Fez Reviews
This far into the Switch lifespan the list of outstanding top-notch indie titles that haven’t yet made it to the platform is dwindling...
FEZ is a fun, challenging puzzle platformer fit to burst with original ideas and unique gameplay wrinkles. Its puzzles bend reality and even leech into our own world on occasion, but aside from a few select mega-challenges never stray into the category of too obtuse or unfair. A few visual and mechanical quirks stop this from being a perfectly polished experience, but these are outweighed by its charm and other wonderful qualities ninefold. It's another one of those 'games you have to play' on Switch, and it couldn't be more at home.
In short, Fez is as good now as it has always been. The reason I call this version the best way to experience this indie game is mostly due to the perfect combination of the Switch’s portability and its screen being much larger than the Vita’s. This is easily one of the best indies ever made, and one of the most important games of the past decade.
On Switch or not, Fez is an incredible experience, strong and deep like very few games do. Whether you already played it somewhere else or not, Phil Fish's game is a must-have and did not aged a bit, even in 10 years.
Review in French | Read full review
The way the game opens up as you play, revealing secrets on top of secrets is something I've never seen another game land quite as well. What stands out most to me about Fez after nine years is that I'm in the midst of my third playthrough and even with some of the sheer novelty being lessened, I'm as enthralled as I was back in 2012. Fez stands as a truly unique indie game that draws inspiration from classics but is wholly its own precious and maddening experience that needs to be played.
Fez to this day still remains quite a unique and original puzzle platformer with a charming graphical style to boot. This is a nice fit if you’re looking for a casual experience away from the dexterity and quick reflexes of other platformers. But if you are someone that likes to 100% you may need a guide to discover all the secrets. The Switch version of Fez offers nothing new to the experience so there’s no reason to double dip if you’ve already had your Fez fill on a previous system. But if this is your first venture into the game or you want to introduce a friend to it, then have at it.
Fez has a unique and visionary aesthetic, after all it is not trivial to unite the concept of Ueda with a visual style of the 8-bit era and that can be, at the same time, charismatic and profound; as well as mysterious and humorous. Fez's problems are few, probably the most serious of them being the fact that it is not very challenging: it is very easy to inductively solve the puzzles, and the real challenge is to find the hidden anti-cubes, but they are optional.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Ultimately, I have more positive things than negative to say about FEZ. Sure it can be cumbersome and confusing at times, but it’s still a beautiful and creative game. It’s nice I was finally able to play this one-time exclusive on a Nintendo console. And though I didn’t 100% beat the game, I at least got one of the endings before writing this up. Now armed with my cool shades, I might be able to find the other hidden 32 cubes and maybe learn the true secrets underpinning the world of FEZ. If you enjoy puzzles, platformers, and indies, I’d definitely give this one a shot. Just don’t be ashamed if you need to consult a couple of guides online.
FEZ is the perfect confluence of beautiful visuals, deeply satisfying gameplay, a richly designed world, tightly interconnected systems, an astounding soundtrack, and fantastic pacing. Seldom are games this well composed, and it feels mostly as fresh today as it did the day it came out. This is the definition of a classic; it endures time and shows the mastery of its work as it ages. It will always be one of my favorites, and I can think of no more fitting a place to experience FEZ, be it for the first time or the tenth.
Fez is a very easy-going experience for the most part, but it is also very capable of presenting a diabolical challenge to anyone looking for one. The descent to an otherworldly nightmare glitch-world is something that is not often done in video games, yet it makes a lot of sense; especially for something that focuses on a theme of perception and dimension. While the creator of Fez may have his issues, his game has very few and is very pleasant to play.