Chicory: A Colorful Tale

What to Know

Critics Recommend

Average Score

Total Reviews: 36

Play It

Chicory has a tremendous amount of heart and a deceptively serious story. It’s not free of frustrations and the controls can be clunky, but the games industry is better with games like Chicory in it.

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Critics Recommend

Critic Reviews: 36

Critics Consensus

# Reviews: 36

Chicory has a tremendous amount of heart and a deceptively serious story. It's not free of frustrations and the controls can be clunky, but the games industry is better with games like Chicory in it.

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Awards & Recognition

Critic Reviews for Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Critic Reviews

Score Distribution

36

Reviews

Average Score - 88/100

88%

Ranges

9/10

Rebekah Valentine (IGN)

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a pristine little adventure with fun puzzles, a surprisingly rich paint mechanic, and a story that’s disarmingly real, difficult, and heartfelt.

June 17, 2021 |

Full Review

Not only is Chicory a fun game, and not only did it speak to me on a profound level, it also made me want to be a better me. I’m not exaggerating nor using hyperbole, it’s a well-built experience with a tremendous amount of heart. It wants you to be you, and it wants you to know that the best you can do is always good enough.

June 10, 2021 |

Full Review

9.5/10

Zoey Handley (Destructoid)

9/10

Stuart Gipp (Push Square)

An indie adventure with the confidence of heavy hitters like Undertale, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is one hell of a pleasant surprise that excels on every level it is possible to do so. Would it be too hackneyed to say it belongs in an art gallery?

June 12, 2021 |

Full Review

Rebekah Valentine (IGN)

9/10 - (Read Review)

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a pristine little adventure with fun puzzles, a surprisingly rich paint mechanic, and a story that’s disarmingly real, difficult, and heartfelt.

Zoey Handley (Destructoid)

9.5/10 - (Read Review)

Stuart Gipp (Push Square)

9/10 - (Read Review)

**Read all 36 critic reviews on the desktop version of VSG.

Read the Reviews (36 total)

