The thing that sometimes gets buried when people talk about this game is that as a pure 2D Zelda-esque puzzle game, it's really good. If you come to this game looking solely for that, I think you'll have a good time. That's not the most important thing about this game, but if you tunnel vision on the things that make this game unique I think it can make it sound like an unwelcome experience for anyone who doesn't particularly like colouring or drawing (like me!) or even someone who doesn't figure themselves any kind of creative. So I figure it'd be good to let people know that really isn't the case. Drawing and colouring is a big part of it (and even on a PlayStation controller it's not too bad, as long as you remember to use the touch pad instead of the sticks when you want more speed or precision), but the game has a lot to offer beyond that. This a fun world to explore and collect things and solve puzzles with new abilities that you collect. It's also a really easy world to navigate once you collect a few abilities, so exploring is a lot of fun.
But: when people focus on the game's embrace of creativity and the artistic mind, encouraging even those who don't feel they have any artistic talent (and may not even want to), they're not wrong to do so. You play the game as a player-named character - the default is Pizza, so I'll run with that here - who takes over the role of being the one who colours the world with a magic brush after the previous wielder of the brush, Chicory, finds herself unable to continue the role. Through the course of the game, we see two different forms of artists in Pizza and Chicory that each have their own self-doubts that the game suggests are equally valid. Pizza is a complete amateur, who was only a janitor before picking up the brush; Chicory is a perfectionist who trained her whole life to become this. Pizza is very self-conscious about their lack of trained skill and whether they really 'deserve' to be the one wielder, and because they came into the role at a time of major crisis, they find themselves unsure of their creative chops because they're so busy helping other people and making colours as to how others want. Chicory finds that willingness to help others admirable, because Chicory's vision of art was always very self-centered, to the point that Chicory spiraled into a depressive bout that left her unable to be the wielder that others needed. But as a player with limited tools, you can't help but feel weak next to what you're able to see of Chicory's fantastic art.
The world around you is also great, filled with ambient dialogue from unique, funny, and heartfelt characters. (They actually remind me a lot of the characters in Paper Mario.) There's one person who wants to remember his recently passed friend by decorating the area with plants, and is truly moved when you help him out. Other people who have anxieties or unease of their own are moved by how Pizza is able to push themselves to become more than they once were, even as many people doubted them when they first wielded the brush. One constant source of comfort for Pizza, though, is their family. Their sister is a trained artist who regards Pizza not with jealously but complete support, helping them sort out their feelings when it seems like the world is closing in on them. Their parents are also a constant line of support (quite literally, forming an extremely generous and specific hint system that I was grateful for on a few occasions), who worry about Pizza but also trust them to be able to do what's best for themselves and others.
And of course, Lena Raine's music is a delight! I admit that she was a good chunk of why I came to this game, and on that front I was not disappointed. Since Celeste it seems like she's really upped her arrangement skills, with beautiful interplay of instruments that's often anchored by unique percussion patterns. The music often contains a lush, cute beauty to it, but there's also a sense of unease in this world where the colour has been drained from it, often maintained by the odd percussive patterns. In the main town's theme, for instance, the snare hit gets held off for so long that you're just waiting for it to drop, to the point where the tension becomes the main aspect of the rhythm - but that doesn't stop that eventual thwack from being immensely satisfying. And there are moments, too, when she leans all the way into the darkness of the story, with some tracks being outright dark ambient scariness or drum and bass chaos. Amidst those it often feels like she's calling back to Celeste's music, and honestly I don't think it's simply a matter of Raine having a composing style that she's comfortable with.
I have a hard time believing those musical connections are accidental, because this game has some very distinct similarities to Celeste. This overarching narrative of this game, is very similar: Pizza and Chicory have to discover their confidence and overcome their anxieties much like Madeleine did in Celeste. Along the way, they meet dark doppelgangers that reflect their deepest and darkest troubles, and it's only by learning to accept those as part of their inner being that they can prosper and love themselves. (There's even a snowy mountain that have to climb!) But Chicory carves out its own space, applying those general personal concepts to concrete ends of being a creative person. I might not be a visual artist, but I do like writing, and I found a lot to connect with in both Pizza and Chicory that I didn't personally get as much from Celeste, which left a lot to subtext. That subtext worked tremendously for a lot of people, but I personally appreciated Greg Lobanov's specificity in writing this game: not just platitudes or copying someone else, but a clearly felt point of view. I was really, truly impressed.
