FEZ

9.8 Overall Score
Gameplay: 9/10
Fun Factor: 10/10
Sound: 10/10

Great art style | Amazing soundtrack | Damn clever puzzle solutions | Random smile inducing

Some of the puzzles may be a little obscure to solve | Perspectives in unlockable mode | PlayStation owners had to wait this long to play it

Game Info

GAME NAME: FEZ

DEVELOPER(S): Polytron Corporation

PUBLISHER(S): Polytron Corporation and Trapdoor

PLATFORM(S): PlayStation 3 PSN, PlayStation Vita

RELEASE DATE(S): March 25, 2014

Phil Fish is a polarizing figure.  His outspokenness and Twitter rants have echoed through the gaming community to the point where everyone has an opinion on him.  I think I remain one of the few that doesn’t really have a strong feeling either way.  In fact, the first thing I did when I finished watching Indie Game: The Movie was find out if his masterpiece FEZ was available on a platform I owned so I could buy it.  Sadly, it was an Xbox 360 exclusive at the time and I did not own one.  But patience is golden, as it has finally been released on Sony platforms.  FEZ is available for PS4, PS3, & PS Vita as a cross-buy and cross-save title, FEZ was worth the wait for me (PS3 & Vita versions were played for review).

5

FEZ tells the story of Gomez, a peaceful villager that one day discovers the powers of a magical hat.  This hat allows him to rotate his 2D world so that he can navigate all four sides of his surroundings.  It’s an interesting gameplay mechanic that creates tons of great puzzle and platforming challenges as you navigate the huge map collecting cube shards.  Huge is not hyperbole when talking about the size of the world either.  It took me a good 12 or so hours to find and unlock everything, so there’s plenty to do.  There are no enemies in the game, so, except for one rising lava challenge, you are given all the time in the world to explore the landscape.  And what a gorgeous landscape it is.  I know not everyone is into the pixel-art look, but to me, this is one of the prettiest games I’ve played in a long time.  I am an admitted pixel-art sucker, so that shouldn’t come as a great surprise, but the way the world rotations are handled is mesmerizing.  As are the non-pixelated scenes that are sprinkled throughout.  Sure at first glance it may just look like an old Super Nintendo leftover, but if you look closer you’ll find lots of brilliant little details to the world and colors that come together wonderfully.  The visual fidelity stays intact if you switch your game over to your handheld Vita and the OLED screen makes the colors pop and gives you a chance to study your surroundings up close and personal.

2

The thing that impressed me most about FEZ was the cleverness of a good deal of the puzzles.  The feeling of sheer joy I got when I figured out what it took to reach a solution is one I haven’t got from a game in a long time.  I don’t want to spoil any solutions here, but the imagination used to interact with the player, whether it’s via sound cues, language, or real world actions, is pure genius.  However, they may have got a little too obtuse for Joe Shmoe gamer to find all the collectables.  There are a few things you need to do in game that I don’t see how you could figure out without using some kind of guide or community to work with.  But that’s part of the fun I think the developers had in mind.  Friends coming together to work towards a common solution, just like in the old days before this internet thing took off. Fortunately, you don’t need to find these obscure answers to finish the main campaign of the game, so it doesn’t hinder progress.

8

Gomez controls wonderfully as you hop around your surroundings.  Movement and especially jumping is very precise and felt absolutely perfect in my Mario trained hands.  A tap of the shoulder buttons will spin your perspective, and the response on these is just as good. The only control complaint comes from trying to see certain things in a mode unlocked after beating the main campaign, so it won’t affect a good portion of gamers.  I had heard reports of performance issues on earlier releases of the game on other platforms, but I experienced nothing of the sort on either the PS3 or Vita.  Everything ran buttery smooth switching my save back and forth as well.  If you like your ears and they like you back, I would recommend using a good pair of headphones while you play, as this game is pure sonic bliss.  The music fits like a Power Glove and is very layered.  I’ve listened to the soundtrack while working and commuting many times.  It’s a great blend of electronicals and chiptunes and it makes me happy.  Sound effects are more of the same.  A stellar sound offering without a doubt.

1

THE RECOMMENDATION

I can’t remember the last game that made a subconscious smile magically appear on my face while I was playing it.  And Fez did it several times during my playthrough.  Art style is great.  Gameplay and controls are great.  Sound is great.  The overall package is one I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone that enjoys playing games or just fun in general.  Whatever your feelings for the game’s creator, don’t let them get in the way of experiencing this gem.

 

 

 

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Author: Shaun Zimmerman View all posts by
Still waiting for the Commodore 128... Find me on Twitter @Zimm108

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