[HEADING=1]Sub/jective Reviews[/HEADING]
I am starting a new review series that I am going to do every holiday/time off from education. The series will be split into segments, where I discuss the different aspects(gameplay, visuals, audio, story, multiplayer(if any)) of a game in their own given category. Most notably, I will provide what I find to be an objective assessment of those different sections. What this means however, is that I will provide any objective information that I can, which will usually be limited to a list of features, a bug/glitch count during my playthrough and a run-down of the options. I will take both the subjective portion of the game and the objective into account during the final assessment. I will not provide scores, as I am opposed to that idea to begin with, as it causes readers to glaze over key information in any review.
Why am I doing this? Many people are clamouring for game reviews to be more 'objective', so I'll address that wanting, if only to highlight exactly how limited true objectivity is in application to reviewing.
For the time being, I will focus on indie games. I am open to suggestions, so long as the games are available on PC/Steam and so long as they aren't something that has been talked about too much, as I don't believe that I will add anything significant to that discussion.
Why am I doing this? Many people are clamouring for game reviews to be more 'objective', so I'll address that wanting, if only to highlight exactly how limited true objectivity is in application to reviewing.
For the time being, I will focus on indie games. I am open to suggestions, so long as the games are available on PC/Steam and so long as they aren't something that has been talked about too much, as I don't believe that I will add anything significant to that discussion.
Critique is encouraged and appreciated. If you see something you'd like to be added/improved, post ahead!
The PC that the games will be played on:
[li]Intel i5 3470 @ 3.2Ghz Quad Core Processor[/li]
[li]Kingston Hyper-X 2x4GB DDR3 RAM @ 1337Mhz[/li]
[li]Zotac Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 2GB[/li]
[li]Acer 23.6" Monitor 1920x1080 @ 60Hz[/li]
[HEADING=1]Fez[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]Intro![/HEADING]
Fez is a rather interesting game. Even just in its development cycle, there is quite a lot to be said: the game started production back in 2007, and finished in 2012, 5 years later, taking significantly longer than what was expected. According to Indie Game: The Movie it was primarily due to financing and legal issues, caused by a member of the development team leaving the project early on due to creative differences with Fish. The game was frequently delayed and approaching cancellation on several occasions, but it was bailed out as frequently by assistance from family members and nearby development/publisher team Trapdoor (as well as a loan from the Canadian government). All of this should paint the game as a plucky underdog: after all, the game eventually saw release and financial success! So why isn't it as celebrated as Braid, or Super Meat Boy?(in reference to the documentary in which they were featured) Well, Fish fell to the old caveat of getting too personally attached to a project. Whilst the appropriateness of his reaction can be debated, I don't put it past anyone to be defensive or distressed when the fruits of their labour (in this context) may be criticised unfairly. However, this only goes so far. Fish's outlash on social media did not endear us to his plight, and it was quite evident that he wasn't suited for a public life online. As such, he abruptly cancelled the development of the sequel to Fez, Fez II, and quit the industry altogether after a particularly aggressive dispute he had over Twitter.
I'd prefer to leave the game's history behind, but I feel like it needs acknowledgement. A purchase can have as much or as little meaning to a person as they want it to have. I feel it is appropriate to mention that if you find Phil Fish's history to be something that might influence your financial decisions that it deserves to be mentioned Thankfully though, the game is quite good. Whilst it does have its own problems, overall, it stands as quite an engaging and enlightening experience.Whilst not necessarily transcending any particular formula, or spearheading a new genre in interactive media, Fez is closer to that of a pleasant, but effective surprise.
[HEADING=2]Story![/HEADING]
Fez is rather light when it comes to story. You play as Gomez, a white...humanoid type-thing, who has lived his entire life in 2D, until the arrival of a letter, asking him to ascend to the top of Village (which is just a bunch of huts stitched together around a tower) to meet with another villager. From that point on, Gomez is imbued with the power to manipulate space: being able to rotate between four 2D planes and receiving a new perspective on the world he once thought he knew. He receives this power in the shape of a fez, bestowed by a mysterious cube called a Hexahedron. However, the artefact then becomes unstable and is shattered into 64 pieces. It's up to Gomez to then journey across distant lands to reclaim all of the pieces and to restore the Hexahedron so that the entirety of space and time doesn't get ripped apart into pieces.
