply the same philosophy to each screen. The fact that you get four colors for each area helps things still look kind of nice even if you decide to color the tree trunks green and the leaves yellow, you know? I ended up kind of approaching each screen as a puzzle to the point where when you get to make your own pallet, I ended up not really using it all that much because I enjoyed working with the tools I was given.

I probably ended up making things a little boring once I got the fill tool, though.... but at the same time, it made sense to me. I liked the bright, fairly uniform colors, and the only thing that ended up really frustrating me about the whole thing was that it could be kind of difficult to differentiate different objects with both controller and mouse. Sometimes I couldn't figure out how to target a trunk to color and would just color the leaves... and damn, the "draw a thing" segments were uh. Well, I'm actually pretty proud of a Dragon Quest slime I drew. But the "recreate these paintings" segments looked goofy as hell.

But I feel like that's part of the point, isn't it? I'm sure there are people who have made some fantastic works of art in this game, but I think bringing a sort of amateur-ish vibe to the game feels like it vibes with the Themes. Pizza (or whatever your favorite food is, I ended up naming them Sushi lmao) just kind of picks up the brush to be Helpful and isn't really a professional or anything. The themes here are real good, man, whether you relate more strongly to Chicory or Pizza.

I... kind of did art when I was younger, but I got discouraged because I didn't think I was any good. There were people who told me I was good, but like. They were family. Was it actually any good? I don't know. It was pretty How To Draw Manga flavored. I think someone was Real with me and that kind of discouraged me out of it, but was it Real or Mean? I guess Art is just supposed to be, you know, fun and personal expression... I feel like the art classes in this game actually did a pretty alright job of getting that across, haha.

But you do kind of want to live up to the Legacy of the artists you admire, right? Even if that might not be for the best? There isn't something as crazy as a Chosen One who colors the entire world, but man. There's good themes here, is all I'm saying. I Did Cry at the end. Both the Art Themes and the Depression Themes were Very strong.

On the more, uh, gameplay-ish side, outside of Coloring there's a lot of puzzles around trying to figure out how to traverse the environment, with the more abilities you get making it easier to get where you want to go and making it possible to find Secrets. I found it really fun! There's a lot of puzzle elements that interact with the environment in fun ways, like colored surfaces that touch the water bleeding into it once you gain the ability to start coloring in water, and clouds that you can use to traverse raining color out if you color them in. It's cute!!!

There's no combat outside of boss fights, which are Buck Wild, man. They start out Kirby endboss in terms of flavor and get wilder from there. You can say the game doesn't quite prepare you for them but they ARE basically still traversal based, more or less... the ones I found kind of frustrating ended up being the mirroring ones. Fortunately, the game isn't Mean about them and gives you generous checkpoints even if you don't mess with the difficulty options.

Anyway, I think it's a whole lot of fun! Definitely a recommend from me, whether you're Big Into Art or not. The world it presents is also really fun, with a bunch of cool ideas that it doesn't dig TOO deeply into but presents you in a cute way. Lotta good minor NPCs. My favorite location is Feast, which may be a bit of a Nightmare Area for some but was a complete delight for me, an insect lover.

When I tried the demo on Steam last year, I quickly brushed it aside as a gimmicky color-book adventure and ignored it after that. After release a solid number of remarkably high review scores convinced me to give this another shot and oh boy, did I fall in love. Chicory is essentially a 2D Zelda game without combat and a strong focus on metroidvania-style progression, puzzles and exploration. I don't like to play with mouse and keyboard for comfort reasons these days and I was afraid that a game centered around precision painting would fall flat with an analog stick and to be fair, it really isn't the most ideal input device for this mode of gameplay but it works totally fine after getting used to it - and certain optional upgrades will definitely make your life easier as you progress. This is due to the easy going nature of all aspects of the design, while there are some sections that require fast, precise inputs, you aren't punished much for failing, and pretty much every action of yours in the world is reversible.

I am not the biggest fan of the 2D Zelda games, so I can confidently say that this is probably my favorite in the genre. The characters and narrative are so full of heart, the puzzles are clever but never overwhelming and the stellar music by Lena Raine adds an incredibly rewarding layer to exploring all the different nooks in the world. The game drove me to spent extra time in it to explore every part of the map and finish even the most (seemingly) mundane side errants just to get the chance for some new character interactions, which is high praise to the charming writing and world design, that allows its characters plenty of room to breathe and surprise you in unexpected places. I really can't emphasize enough how much this game surprised me. It brought me so much joy over the last weeks and actually hit home quite hard with its themes and narrative. I can't recommend Chicory enough, it is so so good.

