FEZ is Boring, Buggy, Badly Designed Bullshit

[linko9]

I've only watched the giant bomb quick look, and from that it looks pretty uninteresting. Definitely won't be buying this. Sorry Phil, but looks like "your game just sucks" (I couldn't resist).

[Udderdude]

Well, the game apparently does have some puzzles later on. Whether these puzzles are actually challenging to people who have played more than one decent puzzle game in their lives has yet to be seen, but I doubt they're that difficult. I'd be shocked if they were any harder than the beginner puzzles in Lolo, tbh.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Ive only played the demo and I did enjoy it, but yeah I can see myself getting bored of it later in the game. Ill wait until it drops to 400msp, ill probably enjoy it when im in the mood and in small chunks.

However, that doesn't give me the right to judge how well it presents that atmosphere. Only people who feel that particular atmosphere can best say how much it appeals to them. Although I don't "get" it, I would deduce that there's a warm, peaceful, idyllic, childlike world that Fez conjures in the hearts of its fans. But just as different people favor different atmospheres, different people also play games for different reasons. To say that playing for atmosphere is less sophisticated seems farfetched. Just because many players simply go for mechanics doesn't mean that others out there haven't been focused primarily on atmosphere for their entire lives. Anyway, these bits are all part of my theory of video game atmosphere that I developed a decade ago so I can elaborate further, but I imagine I've already gone enough on this tangent.

I think where Fez is successfull is that its pure nostalgia in a bottle. Its for older gamers who loved 8bit platformers as a kid, but cant be bothered to actually sit down and play them nowadays. I wonder how younger gamers think of this game. (as someone who loves atmosphere, im not saying its a bad thing per-say but it certanly doesnt deserve the hype its getting)

In terms of gameplay I think the 8bit Codemasters Dizzy games where much better as a explore / collect item puzzle-em up, but with death.

[trap15]

Check out Noitu Love 2 http://www.konjak.org/index.php?folder=4&file=10 and Spelunky if you haven't already. Great games that compare favourably to the best in their genres.

Noitu Love 2 is not terrible, but still flawed in my opinion (mostly because of retarded mouse controls and the lack of an actual timer that would prevent you from milking infinitely spawning enemies for points), and Spelunky is just awful.

[Damocles]

...and Spelunky is just awful.

Thems fightin words around these parts.

[Moniker]

...and Spelunky is just awful.

Thems fightin words around these parts.

Yar! Me like Spelunky!

Anywho, also check out Matt Thornson's work, particularly An Untitled Story. Probably my fav indie game, apart from locomalito's oeuvre, of course.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I'd be shocked if they were any harder than the beginner puzzles in Lolo, tbh.

Oh you bastard. Now you've got me wanting to go back and play that because I remember I got stuck in Lolo 3 ages ago when I played it last. curse youuuuuuu

And insulting Spelunky? You deserve to be sacrificed on an altar to Kali, heathen!

[Friendly]

Free game like Fez (inspired by it, released in 2011), but with a time limit, enemies and you can actually die:
http://armorgames.com/play/10899/sky-island

[SuperPang]

Am I right in thinking only one of the above posters has played the full game? Maybe I'm not cool enough to hate Fez but one hour in and I think it's fantastic.

[ryu]

i watched a friend play the demo and noticed that the ambient music was really underwhelming. looks to me like there's a lot of untouched potential there for the game to become much more atmospheric.

[SuperPang]

The chiptune music is fantastic with lots of neat touches like familiar 8 bit sound effects and birds chirping as well. The sun sets in the background too. I'd say it's very atmospheric.

[Skykid]

Free game like Fez (inspired by it, released in 2011), but with a time limit, enemies and you can actually die:
http://armorgames.com/play/10899/sky-island

That's quite nice, I went through about six stages. I couldn't play it all day, but it's neat enough. Is that what Fez is like then?

[Udderdude]

Free game like Fez (inspired by it, released in 2011), but with a time limit, enemies and you can actually die:
http://armorgames.com/play/10899/sky-island

I was actually planning to make a platformer with something similar to Fez's mechanic, but with actual enemies and shit. I guess now I don't need to. When playing this game, I found the perspective moving around to be not paticuarly interesting anyway. If I didn't find it fun here, I doubt I'd be able to make it enjoyable myself. That, or I'd have to implement it in a different or more interesting way.

Also, that Flash game has it's own issues, like the 3D effect causing the 2d world to warp when you just click and hold the mouse, objects to pop through eachother, and textures to become flat posterboards instead of rotating with the camera. Could have looked much better with some more effort.

[CMoon]

Fez looks rather appealing to me only because I think I would enjoy exploring that 2.5d world, but that may or may not be your definition of gaming.

Edit: Looking at videos of spelunky (no 360, sorry), and I'm sure all of you already know this is a remake of some older game (don't know what it was called.) I played a game almost identical to this back in middle school on an apple II+. Also used the bombs to blow holes in the floor, all the concepts were basically the same. Great stuff!