But: when people focus on the game's embrace of creativity and the artistic mind, encouraging even those who don't feel they have any artistic talent (and may not even want to), they're not wrong to do so. You play the game as a player-named character - the default is Pizza, so I'll run with that here - who takes over the role of being the one who colours the world with a magic brush after the previous wielder of the brush, Chicory, finds herself unable to continue the role. Through the course of the game, we see two different forms of artists in Pizza and Chicory that each have their own self-doubts that the game suggests are equally valid. Pizza is a complete amateur, who was only a janitor before picking up the brush; Chicory is a perfectionist who trained her whole life to become this. Pizza is very self-conscious about their lack of trained skill and whether they really 'deserve' to be the one wielder, and because they came into the role at a time of major crisis, they find themselves unsure of their creative chops because they're so busy helping other people and making colours as to how others want. Chicory finds that willingness to help others admirable, because Chicory's vision of art was always very self-centered, to the point that Chicory spiraled into a depressive bout that left her unable to be the wielder that others needed. But as a player with limited tools, you can't help but feel weak next to what you're able to see of Chicory's fantastic art.
The world around you is also great, filled with ambient dialogue from unique, funny, and heartfelt characters. (They actually remind me a lot of the characters in Paper Mario.) There's one person who wants to remember his recently passed friend by decorating the area with plants, and is truly moved when you help him out. Other people who have anxieties or unease of their own are moved by how Pizza is able to push themselves to become more than they once were, even as many people doubted them when they first wielded the brush. One constant source of comfort for Pizza, though, is their family. Their sister is a trained artist who regards Pizza not with jealously but complete support, helping them sort out their feelings when it seems like the world is closing in on them. Their parents are also a constant line of support (quite literally, forming an extremely generous and specific hint system that I was grateful for on a few occasions), who worry about Pizza but also trust them to be able to do what's best for themselves and others.
And of course, Lena Raine's music is a delight! I admit that she was a good chunk of why I came to this game, and on that front I was not disappointed. Since Celeste it seems like she's really upped her arrangement skills, with beautiful interplay of instruments that's often anchored by unique percussion patterns. The music often contains a lush, cute beauty to it, but there's also a sense of unease in this world where the colour has been drained from it, often maintained by the odd percussive patterns. In the main town's theme, for instance, the snare hit gets held off for so long that you're just waiting for it to drop, to the point where the tension becomes the main aspect of the rhythm - but that doesn't stop that eventual thwack from being immensely satisfying. And there are moments, too, when she leans all the way into the darkness of the story, with some tracks being outright dark ambient scariness or drum and bass chaos. Amidst those it often feels like she's calling back to Celeste's music, and honestly I don't think it's simply a matter of Raine having a composing style that she's comfortable with.
I have a hard time believing those musical connections are accidental, because this game has some very distinct similarities to Celeste. This overarching narrative of this game, is very similar: Pizza and Chicory have to discover their confidence and overcome their anxieties much like Madeleine did in Celeste. Along the way, they meet dark doppelgangers that reflect their deepest and darkest troubles, and it's only by learning to accept those as part of their inner being that they can prosper and love themselves. (There's even a snowy mountain that have to climb!) But Chicory carves out its own space, applying those general personal concepts to concrete ends of being a creative person. I might not be a visual artist, but I do like writing, and I found a lot to connect with in both Pizza and Chicory that I didn't personally get as much from Celeste, which left a lot to subtext. That subtext worked tremendously for a lot of people, but I personally appreciated Greg Lobanov's specificity in writing this game: not just platitudes or copying someone else, but a clearly felt point of view. I was really, truly impressed.