Chicory me surpreendeu muito, pensei que era apenas um joguinho bobo de pintura. É lindo como o jogo trata de temas importantes, não importa se você é um artista ou não, você se identifica com os problemas de cada personagem. O jogo contém vários puzzles muito divertidos, personagens carismáticos e uma linda trilha sonora. Porém, para mim o ponto mais forte são as lutas contra chefes, eu não esperava que um jogo de pintura conseguiria ter um combate tão interessante, além de um visual único, a última luta foi sensacional. Super recomendo esse joguinho!

Well it seems like the past few crowd favorite games I have reviewed, I have gone against the norm. Well here is another one....

🎮 Platform: PC KB+M (Due to the amount of coloring you do a mouse is fastest. Controller swill get tedious for me)
⌚ Time played - 10h
🏆Trophy completion - Most were just story based. Though nothing is locked post game, there is no real collectible tracker, and collectibles just blend into the background and very easy to miss. You can call parents for hints on some collectibles or more than likely follow a guide. There are tons of things to collect and looks very tedious but doable.
🤬Difficulty - Not very difficult. Your standard puzzles and map traversal. If you love the sort of map traversals in old school Zelda, Oneshot, etc etc, you will be at home. If you get lost in those games, get ready to get lost here. The game does provide you an overwold map, but dungeons do not have a map.

🌄Graphics – what can i say bland. The game has a promise of something interesting happening because you will color the game yourself. Well, you are very limited on colors, brush styles, and basically 95% of the game you just color the whole scene one color and quickly as possible, as the point is to solve puzzles and move to the next area. Just want to make it clear, I am not expecting an MS Paint here. I am looking for a creative take on colorlessness in games.

Sure there are some interesting interactions here and there with mobs, plants, vines, etc. but nothing that doesn't get old after the first 2 hours. For a game that features a world your suppose to color, its very limited in creativity on that.

🌦 Atmosphere/Music – Music is nice. Everyone is super nice to each other, siblings tell each other they love them, that's cool. All for world peace and love. Coupled with this, you have a bit of self-doubt and imposter syndrome in our protagonists. Whatever, did not appeal to me. Its not that I haven't dealt with it, I do, but when character X asks you to leave them alone, you keep coming back to them and pestering them... not realistic. Most stories have some emotional intelligence and support elements, this has more but It did not touch me the way it touched others.

📚 Main Story / Characters – A very typical story. Go to different worlds, solve bunch of puzzles, meet different talking races of people and insects, upgrade your brush to get new skills, with a bit of emo thrown in, blah blah blah

🤺 Combat – Horrible. The main combat in this game is the boss fights. I did 6 boss fights or so and I cannot tell you exactly what happened in them. I just took my brush and swiped on their eye ball or face 1000x times and then something happened and something else happened and eventually it ended. There is no strategy, creativity, you cannot do clever things like erase things, But its inexcusable for 50% of the game every boss fight is exactly this. Its absolutely dumb. the music in the boss fight was great though! I just focused on that.

🧭 Side Activities / Exploration – Holy moly there are a ton of things to collect and VERY easy to miss things. Because nothing has color collectibles just mix into the background. Good luck if you are trying to collect things. Luckily post game you can collect stuff so nothing is locked out.

🚗 Movement/Physics – Annoying. This game only has PUSH, so sometimes you need to push a bomb to a certain area. because of its impreciseness, it gets trapped into a corner ,and you have to reset the puzzle. Because without a pull you can't get it out. How hard is it to implement a pull? There are other annoyances related to manipulating mob movement which I won't get into to not spoil the game. You will see what I mean when you get there. One thing I do like is you can move fast in your own paint when you unlock it very early on in game.

📣 Voice acting – None

🥇 Best thing about the game - None

👎 Worst thing about the game - The core game play is boring.

💡Final Thoughts:
Well I expected a lot from this game. I was expecting some creativity around coloring, an innovative way of exploration, creative uses of color and textures to solve puzzles. Something artistic. However this game is just simply a colorless zelda like 2d exploration game. Coloring and a brush is just a side effect. Right here you are going to argue with me and say well your wrong vin because the abilities your char unlocks are thematic. So far all thr abilities I unlocked are movement related. Go up a painted wall, walk faster on a painted floor, go through a painted vine, you get the idea. If you love your 2d zelda games play this. If you were expecting something artistic, creative, unique look at colorlessness in games, move on. This game overstays its welcome and initially i decided to stop at the 50%. the core game play loop it provides is not why I came here. However, with some prompting from other gamers i finished it and my experience did not change for the 2nd half of 50%. I felt other games do whatever this is trying to do a lot better. For example I think Okami is a great game and innovates on this painting concept! Simply put there is nothing I haven't seen before, except a black and white game. I don't think I have played any black and white games in my life....except this and Toem.

