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"Fez", by polytron


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Trailer

Has anyone else played this? I bought it the other day and I've been damn near addicted to it ever since. Essentially, it's a 2D puzzle platformer which has you flipping the camera in various angles to reveal secrets unseen at the angle you'd previously be at. On its base, it's very simple to jump in and play. There are about 32 cubes for you to collect to meet the requirement for endgame, and any fan of 2D platformers or puzzle games owes it to themselves to give this a try. Its pacing is like that of Metroid or the original Zelda, to which you're given a world to explore and you basically go wherever you want at whatever pace you wish to attempt to solve the game's many puzzles and platforming challenges. There are no upgrades or powers, nor are their enemies or bosses. The game leaves you on your on in a beautifully crafted world with an excellent soundtrack, anyone who loves platformers, adventure games, Metroidvanias, etc I desperately urge to give this game a try. It's only $10 on XBLA, which is a steal considering how meaty a title it is (Ergo, Sonic 4's episodes can take you anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half to complete, simply beating the game without getting everything in Fez can take up to 5 hours if you don't try to find all of its secrets).

However, unbeknown to be prior to purchasing it, there is a whole other layer of depth to the game that can only be achieved by paying attention to the game's environment, studying and learning a whole language comprised of completely made up alphabet, numerical system and symbols that correspond to button inputs on your controller. Now, some might find this section of the game completely convoluted and ridiculous, but the beauty of Fez is that all of this is here for those who want it, while people who'd rather play it as a platformer have that entire section of the game to conquer, which offers you another set of 32 cubes to collect. The key to doing well in these sections of the game is paying attention to the environment, studying the symbols you see all over the game's world, and in general just paying attention to every little thing you come across. For example, you could find that you came across a map that was added to your inventory. It might not seem to do much, but the map itself is likely key to something important within the game world. Or, you could be in a classroom and see writing on the wall which will help you solve a puzzle later in the game.

It's just such a nice and relaxing title with a lot going for it for those who love retro games. References and nods to classic titles thrown amuck to let those know that the creators of this game really love video games, this is a must buy for any classic game fan.

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I haven't played it, but people tell me that the trial is extremely boring and not a good indication of the final product, so if you don't like it I'd recommend watching a few videos before making judgement.

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I played the trial. Never have I played an XBLA demo and so quickly bought the full game. It's that good.

The puzzles are brilliant, the atmosphere is wonderful, the core platforming is very enjoyable, and as said, there's a ton of secrets to find. It's one of the best new games I've played this year (though I haven't played many, it's still amazing), and one of the best XBLA titles ever. And it's the attention to detail that really pushes it above and beyond. In every area there is something interesting, whether it be a huge landmark or a tiny animal running around. It really fills me with a sense of nostalgia for the good old days of simple yet deep platforming experiences. It really reminds me of the PS1 days for some reason. I think it's the way the rotating pixels kinda jitter around. But overall it's like a delightful package of the best of what several eras of platforming had to offer.

If you are a fan of platformers and exploration, passing this title up would be a HUGE mistake.

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Being a title I was incredibly excited with, I left the demo feeling completely lukewarm and somewhat disappointed. The game this reminds me the most of is Cave Story, which happens to be one of my favorite games of all time, with brilliant design and setup. Fez seems to have the latter, but it fumbles with the former. It seems like it's trying to invoke the "teach a player how to play through it's design" which is the best way of building a game, but when you have a build-up that only ends up explaining how to flip dimensions, open doors and flip switches in completely different sections of the game, and then realize that there's a button you haven't used up until that point for lifting up a crate for a ridiculously explicit crate puzzle, it comes across as schizophrenic. Nitpicking? Perhaps, but it's jarring to switch between two mindsets, and I was kind of frustrated since it broke the really swell flow.

Other than that the demo didn't feel like it had much to offer, even though I enjoyed the core mechanic. The demo might not be representative of the whole product but hell if I'd like to see this fall into the same trap Dead Space did where it made me shun the game for the longest time because it was pretty bad.

Also this is the only game where I honestly feel a bit "eh" about supporting an indie dev. Phil Fish is such a pretentious "indie" hipster I feel alienated. He's got the ego of Edmund McMillen turned up to eleven and has none of the charm.

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I haven't played it, but many have told me that the demo is not indicative of the final product. I am more than halfway done with getting all the cubes, and let me tell you there is some damn fine level design in this game, and the secrets are so cleverly hidden and fun to uncover that I doubt the demo even vaguely hinted upon anything of the sort.

It might be a gamble, but I'd recommend just purchasing the game and seeing how you feel. It's a mere $10, you don't have much to lose. Phil Fish is a douche though, but regardless he's created an awesome game.

