The 90 Metacritic Adventure Game That Feels Like Zelda and Animal Crossing Rolled Into One, And You Probably Missed It
The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing are two of Nintendo’s most prized IPs, so when a game like Chicory: A Colorful Tale is able to take the best elements from both of those franchises and turn them into an unforgettable adventure, it’s interesting how it could so easily fly under the radar. Nevertheless, the charming adventure game has seemingly gone unnoticed by the broader gaming audience—and even those who are fans of The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing—despite receiving universal acclaim from critics and achieving a Metascore of 90 on Metacritic. Today, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is viewed more as a hidden gem, with a score that competes with some of the best indie games in the industry, as well as some of the Zelda and Animal Crossing games it seems to be influenced by.
Developed by Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, and A Shell in the Pit, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a top-down adventure game in a coloring book world full of vibrant, animal-like characters. In the world of Picnic Province, Chicory, superstar artist and wielder of the Brush, is missing, and all the color in the land vanished with her. As Chicory’s biggest fan, players are tasked with picking up the Brush and filling in for her, using their newfound painting powers to explore, solve puzzles, make friends, and draw on anything. It’s the perfect blend of The Legend of Zelda‘s iconic puzzle-solving progression and Animal Crossing‘s cozy charm, and yet it is still somehow one of the gaming industry’s best-kept secrets.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale Mimics Classic Zelda’s Top-Down, Puzzle-Solving Design
The Legend of Zelda has evolved significantly over the years, especially with the launch of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, and their genre-defining open-world formula. However, once upon a time, Zelda was played from a top-down perspective, much like Chicory: A Colorful Tale. Zelda games like A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, and The Minish Cap were built around compact overworlds, clearly defined regions, and puzzle-gated progression rather than raw combat skill. Exploration saw players moving from one screen-sized space to the next, and unlocking new areas often meant solving a puzzle with the items they acquired by completing dungeons, defeating bosses, or simply progressing to a certain point in the story.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale not only adopts a classic Zelda point of view but also its design philosophy. Whether it means painting hidden symbols, restoring color to reveal paths, or using other creative solutions to bypass obstacles, Chicory‘s Zelda-like game design ties its progress to players understanding how the world works and how the Brush can interact with it. Instead of dungeon keys or items like boomerangs and hookshots, players unlock new brush techniques in Chicory that change how Picnic Province can be navigated and explored. Even if the tools and tone are completely different, it’s a structure that mirrors classic Zelda almost to a tee.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale’s Zelda-Like Features
- TOP-DOWN ADVENTURE PERSPECTIVE rooted in classic Zelda design.
- CONNECTED OVERWORLD WITH DISTINCT REGIONS designed for deliberate exploration and revisiting.
- PUZZLE-GATED PROGRESSION, where new abilities recontextualize previously explored areas.
- ENVIRONMENTAL PUZZLES that emphasize observation and experimentation over combat.
- ABILITY UNLOCKS that function like classic Zelda items, expanding traversal and interaction.
- BOSS ENCOUNTERS as progression milestones, punctuating exploration without dominating it.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale also adopts Zelda‘s tonal rhythm in a sense, as it regularly shifts from warm, lighthearted tones to darker, gloomier, and more mysterious sequences like those experienced in its caves and boss fights. On the surface, it looks like little more than a colorful, harmless adventure, but it doesn’t hold back in its heavier moments, and that contrast is a big part of why its Zelda influence feels so tangible. Like the darker dungeons or shadowed regions of classic Zelda games, Chicory uses these shifts in tone to give the adventure emotional stakes that make its narrative feel like a goal worth meeting rather than around a dozen hours of casual, childlike playtime.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale Still Wears the Charm and Coziness of Animal Crossing on Its Sleeve
Even with its Zelda-centric design and emotional payoff, Chicory: A Colorful Tale‘s visuals, mechanics, and overall comfy feel prove it isn’t meant to be taken too seriously. While it could be argued whether it was actually inspired by Animal Crossing, fans of Nintendo’s beloved cozy IP shouldn’t sleep on Chicory‘s charm. Whether it’s the fact that the world is inhabited by over 100 unique animal characters, players can dress up their character and customize their experience with collectible clothes, plants, and furniture, or simply the (mostly) relaxing soundtrack, Chicory: A Colorful Tale effortlessly channels the spirit of Animal Crossing. The fact that it somehow manages to balance the lightweight spirit of Animal Crossing with Zelda‘s depth is just a bonus.
It should be noted that while Chicory: A Colorful Tale does feel like Animal Crossing in many ways, it isn’t a life sim in the slightest. This unique top-down adventure game is still very much driven by exploration and progression rather than routine or long-term scheduling. There are no daily checklists or obligation-based systems pulling players back in out of habit. Instead, Chicory borrows Animal Crossing‘s appeal in how it makes its world feel welcoming, encouraging players to slow down, talk to everyone, and leave their own creative mark on Picnic Province. That distinction is important, because it proves why Chicory: A Colorful Tale might feel so accessible to cozy game fans while remaining firmly rooted in the adventure-driven design of franchises like The Legend of Zelda.
You Might Have Missed Chicory: A Colorful Tale, But It’s Worth Checking Out
For much of the broader gaming audience, Chicory: A Colorful Tale came and went with little fanfare. It wasn’t heavily marketed as a must-play release, and it didn’t arrive attached to a recognizable franchise or developer. However, players who stumbled onto it have been pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly it flew under the radar. One player by the name of BakesByTravis on Reddit made a post expressing their appreciation for Chicory, saying they were “absolutely enamored with it” at the time. Some comments in the thread below the post echo the sentiment, while many others were inspired to try the game out for themselves.
That praise is backed up by its critical reception as well. Chicory: A Colorful Tale earned universal acclaim from critics at launch, securing a 90 Metascore on Metacritic and widespread praise for its creativity, emotional resonance, and puzzle-driven structure. On Steam, it holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, yet the game has only a little over 2,000 user reviews, a surprisingly modest number given its reputation. The disconnect between its critical standing and its audience size suggests the issue was never quality or appeal, but reach. Chicory has apparently meant a lot to those who played it, but it has simply never found its way in front of enough players—yet.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale may not have made a huge splash right away, but it has proven to stick with the people who play it. It isn’t built around systems that keep players coming back, and its slower, more contemplative gameplay than most adventure games probably caused fans of the genre to miss it. However, for those who enjoy classic Zelda design and miss its structure and puzzle-first pacing, or Animal Crossing players who value the charm and expression it is known for, Chicory: A Colorful Tale feels like a game still waiting to be found.