Still a masterpiece

When it was released in 2012, Fez captured the hearts of gamers worldwide, especially sports journalists. This is an example of enthusiastic creativity and the experimental mindset of small development studios. However, the series Phase 2 was put on hold and the brain behind the award-winning indie game disappeared from the Bill Fish web. Both of these were caused by mudslinging between the programmer and all sorts of giants on Twitter and other social media channels.

To date there is no second part of Fez. Anyway: Eight years after its release on the Xbox 360, Indy Darling is a version of the Nintendo Switch. Is the adventure age of little hero Gomez good – and is Fess really a milestone?

Fez is so cute, it still doesn’t look pretty in the pictures. The color gradient with day-night transitions is awesome.

Quell: PC Games

Before we clarify these questions, first about the principle of the game. Although Fez may at first look like a normal 2D operating system, it’s actually more than that. Because: At the push of a button we can rotate the environment, so we see 3D objects like blocks, houses and plants in four 2D perspectives. By playing with perspective, Gomez reaches new places: presenting himself as an irreversible pit from one perspective is a small gap from another perspective. This concept is somewhat known from Paper Mario, which is one of the sources of inspiration, but Fez himself has also promoted topics such as the successful mobile game Memorial Valley. What’s unusual about Fez is that it’s so quiet – not even enemies or bosses – there are no challenges in the classic sense of jumping. Gomez never learns extra moves, and overcoming obstacles is always achieved by turning the camera system.

At first glance, nothing was found in this house, just a few pictures on the wall to be surprised. But if you turn your gaze …

Quell: PC Games

But Fazil has a lot of puzzle games! Gomez has to find volumes scattered all over the world, and in doing so comes in the way of humans coming from other dimensions, whose characters, however, must be understood – by us! The puzzles become very crisp as the game progresses, so Face is not recommended for younger players despite the nonviolent and sympathetic, colorful look. This target group should soon feel very lost in the world, and the result is boring because there are no searches, no markers to set the next goal, or the tough story you follow chapter by chapter. But this is precisely the strange situation and the fact that there is no “punishment” for the player if he can not solve a puzzle or fall into the abyss leaves this indie game a lasting impression.

The different worlds in Fez are all connected by doors or websites.

Quell: PC Games

Needless to say, especially crisp puzzles are optional. In addition to the ordinary dice that Gomez has to collect, there are also so-called anti-dice. If you do not want to dig your way too deep, try a lot to fit all this and take the handwritten notes, you can easily leave it. Although a lot has happened since the game was first released in 2012 (and not just in the indie area, of course), Fez is still supporting the time ruin. Why? Quite simply: Camera Rotation is more than a gimmick and effectively combines successful stage design to effectively create an exciting game. The design of the puzzles is also elegant, you feel brilliant after a head nut explodes – that’s how it should be!

The simple but very beautiful pixel graphic style is timeless anyway and if you look at it, no one will doubt that Fez (Buy Now 14,20 ) Almost ten years old. The background music is spherical and underscores the play of the dream game. The title always runs smoothly on the switch, the control is precise, we only rarely notice some graphic errors, but they do not diminish the fun of the game. If you like indie games, you should not miss Face.

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