FEZ Reviews

played this on the xbox in 2014, on the switch in 2022 and on pc in 2025. will always be my comfort game, no matter what. there's just so much love in this game

An unbelievably ambitious and interesting game. There are some issues when it comes to puzzle-solving, but overall, it is very enjoyable and satisfies a unique gaming experience. I would say there are three or four "tiers" of puzzles in this game, ranging from simple to essentially impossible -- and I mean impossible. The first tier or two of puzzles are fairly standard in the world of platformers (e.g. there is a chest at the top of a platform, figure out how to traverse and manipulate your environment to get to the chest). The "special" mechanic of the game is one that gives the player the ability to rotate the 2-dimensional world and uncover different perspectives and paths. This is an uncommonly exciting device that makes the game refreshing and stand out from the sea of other pixel-graphic platformers out there. The third tier of puzzle difficulty (which is enhanced by another special mechanic introduced in "New Game+", but I won't spoil what it is) is fairly intensive and requires you to pay attention to your surroundings and clues within the environment. Some of the solutions are a little wonky and it's not entirely clear how you are supposed to solve them, so there is a small degree of brute forcing or looking up the solution online, but they're generally not too bad (once you understand the in-game clues and what they are leading you to). There is even an area that basically lays out how to solve these puzzles if you dig deep enough, but it is enough out of the way to not seem like the developers are holding your hand through solving it. The fourth tier of puzzles are essentially impossible to solve without: 1). Looking up the solutions; 2). Performing technical wizardry in the game files and extracting the solutions from there; or 3). Furiously brute forcing your way to the solution over an insane period of time. This tier is, understandably, the most frustrating part of the game. I do not understand what the development team was trying to accomplish (grand scale "comradarie" in the Fez-dom to solve the puzzles as a collective unit? Give me a break), and there is very little reward, acknowledgment, or feedback that you solved puzzles that, in theory, should not be solved by 99.9999% of players. These puzzles are so obtuse that, even when given the correct solution, you will sit there and go "How the hell would anyone ever come up with this solution?" I understand these are probably considered more of Easter Eggs by the development team, but once again, there is really no feedback that these are any different from anything else in the game. No 4th-wall-breaking smiles, no fireworks, nothing - just the same inventory spaces and musical stings that everything else in the game gets. If you did not look up any of these solutions, you would lose your mind trying to complete your collection of items, as there are probably 5-10 things that would be completely missed without the online assistance. Overall, however, the game is exceptionally refreshing and I would say 90% of it is basically without a noticeable flaw. That last little bit is head-scratching at best and pretty awful at worst. Until you reach those parts, however, the game forces you to go "Damn, I wish more games came up with ideas like this". Pretty awesome! (terrible map system, though...wish it was easier to look at and navigate)

It may have taken me 20 hours to give up and use a guide for the last 3 cubes, but boy was the 20 hours worth it.

very cool. Took longer than I expected. However, the aesthetic is well executed and the gameplay is chill.

I love Fez - it is a unique platformer where you have to use all dimensions (rotate) to navigate the world as different views alter typical physics. The puzzles range in difficulty from straight-forward to incredibly difficult, but they are not required to beat the base game.

Its fascinating seeing the DNA of this game in recent puzzle games I love such as tunic and animal well, but Fez just didn't grasp me the same way. There weren't any puzzles that stood out to me and I just wasn't enjoying the late games puzzles. The backtracking also sucked, something about it just annoyed me.

FEZ is a beautiful, captivating puzzle game. Everything about this game, puzzles, story, pixel graphics, music, sound, work perfectly well. You'll ascend to heaven by the way the music works at this game. Talking about sound design, really simple, yet masterfully crafted. A game worth a try and more attention.

Inspiring! Includes some coolest puzzles and gameplay I've ever seen

To preface this review, I have 100%ed the whole game. I have spoilers in this review too, so please be warned. Pros: On average, the puzzles of this game are entertaining The soundtrack is amazing The main ending is worth getting, just be careful mixing psychedelics with it. Cons: Some puzzles are either not well-explained, or are simply too tedious to make for good gameplay. Below is a list of a few of these: - Clock: Wanna be driven insane? Wait for this thing to line up. This is a puzzle best solved by messing with your system's clock, and it is always a type of solution I hold a large distaste for. - Glitch: This drove me insane, I was struggling to figure out where to go with this area, just because I have to poke around in the noise to figure out where to go. - Lava: I was not prepared for needing to rush against the rising tide, but the rotating platforms definitely caused a lot of resets that made me need to take a break. - Metatron: This is a puzzle I first solved on my own, but had to pull up a guide STRICTLY because I needed to fix the orientation after MULTIPLE failed attempts. Moving those cubes was HELL, and is the primary reason I NEVER want to 100% this game again. - Tetris: Only solvable accessibly with first-person. Due to how the mechanics and snapping works, I had to reset the room a few times just because I got a cube trapped on top of another and did not want to go through the labor of undoing it. - Monolith: The only puzzle in the game where it is truly necessary to grab a guide to solve for true 100%. The alt ending: to limit spoilers, I will just say it is disappointing compared to the labor put into collecting all 64 cubes. First-person puzzles: I loved the concept, the execution? Not so much. Usually these puzzles are boiled down to "find the input pattern", rather than provide a deep puzzle mechanic that justifies its existence. The only time I found it truly useful was on the Tetris puzzle. Overall: Great game - 8/10! It is worth playing, but don't feel upset if you don't want to 100% it, the puzzles I complained about aren't required to beat the game initially.