Chicory was the best surprise i had in a game in a while, while in the surface it looked like a game about painting, it is so much more than that, and as Chicory herself would say "there's no only one way to do things" and there's no one way to play chicory.
For starters yes chicory is a game about painting, however, you don't need to interact with it at all if it's not your thing, the act of painting is used for a lot of things and the black and white scenarios are still great.
It is actually a great puzzle game! You use your brush in the most diverse of ways to interact and solve puzzles throughout the experience , and as with the painting if you aren't good with puzzles, that's fine, you have phone calls to call your mom and dad and they will tell you how to proceed in the most adorable way.
And my lord the soundtrack, it makes all of that work, Lana Raine yet again achieved greatness, from the menu, to the citys, to the amazing boss fights and incredible duets tones, it's incredible to see a soundtrack just as good as Celeste's.

In the end, more than all of that, chicory is a game about it's character's, about you (in my case Pizza!) and chicory, about how you don't need to do everything by yourself and you shouldn't push yourself just because someone says so, it's narrative accomplishes brilliantly what it goes for, and that alone is a reason to play this game, even if you don't like all of the rest, chicory is just THAT accessible, don't miss out like i almost did.

Chicory é um jogo adorável, cheio de carisma e que por trás do visual fofinho tem uma profundidade e uma sensibilidade pra abordar assuntos complexos que me surpreendeu.

A mecânica diferente de usar um pincel, desenhos, cores e tinta pra resolver a maior parte dos desafios de puzzle e de travessia são o diferencial do jogo. E apesar disso, em nenhum momento você será julgado pela sua (falta de) habilidade artística, ou o jogo vai exigir algo obrigatório. Nas partes criativas você pode desenhar uma linha só e é isso, ta feito. Isso dito, comecei frustrada por nunca conseguir fazer nada minimamente legal, depois abri mão e no final do jogo estava me dedicando novamente e percebi que, olha só, assim como a personagem do jogo eu melhorei e me tornei mais familiar com as ferramentas e fiz algo que não ficou bom, mas que legitimamente gostei.

Mas o destaque mesmo do jogo e o que me segurou até o fim foram os temas e os diálogos bem escritos (e bem traduzidos). Os assuntos vão de saúde mental em geral, inseguranças, burnout, a sociedade, o que é arte, cobrança, achar seu lugar no mundo, destino e muito mais. Eu poderia tentar escrever o QUANTO esse jogo bateu no meu emocional, mas primeiro que eu nem seria capaz e segundo que não vou me expor aqui que ninguém merece ler.

Chicory entrou naquele espaço especial do coração que contém minhas obras favoritas e que mexeram demais comigo.

Ah! Tudo ter nome relacionado a comidas é a coisa mais fofa do mundo. Gororoba é a melhor tradução e o melhor nome de cidade. Joguem em português.

Extremamente fofo! Chicory: A Colorful Tale é o game ideal pra quem só quer relaxar.
Esse jogo tem uma trilha sonora bem relaxante que casa muito bem com a proposta. É praticamente um Zelda like, mas todas as mecânicas giram em torno de pintar o cenário.
Em questão de desafio, os puzzles e os chefes são bem legais. O jogo não te deixa morrer nos chefes de jeito nenhum, mas entendo que se isso acontecesse poderia fugir da proposta do game, pois eu tombei várias vezes durante eles.
O nome do meu personagem era Esfiha, só pra se alguém perguntar mesmo...são aquelas abertas tipo do habib's, mas gosto das fechadas também.

On one hand Chicory is possibly the best 2D Zelda game ever made. The paintbrush is such a cool concept to design little mini-dungeons around, and the expanding move-set and list of mechanics play with this idea beautifully and make for some simple but enjoyable puzzles and some pleasing tests of whether you understand your environment. These parts of the game are modest, joyful and fun, are thankfully free of any combat, and when they do culminate in boss fights these make for emotionally intense audio-visually spectacular highlights.

On the other hand Chicory is such a charming, genuinely thoughtful little game. It has a lot of things to say about the process of making art, a lot of different perspectives to share and investigate regarding inspiration, motivation and how to take healthy attitudes towards your artistry and treat yourself with kindness. The game handles all of this so tenderly that I ended up tearing up at a few points, especially during one particular side-quest that explored the frustrations artists can go through trying to get their art seen, measuring themselves against others, and feeling pressure to become known and how those frustrations can lead to losing track of why they loved making art in the first place. More than anything Chicory just wants, for a moment, to get you excited to be creative, and to help you find enjoyment in making messy and imperfect (the way the brush works feels like it has been designed precisely to make sure you can't be a perfectionist) art.

