Link: http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/122/1222726p1.html
There's a mutual awe between people discussing the deep secrets and mystery of Fez. Curiosity, envy, and excitement dominate conversations about bewildering thematic patterns, creative solutions to intelligent puzzles, and unforgettable level design. Players are likely to gush about the beautiful aesthetic and childlike sense of wonder in equal measure.
They'll probably say something about the insane but exciting ambitions, how bad their brains hurt, and how cute the little hat is, too.
Fez appeals to the adventurous soul's want for discovery, and delivers it in an entertaining and original way. After a catastrophic event adds a third dimension to a 2D world, Gomez, the fez-adorned hero, finds himself capable of shifting the dimensional plane. This is where Fez starts challenging player perception.
Imagine the world like a four-sided column. With each pull of a trigger, Gomez rotates the column left or right 90 degrees. Each rotation displays a different side of the landscape, each of which has a distinct set of objects to interact with. This simple device changes where Gomez can go and how he can get there. If there's no means by which to climb higher, rotating the scene may reveal a hidden ladder or new ledge. Fez further complicates matters when it lets illusion become reality.
Manipulating pieces in such a way that they look traversable is all Gomez needs to navigate. In twisting the world to your will, disconnected objects become the literal stepping stones to your success. Perhaps a single platform becomes part of a wall, or positions itself within jumping distance of another platform. If two separate, smaller ladders appear as one long ladder from a certain angle, they act accordingly.
Fez makes no apologies for its complexities. Rather than relying on instruction, players discover possibilities by experimenting at their own pace. There's no threat, no urgency, and no consequence for death. Everything exists as is. It's just waiting for you to find it.
The rotation gimmick could have made a simple side-scroller something far more frustrating, but the dozens of levels are all laid out quite cleverly. New areas are always within reach, and altering the camera gives Gomez plenty of extra opportunities to explore. You can always get to the next area, even if you don't quite know what to do when you arrive.
Fez has so much to see and do that most players will make their way through numerous stages in a short span of time. They'll probably do so without realizing the number of treasure chests, alternative routes, or additional puzzles they've missed in each map. As they discover the rules and how best to get around, they'll return to earlier areas to dig deep into the remaining mysteries.
Really, though, experiencing its aesthetic is Fez's true reward. The terrific detail of its pixel-painted universe, old-school-inspired music, vibrant art, and ever-changing scenery bring the brilliant world to life. There's such an absorbing diversity in the way levels look and sound that it's enough just to be part of it regardless of the character's goals.
The whimsical tone to the writing in Fez also contributes to the overall idea that it just wants you to enjoy yourself. Early on, before Gomez gains access to the third dimension, everyone is ingrained in their 2D ways. Characters comment on how flat you're looking today and the nonexistence of other dimensions. They're so disbelieving of 3D that it's all they talk about. When a cube appears in the sky and blows up, everyone becomes frightened of 3D. Then it's up to Gomez to pick up its actual, exploded pieces.
Fez also sneaks in some satirical material just for kicks. Dot, your helpful floating companion, doesn't know anything about anything. In any other game Dot would be your guiding force, a talking tutorial. It forgets what certain objects are for, if it even has anything to say other than "Uh, I don't know what this is." Fez also goes out of its way to make the gaming-literate members of the audience smile. Tetris pieces have a prominent thematic presence in the quiet story. Most of the audio effects sound just like old NES games. Dot even busts out a "Hey, listen!"
The most astonishing thing about Fez is how it, like the games it uses as inspiration, imposes itself on the real-world.
The mechanical gimmick in Fez makes players consider and take advantage of perception. This thought often applies outside the game, too. Conditions to fully complete Fez include analyzing the Achievements list for a subtly placed password. Punching in the code unlocks a bonus collectible cube piece. It's the modern equivalent of the long-forgotten cheat code, or the codec frequency hidden on the back of Metal Gear Solid's CD case.
Fez also forces itself on reality by tucking QR codes in secret spots. Scanning them gives players additional unlock codes. This means players need to find their smartphones, potentially download a QR-scanner application, or borrow someone else's device. One way or another, players need to stop playing and go out of their way to use a physical thing to interact with Fez. Without spoiling everything, it also tricks players on multiple occasions into thinking something is wrong with their Xbox 360.
During my play-through, I even wrote down locations of locked doors for later, and even sketched abstract drawings as I tried to learn a made-up language. I haven't done anything like this in 15 years.
Fez pervades the player's life so completely it's almost corporeal. It's a forward-thinking game looking back, and that philosophy coalesces to make members of Fez-centric conversations sound like raving lunatics. Maybe they ground themselves a bit when addressing its questionable technical problems. The frame rate tanks briefly but frequently during every auto-save, and I was once booted out of the game to my Dashboard for no discernible reason.
When talks about manipulating dimensions, discovering fragmented cubes, talking to owls, finding treasure maps, and reading a funky moon language fire up again, though, bystanders won't know what's going on. But they'll want to know, they'll want to learn, and they'll want to be part of it.
The sum of Fez’s intelligent level designs, perception mechanic, massive number of stages and secrets, and incredible art is so much more than just a shout-out to old-school gaming. Fez is a game in love with games. It has a respect for classic ideals and a confidence in its original ideas. Polytron draws on this to remind players why they fell in love with video games in the first place, all the while daring to make them think about the medium from a new perspective.
IGN Rating: 9.5