...and that is all. Whilst it looks like the foundation from which to spawn quite an interesting existentialist narrative(even as a joke, it'd be still be quite unique), the game doesn't do much with it until the final level, and even then it's just done for 'the lulz'. I don't begrudge the game for it though, for it is builds itself on its mechanics, rather than the story from the outset. It's still a bit of a missed opportunity, as the intro level, where you talk with the villagers (albeit briefly) does feel like a setup for an interesting plot, with references being made to Plato's Allegory of The Cave, and allusions being drawn the change in the games' industry itself from classic 2D gaming to 3D gaming. I felt like there was a lot of mileage in such an interesting idea, but it went unrealised.
You do occasionally encounter old ruins which may be telling the story of a civilization long forgotten that may have something to do with the Hexahedron... but ultimately, nothing is revealed about the world at large. It feels like the game brings up the reason why you can now see 3D, and then it tells you to get onto your bike and cycle to the setting sun. It leaves everything a little bit bare-bones, and whilst it doesn't outright bother me, I feel like more could've been done with it, given a bit more time. I won't dock anything for the exclusion thereof though. The game is rather snack-y, clocking it at around 6 hours, or 11 if you're hoping to find all there is to be found in the game. I imagine that it would be quite difficult to stuff it with it an epic story considering its tight design philosophy.
[HEADING=2]Gameplay![/HEADING]
The gameplay is built around solving puzzles and platforming to the end of the level by manipulating perspective: the action takes place on a 2D plane, but with the press of a button, you can shift between four individual 2D planes. All the structures are assembled in 3D, but are only ever viewed through a single 2D perspective, until you switch between them: the game then 'rotates' to the rightmost (Right Trigger) or leftmost (Left Trigger) perspective.As for whether this mechanic is good or not? well that'd be a bit hard to say. The game is engaging, certainly, but that is more due to the amalgam of different elements at play. Since practically everything descends from the central idea of 2D/3D gameplay, its effectiveness is quite significant. The reason why I'm hesitating to say one way or the other is because whilst the game offers something relatively unique to the genre, it doesn't quite push it as forward as say, Portal did (considering the similarities these games share in terms of philosophy and approach to genre), with constantly escalating challenge that eventually threw you to the lions and forced you to adapt to an unfamiliar environment using your prior experience. In Fez, the 'perspective shifting' is essentially functional: there are a plethora of levels and secrets to find through the manipulation of the 2D/3D perspective, but its only one part of the gameplay, which is quite varied, and the game truly begins to shine when all these individual elements are taken as a whole. That shouldn't discredit it entirely though, as there were many times throughout my playing of the game where I found a nice little secret as I rotated the level around, giving me just the right amount of reward for to ignite that yearning for exploration.
The game does feel like it compensates with its array of collectibles in the place of challenge, but rather than being a hindrance, it instead grows through the way that it encapsulates the idea of a 'long journey'. Instead of being hampered by usual expectations of a 2D puzzle/platformer, the game provides you instead with more and more areas to explore, riding on the thought that you will simply enjoy the act of discovering a new locale. In this, it follows a RPG game-progression philosophy, of instead providing you with new scenarios, similar to the way that Bioware games such as Jade Empire and Knights of The Old Republic functioned. It provides you with a rather linear progression through the world, but it varies the zones significantly from one another, providing you with the incentive to explore for the sake of exploration and not just to test your mettle, though it does offer some of that on the side too. It's just that the 'challenge' of the game isn't the focal point, but more of an optional extra, which is rare in games such as these.
There are other ways through which the game plays with the idea of exploration. The levels are sprawling, and there are secrets to be found in almost every individual area. These secrets can range from being simple doors that give you more cube-bits, to ones that lead off to an adventure to an entirely new zone. The game thrives on the idea of a grand adventure, often encouraging you to deviate from the beaten path in order to satiate your curiosity. In this manner, it's quite similar to Dark Souls, though a lot more initially forgiving. You can essentially go wherever you want to from the minute you reach the first hub area, and there's no penalty for just constantly journeying through the impressively designed levels. However, the comparison with DS falls apart towards the late game. As part of the story, you have to collect gradually increasing amounts of cubes in order to reach the endgame. Whilst initially, the amount of content on offer seems intimidatingly large, you eventually begin to resort to back-tracking in order to find missing cube bits. This doesn't indicate actually completing the game, as the amount of puzzles and extra stuff available is quite staggering, but the story end itself will demand at least a little bit of traipsing back-and-forth between zones.
Aside from that, the game does make some clever use of non-standard puzzle solving. A few sections require the use of QR scanners, whilst others necessitate for you to interpret codes. I haven't gotten far enough into the game to judge exactly how varied it is in this department, but from what I have gathered, I can safely say that the game would be quite the occupation for completionists. These puzzles are well-done, and do require some effort in order to crack at times, but they are mostly optional and only there to discover the 'true' ending or for the sake of bragging rights.