[BulletMagnet]

I haven't played Fez and can't comment on it, but for those who have, beware of bugs.

[Udderdude]

I haven't played Fez and can't comment on it, but for those who have, beware of bugs.

There's more reports of bugs on the TIGsource thread. Apparently you can get 300% completion, in addition to some wierd things that may be bugs, or may be part of the ZOMG SO DEEP puzzles >_>

[Friendly]

[Skykid]

^ Ha ha so true

[BareKnuckleRoo]

A friend suggested I check it out; they really don't know my gaming tastes I guess. Yeah, I want to pay to play something with an esthetic that's already been done (gj ripping off Doukutsu Monogatari and calling it original) with any semblance of a challenge gone.

Also, 800 MSP?! Ahahaha. I'm not fond of static puzzle games as it is since I don't find them as satisfying to replay (Portal for instance I thought was a bit overhyped seeing as how the only real sort of challenge can be found in the unlockable maps after you've beaten the main game), and when this game is both made by someone I don't want to support as well as priced at the same cost as something like Ikaruga (which is quite fun and isn't buggy as shit as this apparently is), yeah...

Game looks pretty with the aesthetics having nice touches like the interior of buildings, but I've seen nothing even remotely resembling a challenge, let alone a puzzle yet in any of the videos I've seen. Is Fez intended for young kids or something as an exploration game free from danger? Hmm, nope. Apparently the main puzzle mechanic involves solving obtuse riddles that all seem to involve a code you input on the gamepad in different areas (RT, up, A, B, etc), so the whole platforming/rotating thing is basically just to get from place to place.

[Udderdude]

Apparently the main puzzle mechanic involves solving obtuse riddles that all seem to involve a code you input on the gamepad in different areas (RT, up, A, B, etc)

That sounds like really bad design. That's not even a puzzle, it's just obscure bullshit and hiding information from the player. Ugh.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

That sounds like really bad design. That's not even a puzzle, it's just obscure bullshit and hiding information from the player. Ugh.

Eh, I suppose as long as they're not simple substitution puzzles (something like colours on the wall that match the face buttons you have to press). I haven't played the game myself, but from what I've read on the GameFAQs forum topics it certainly doesn't sound like there's much in the way of puzzles that actually involve interacting with the environment itself (pushing/pulling stuff, etc) but rather decrypting an imaginary alphabet and using that to solve puzzles, one involves controller vibration, etc. The whole QR code thing that tells you what input apparently isn't mandatory to beat the game either.

Sounds honestly like Fez is trying to be more like Myst wrapped in a faux-retro Cave Story look that just happens to have a platforming gimmick to get around.

[Vexorg]

Based on the various info I've seen, it sounds like the way to go on this one is to grab the soundtrack separately, then wait for it to inevitably show up in some Indie Bundle.

[linko9]

Based on the various info I've seen, it sounds like the way to go on this one is to grab the soundtrack separately, then wait for it to inevitably show up in some Indie Bundle.

I believe Fish has stated that he'll never let the game come out on PC.

[Ed Oscuro]

Based on the various info I've seen, it sounds like the way to go on this one is to grab the soundtrack separately, then wait for it to inevitably show up in some Indie Bundle.

I believe Fish has stated that he'll never let the game come out on PC.

That's funny, I heard the PC would never let Fez on.

[Specineff]

It's the curse of John Romero all over again: Developer boasts about his game, gets a publishing deal from a major company, releases a POS game full of bugs, career gets ruined and never gets taken seriously again.

But it's Japanese games that suck, right?

[Observer]

Based on the various info I've seen, it sounds like the way to go on this one is to grab the soundtrack separately, then wait for it to inevitably show up in some Indie Bundle.

I believe Fish has stated that he'll never let the game come out on PC.

That's funny, I heard the PC would never let Fez on.

It's even more funny that Metacritic lists a PC version coming for December.

[Udderdude]

I believe Fish has stated that he'll never let the game come out on PC.

That's funny, I heard the PC would never let Fez on.

It's even more funny that Metacritic lists a PC version coming for December.

That's almost certianly a mislisting because of the 360 exclusive contract.

[Moniker]

It's the curse of John Romero all over again: Developer boasts about his game, gets a publishing deal from a major company, releases a POS game full of bugs, career gets ruined and never gets taken seriously again.

But it's Japanese games that suck, right?

I wasn't privy to this piece of gaming history. Which game tanked Romero?

[Ebbo]

I wasn't privy to this piece of gaming history. Which game tanked Romero?

You haven't heard of Daikatana? It'll (presumably) make you John Romero's bitch.

And I was going to make some remark about Fez but everything that I'd on my mind has already been said more or less. Pretty cool concept but as Udder stated, not very interesting in practice.

[Observer]

That's almost certianly a mislisting because of the 360 exclusive contract.

Most probably! But several exclusive titles eventually hit the comp. Although I'm in no hurry to play this (doubt I'll ever will really), it would be such a sweet irony if it ends up on the PC, heh.