Real Score (Because GS does not allow decimal scores now) - 8.5
FEZ was never on my radar until an Indie Humble Bundle that had a couple of other games that interested me included FEZ as part of the package, and I must say, I'm glad it did. FEZ was a different experience that I enjoyed quite a bit but unfortunately, some of its premises fell flat when judging impartialy the game.
Lets start. FEZ can be considered a mix of platformer with puzzle game but it does it in a manner where in order to only beat the game, the player can only focus on the platforming mechanics, wich are rather simple yet effective, but to complete it and see everything FEZ has to offer, the player must exercise the brain at some odd and imprecise bits of the game. Problem is, FEZ never points out directly where are these puzzles, forcing the player to explore every inch of the huge world, separated by several hubs wich are confusing to navigate through, and the map doesnt help either leaving the player quite frustrated and intimidated at times.
The platforming is simple but intuitive, relying more on the scenario to change its pace, rather than the skill of the player to beat difficult sections, wich arent many (only one section of the game gave me a bit of a problem to beat). While this platforming is played on a 2D perspective the real twist to the gameplay is the fact one can change the 3D scenario left and right that inevitably will show what Gomez (the little protagonist of FEZ) can climb and whatnot. Is an interesting premise that was never tried before in gaming, that I'm aware of at least.
Graphically the game is simple yet effective. The scenarios and characters are made with low polygon bits but it manages to be aestheticaly pleasing to the eye with its colourfull world and attention to detail like character movement, animals, animations, lightning, etc. An overall fantastic job from Phil Fish (the game creator) at creating such a living, breathing world with such simple tools, proving once more that technical prowess is not only in the highest textures or polygon count and that the artsyle and attention to detail can create more beautifull worlds to explore.
In conclusion FEZ is an interesting and new experience I'm glad I was part of. Its a shame FEZ II was canceled over some stupid dispute over the internet with Fish and Marcus Bear from GameTrailers. However, despite the bad image Phil Fish has over the internet, one shouldnt skip on the fantastic game that is FEZ cause it definitely deserves to be played by everyone who looks for something different in this oversaturated market. Despite his personality, Fish must be commended for creating such a beautifull game.