I love these quiet little towns, each with their own little identities, each with a collection of silly little animals all with just enough personality that you'll recognise them as they migrate around the map. The vibes are often very comfy, aided by the lovely musical score, so much so that when the game veers into darker or more disconcerting territory it genuinely got under my skin. I also adore this game's attitude towards how you engage with it; you can hand-paint every single screen if you want, or ignore that completely and make a beeline through the story, the rewards for completing side-content are (with one minor quality-of-life exception) only ever aesthetic in nature meaning there's no mechanical pressure to complete them and it's just a case of whether you want to do so, and there's no visual counter pointing out how many more collectibles there are to go find. You are simply presented with the tools to play with, the space to play within, and are allowed to engage with that to whatever extent you wish; this might not be a lot to ask for, but in a world where so many modern games bombard you with quest lists, daily challenges and collection completion trackers it's such a relief to play a game with such a plethora of side-content that doesn't feel the need to pressure you into doing any of it.

Of note, as someone who generally prefers controllers I strongly recommend playing this game with a mouse-and-keyboard instead of a controller if possible due to the nature of painting in-game. I was lucky enough to get to go one step further thanks to owning a drawing tablet, making for one of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever had in regards to controlling a game, and whilst I can enthusiastically recommend this way to experience the game it is hardly necessary.

Just a lovely little game, through-and-through, overflowing with heart.

Chicory is special. It accepts you just the way you are, because you are special. It’s in the DNA of this game, to make you feel understood and welcome. In that sense it’s one of the most coherent experiences I had in a video game or in any medium period.
It deals with so many REAL topics, that have followed me around for as long as I think and dictate my thoughts and the way I see myself in this world. I’ve recently started a new career as a developer and went through some dark patches to get where I am now, but still, imposter syndrome and the feeling not being good enough or skilled enough is a constant companion. So I was able to feel the journey of Falafel (yeah that was me) from the get-go. But the game doesn’t just provide a story and characters to relate to, that already would’ve been great. But it follows that idea, that ‘you are good enough’ so thoroughly, it’s ingrained in every aspect of the game. Just take a look at the accessibility options. It’s not following some outdated artificial and gatekeepey gamer codex, but it allows (and encourages you) to play the game just as you want and need it. You can turn off complete game sequences like boss fights (which are actually super creative and fun, if you chose to do them), but also just turn off something seemingly trivial as wet noises, that might trigger you. They give you a multitude of tools, to create a safe and enjoyable gaming environment for almost anyone.
The premise of the game continues with that: the world has lost all its color and it’s up to you to return it. Or is it? You can color everything as much and as little as you want, you can paint it colorful or wander through a black and white environment. It doesn’t change anything about the ability to enjoy the game. You can collect stuff, but you absolutely don’t have to, because it doesn’t change anything about the game you will experience. The game doesn’t force you to be quick about anything, to be resourceful, or to work hard to get something. Getting new abilities is not a reward, it happens naturally, because you spend time with the game. It switches up so many of decades old gaming tropes, that It felt really refreshing just to be there.
It’s also so beautiful and important how mental health is a topic the inhabitants of the world speak about, without sensationalizing it. It’s normal, because we all endure these things in one way or another and it’s important to acknowledge that. It’s ok to say no to things and say that you can’t do other things now, or maybe ever. It brought tears to my eyes, when I read NPCs speak out some of the things, I constantly think.
It’s also beautiful how everyone around you encourages you to go on, even if you paint horrendous portraits (as I did), everyone cheers for you. And that’s what’s most important irl. If I didn’t have the cheering and the believing in me, from people close and distant, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s okay to ask and look for that, maybe even depend on that.
All of these emotions are intensified by another masterpiece of a soundtrack by Lena Raine.
Chicory shows yet again how impactful video games can be, because they are interactive and give you the chance to digest in your own way and tempo. What a time to be a gamer, when I can fill my time between entertainment blockbusters with gems like this

a (purposefully) more tender neo-Link's Awakening

i went into this game with pretty low expectations. i played all of Wandersong and enjoyed it at the time. as time went on, whenever i thought of it again, its tone and other gameplay aspects irked me, firmly placing it in the category of "would not play again, but glad i played once." (which is a totally fine place where most games i play ends up tbh!) however, Chicory really surprised me. the game feels and plays a lot more like a GameBoy/GBA zelda: a short adventure with good dialogue that doesn't overstay its welcome but has plenty of additional activities and secrets for those who want to stick around. i have qualms with the game's tone, some of the story, and the ending still, but overall i was very surprised by how much i enjoyed it.

don't believe the hype, just enjoy the game on its own merits. (also, PLEASE PLAY WITH MOUSE+KEYBOARD, IT'S SO MUCH BETTER)

Chicory is an endearing game about creativity and expectation, that has alot of really good ideas - but the gameplay surrounding creativity isnt one of them.
(More below)
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Is Chicory Fun?

