Chicory: A Colorful Tale is not a normal game.
You play as a character named after your favorite food; in our case: “pizza”. The world is called Picnic, and it has multiple food-related locations like “Dinners”, “Potluck”, and “Dessert Mountain”. The world is also populated with citizens who are all named after foods such as “Lemon”, “Clementine”, and “Pickle”.
If all that sounds a bit too cutesy for its own good, that’s exactly how I felt when I started playing. But over the course of the 10 or so hours it took me and my 7 year old to complete the main story, I couldn’t believe how invested we got in all their little lives. Every character you encounter has a unique personality, with their own set of problems, doubts, dreams, and faults that really bring the world to life.
Speaking of bringing the world to life, in Chicory, you have a magic paint brush. As you explore the world of Picnic, literally everything that you first encounter starts off in black and white, and you can use your brush to color every building, tree, bridge, and side character that you see, being as detailed as you would like. It’s more fun than I would have expected, and also helps you keep track of where you’ve been when you’re just starting out.
There’s no combat in Chicory, and you can’t die. There’s lots of metroidvania-style exploration, where new areas open up for you once you gain new abilities. There are “boss battles” where you have to attack another character wile avoiding their attacks, but as far as I tell you can’t lose these battles. If you’re ever stuck you can use a phone booth and call your mom and she will gave you a vague hint on what to do next… but if you want, you can have your dad tell you exactly what to do in painstaking detail.
When I first heard about Chicory I was honestly a little on the fence, even after reading some rave reviews. But the thing that really sold me was when I learned that the music was by Lena Raine, and boy did she knock it out of the park with this soundtrack. Lena’s music from Celeste and Minecraft has been in constant rotation in our house over the past few months, and Chicory’s music definitely lived up to our high expectations.
I could go on and on, but wow what a game. Completely unique and enjoyable. It was such a special experience, and I’m glad that my son and I were able to share it together.