'Fez' makes puzzling fun
That you can't die in "Fez" ($10-$13 download for Xbox 360, PS3/PS4 and PC/Mac; rated Everyone) is the best design decision creator Phil Fish made when developing this game. As a puzzle platform game, "Fez" asks players to take countless leaps of faith. It feels designed to confuse you, because the map is a maze of perspective and orientation; the game features a decipherable, made-up language, and the many puzzles encourage you to keep pen and paper nearby. The virtual world collapses in on itself as you play, but the lack of a countdown timer allows you to stare at every detail of the game's pixel art for hours, trying to uncover the secrets of the cryptic scrawls. Everything in "Fez" means something. Getting lost in "Fez's" pixelated world becomes the game's greatest pleasure.
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