Fez review

Developer - Polytron Corporation
Publishers - Polytron Corporation, Trapdoor, Microsoft Studios
Designer - Phil Fish
Programmer - Renaud Bédard
Composer - Rich Vreeland (Disasterpeace)
Engine - Trixel
Platforms - Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade), Windows (Steam), Linux, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Release date - April 13, 2012
Genres - Puzzle, platform
Mode - Single-player

Alright, not that we got the basic info out of the way, let me explain to you why I love Fez.
I first learned of Fez through the documentary "Indie Game - The Movie" (read my review here), and thought it looked rather nice. When the game was up in a weekly bundle form Humble Bundle, I got it right away and played for a long time straight.

Now, my history with puzzle platformers isn't very long. I mean sure, I did play some of the old Super Mario games and so on, but I've never been that much of an indie gamer. I am a sucker for pretty design and a good story though, and Fez does it.

The story behind Fez is rather simple, but it's sort of sweet and kind to the heart (at least as far as I've come). You play the character by the name of Gomez, living his life in what he thinks is a 2D world. He then comes in possesion of a magic fez hat, giving him the ability to switch around between different views of the world, as he realizes it's actually 3D.

The same place from all 4 views.

Now, there has been a problem with the world, and it's sorta kinda falling apart. You need to collect cubes to explore further into the world, and finally put the hexahedron back together, restoring the balance. Mostly, you'll find cube fragments (takes 8 to make a whole cube) and rarely, full cubes. The main goal is to gather the total of 32 cubes.

 I also happened to stumble upon an anti-cube. They're much harder to find (I solved a puzzle) and counts as normal cubes when you need to open doors and such.

One of the things you'll encounter are locked doors like this. They can be unlocked with keys you'll find throughout the world.

Throughout the game there are lots of new stuff and mechanics showing up, for example jumping platforms that turns the dimentions for you, to frustration and confusion. The landscapes are interessting and beautiful, and I love it. You travel between them through doors that you'll find on your maps, or through warp portals found every now and then.

To wrap things up, I am obliged to mention the downsides of this game. I haven't really encountered any real bugs or anything yet, so I asume it's pretty well built. The main thing that could drag this game down to a lot of people, is the fact that you can't really ... fail. If you die, usually from falling down, you'll simply respawn at the last place you stood safely. There are no enemies or boss fights, so you're safe at that. Personally, I struggle the most with jumping. I fall down a lot. Goddamnit.

But all in all, I like Fez a lot. I know a lot of people don't like the developer, but that doesn't bother me. I like the game, careless of him. I recomend it.