Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Publisher(s)	Finji
Designer(s)	Greg Lobanov
Artist(s)	Alexis Dean-Jones Madeline Berger
Composer(s)	Lena Raine
Engine	GameMaker Studio 2
Platform(s)	macOS Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Nintendo Switch
Release	macOS, Windows, PS4, PS5 June 10, 2021 Switch December 15, 2021
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an adventure video game by indie developer Greg Lobanov and published by Finji. It features an anthropomorphic dog with a magical paintbrush, which is used to color the game world. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 in June 2021 and for Nintendo Switch in December 2021.

Gameplay[]

The player can paint an environment using The Brush

Chicory: A Colorful Tale, or Chicory, is an adventure role-playing video game where characters are small anthropomorphic animals. The player takes the role of an anthropomorphic dog named after the player's favorite food, or the default name "Pizza" if the player does not choose a favorite food.^[1] The world they explore is black and white, but can be painted using The Brush, a large paintbrush. The paintbrush can also be used to solve environmental puzzles.^[2]

Plot[]

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The game takes place in the world of Picnic. The player character is a dog named Pizza who works as a janitor in the Wielder's tower. One day while cleaning the tower, the color disappears, leaving the world black and white. Pizza goes to Chicory's room to ask her about the disappearance and finds the door locked, with the Brush left outside. Pizza takes the Brush, and leaves the tower, helping to fix problems and color in Luncheon.^[3] Pizza explores deep into Supper Woods and finds a tree filled with darkness. Inside the tree, Pizza fights a form of the darkness before blacking out.

Pizza wakes up in the house of the previous wielder, Blackberry. She tells Pizza that a darkness has been spreading through the world, while expressing disapproval that Pizza took the Brush. Blackberry asks Pizza to go back to the tower and return the brush to Chicory.

Development and release[]

Originally under the title Drawdog,^[4] Chicory was unveiled via a Kickstarter on August 15, 2019.^[1][5] The project was started by indie developer Greg Lobanov, who previously worked on Wandersong and was funded within a day. Chicory was showcased at PAX West 2019, and was met with positive reception from RPGamer.^[6]

In an interview, the game's composer Lena Raine wrote that she wanted to create a contrast between the music of the natural world and the darkness. Raine said that various instruments were used in order to create the tone, “It’s almost like the distortion of the natural, so you’ll notice that I use a lot of synths and also acoustic instruments run through guitar pedals and amps and all sorts of literal distortion to create a sound that’s an amplified and chaotic version of reality."^[7]

The release date of Chicory—June 10, 2021—was announced in May 2021.^[8] The game was released on June 10, 2021 for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.^[9] On December 15, 2021, the game was released for the Nintendo Switch.^[10]

Reception[]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, the Microsoft Windows version of Chicory: A Colorful Tale received "universal acclaim",^[11] while the PlayStation 5 version received "generally favorable reviews".^[12]

In a positive review for Destructoid, Zoey Handley mentioned the themes of the story. "if you are the creative type, if you've dealt with self-doubt, the well-intentioned sting of criticism, the frustration of hard work going nowhere, directionlessness in a world that exploits the imaginative, the fact that "the best" doesn't really exist and "good enough" is a constantly moving target, then there is potential that Chicory: A Colorful Tale is going to hit hard." Handley also praised the pacing of the game, writing "The puzzles are simple, there's no combat outside of the well-done boss battles, but it maintains a brisk pace and an excellent variety of situations. It frequently flips the script and presents something new."^[18] Destructoid would later name Chicory the best PC game of 2021^[19] and the best overall game of 2021.^[20] Polygon named it the second-best video game of 2021, after Inscryption, with reviewer Maddy Myers stating that "it's rare to play a game where the central verb, painting, is also the emotional crux around which its themes and world revolve."^[21]

IGN's Rebekah Valentine liked the painting mechanic of the game and thought it added more depth to the relatively simple puzzles. "Pleasant as the world is to uncover, the paint tool of Chicory is more the core of its gameplay than its exploration is. The world reacts to your paint, with puzzles requiring you to color thoughtfully to overcome obstacles, complete sidequests, and access hidden areas." Valentine also enjoyed the cast of characters in Chicory, "there are also supporting characters with brief, sharp at times, but always kind commentary on topics like grief, workaholism, and the struggles of reckoning with sexuality and identity. It is at all times sensitive and empathetic, but doesn't sugar-coat or present a cheesy solution that magically erases the problem."^[3]

GameSpot's Alessandro Barbosa enjoyed the game, saying that, "Satisfying puzzles and cathartic painting mechanics support Chicory: A Colorful Tale's strikingly relatable story about self-doubt."^[22]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website