3/31/2023 0 Comments Chicory a colorful tale ps4In case that hint is still too vague, you can get your dad on the line who explains in detail where to go next. Speaking of advice, the game also has a wonderful hint-system, in which you can call up your mother for additional information and help. None of them feel like throw-away characters, and you are actively encouraged to talk to them multiple times to learn their viewpoints or get additional advice. Each one has a lovely animal-design, but also a clear personality. There’s a large cast of characters you meet along the way: from older brush-wielders to citizens of the different towns and cities you come across. It is the world itself that truly shines, though. ![]() I really enjoyed how the game uses all its options to make you feel as non-violent as possible, while still making you interact with more traditional game-y elements. Only the other brush can harm the corruption, and that requires some clever thinking. One of them sees you fighting a negative version of yourself, during which all your brushstrokes are mirrored by a negative brush. You dodge attacks by moving out of the way and use the brush in a couple of creative ways to damage the corruption. During these moments you fight against corruption in painterly battles. This is where the corruption encounters come in. I genuinely loved how little the game pushes you towards fighting enemies unless there’s no other option. Dungeons often involve finding different ways to proceed and open doors, access paths or make your way across large gaps. The heart of the game, therefore, is not in combat encounters, but rather in basic puzzle solving. ![]() All these little additions make discovering new places a joy and the world gets a lot easier to traverse as well. These are simple, but often change how you can explore new parts of the world, like the ability to jump or to swim through your own paint. As you grow stronger and fight off the corruption, you will grow your bond with the brush and unlock new abilities. ![]() This is where the different brush-mechanics come in. Thanks to its cleverly designed world and mechanics, you may just almost automatically color in most of the places you visit, just to make traversal easier. At first I thought it would be rather cumbersome to color every little aspect of the map, but the brilliance is that you will probably not have to. You can color in characters, objects, plants, trees, houses, decoration and strokes of paint whenever you want. There’s no limit on paint or a requirement to paint specific parts. This is later expanded by using specific brush styles that change the shape and pattern of the brush. At any time you can swipe or move the brush across the screen to paint the world in one of four colors. The brush is your main method of interaction. You explore a densely populated and varied world with tons of characters who need your help to color the world around them. So what do you actually do in Chicory? The best comparison would be a title like Link’s Awakening. It's been a while since I’ve played such a wholesome tale of exploration, but Chicory: A Colorful Tale made me feel good about each little thing I did. Chicory is the titular character and her growth and change made me really care for her. I genuinely loved how the story goes out of its way to embrace creativity, but also show the darker side of what being a Brush-wielder actually means. Calamares is not just a silent protagonist but has their own personality and interaction with others. ![]() The story is incredibly well written and has a lot of heart and character poured into it. As soon as you leave the tower, splashes of corruption start popping up all over the land, and it's up to Calamares to figure out why these have appeared and how to combat these growing problems. It's up to Calamares to go around and restore color to the world and take over the responsibilities of the wielder. However, one day all the color in the world goes missing and the current wielder, Chicory, has decided to discard the Brush. The wielder is a powerful artist that wields the Brush, a magical artifact that can bring color to the world. In Chicory: A Wonderful Tale, you play as the Janitor (who in my playthrough was named Calamares) of Wielder Tower. It is really something special that anyone looking for a wholesome and cozy experience needs to dip their brush into. Using the fundamentals of a Zelda-like experience, Chicory weaves its own tale about art, being creative, and the pressure of living up to the expectations of yourself and others. Released as a surprise shadowdrop at the end of the last Indie World presentation, its unique style immediately caught my attention. If there was one title that I’d heard a lot of great things about last year that I didn’t get around to, it was Chicory: A Colorful Tale.
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