Chicory: A Colorful Tale Reviews

[h1] TLDR: 9/10 [/h1] I played the demo for this in a next fest years ago but price (for what I thought would be a short game) was putting me off. I finally caved during a sale and I am very glad I did! This is emotional, captivating, has a great story, fun side quests, and lets you be creative without needing actual artistic ability (thank god). It is very very well written and encouraged exploration. The boss fights would have been terrible (I am not a great at Undertale style fights) expect there are so many accessibility options (including turning off being hit completely) that they add challenge for those who want it, whilst allowing those who don't to easily move through and continue with the story. The collectibles would have been really hard to finish off, except there are multiple ways of in game getting clues to what you're missing and general locations, before even touching a walkthrough. The maps could have been tricky (esp. lack of zoom and some unmapped areas), except the painting means you can literally colour in finished areas and leave unreached bits blank as a reminder. [b] Buy if: [/b] - You like the art style and want to have a go at colouring the world. - You like emotional platformers like Spirtfairer. - You like a cosy game that also has substance and depth. - You like finding hidden secrets and exploring. [b] Don't buy if: [/b] - You just want to draw/make paintings. This is part of the game there's a lot more than just this. - You don't like your games with a side of emotions. [h1] Additional Details [/h1] ---{Difficulty}--- ☐ Easy/no brain required ☑ Average ☑ Above average (for finding secrets) ☐ Difficult ---{Story}--- ☐ What Story?/Not worth it ☐ Ok ☐ Good ☑ Lovely ☐ It‘ll replace your life/I cried a bit ---{Game Time}--- ☐ Very Short ☐ Short ☐ Average ☑ Long (20 hours to finish the game, and I'm still missing collectables and have a few art lessons to finish). ☐ Never ending ---{Achievements}--- ☐ None at all ☐ A small amount ☑ An expected/perfect amount ☐ Would have liked more ☐ Too many - ☐ Replaying is a must (unless you're perfect) ☑ Grinding needed (in the sense of going back and forward to find missed bits) ☐ DLC needed to 100% ---{Price}--- ☑ Worth the price ☑ Wait for a discount (25% or more) ☐ Wait for a discount (50% or more) ☐ Wait for a discount (75% or more) (About £4/5 for £1 per hour of fun play) ☐ Would have to be free ---{Bugs}--- ☑ What is Bugs?! ☐ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ The game itself is worse than mosquitoes on Summer ---{Replayability}--- ☐ You'll struggle to get through it once ☑ One and done ☐ Would be happy to hear the story again ☐ Multiple story lines so replay is a must ☑ Doesn't end (well the story does, but you can keep painting and looking for collectibles forever). ---{Graphics}--- ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ Bad ☐ Ok ☐ Good ☑ Beautiful ☐ You forget what reality is ---{Audio}--- ☐ Bad/Muted ☐ Not good but not off putting ☐ Ok ☐ Good ☑ Very good ☐ Eargasm ☐ I'd buy the soundtrack

I bought this game a while ago and never got around to playing it due to a busy schedule and forgetting I ever bought it. Boy do i regret not playing this game immediately. This game has a fantastic, heartfelt story told incredibly well. The themes of self-doubt, depression, and impostor syndrome really resonated with me. And people will say "oh, it's another Indie game about depression" THATS RIGHT and its AMAZING and YOU SHOULD PLAY IT TOO. The puzzles were incredibly creative and were a blast to do, rarely did I ever feel frustrated or lost, and when I did, I could call my in-game parents and get some fun dialogue to help. And that just brings me to the characters, and OH MY GOD the characters are so good. My favorite thing to do in video games is to talk to every NPC, read every bit of flavor text, and really invest myself in the world, and the writers did an amazing job in making so many lovable, and memorable characters (shout out pickle, my favorite side character. And Beans and Pepper, so cute). The mark of great world building is if it can make the player fall in love with the world and it's characters, and it succeeded in doing that for me, as it made me want to go back through the world even after the game completed just to see if i missed any dialogue. The painting in the game is such a cool concept and done really well (although sometimes i had a hard time painting certain objects) and i made sure to color 100% of the map throughout my play through, even if that quadrupled my playtime. I also 100%-ed the game, got all of the litter, clothing, decorations, etc. All in all, another fantastic game from Wishes Ultd., alongside their previous work: Wandersong (one of my favorite games, which you should play too), Chicory is another fantastic, amazing, outstanding, terrific, spectacular game that YOU should play and recommend to everyone you know.

An absolutely wonderful game with a lot of good messages in it, dealing with topics such as idolisation, parasocial-relationships, anxiety and mental health, perfectionism, artist's inadequacy and acceptance of flaws, but at the same time also being such a relaxing and pleasant experience, bringing colour to the world. You really feel how much love that's been put into this world by everyone involved. ♥ ^-^

I just love this game, there is so much to do and interact with, it super relaxing and it tells such a good story! Some of the puzzles are Challenging! but i think that is good because you don't fly through the game and it's not too easy to complete. The music that goes with the game is superb and the art and characters are so dang cute, even the bugs!

This is a really cute game with a really wonderful, meaningful story about overcoming insecurities and being a better version of yourself

Basically a giant coloring book with a story. Pretty good time

i love this game, it's fun, cute and has an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale’ responds to the fundamental questions artists face on their creative journey, offering deeply comforting answers to anxiety, fear of failure and identity crises. It emphasises that the creative process, with all its imperfections, is intrinsically valid. What is striking is the deconstruction of the idea of a perfect artistic universe. The game celebrates mistakes as crucial steps, and the exploration of existing techniques as a means of finding one's unique voice. It reminds us that vulnerability is strength, and that art is a journey of constant learning, not a fixed destination. I loved the interactions with the characters in the game, each with their own personality and all holding some wonderful surprises in store for us along the way, which can have a positive impact on many people's sensibilities. Gameplay and story wise, the game blends exploration with paintings. It has integrated painting mechanics allowing the player to go through the story and encourage it to explore. It was enjoyable from start to finish and I invite anyone to give it a try...

I think this game is really special. I don't know if it clicks with everyone, but for those that it does, it really clicks. (Including me.) The story, characters and world are all interesting, familiar, and strong. There are emotional moments where the dialogue is legitimately hard to read. The music and sound design are really good. The puzzles and gameplay and the customizeable nature of literally everything are really fun. I think some people might look at this and just write it off as "cozy drawing game" That's stupid, it's so much more, for all the reasons I just listed. This is a project of love, passion, and joyful creation. I think it may live inside my mind for a while like all media I really like does. I may try and 100% it. To summarize, I think It's very good.

This game is a lot of fun. I love the puzzle element, and just the freedom to paint anywhere.