I think Chicory is the most fun when it asks you for creative input, and then uses systems to circulate that input. Like when it asks you to design a shirt and people slowly start wearing that shirt over time as you accomplish more in the game, or when someone requests your help in getting their rooftop party off the ground by setting up furniture.

I think Chicory is the least fun when it turns into a very traditional puzzle platformer, where using your paint is no longer creative input but is now instead necessary mechanical input. It feels frustrating when the game asks you to color the world but then places you in platforming sequences that often require you to be less precious about where color goes (to say nothing of some of the depth perception issues that come with trying to have somewhat serious platforming in a coloring book art style)

Generally tho, Chicory feels serviceable enough to play. I think controlling Dog and Brush independently works as a concept (and they do an alright job of coming up with some challenges uniquely suited for the playstyle) but I think theres ways in which things could have been tightened up. Theres some coloring imprecision, some friction with how limited the color palettes are sometimes - but more than anything I think pacing and length really stress the systems of the game beyond what was sensible or practical. Youll be deeply sick of coloring the world long before youre even half way through the game, and I think thats a significant oversight on the design front for a game where you are cast as The Wielder, sole proprietor of the worlds color.

o

What is Chicorys Vibe?

Chicorys vibe, for my moneys worth anyway, is probably the least compromised part of the experience. The expressive character designs, the personality of the world you travel through, the conversations you have and even the atmosphere the music provides (bangers) are charming and entertaining from beginning to end. I dont think theres ever a point where interacting with characters is boring or a chore. When the game wants you to care, you probably do. When the game wants to be funny, it probably is. When the game wants to be nice, it just is.

Alot of people would probably describe Chicory as emotional I think, but I would probably rather say that Chicory is a thoughtful game. Characters respond sensibly to the struggles theyre confronted with, and while the world of Picnic is (rather evidently) often a silly place, it still makes sure to reserves space to take consequences seriously. I think when people think “emotional”, what theyre sense is that Chicory is about compassion, that emotions are impactful and important to consider when structuring our lives around each other.

I genuinely think Chicorys vibe is probably its strongest quality and would likely be the main reason I might recommend it to a person.

o

Is Chicory Impressive?

If I review how I really feel about Chicory as piece of media that had to be designed and constructed, I think I would have to admit that some parts of Chicory disappoint me even tho there is definitely some quality assembly to the game as a whole. For example, it appears that whenever you put the brush down to draw or paint something (whether that be on a canvas or out in the world) the game is recording these strokes to empower players to share or chronicle their creative endeavors - and for the most part that works pretty consistently. It was probably difficult to implement but rather important to make sure the game takes your color choices seriously - and that deserves its credit.

But for all the attention some parts of the game received, its frustrating to see how inconsistent alot of the gameplay design is. This was partly addressed above in the Fun section but: why am I asked to paint the world if painting the world is a huge time-ask that the game doesnt even really seem to encourage or expect? Why should I paint the world when painting the world can make it harder to see one of the several hundred collectables? Why doesnt progression in the world involve more of the creative mechanics in a game thats overtly about creativity - and to that point how likely is someone going to take the creative tasks seriously when they are treated as optional chores on top of all the platforming the game is tasking you with? Im not trying to be mean, but theres some very critical disconnect between some of these elements - and the annoying part is that you can tell alot of thought went into the platforming sections! The way things are hidden, the unique mechanics that are paint-activated, alot of work went into making these things, and they did a good job! But it all is actively anti-creative and anti-paint-everything - and even in some cases is actively a negative experience as the later platforming sections fail to offset the depth perception issues created by having a flat coloring book world and a sort of quasi isometric platforming game at the same time.

From where Im standing, Chicory suffers from having 2 wolves inside it, and for the most part these wolves are at peace. Theyre not viciously opposed to each other, but they definitely are opposed to each other. And this isnt like, that big an issue, right? But if the question is “Do you think Chicory does something impressive”, these things, these snags, are unimpressive. I think alot of time and effort was spent on something that did not contribute that much to what makes Chicory good and that really dilutes the overall impression it leaves on me.

o

Is Chicory Interesting?