Perhaps the best puzzle game of all time. The genius in the construction of each of the puzzles, a language created just for the game itself, not to mention a system of numbers created for the game that serves to solve some puzzles. Interesting lore (I recommend watching a video about the lore to understand it better), but above all, the game has puzzles and systems of such genius that there some puzzles that has not been solved to this day (except by brute force). After finishing Fez, and especially, completing 100% of the game, it will stay in your heart forever. Definitely an unforgettable game, where even the soundtrack touches your heart. If not the best, one of the best not only puzzle games, but one of the best games ever created. This game still has an active community to this day, trying to solve the mysteries that have not yet been solved, which is incredibly cool, especially considering that it was released in 2012. It is a great pleasure to see the community creating new possible solutions every week, even 13 years after the game was released. These mysteries captivate any puzzle game player to try to create their own theories and possible solutions, really showing how timeless the game is, both in its gameplay, which was innovative for its time and is still extremely satisfying and not outdated, and in its puzzles, which are still admired today and which both (gameplay and puzzles) still serve as inspiration for other games. Finally, unfortunately, I must point out some flaws, more specifically two flaws, perhaps the only ones in the entire game. Fez is a game that requires advanced English to understand some of the puzzles, although this is not a major flaw, considering that it is an indie game from 2012 that was probably created without knowing the size of the audience it would reach. The other flaw is actually not a flaw of Fez itself, but the sad news of the cancellation of Fez 2 in 2013. To be honest, it is very sad to know that both the media and a futile discussion on Twitter (currently X) between Phil Fish (developer of Fez) and journalist Marcus Beer led to the cancellation of the sequel to one of the best games of all time. Talvez o melhor jogo de puzzle de todos os tempos. A genialidade na construção de cada um dos puzzles, uma língua criada só para o próprio jogo, sem contar com também um sistema de números criado para o jogo que serve para solucionar alguns puzzle. Lore interessante (recomendo assistir a um vídeo sobre a lore para entender melhor), mas a frente de tudo isso, o jogo tem puzzles e sistemas de genialidade tão grade que existem alguns puzzles até hoje não resolvido (a não ser por brute force). Depois de zerar Fez, e principalmente, fazer o 100% do jogo, ele ficará para sempre no seu coração. Definitivamente um jogo inesquecível, onde até a trilha sonora toca seu coração. Se não o melhor, um dos melhores jogos não só de puzzle, mas um dos melhores jogos já criados. Esse jogo tem uma comunidade ativa até os dias de hoje, em busca de solucionar os mistérios ainda não resolvidos, o que é extremamente incrível, principalmente levando em conta que é um jogo de 2012. É um prazer imenso ver a comunidade criando novos possíveis soluções todas as semanas mesmo após 13 anos do lançamento do jogo. Esses mistérios cativam qualquer jogador de jogos de puzzle a tentar criar suas próprias teorias e possíveis soluções, mostrando, realmente, como é um jogo atemporal, tanto em sua gameplay, a qual foi inovadora para sua época e até os dias atuis é extremamente satisfatória e nada defasada, quanto em seus puzzles até hoje admirados e que ambos (gameplay e puzzles) servem até hoje de inspiração para outros jogos. Por fim, infelizmente, devo pontuar alguns defeitos, mais especificamente dois defeitos, talvez os únicos de todo o jogo. Fez é um jogo que é necessário ter um inglês avançado para entender alguns dos puzzles, apesar de que, não é um grande defeito, tendo em vista que é um jogo indie de 2012 que provavelmente foi criado sem saber o tamanho do público que atingiria. O outro defeito, é na verdade, não um defeito do Fez em si, mas a triste notícia do cancelamento do Fez 2 em 2013. Sendo sincero, é muito triste saber que tanto a mídia quanto uma discussão em vão no twitter (atual X) entre Phil Fish (desenvolvedor do Fez) e o jornalista Marcus Beer levaram ao cancelamento da continuação de um dos melhores jogos de todos os tempos.