Outlet	Author	Score	Date	Quote	Read
33bits	Rubén Manzanares	95 / 100	06-24-2021	Chicory a Colorful Tale, is a great metroidvania with certain influences on classic titles but that stands out for its great ideas, creating a special title that I recommend adding to the library, in case you want to live a unique experience. A title with a great sound and artistic section in which you will be the artist in charge of giving color.	Read review
Bazimag	Ali Rezazadeh	9 / 10	06-13-2021	A thought-provoking and heartfelt story wrapped around a Zelda-esque adventure with great puzzles and the clever twist of using a painting mechanic to add color and draw on anything, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is one of the best games of 2021.	Read review
CGMagazine	Jordan Biordi	10 / 10	07-28-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an absolute delight—fun, engrossing, and bursting with creativity!	Read review
Checkpoint Gaming	Bree Swaine	9 / 10	07-19-2021	Chicory: A Colorful tale is an adorable little adventure with clever puzzles, cute writing, characters and hardstyle. The painting mechanics are incredibly well utilized and keep the gameplay constantly fresh while the gripping story keeps you wanting to play more and more. It also has plenty of secrets and items to find that keep the game replayable if you want to continue exploring. These things alone would make a good game, but the intelligent and heartfelt story is what makes it amazing. You learn so much about the characters and yourself while playing Chicory and it teaches such wonderful lessons that are applicable to anyone of any age. The writing and the world work together so perfectly to create an experience that is both fun and cute, while also being deeply profound. It isn’t a grand, sweeping story. It is small, it is personal and it hits incredibly close to home.	Read review
Destructoid	Zoey Handley	9.5 / 10	06-10-2021	Not only is Chicory a fun game, and not only did it speak to me on a profound level, it also made me want to be a better me. I’m not exaggerating nor using hyperbole, it’s a well-built experience with a tremendous amount of heart. It wants you to be you, and it wants you to know that the best you can do is always good enough.	Read review
FingerGuns	Sean Davies	9 / 10	06-10-2021	Chicory is the kind of game that reminds me why I enjoy gaming in the first place. It takes innovative, artistically driven mechanics and makes them accessible and intuitive. It combines them with a narrative which is emotionally charged and truly engrossing. This is all topped off with a fantastic world that houses oodles of charm, a top class soundtrack and puzzle design that challenges the player while rarely becoming frustrating.	Read review
Game Informer	Ben Reeves	8.8 / 10	07-12-2021	Chicory is an intriguing world full of hilarious characters and inventive game mechanics, which makes it a delight from start to finish	Read review
Game Rant	Dalton Cooper	4.5 / 5 stars	07-03-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a compelling twist on The Legend of Zelda formula that will appeal to fans of Nintendo’s popular franchise.	Read review
GameSpew	Kim Snaith	8 / 10	06-21-2021	If you like the idea of an open world adventure filled with wonderfully written characters, engaging puzzles and a heart-warming story, don’t hesitate to give Chicory: A Colorful Tale a try. It’s so much more than “a game you colour in yourself”; it’s a journey filled with heart and soul. It isn’t free of frustrations, but they’re easily forgiven thanks to just how charming and wonderfully unusual this adventure is.	Read review
GameSpot	Alessandro Barbosa	9 / 10	07-02-2021	Satisfying puzzles and cathartic painting mechanics support Chicory: A Colorful Tale’s strikingly relatable story about self-doubt.	Read review
GamingTrend	David Flynn	95 / 100	06-15-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a delightful experience that, while confronting some of the darker parts of creativity, will simply make you feel good. The world is cute and fun to explore, puzzles are a joy to solve, and coloring in the Picnic Province is relaxing.	Read review
Hey Poor Player	Andrew Thornton	5 / 5 stars	06-16-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale spoke to me deeply. I think most people who have pursued any creative outlet will find something to latch onto in its story. If that were the only strength here, you’d have a game worth your time. When you combine that with a beautiful art style, fantastic music, entertaining exploration, thought-provoking puzzles, and unique boss battles, you have a masterpiece. Coming out during the lead-up to E3, the same week that several other heavy hitters release, it would be easy for Chicory to get lost in the shuffle. Don’t let them happen. Few games releasing in 2021 will be more worthy of your time.	Read review
Hobby Consolas	Alberto Lloret	80 / 100	06-10-2021	As previous Lobanov’s games, Chicory finds an interesting balance between its story, that explores diffent human problems, and our own artistic expression by painting. An “atypical” game that you probably will love as much as you love painting, altough you can enjoy it even without focusing on it.	Read review
IGN	Rebekah Valentine	9 / 10	06-10-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a pristine little adventure with fun puzzles, a surprisingly rich paint mechanic, and a story that’s disarmingly real, difficult, and heartfelt.	Read review
IGN Italy	Mattia Ravanelli	7 / 10	07-02-2021	Chicory teach everyone else how to tackle some real issues about our society and, ultimately, our life. But its gameplay lacks that spark that made Wandersong great.	Read review
Jump Dash Roll	Jon Peltz	9 / 10	07-14-2021	Chicory’s strengths lie in the myriad heartwarming stories it wants to tell, and the wealth of accessibility options it gives the player in how they want to experience these stories. A sedate, and, at times, hilarious use of the canvas of gaming.	Read review
JVL	French_Fantasy	8 / 10	07-05-2021	With its ingenious puzzles, its boss fights that are gaining in interest, its touching writing, its adorable little minois, all carried by inventive painting mechanics, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is THE big surprise of this early summer.	Read review
KeenGamer	Kenzie Du	8.5 / 10	06-22-2021	The world is your oyster	Read review
Metro GameCentral	GameCentral	8 / 10	06-17-2021	A charming and imaginative spin on The Legend Of Zelda that is filled with cleverly original ideas and a deceptively serious script that packs a real punch.	Read review