Id say, that Chicory is amusing. Not captivating, not riveting, but amusing. I think theres some authentic depictions of issues here, I think there are some strong themes, I think the main mechanic is novel and unique, and I caught hints here and there of rather inspired moments. But I think Chicory stopped short of the really compelling ideas just over the hill, and I cant help but picture that version of things.

Like for example, picture maybe a smaller world to paint, but the story has you returning to places and fixing or fine-tuning and changing the way things were painted, maybe iterating based on what residents want or what happens in the story. Picture instead of popping balloons (full of color) or exploding mushrooms (of color) or… vine-whips? (of color) maybe some sections of the world require you to design a bridge, or rearrange vines so that you can climb a cliff, or design some sort of water irrigation to clear a water fall or rain that washes your paint away. Picture the designs the game currently asks you to make, like a billboard for a pizza shop or a new treat at the bakery proliferating in more places and having more story relevance as you progress through the game.

Like, as far as I can tell this is something only video games can really do, and yet not alot of games DO capitalize on user input like that - or if they do, they dont have a story as engaging as Chicorys is. These things arent even much more complicated than what already had to be developed for Chicory, its just a matter of priority. Theres the seeds of great ideas there, and maybe those ideas might sprout in future titles, I like but dont love them here.

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Closing Thoughts

For what its worth, I think alot of the issues Ive described with the game would be eliminated and muted completely if the game wasnt afraid to be shorter. I think I would have been perfectly happy with the exact same game but maybe only 15-20 hours long. I dont think 8 different collectables/side quests were necessary or warranted, it leaves me feeling like the game felt pressured to be a “normal game”. But it was fun, worth the money, and gave me some food for thought. X

A sincerely beautiful game that tackles imposter syndrome, self-confidence, and the power of play. Chicory's message (and the mechanics it is imbedded in) remind me deeply of cartoonist Lynda Barry's work. Barry calls for non-artists to embrace creativity through drawing like you're a kid again. As adults we can become so self-conscious of our artistic abilities that we stop drawing, painting, and dancing. But Barry asks us to drop any expectations, and draw purely for the sake of play, connecting back to a childlike spirit, scribbling without a care in the world. Chicory provided space for me to reconnect with that.

I haven't drawn for fun like this in years! I haven't had a 64 pack of crayons and dozens of colouring pages set in front of me since I was a lil kid. I feel self-assured not as an artist in my craft, but as a creative person with creative needs. It feels so good to just paint for fun and not worry about how anything looks. Play is a gift.

its quaint af but honestly if u could die on the bosses it would be goated tbh... like if u cant die on a boss then there's no consequence. Especially for this games bosses where they are invincible until you dodge all their moves and are in their vulnerable to attack position. U spam in the 5 seconds u get, it becomes very mindlessly dodging their moves while waiting and there's no tension cus u cant die. If u get hit twice it has a quaint little cutscene where you fall down but then you stand up again. Ya I checked the settings I didn't have any accessibility things on. Its a shame cus these bosses are really cool and have fun to dodge moves and music is good. But the rest of the game is pretty much perfect. It's a lot of fun, the writing is nice and sometimes funny, the world has a connectedness that rivals dark souls and every area getting painted helps you connect the world even better in your mind, helped by the palettes of each area. Overall its good its fun its nice its a little on the easy side but the puzzles are lego game levels of not too hard but lots of fun and I recommend. But you didn't hear it from me! If you didn't know, I am known far and wide as the "Badass reviewer" for my habit of only liking the most badass of games and leaving any childish girly cooties infested garbage to the gutter. And if any of my biker buddies or gun guys at the ranch heard about me liking this game about a painting dog named Lasanya they'd call me a loser. Bye guys see you fellas later

2D Zelda meets MS Paint, Chicory is a wonderful little game that not only has creative world design a puzzle-solving, but also allows the player to put as much personal creativity into the world as they want.

With magic paint brush in-hand, the entire black-and-white world is your canvass - control your dog character named after your favorite food (mine was named Sushi) with one stick and the paint brush tool with the other. Paint as much of it or as little of the world as you want. If you want to just paint what's necessary to complete puzzles, go for it. If you want to paint the sky, the ground, and every flower sprouting from the grass, you can! At first I mostly ignored painting, but once I got the paint bucket I went to town painting the world. My final map was a work of art. That said, I think I would've enjoyed this game more had I played it on computer with a mouse. Controlling a paint brush cursor for the entire game with a controller was kind of a pain at times, especially on the boss fights.

