I always thought I had a higher opinion of this game. But looking at it now, there's not much left, and it fits neatly between its neighbors: Layers of Fear and Ghostrunner. For the former, it has much, much better exploration and worldbuilding. That's what I liked the most, throwing your graphical capabilities behind this whole thing means you can enjoy your (favorite?) genre in a great level of detail! It's still got very annoying pseudo-stealth sequences of ham-fisted metaphors (your fears are like, uh, monsters... that chase... and kill you...) and I do appreciate the lack of jumpscares for the most part.

For the latter... unlike Ghostrunner, it does have a lot more breadth and depth to the cyberpunk tropes, and the idea of a small apartment complex is charming and mostly well done - allowing you to walk around in a creepy atmosphere, without the usual horror corridors. I think it got worse because they try so hard to make it grungy and grimdark and everything is terrible wherever you look. And also despite the good world, it fails at tying in the narrative completely. The sideplot of an organ farm is more interesting and memorable than the main plot, which also ends with le epic ending choice.

I could've given two stars and maybe it would've been alright, because it does depict the ultimate cyberpunk fantasy. But paired with a lack of narrative, lack of subversion and lack of good gameplay (run away from a monster but it's cyber!!) you could play other games that have done it better. Maybe there's no good grimdark game.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale has been a lovely experience for me. I probably used the word “cute” a lot in this review, but that’s because the game just oozes with cuteness! There’s a certain serenity to playing this game, just coloring places at your own pace. It set out to be a coloring book game of sorts, and I think it’s successful in that regard and then some! More people need to play this game, and frankly I think it’s criminal that this game doesn’t seem to be that well known! So go and play it!!!!

(full review https://doorplays.substack.com/p/door-reviews-chicory-a-colorful-tale)

Chicory is a beautiful and innovative experience of a game. The core gameplay mechanic of painting anything and everything (and every one) to your heart's content makes this such a fun experience. Especially when the options start opening up as you unlock more colour palettes and brush patterns & styles.

The story was far better than I expected. It really tackles feelings like imposter syndrome and self doubt in a relatable way. Even the journey of the world starting in black and white and gradually becoming more colourful as you progress makes you feel like you're having a real positive impact on this world.

Majority of the game is a great way to chill out and relax, although some of the bosses can be surprisingly fast paced and difficult in some cases.

Would love to play a sequel in the future.