[HEADING=2]Objective Assessment:[/HEADING]
Controls are responsive on the Xbox 360 pad. Jumping is a little floaty, but does not require great precision. Bug-free during my own playthrough. Controls can be rebound on the keyboard, not on the Xbox 360 controller.
[HEADING=2]Visuals![/HEADING]
This game definitely doesn't ride on its pure graphics. It adopts a retro 2D aesthetic, and it sticks to it throughout; simple architecture(mostly variations upon towers in terms of level design); white humanoids in place of NPCs/protagonist; a vibrant, but 'filtered' colour palette; low-frame quantity animations. In some cases, it does feel like a crutch to lean upon, but given the unique subject matter, it feels appropriate, as the narrative could be interpreted as being applicable to gaming as a whole, making it appropriate that Fez is a very 'game-y' game.
The aesthetic changes drastically from zone to zone. One hub may be an industrial area that favours red-brown bricks for foundation; another is a draining and deceptively dark graveyard with a dull green style; another employs a simple marble/grass look with clear blue skies and bright colours throughout to recreate the seaside. Each area looks and feels unique, and the visual design is definitely a strength of the game. It feels like a labour of love; each zone has the air of being individually crafted to suit a specific mood that is immediately telegraphed visually. It further reinforces the idea of exploration, as you often want to keep going just to for the sights on offer.
[HEADING=2]Objective Assessment:[/HEADING]
Resolution options are available in game. No colour-blind mode. Camera isn't fixed, but doesn't move around erratically. Borderless and windowed options are available. Brightness setting is available too (the game can hurt the eyes a little bit due to the aesthetic of some levels).[HEADING=2]Audio![/HEADING]
This is another area in which the game shines. The music ranges from relaxingly subtle to overwhelmingly intense. It can go from a jaunty melody to an almost orchestral sci-fi 'end of 2001: A Space Odyssey' cacophony. Everything is put through the retro sensibility, so whether you will like it or not will depend entirely on your own tastes in game music. Think Super Meat Boy, but more varied and more ambient.What's interesting is that every single zone and sub-zone has its own melody. Not only that, but the music reinforces the atmosphere of the specific level: the graveyard music is foreboding and disquieting, whereas the first hub gives off a jaunty, Sunday-afternoon feeling of lazing in the sun. It, combined with the visuals gives every level and the game itself a strong identity. Whilst this may be a staple of the indie 2D puzzle/platformer sub-genre, Fez definitely stands proud amidst the competition. The soundtrack isn't something to casually listen to, but it is an essential part of 'the experience'. The game often executes the synergy of audio and visuals perfectly to depict a specific idea or feeling, and it has brilliantly effective moments because of this.
[HEADING=2]Objective Assessment:[/HEADING]
Separate audio sliders for Music and Sounds are available.[HEADING=2]Tangent/Thematic Discussion![/HEADING]
This is the section where I talk about the game in general, discussing its ideas and themes. I have mentioned previously in the review that one of the key ideas at play is exploration. The game handles this marvellously, and it is a true joy to behold in that regard. It performs this brilliantly, creating an almost childlike joy during your time with the game.To put it briefly, the game is a wonderful journey into a unique and creative perspective on games design. Its central themes allow for deep analysis of the game, and there's definitely some spectacular level design and programming at play here. Though brief, there is a wealth of discussion and educational value to be found just from looking at the game. If one were to be generous, I would even go as far as to say that purely through its level design and gameplay, it can be considered a true work of art.
[HEADING=1]Final Assessment![/HEADING]
Fez is a relatively short, but sweet game. It has excellent level design, fantastic visual and audio co-ordination and provides a decent amount of food for thought through its themes. The game is quintessentially 'indie' in nature, representing the joyful vigour and spirit of the indie renaissance that came with Braid and Super Meat Boy. It is a really good game, missing just short of greatness due to an underdeveloped story, slight loss of interest towards the late game, and unconventional approach to world/game-progression that I am still not sure if it is beneficial or detrimental to the overall package.As it stands, getting it during a Steam Seasonal sale is not a bad deal. Due to it's relative brevity, the game should be finished within the space of 6 hours, or 11, if you feel like besting every puzzle the game has to offer.
[HEADING=2]Final Objective Assessment![/HEADING]
In terms of visual options, it is rudimentary, but sufficient of a 2D platformer. Settings availability is satisfactory. Gameplay settings are standard, though they lack pad remapping. Standard price is £7, average playtime is 6 hours, ergo, game has a price of £1.2 p/hour.