What I did not expect from this fun little painting Zelda game is a story that hits so hard. It's a story about embracing who you are and doing what you love. It's a wonderful story that fits the world and the painting gameplay perfectly.

Chicory is a beautiful game with a lovely story and fun gameplay, despite some occasionally annoying puzzles and the cumbersome console controls.

+ Unique painting-driven gameplay
+ Great story and writing
+ Killer soundtrack by Lena Raine
+ Excellent visuals

- Annoying cursor controls on console
- Occasionally annoying puzzles
- Poor collectible tracking made 100%ing the game a pain

Videogames enquanto arte invocam a personalidade e identidade dos seus desenvolvedores, em especial o Diretor. Agora, imagine um game que, para além da personalidade dos seus criadores, também se utiliza da personalidade do jogador? Bem-vinda, bem-vindo, à Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

- História:
Sendo bem breve, você enquanto jogador irá definir o nome do seu personagem, seu gênero (incluindo o neutro) e irá assumir o controle de um cachorrinho em um mundo semelhante a uma fábula em que a felicidade e estabilidade da cidade dependem das cores, a ausência destas significa que um grande perigo ameaça todo aquele pessoal. Seu personagem é uma faxineira, ou faxineiro, fã da atual pintora Chicória, que em meio ao seu trabalho o mundo fica preto e branco, devendo assumir o posto de pintora, ou pintor, para trazer de volta as cores daquele mundo.
Nesse sentido, nossa personagem assume essa responsabilidade ao passo que se preocupa com a Chicória, que abandonou o pincel. Além disso, existe a questão pessoal do nosso personagem em acreditar em seu potencial para substituir Chicória, algo que, para ele, é impossível, pois supostamente ele não é ninguém especial. Assim, o jogo começa.

- Localização:
O game está localizado em PT-BR, mas não se limitou apenas a traduzir e adaptou brilhantemente a linguagem, sem também exagerar nas gírias e nos memes da internet. É uma linguagem bem leve e casual que costumamos utilizar no nosso dia-a-dia, deixando aquele sentimento de que somos, enquanto jogadores, convidados a entrar naquele universo. Falando em algo convidativo, a tradução é bastante inclusiva ao adicionar, de maneira muito sútil, pronomes neutros.

- Estrutura (Game Design):
O game segue uma estrutura semelhante a um metroidvania (embora não seja reconhecido como tal) em que a progressão acompanha a sistemática de obtenção de novas habilidades que expandem a exploração do mapa.
Também existem habilidades para o pincel, chamados de estilos de pintura, que podem auxiliar no preenchimento do mapa com cores, o coração do jogo.
Mundo está em preto e branco, incluindo os NPCS, e você enquanto pintora, ou pintor, poderá pintar tudo isso da maneira que você desejar, aumentando a liberdade criativa conforme for adquirindo as habilidades. O game sempre estimula para que os jogadores pintem o mapa, pois haverá obstáculos que, ao pintar, são superados, a exemplo das cavernas escuras que adentramos que são iluminadas pela tinta.
A princípio, para cada novo local (o jogo chama de "quadro") adentrado, o pincel terá uma gama de cores especificas, apenas mais na frente em que você poderá escolher suas próprias cores (falo mais disso adiante).
Além do objetivo principal, que é bem curto, existem as atividades secundárias. São missões muito simples que vários NPCS pedem, tais como pintar o céu, colher plantas para colorir seu jardim, e até mesmo desenhar réplicas de pinturas clássicas. Apesar de simples, são bem satisfatórias e recompensadoras, algumas das habilidades do pincel são fornecidas a partir dessas missões. Não são obrigatórias, mas valem a pena, o game é carismático o suficiente para fisgar os jogadores em participar dessas atividades.

- Jogabilidade:
A gameplay é muito simples, o game não tem combate para ser memorizado ou dominado, até tem chefes, mas a forma de enfrentá-los é semelhante a pintar os mapas. Apesar de simples, o conjunto de liberdade de pintar, das habilidades, da estrutura do mapa, concedem uma gameplay com várias situações e liberdades criativas que fisgam demais, é a simplicidade utilizada da melhor forma.
Quanto aos desenhos e cores, a princípio eu fiquei questionando se as cores não poderiam produzir efeitos diversos como uma nova camada de habilidades, e se os desenhos não poderiam ter certo grau mínimo de qualidade, pois os jogadores podem fazer qualquer desenho de qualquer jeito que os NPCs vão elogiar, mas o game me respondeu essa questão...

