Game review: Fez

Gomez is having a heck of a day. The emergence of a hitherto-unknown third dimension has rattled the foundation of his peaceful little two-dimensional world, and the entire universe is set to collapse in on itself unless a hero can gather enough magical floating cubes to put a stop to it - while wearing a magical hat.

Remember when all games were this simple? The team behind Fez does and, of all the games to emerge since the 90s' hostile takeover by 3D, this is the one most likely to make you feel the way that playing Super Mario Bros 3 for the first time did.

This platform-puzzler is a game of shifts, contradictions, and surprises. Whacking a finger button will whip your perspective from 2D to 3D temporarily, before resetting you with a different view of the same location - opening up new pathways, treasures, and in-jokes to challenge and amuse you. You won't be four minutes into the game before realising every stage is essentially four stages, each plane accessible by a rapid rotation of the world around you, with progress dependent on your willingness to think far beyond the box.

Though this game is littered with references to gaming's past - you'll have seen it all before - Fez is taking you on a new path.

Mechanically, you'll climb and you'll jump. You'll backtrack. You'll get hopelessly lost.

You'll love every minute of it, knowing that few dead-ends really are dead or that retracing your steps is less about throwing stuff to the wall to see what sticks, and more about solving another step of the puzzle because your eyes have been opened to another possibility.

Fez is packed with intuitive thinking, and it will win your heart from the moment you push start. If it's not the beautifully-blended graphics or the pleasant, penetrating music that pulls you in, then it just might be the poster you see on your hero's bedroom wall.

If you recognise it, you'll have no doubt of what Fez is: A love letter to the 8-bit era, and a fully-playable tribute to the games that changed popular culture long before popular culture changed games.

Platforms:

PS Vita, PS4, PS3

Classification:

G

- TimeOut