Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an adventure video game developed by Greg Lobanov, an indie developer, and published by Finji. The game is compatible with Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. It was initially released in June 2021 and later in December 2021 for Nintendo Switch. The game revolves around an anthropomorphic dog character who has a magical paintbrush to color the game world.

Gameplay

Chicory: A Colorful Tale, also known as Chicory, is a video game that falls under the adventure role-playing genre. The characters in the game are small anthropomorphic animals, and the player assumes the role of an anthropomorphic dog. The player can choose to name their character after their favorite food or stick with the default name “Pizza”. The game’s world is presented in black and white, which the player can paint using a large paintbrush called The Brush. This paintbrush also aids in solving environmental puzzles. As the game progresses, the player unlocks new abilities, like jumping and swimming through paint. Later on, the player can even swim up walls and waterfalls.

Boss battles are the only combat mechanics in the game where players have to dodge projectiles in a state of bullet hell. They have to use the brush to inflict damage on the boss in dark-negative color filter arenas. However, the game includes an option to skip boss fights completely.

Story

Pizza works as a janitor for Chicory, who is the current caretaker of the tower. While cleaning Chicory’s tower, the world suddenly loses its colors, leaving Pizza surprised. As Pizza explores the surroundings, they find a Brush that Chicory had left behind and decides to take it with them. Later, Pizza meets Blackberry, who used to be Chicory’s teacher. Blackberry takes Pizza to a corrupted tree in the Supper Woods, where they encounter a mysterious entity. However, Pizza manages to defeat the entity using the Brush. Upon returning to the Wielder Tower, Pizza finds Chicory in a despondent state. Despite Chicory’s refusal to take back the Brush, Pizza assures her that they will fight against the corruptions and bring back the colors to the world.

How long is Chicory: A Colorful Tale?

In terms of its main goals, Chicory: A Colorful Tale has a duration of approximately 9½ Hours. If you’re a dedicated gamer who aims to explore every aspect of the game, it will probably take you around 21 Hours to achieve 100% completion.

Reception

Upon its release, Celeste received high praise from critics. They commended the game, using words such as “magnificent”, “excellent”, or “special”. Additionally, numerous reviewers claimed that it was a game that they would highly recommend to anyone.

Chicory was recognized as the top PC game and overall best game of 2021 by Destructoid, while Giant Bomb awarded it with multiple awards including “Chillest Game”, “Best Soundtrack”, and “Best Overall Game of the Year”.