Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Underrated gem. It’s a painting game, and it may look like a game for toddlers, but it is one of the most connecting experiences I have ever had in a video game.
The gameplay is incredibly fun, and the music is AMAZING (Lena Raine I kneel down at you), but the best part is by far the story. It has such a profound meaning and each character struggle feels real. Not only the main ones, but there are plenty of side stories that have deep messages with really heartwarming conclusions to them.
This is not just a game, it’s a therapy session. Enjoy playing while healing your heart. One of the best games I have ever played, I’m absolutely in love.

I think this game is really special. I don't know if it clicks with everyone, but for those that it does, it really clicks. (Including me.) The story, characters and world are all interesting, familiar, and strong. There are emotional moments where the dialogue is legitimately hard to read. The music and sound design are really good. The puzzles and gameplay and the customizeable nature of literally everything are really fun.

I think some people might look at this and just write it off as "cozy drawing game" That's stupid, it's so much more, for all the reasons I just listed. This is a project of love, passion, and joyful creation. I think it may live inside my mind for a while like all media I really like does. I may try and 100% it.

To summarize, I think It's very good.

The music is by Lena Raine, i don't really know if i need to say much more tbh.
The only thing is the controls can take a lot of getting used to, i used both a controller and mouse for the most natural feeling, but it can be a bit weird. Otherwise beautiful game and everyone who made it should be proud on making such an interesting and innovative experience.

A true gem. How is this amazing game so underrated?
It took me two tries to truly get into this game. At the beginning, everything is a little overwhelming. Color the world! A huge map to explore! Many characters to talk to and they all have several bits of dialogue! I dropped it after a couple of hours.
On my second go, I decided to use a guide to see if the game would grow on me. And boy, it did.
Do not be fooled, the game may look cute but it deals with themes such as impostor syndrome, depression, and intrusive thoughts. It does so masterfully. It's not a sad game per se, but in many occasions it touched me deeply, to the point of tears. It does a lot with little, communicating about feelings, struggles and hurdles without uttering many words.
The sound design and the soundtrack are excellent, this is a game for headphones. The gameplay is very similar to the older Zelda games: a big open world, some dungeons with light puzzles, boss fights, power ups as rewards. The boss fights are incredible but they can be a bit annoying with the default settings, lots of dying and repeating. Kudos to the developers for allowing options where the player to have as much life as they want/need, including unlimited.
You can also skip the boss fights if you so wish, but I don't recommend it, some of the boss fights are truly memorable and in many ways pivotal to fully understand the story. And the story is the main star of this game, so if you prefer skipping dialogues and just getting into the ending as soon as possible, this game might not be for you.
Several passages of this game left me in tears. The story is touching and it hits deep. Lots of beautiful metaphors. It accomplishes much with few words, and it leaves you thinking.
I'll miss you, Chicory!

A profound game an experience that is well worth your time.
It's a really simple adventure game that's stuffed to the brim with personality, that is both charming and heartfelt, with a plot that heavily resonates with young adults. Best part is? It's all told through art and its hardships.
As someone who does enjoy art but hardly is motivated to do it, and moreso AFRAID of doing it, this was a great game to tell a story that really did resonate with me. Doubting if what I do is right, but the game's message is that, it is.
And the real art isn't in what we make, but in the intent, and the intent of making the world a better place, that is what makes a great person. An artist. A GREAT artist.

I'm only about half way through the game and i love it to bits, had a friend buy it for me and i have shed many tears (in a good way)

Story is very sweet and many characters have gotten a fair few chuckles out of me (love you Pickle, love you Beans <33). I draw a lot already so i was able to follow along and relate to the emotional beats in the story, as well as getting giddy over finding new ways to draw or fun colour combos!!

Absolutely would recommend if you are an artist, need to cry, think the art style is adorable or all of the above!

Deciding that it wasn't enough to make one of the best games ever, Greg Lobanov decided to do it again, this time even moreso to me. An experience so moving and comfy to me that the act of finishing and closing the game, leaving my character a chance to finally rest, was all it took for me to start tearing up. So many things in Chicory feel like a continuation of the core elements that caused Wandersong to be one of my favourite games, only this time with everything also appealing more to my proclivities, culminating in one of my favourite experiences I've had in such a long time.
The specific brand of softness and kindness in Lobanov's games is something that feels especially appealing to me, especially with the way that it shines through in all facets of them. Most antagonism present in the game still takes place in a far kinder, more understanding world, one where talking things out will solve the majority of problems and being nice to each other and it'll all be met with understanding. The mechanics themselves are playfully implemented and add so much vibrancy to how you interact with the world, with even the most hostile moments still not really attempting to hinder you and even giving you more options to soften them even more. Even something as simple as text options feel just that bit nicer, never really having something that straight up says "no", only things like "that's ok" or "I'm alright" , and it all makes for something profoundly pleasant from start to finish where everything new you find is full of bright-eyed excitement.
The concept of artistic expression in itself being beautiful is taken to even greater heights here, being given a set of intentionally limited painting tools (small colour selection, can only solid fill certain surfaces, no ability to use black or white for linearly purposes) and still being told at every turn that you're incredible at what you do in a self-aware enough way to have an entire side quest centred around this. There are also so many ways to add a bit of mechanically pointless flair to the mix that makes the player see the world as something living and breathing that you can play with, whether it's through the way it's entirely up to the player to add colour to the world, or all the decor that you're able to place everywhere if there's something you feel would fit in the scene. It led me to establishing an extraordinarily close connection with my character to be able to have so much self-expression at my fingertips, and the requirement I had to be filling the world with colour also made me feel similarly close with each individual location full of their unique warmth that I was partially responsible for the vibe of.
As someone who's repeatedly artistically struggled over the years, a lot of the topics in here also resonated deeply with me, the relationship between the art and the artist, sometimes having that inability to think about things in terms of myself instead of catering to what others want in all situations, those times of it all just feeling too much. Sometimes all you need is time to rest and support in your life, understanding from your peers, the ability to sit and process your feelings instead of having them overwhelm you with nonstop doubts, and this game touches upon all of this in some very powerful ways that have left me thinking for a while.
I don't feel capable of articulating a lot about what this game does for me beyond this, it's just a very abstract sense of how it resonates with me, with every facet of its existence being yet another thing that endears me to it. Between this and Wandersong, Greg Lobanov remains undefeated and I am now another person who is indescribably excited for Beastieball to finally release.
10/10