Rarely does a game come along that has a great story, gameplay, and art style. Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a game that captivated me from start to finish.

The game was created by Greg Lobanov who is the creator of the Wandersong, and after this game I have become a fan.

Chicory follows the story of a dog that becomes the wielder of a magic paintbrush that gives the world color. The main character is the most current in a long line of wielders who fight corruption and paint the world around them.

The game has a fantastic story to tell, and explaining more will be a disservice to anyone who wants to play. However, I will say that the story can be thought-provoking, and also heartwarming at the same time. Most video games struggle to do this, but Chicory does this so effortlessly.

A colorful world

The main mechanic of the game really is pushed to the limit. I would not have expected some of the best boss battles of the years to come from this game. However, the battles did go on for a tag too long.

The characters are all so great, and even though they are all woodland animals they feel so human. The world just feels so lived in, and at times the visuals are just breathtaking.

I loved being exposed to characters like the family of the main character who is lovely. Even random NPC feel like that they are given the same love as story-relevant characters. The world of Picnic feels so dense with character

A creator’s story

I will be spoiler lite in this section, so carry on to the conclusion if you want to be spoiler-free. I think this game really is the story of what it is like to be a creator. The game sees the theme from so many different perspectives.

The main character looked up to an artist their whole life, and once they got the opportunity to create they still felt empty. This pairs well with Chicory who is truly feeling burnt out by creating, and the character learning to love creation again.

I consider myself a creative person, and some of the themes really hit me. Despite this, I was also seeing characters who were seeing their creative experience in a way I have never seen.

Conclusion

A fantastic game that I played at a great time in my life. It can be played in a weekend, and is almost better experienced in one go.

9.1

A Once-in-a-year experience that should be played by all creative people. This is not a game for everyone, but for the people it is for this will be a hit.