Available for: pass, PS4 and PS5, Xbox, PC | Length: 14 hours
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an open-hearted adventure game set in the world of talking animals, where the wielder of a magical brush is tasked with literally filling the land with color. You play as a brave dog. It’s a relaxing adventure in the next vein Zeldabut with a twist: You can use the brush to paint the environment at any point, anywhere, in different colors and patterns. It turns a somewhat familiar game into a digital coloring book that remembers your marks as you go. chicory is extremely bland and never suggests it to you to make a mistakeso if you want to spend 45 minutes ignoring the story and painting the trees purple, you can. On top of that, there are tons of accessibility options.
In co-op, the first player still controls the progression rate, but the second player gets another brush with all the same abilities. In addition to giving you a second set of hands to deal with the game’s various puzzles and boss encounters, it allows you both to form a shared impression of the world, like two kids sharing pencils in the kids menu. The story gets heavier than the cute art style suggests, exploring themes of self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and other struggles that can arise with creativity. But it’s refreshingly serious throughout. If you’re looking for a warm, caring, yet silly co-op experience, give it a shot.
