A colorful adventure and a surprisingly mature story to tell: Chicory
Indies in the video game industry are, day by day, learning from their games, innovating in their game proposals and finding new directions in every sense, all the time, something that studios only dream of achieving small creators do just like that, Chicory is one of those tender games, made from the cradle with a lot of love in the middle, an artistic design that distinguishes its personality in an instant and a solid gameplay assimilating many of the mechanics of some Nintendo classics, This review doesn't do justice to all that indies represent in the industry today but if I were to take a game released very recently to try to contrast the goals of big games with those of smaller, more modest games, Chicory is a game that breaks out of the mold in many ways while combining many of the strengths of indie games to give an immediately recognizable game feel.
I'm still trying to get out of Chicory's multicolored world to be able to give an analysis as impartial as possible, I don't know if it's its gameplay style similar to the 2D Zelda or Metroid that came out when Nintendo dominated the industry or it's its game proposal where color is lord and master of everything we see (and do) or it's simply its amalgam of well established characters with a remarkable charisma, but this Indie game has reached the bottom of my head to make a place in my heart, with so much tenderness and so many points well exposed in their maps where we go from grid to grid passing through areas where we will find both puzzles and enemies, but we will not face them directly but with a brush, painting on the stage to solve each challenge and incidentally give a unique artistic style to this work, the thing is that in each area everything is in black and white until we start to give color as we pass, the brush is more than a playable tool, is what gives Chicory its particular style.
This is an adventure game, of that we have no doubt, it sins a little in resembling much in structure to other 2D titles I've played but, both its visual proposal and its gameplay make the difference and transform this game from an average adventure to a refined mosaic of colors that excites, with production values that I'm not used to see in indie games often and with a soul that overflows the screen and makes us embrace their world and grab them affectionately.
Chicory is a game that is not afraid to show serious themes while presenting as many charismatic characters as it can, it is not afraid to be what it is, and I love it because it takes a lot of vision, experience and direction (something that its creators have plenty of with games like Celeste) to be able to give birth to such a unique work, its story, in contrast to all those colorful cartoon characters, takes a mature and reflective sense in dealing with the artistic pressure in a medium like the video game and art in general, even more impressive is that it reinforces this idea in the plot with its gameplay in which we are the new light in a world that has lost color.
Something that I always highlight in this kind of games is how they handle those little details that make the difference, in Chicory they seem to understand perfectly what they do and give us dialogues that are brilliantly written and that can also be of great help throughout the adventure, there is even a little sense of humor in the characters that makes each area or grid that we pass much more enjoyable and interesting, There will also be other "things to do" in each area that make the game a more complete experience, but it is always careful not to overdo it with the content, it is a game that knows exactly when to put those moments with the player, when to take the tutorial for a certain thing, or when to put a witty dialogue, the pace is very well achieved from start to finish and does not feel that the work loses weight with each chapter that we overcome.
There is also the relaxing side of this game, and Chicory is not presented as a complicated adventure, but rather as a rewarding experience that we can overcome, enjoy and be thankful that it exists, each section of the game gives you the time to breathe and think without much haste, the final bosses may be the most challenging in the whole game but at no time are an immovable object for us, it seems that Chicory is one of those games Feel-Good that have abounded so much the market in recent years, but the quality is undeniable, in every step we take you can see in great detail the technical deployment of its team of developers, the game goes smoothly, the animations go to perfection and each pixel is a picture of a work of art, perhaps this game does not make too much noise at the top for its unconventional gameplay and its indie atmosphere, but this server can say that again trust that the indies, even in 2021 have the best chance to surprise us all, even if it is painting the screen in colors.
Thank you.