I'm not the kind of person who likes to spend time reading picture books. There may be some artistic bones in my body, but they may be broken in several places. So when I first heard of chicory, I was sceptical because not only does chicory look like an animated coloring book, but its main mechanism is to focus on coloring the black and white world with a magic brush. However, within a few minutes, this little creative gem won my heart. Chicory may sound like a picture book, but in essence, it is an adventure inspired by Zelda, full of humorous conversations and important topics that make me a little sluggish. Chicory takes place in a charming little animal village called Picnic, and everyone is named after the food. Everything seemed to go well for the picnic place, until a dark and evil force appeared, and all the colors suddenly disappeared from the world.
Fortunately, the writer responsible for the picnic that kept this place alive locked himself in a tower, leaving the world without its saviour. Until Wielder's gatekeeper, a young anthropomorphic cub, "borrowed" his master's magic paintbrush and embarked on an adventure to make the world orderly. Thanks to Chicory’s ingenious dialogue and a large number of charming and unique characters, such as a hoarder obsessed with garbage and a cat who keeps adopting new children, this absurd premise becomes an exciting adventure. At certain points, the story of chicory even involves serious topics such as imposter syndrome, and my puppy’s heartfelt adventure touched my heart more than once.
When you travel around the picnic, you can draw all the objects you see to add color to the world. I can use a PC mouse to control the brush most easily, but the analog stick on the right side of the controller can do this very well. I also appreciate the number of painting tools I can use. Not only can you adjust the size and color of the brush, you can also press and hold the paint button to quickly fill the background and use preset brush styles to mark shapes in the world. Most of the time you can only use three colors, which makes me wish for a larger palette. Fortunately, if you don't want to interact with this system, you don't need to change the colors of the entire world. Nevertheless, when I sat down and tried the paint mechanism of chicory, it seemed to be a very cool Zen experience.
Although changing the color of the world is a continuous but enjoyable side business, most of my time in chicory is spent interacting with citizens on picnics and solving problems. From drawing new signs for pizzerias to exploring underground cities full of insects, to repainting houses for indecisive animals, the depth of experience that chicory squeezed out of its painting mechanism surprised me. Most chicory puzzles require you to draw certain objects to influence the world. For example, some plants explode when you paint, so you can use them to destroy rocks blocking the road. In the process, you will also get some clever new brush abilities to better control the world. I especially like the ability to swim around in my paintings, which allows me to walk through small spaces and reach areas that are not in the way.
Surprisingly, chicory does not have any combat mechanism, so you don't need to use a paintbrush to defend against the mob army when exploring. I admire this way of playing and I didn't miss the game; the world of chicory is so interesting that I realized it lacked combat mechanics until halfway through the game. The only exception is the encounter with the radicchio boss. In these events, you must dodge a series of attacks while using the paintbrush to add color to the boss. I appreciate how these battles change the rhythm, but it is difficult to focus on my paintbrush and my character at the same time; controlling both feels like trying to rub my belly while stroking my head. Fortunately, these encounters are not difficult. If you die, you will continue from where you left off (you can even disable the ability to die in the options menu).
I was a little bit dubious about chicory, but it exceeded my expectations with its outstanding colors. The world and its inhabitants are delightful, its puzzles are kept ingenious throughout the journey, and its main painting mechanism is the perfect pressure reducer. Chicory taught me never to judge a picture book by its cover, and you don’t have to be a master painter to enjoy the fun of color.
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