Tetris. Zelda. Mario. If you’re a gamer, these three franchises represent an almost holy trinity of videogame primers. Knowing them is akin to knowing the basics of grammar. The familiar shapes of those constantly dropping blocks; the trademark tune indicating that a secret dungeon has been revealed or puzzle has been solved; and the squishy MIDI-tones of the world’s most famous virtual plumber diving down a magical tube to reach secret new areas — they’re all imprinted in our brains as a shared language learned over a decades-long pastime spent twiddling our controllers and staring at screens.
But what does this have to do with an XBLA game released in 2012? In the case of Polytron’s Fez — everything. Which isn’t to say you have to be well-versed in the “classics” to enjoy what this tale of a cute, pixelated, hat-wearing hero with the ability to rotate his worldview in three dimensions has to offer; thankfully, you don’t. As with watching a good movie, you don’t need to have an intricate knowledge of the history of cinema — the story and performances are all that really matter. And in Fez, understanding its reverence and riffs on what’s come before it is just a tasty frosting atop what’s already a delicious gaming cupcake. Ultimately, the gameplay and world are what make your journey such an irresistible way to spend the many hours it’ll take you to plumb all of its secrets, clever mechanics, and map-exploring.
Like a Pandora’s Box stuffed full of often confounding puzzles and head-scratching symbols, the entirety of Fez is wrapped up in mystery — one that starts out rather simply, in a small village, with a request from your grandfather to come speak with him. But the minute diminutive hero Gomez makes the short trek to the top of the sleepy, two-dimensional burg, his world is rocked by the introduction of a third dimension. (And also a hat.) And now it’s your job to collect golden Cube Shards, Treasure Maps, Artifacts, and mysterious Anti-Cubes to figure out exactly what’s happening.
Fez’s main gameplay conceit is the ability to rotate each of the game’s hundred-plus areas in 360 degrees. Doing so gives you new options as far as paths to progress and access to new areas. In one perspective, you’ll see a sheer wall; but hit your left or right trigger a few times and the area will rotate to reveal new doorways or vines you can climb up or a ledge that was previously hidden or too far away to access.
It’s deceptively clever — and it’s made all the more alluring by Fez’s charming, seemingly simplistic 16-bit–inspired visuals, blissfully orchestrated chip-tunes soundtrack, and at-your-own-speed, Zen-like pacing. You don’t fight any enemies, and there’s little penalty for dying if you fall off a platform — a smart auto-save system keeps things moving. But don’t be fooled. While platforming skills and timing your jumps are important, it’s more the game’s hyper-dense puzzle logic that’ll force you to (gasp!) pull out a pen and paper for detailed note-taking or push you to seek out friends also playing it so you can chat about shared discoveries and solutions.
There’s something wonderfully rewarding in piecing together a code from seemingly nonsensical symbols in the game or stumbling upon a solution right before you reach wit’s end. Granted, some of the cryptograms and other puzzle systems are seemingly so obtuse, you’ll find your trigger finger hovering over a computer keyboard to seek out a FAQ — but don’t do it! This game is best savored and admired when your accomplishments are earned the hard way. And Fez certainly doesn’t go easy on you. Every detail in the game — from the ways Tetris-shaped stars are arranged as you peer through a giant telescope, to what looks like mere scribbles on a classroom wall — is a piece of a larger puzzle, something purposeful that you’ll want to stow away for future use as you near the game’s completion. (Finishing just the critical path will take you around five to seven hours.) It’s famously taken five years for Fez creator Phil Fish to make the game — it sometimes teeters on the brink of overdesign (the layers of depth in everything can be overwhelming at times) — but we never felt any part of Fez was superfluous or unnecessary. Nevertheless, this density may scare off those unwilling to dive in head-first without a life jacket (or tutorial, for that matter).
But it’s the mystery of Fez — of puzzles left unsolved, cubes hidden behind sometimes frustratingly obtuse clues, or a story that feels more like a contemplative abstraction fueled by Fish’s love of games than a straight line — that makes the adventure linger in our minds. For an experience that could’ve drowned in an overreliance on using familiar signposts from what’s come before it, Fez succeeds in celebrating the past in a smart, joyous way that has us incredibly excited for gaming’s future.
PUBLISHER: Microsoft Studios • DEVELOPER: Polytron Corp./Trapdoor • ESRB: Everyone • MULTIPLAYER: Leaderboards only • ACHIEVEMENTS: Clever • COST: 800 Microsoft Points ($10)
+ Incredibly detailed world and overall experience, from visuals to music to gameplay.
+ Densely packed with secrets, puzzles, and gleeful, clever nods to past classics.
– Some slowdown and glitches lurk; is it too obtuse?
? Will we need an advanced degree in symbology to solve every secret?