- A principal arte do jogo:
A mecânica de pintar não é limitada em espaço, você pode literalmente pintar TUDO do game. Cada paleta de cor, cada fragmento do mapa, fica a escolha do jogador colorir da sua forma. Não é á toa que no início do game as cores são fixadas por região, é apenas para sugerir uma maneira dos jogadores escolherem pintar aquele local, pois as cores refletem em como se imagina aquela região. Regiões com um contexto mais quente, o pincel fica com as cores mais avermelhadas e alaranjadas, o mesmo vale para regiões mais frias com cores azuladas. O ponto é: cada jogador vai escolher as cores a partir de sua concepção pessoal de quais cores seriam mais visualmente agradáveis para o mapa do game.
O mesmo vale para os desenhos, a mecânica de desenhar é propositalmente imprecisa e torna inviável replicar os clássicos exigidos na missão, isso me fez me sentir desmotivado a fazer esses desenhos, meu desejo era replicar ao menos parcialmente as pinturas, por isso o meu questionamento se essa mecânica não poderia ser mais precisa ou ao menos os npcs repudiassem as artes ruins... e para a minha surpresa, esse TAMBÉM é o pensamento do nosso personagem.
Nos diálogos, a personagem fala a mesma coisa, se subestima a todo momento e se sente indigno daquela missão de substituir a Chicória, e ainda enfatiza que sequer sabe o que está fazendo e o que quer fazer.
Do outro lado, temos a Chicória depressiva e completamente saturada de cobrança para ser perfeita, se sentindo também indigna por, supostamente, não ter alcançado a perfeição enquanto pintora.
Com esses dois arcos, me passou essa frase na cabeça:

"Você não precisa ser perfeita para ser especial, basta ser você. Da mesma maneira, você é especial ainda que não ostente condecorações e títulos, você é especial a sua maneira."

É por isso que mesmo com as pinturas tortas, cores mal colocadas, você ainda será elogiado, porque isso TAMBÉM é arte, porque é sua personalidade invocada para colorir aquele mundo e isso é especial. Em resumo, a personalidade do jogador é a principal cor que Chicory permite ser usada para preencher o preto e branco do mundo que ele apresenta, tornando a experiência de cada um completamente pessoal e íntima, algo que apenas o videogame, enquanto arte, poderia oferecer.

No início não me pegou muito, mas com o avançar da história e novas habilidade fica muito interessante!

Chicory tem muito carisma, amei todos os personagens e pequenas histórias contadas quando conversamos com eles.

Os puzzles são bem legaizinhos, e ir atrás do complecionismo está sendo bem legal, normalmente não gosto de fazer 100% em jogos, mas esse deu vontade.

Me impressiona a quantidade de conteúdo dentro do jogo, e as várias coisas que você pode fazer. Esperava algo bem mais compacto.

Conclusão, jogo divertidíssimo e de certa forma relaxante (perdi algumas horas só colorindo o mapa pra ficar bonitinho).

Você pode desenhar ***** por todo lado e em algumas ocasiões fica bem engraçado kkkkk

Chicory tries to meld the coziness of Animal Crossing with the action and adventure of Zelda. There are towns to visit, characters to chat with, and portraits to paint; likewise, there are dungeons to delve through and bosses to battle. It sounds great, and in some ways it is, but unfortunately there are a few niggles that dampen the proceedings.

Let's start with the story and characters. The main characters are a highlight -- the dynamic between the protagonist and Chicory is one of the best parts of the game. Both characters have clear motivations and distinct personalities, and their conversations flow between topics like friendship, confidence, and artistry with ease. Reading their conversations is always a joy.

As for the other NPCs, my feelings are mixed. They're all fun and quirky, but I rarely felt engaged when chatting with them. They'd tell me about their problems, or thank me for painting their houses, or talk about what they'd had for lunch, and I'd simply nod my head and wonder how soon I could get back to the main crux of the adventure.

The adventure itself is also one of ups and downs. Exploring the map is fun, and the game offers up plenty of clever puzzles to solve, both mandatory and optional. If you've played a Zelda game, you can expect puzzles in that vein, although often with unique painting-centric twists.

The bosses, on the other hand, were frustrating. Because there are no Game Overs in Chicory, the bosses aren't difficult in the traditional sense, but they do take a lot of hits to bring down. Although the battles look intense, knowing you can't lose drains them of any sense of tension. Just keep swiping with your brush and you'll win eventually.

While I appreciate the story and I'm glad that Chicory exists, for me it feels a bit too at odds with itself. It has an abundance of cute characters but 90% of them have nothing interesting to say; it's a Zelda-like adventure but with boss battles that feel less tense and more tedious. The result is still a strong game, but one that could've been even stronger if it had cut a bit of fat and doubled down on what it does well.