So that's what those things are called

[Green Gibbon!]

So what's up with Fez? Generally I avoid game journalism like the black death, but somehow I managed to get wind that this is pretty good. I played the demo and it was alright, but it seemed like it would've gotten repetitive and boring pretty quickly. Is this not the case?

Let thoughts pour forth like mucus from an unblown nose.

[Crowbar]

Pixellated graphics haven't been cool since Cave Story.

[G.Silver]

I haven't tried the game but I got impatient just watching the character move around in the trailers. I hardly have any patience for puzzle games with characters who don't move like slugs, so it just seems like recipe for an awful experience. Similarly, the slow development of the game pretty much killed off what excitement I had for it, y'know, five years ago.

So yeah. Who wants to speak up for it?

[Green Gibbon!]

Pixellated graphics haven't been cool since Cave Story.

That's actually one of the things that turned me off, not because I think it looks bad (because I don't), but all this retro-humping which still seems to be the rage years after it grew stale was a stupid idea even when it was fresh. I despise the marketing of nostalgia and the worship of nostalgia that facilitates marketing in the first place.

BUT that is almost a completely separate rant and I'd rather not have this thread devolve into the bashing of an "arthouse" game perceived as overrated like what happened to the Journey thread.

[SDHawk]

Basically, on the surface the game is a pretty bland indie platformer with a perspective switching gimmick that has probably been done better elsewhere. If you dig a little deeper you end up finding a Myst-esque puzzle/adventure game which requires taking careful notes on paper and observation of the details of the world that is pretty satisfying. The facade is pretty nice because it lets you take in the surface of the mysteries by playing a mediocre platformer before getting down to the serious investigation work. Once you do get to that point, getting around just to see if something was relevant or not is pretty annoying with the confusing map layouts and slow walk speed (they try to fix it with frequent warps but it doesn't totally work), but it doesn't totally kill it if you get into it.

[Majestic Joey]

I have it and it is ok. I personally am not that big on problem solving stuff and I like my platformers to be more based on reactions and timing instead of methodical gameplay. There is a ton of backtracking in this game but it is really nice how the game feels like a huge world. There aren't any enemies in this game and the platforming is not very challenging. also the switching the perspective concept really does not feel like it is being used to its full potential (the psp game crush does such a better job of that sort of concept). Still the game has great presentation and the sound and music is great.

But if you want a faced paced super challenging platforming game, get Aban Hawkings and the 1000 spikes. It's only a dollar and it's one of the best games I played this year.

[Crisis]

Pixel art only bothers me in 3D. The big offenders that spring to mind are 3D Dot Game Heroes, Minecraft, and that one stage in Persona 4.

2D doesn't bother me so much. Maybe it's because I've seen games that look good with pixels in 2D, but never seen a game that's pulled it off in 3D.

Anyway, from what I've heard, Fez is designed to be a nostalgia trip, which is supposed to explain the graphics and console exclusivity. Although it doesn't sound like any old gaming experience I can remember.

[Popcorn]

Check out Superbrothers EP for beautiful pixel art for its own sake without appeal to nostalgia or irony-'retro' sensibilities. And also if you like fucking annoying puzzle mechanics.

[G.Silver]

And also if you like fucking annoying puzzle mechanics.

Augh, yeah, I'm finally playing that now that it's on PC. A real case of "next thing you know we'll have to kiss the Flickies." I had to go to GameFAQs in session 2 just to figure out that I was supposed to touch some dumb trees!

[Popcorn]

I've only played the first two chapters, but there's a part a little bit ahead of you that had me gnashing my teeth with frustration in a way I haven't for years (at least not with a game). You have to drag something around with the mouse, but no matter how I did it, it'd just pop back to the original position. Turned out, of course, that I was just clicking on the wrong area. It took me like half an hour of clicking and dragging to figure that out. I checked GameFAQs but it just said "drag the thing". Ugh. You know when you're playing a game and you think, you know, guys, I'm not sure you tested this enough...

[G.Silver]

Nope, I finished the chapter too. I know exactly what thing you had to drag and I had similar problems.

You know when you're playing a game and you think, you know, guys, I'm not sure you tested this enough...

Don't be silly, it was our fault for playing the game when our minds were insufficiently "patient and inquisitive."

[Popcorn]

It's kind of the opposite of Journey, which explained none of its mechanics but allowed you to decode them naturally. It was part of the joyous spirit of discovery, and all that bollocks. Superbrothers is just baffling, and infuriating.

I don't like that ironic hipster writing style, either. Its clashing with the dreamy fantasy art is obviously deliberate, but I don't know what it's trying to achieve. I guess I should play more and see if its intent becomes clearer, but I'm still fuming over the dragging debacle. And besides, most (all) of the text seems redundant anyway - I don't need to be told that there is a "cool-seeming old guy" in a field when I can just see him standing right there.

But sweet sassy molassy*, it's beautiful.

*That's right. I'm bringing that back.

[Popcorn]

I'd like to play Fez but then I'd have to unpack my Xbox and that pretty much tells you all you need to know about me and video games today.

[Crisis]

At least the Xbox 360 seems to have the best controllers of this console generation. Although my flatmate has had 3 of the machines die on him since he first got one.

The fact that the PlayStation controller is still a ripoff of the SNES controller (right down to the d-pad as the primary left-hand input) is pretty shameful. Even on the Vita!! It boggles the mind!

[Popcorn]

What the fuck are you talking about?

[G.Silver]

I was also bothered by the text. The game is clearly playing on the "mysterious" aspect that so many retro games had, that weird sense of discovery that comes from games that can't tell you anything about what you are doing, so I wonder why they bothered with it at all. What really gets me is that by making it so I can click on things I am compelled to click as many things as I can, but "why did you click that can't you see it's just a sheep?" just makes me wonder why I am able to click the sheep at all. It's like they didn't trust their art direction to draw the eye to interesting things, or didn't trust the player to think they were interesting without something happening if they clicked it.

On the other side of the click-til-something-happens indie-gaming coin, I am liking Botanicula a lot. It is a little fickle about some things as well, and I'm not clever enough to get by without a walkthrough at times, but it's so much more pleasant all around. Totally recommended.

[Crisis]

What the fuck are you talking about?

Well, if you have to choose a single console to launch a game on, at least they chose the one with a controller made for human hands.