Noisy Pixel	Semy Rahman	8.5 / 10	06-16-2021	Chicory provides an earnest and genuine adventure full of fun puzzles, charming characters, and cute aesthetics. With a surprisingly deep and impactful storyline, the game delves into realistic themes that may hit more than you think. Though controls are clunky and there’s a level of monotony to the painting, Chicory seamlessly weaves comfort and emotions into a strong narrative adventure.	Read review
Paste Magazine	Austin Jones	8.5 / 10	06-29-2021	Lena Raine’s fabulous soundtrack also must be commented on, which glistens with life but feels airy and sparse as if to mimic the gaps in color you have to fill over the course of the game. Despite being a pretty “wholesome” game, it doesn’t mince words and never presents a simple solution to serious issues. I’m really happy I played Chicory-it’s one I truly needed to play, and I hope a lot of people get something out of it too.	Read review
PlayStation Universe	Martyn Locker	9 / 10	06-14-2021	Greg Lobanov has produced a game that has it all. It’s a truly heartwarming story with unique gameplay, clever puzzles and a colourful cast of characters in a gorgeous world that never feels limited by its retro-inspired, two-dimensional roots.	Read review
Polygon	Nicole Carpenter	Recommended	06-25-2021	Instead, Chicory asks, “What if there’s a better way?” A person’s worth is inherent, and it’s not chosen for us. If we tear down those systems and rebuild something new, we can shift legacies and choose them for ourselves	Read review
Push Square	Stuart Gipp	9 / 10	06-12-2021	An indie adventure with the confidence of heavy hitters like Undertale, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is one hell of a pleasant surprise that excels on every level it is possible to do so. Would it be too hackneyed to say it belongs in an art gallery?	Read review
RPGamer	Sam Wachter	5 / 5 stars	07-22-2021	Despite not everything going off without a hitch, and some systems sure to appeal more to certain kinds of gamers, Chicory’s emotional core is so strong, so impactful that it eclipses all other shortcomings and just leaves the player with an overwhelming feeling of pathos.	Read review
SpazioGames	Unknown	9 / 10	06-17-2021	We need more games like Chicory in our lives.	Read review
TechRaptor	James Bentley	9.5 / 10	06-18-2021	Chicory is a wonderful, creative outing that is as grounding as it is it bursting with charm.	Read review
The Game Crater	Jayden Hellyar	9 / 10	07-04-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a stunning game that should be on everyone’s list of games to play. It features plenty of creative gameplay mechanics, which proved to be engaging with very minimal faults. The storyline is also incredibly charming, and you’ll likely struggle to find a more wholesome game than Chicory.	Read review
The Outerhaven Productions	Sean Garmer	4.5 / 5 stars	07-24-2021	From a fantastic story and endearing characters to varied puzzles and a great soundtrack there is just so much to love about Chicory: A Colorful Tale. Its coloring book world leaves everything open for your interpretation, but also doesn’t force you to spend any more time with it than what is actually required. I loved every minute I spent with the game and it is easily my favorite game of 2021 so far.	Read review
TheSixthAxis	Steve C	9 / 10	07-05-2021	Chicory lived up to my expectations and more. The traversal is a joy throughout, the puzzles brilliantly judged and the whole experience is a joy to play from start to finish. If this were not enough, the admirable approach to accessibility should be celebrated and congratulated. What really stood out after finishing the game, though, was how effectively it treated difficult issues of depression and feelings of low self-worth whilst never feeling too earnest or preachy. The final result is one of the best indie games I’ve played in years. Chicory: A Colourful Tale is a true masterpiece that deserves to be played by all.	Read review
VG247	Tom Orry	Recommended	06-10-2021	A puzzle-filled adventure full of quirky characters, we really like what we’ve played so far of Chicory.	Read review
Video Chums	A.J. Maciejewski	8 / 10	07-01-2021	Video games don’t get much more heartwarming than Chicory: A Colorful Tale with its beautifully-interwoven gameplay and story.	Read review
VideoGamer	Josh Wise	8 / 10	07-03-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is bound to the template set forth by The Legend of Zelda, but, rather than offering reflexive glibness, or inking the affair with irony, its critique wraps warmly around its subject, like a scarf.	Read review
Washington Post	Shannon Liao	Recommended	06-10-2021	Playing “Chicory” feels like a kind act of self-care in a brutal time. It reminds players to slow down, enjoy the finer things in life, take care of the community, but also, just do you.	Read review
WayTooManyGames	Leonardo Faria	8.5 / 10	06-13-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a wonderful game and I had a great time playing it on the PS5. It actually takes advantage of the DualSense in ways very few games do, be them AAA or not. It’s colorful, charming, and above anything else, stupidly creative.	Read review
Wccftech	Nathan Birch	8.5 / 10	06-10-2021	Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an ambitious, absorbing, and creative Zelda-style adventure with some meaningful, heartfelt things to say about the creative process, self-doubt, and other big issues. Like its characters, Chicory isn’t perfect – its controls can be a bit clunky and maybe its painting tools aren’t as versatile as they could be – but it’s an easy game to love. Does it fall slightly short of masterpiece status? Perhaps, but it’s still very much worth adding to your art collection.	Read review

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Game Info

Game Description / Storyline:

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an adventure game about a dog wielding a magic paintbrush! Use the power of art to explore, solve puzzles, help your animal friends and restore color to the world. The Brush is a one-of-a-kind artifact that can color the world. Naturally, it needs a wielder, a master artist responsible for all colors and for passing the brush down. The current wielder, Chicory, is immensely talented and beloved by all… until all the color in the land vanishes, and her with it! I guess that leaves it up to you, her number one fan, to take up the brush and fill in for her. Hmm… good luck!

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