PROJECT INSPECTION / SANDBOX TRAIL GUIDE
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
A welcoming creative adventure that gives the same brush both expressive and practical roles. It offers personal ownership of an authored world, rather than the unrestricted construction of a new one.
DEVELOPED BYWishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit
Game facts
- Developer
- Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit
- Publisher
- Finji
- Released
- 10 June 2021
- Platforms
- Windows · macOS (Steam edition)
- Model
- Paid game
- PEGI
- 7 — Nintendo Switch edition; not a separate PC classification
- Players
- Single-player · Multi-player · Co-op · Shared/Split Screen Co-op
- Length
- Short
- Difficulty
- 2 / 5 · Approachable
- Steam Deck
- Verified
PEGI source ↗ · Steam Deck status source ↗
Edition: Base game
The score, explained
The interest and responsiveness of the core decisions and actions.
How progression, exploration and goals fit together.
The coherence of the visual, musical and narrative presentation.
How clearly the game explains its rules and offers useful ways to engage.
The depth of optional goals, alternative approaches and reasons to return.
The brush is the main tool
Chicory opens a world that looks ready to be worked on. Its monochrome surfaces accept colour, and the brush gives the player a direct way to make each location feel personally marked. The opening adventure supplies characters and practical tasks, but the invitation to paint remains present between those objectives. This makes the first stage unusually accommodating to different temperaments. One player may carefully compose a scene, while another tests rough marks to find out what the environment permits. Neither needs a polished drawing technique to continue. As brush abilities develop, the tool gains more practical uses and previously familiar places deserve another visit. From a creative-builder perspective, the important early impression is that personal expression and game progression share the same instrument. The world is both a place to explore and a surface on which to experiment.
Abilities that expand a familiar idea
The strongest quality is how comfortably the game allows useful work and playful embellishment to coexist. A brush action can help negotiate the environment while also changing how that environment looks. The story's concern with creativity gives imperfect marks a meaningful context, preventing the activity from becoming a test of technical drawing ability. New capabilities provide reasons to revisit familiar spaces without erasing the player's relationship with them. Local cooperative colouring adds another appealing possibility for people who enjoy making something together. The adventure also supplies enough direction for players who find an entirely blank creative canvas intimidating. There is usually somebody to help or a route to understand, so the brush has a purpose even before an artistic idea appears. That balance makes Chicory more welcoming than a purely open workshop while retaining substantial expressive freedom.
A world that leaves room for you
Creative freedom has clear boundaries here. The player colours and interacts with an authored world rather than constructing a new terrain layout or managing a simulation. Someone hoping to design a town, tune an economy or build a reusable production system will find those interests only indirectly represented. The adventure also introduces active confrontations and an emotional narrative that cannot be reduced to a sequence of decorative projects. Those elements give the brush context, but they may interrupt the experience a purely creative player expected. Conversely, elaborate colouring is not always necessary to solve a task, so personal effort and formal progression can feel loosely connected. Chicory is most rewarding when expression is worthwhile on its own terms. Treating every painted detail as something that must earn a mechanical reward can make the freedom feel less satisfying.
For curiosity rather than competition
Choose Chicory if your interest in a sandbox begins with making a world feel personally touched. It is particularly appealing when drawing, exploration and a character-led story can share the same session. The brush keeps the creative process accessible, and the authored adventure supplies a useful framework for players who prefer a prompt to an entirely empty canvas. It can also suit two people who enjoy adding colour together through local cooperation. Players primarily interested in engineering, economic management or freely reshaping terrain should consider a different toolset. The recommendation is for expressive builders who value the act of making as much as a formal output. A roughly painted location can still become memorable because it reflects a decision the player made, and that modest sense of ownership is central to the game's charm.
The verdict
A welcoming creative adventure that gives the same brush both expressive and practical roles. It offers personal ownership of an authored world, rather than the unrestricted construction of a new one.
Reasons to play
- The brush supports both practical tasks and personal decoration
- An authored adventure gives creative play useful prompts
- Local cooperative colouring can make expression a shared activity
Reasons to think twice
- Colouring does not extend to unrestricted world construction
- Story and action sequences interrupt purely decorative play
See the game
Assist & accessibility
Explore the available settings and control options on the official game page before choosing your setup.
Parents’ guide
Players: Single-player · Multi-player · Co-op · Shared/Split Screen Co-op. No in-game purchase marker in the checked Steam listing. Separate downloadable content may be sold.
Age classification: 7. Nintendo Switch edition; not a separate PC classification
A useful starting tip
Try painting a suspicious surface before assuming you need another conventional key or switch.
A different direction
Compare this with Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition: A moving management adventure where improving a boat supports the people aboard it. Construction and care reinforce one another, though repeated routines and the subject of farewell make the experience more demanding than its warmth suggests.
Official sources
Reviewed: November 2026
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