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You know I've been checking up on this game since like 2009 and was wondering when it was going to release but I only just now realized it was an XBLA thing and I can't even get it... Lol.

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I only heard of this game through the controversy Fish had concerning how badly he embarrassed a Japanese developer by publicly putting down Japan's game development. Dude sounds like an ass, which is particularly bad considering his game seems to be treading indie water: I've played world-shifting 2D puzzle platformers and Metroidvania-esque experiences for free on Kongregate before; in fact, I've played so many of them around that I'm almost burnt out on them. I suppose my opinion of the developer shouldn't color how I look at his game, especially if he's put enough of his time and effort into something that's genuinely good considering the praise in the topic, but nonetheless it's made me wary of essentially going on ahead to fund a douchebag. It's a personal conundrum, but regardless I wish him and the game success.

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I was starting to get interested in this when I found a few videos a while back, but after trying the demo and reading up on it a bit more, I really don't think it's for me. The perspective switching is very neat, but nothing in the demo really blew my mind and made me really want to see more. And the "real" game beyond the basic platformer sounds like spending a ton of time finding and decoding a metric ****ton of symbols, dealing with QR codes (which I'm not entirely sure I have any method of reading on hand...), and other tedious bullshit that sounds about as fun to me as dipping my junk in molten lead.

I mean if that sounds like something you're into then great, go for it, but it's not something I see myself deriving any enjoyment from.

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It's not for everyone, but there's a huge deal of accomplishment when you actually uncover these seemingly impossible secrets and find new areas. Understanding the language and knowing what to do with it makes the experience all the more worthwhile, at least for me. I've found that learning the numbers and directional codes is fairly simple, and that the language isn't really necessary at all. At least, it hasn't been for me, all it's done for me is add to the game's world by putting messages throughout.

Keep in mind that you only really need 32 cubes to "complete" the game, where the other 32 are optional. That's not to say that 32 of the cubes are fun platforming segments and the other half are impossible puzzles, but keep in mind that the game presses the idea upon you that you can really accomplish whatever you want at whatever pace, so if you feel lost you can go back to another area or press on forward and do something else if you're not particularly keen on a puzzle or area you're in.

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The demo didn't leave much of an impression on me. It took me some time to think about it and eventually I suckered into buying the full game. After playing it for a while I'm still not sure it was worth the purchase. The gameplay, while the perspective change is quite nice, feels like it's missing something. One thing that was constantly in my mind about the game is is how big the world is. If anything I could say it's a little bit too big. Getting around is easy enough but the only other way around the world is through Warp Gates, and there's about five of them in this game. I felt this game could of benefited from a quick travel system. The puzzles truly are mind boggling admittedly. I spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out one of the beginning puzzles.

In short so far Fez feels like it should be more than it offers. It just feels so standard and even the perspective changing gets boring after a while. Then again I suppose it's only 800 ms. I've certainly played worse games for more than that (Sonic 4).

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I'm going to point out that I made my mind up on looking into the demo when I noticed this 10/10 review. It gave me the feeling that this was something special.

Well, I'll tell you what I think of it after playing for a while.

This is the most original-feeling platformer I've played since Super Mario Brothers.

Fuck yeah I love platformers, my favourite genre. Nowhere near enough of them these days, let alone outstanding ones like this. :D

*goes back to playing*

Edited by Velotix von Skruviktorrius
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Since the first game review for a revolutionary title was published?

In fact Edge used to define their 10 scores as "revolutionary" before they decided that was a silly idea.

Not all top scoring games are revolutionary, but all revolutionary games do score very well.

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There is one thing about Fez that irks me though, having got 17 cubes so far.

The fake hub world with the sealed doors that lead to (awesome) bonus areas rather than new game sections keeps throwing me off. I feel like I've fallen for the same troll three times.

Of course that's only a problem if you assume the game even needs a hub world and from what I've played so far it really doesn't, the warp gates handle things perfectly.

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From what I've seen, it doesn't look like anything I haven't played before. I mean, it looks like Super Paper Mario Cave Story. That's not to say it doesn't look fun because, it does. Just that it's not a priority, and it certainly doesn't help that Fish is a douchebag. Besides, I just bought Skullgirls.

Edited by Crow T. Robot
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  • 11 months later...

I haven't played Fez (been waiting for the PC version so I'm glad it's coming out!) but I bet Phil Fish regrets what he's said. At least I hope so, 'cos some of the things he said in the past are pretty dumb. But just because the developer is a twat doesn't mean the game he made is not worth playing! Just ignore it and enjoy the game for what it is!

 

Now, let's see if Dust: An Elysian Tail will eventually come on Steam too. =3 

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Will wait for the Humble Bundle for maximum irony.

 

Though I'll gladly take a Vita version too

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