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Fez turns 10 today

chaobreaker

chaobreaker

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 27, 2017
5,886
450px-Fez_%28video_game%29_cover_art.png


Can't believe it's been ten years but I forgot it came out exclusively on the Xbox 360 for a year or so before hitting PC. The 360 port came out in April 13, 2012.

It's cutesy platforming hiding a layer of cryptic puzzling was pretty innovative back then and probably paved the way for games like The Witness or Tunic to exist the way they are. I didn't appreciate it back then but now I can't get enough of puzzlers like Fez.

Still a shame its sequel got cancelled.
 
Skiptastic

Skiptastic

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,986
Funny, I can 100% believe it's been 10 years. That game seems exactly like it came out a decade ago.

But it is still incredible, damn.
 
criteriondog

criteriondog

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Oct 26, 2017
12,248
I can't even remember why Phil Fish cancelled Fez 2. I just remember it was abruptly and right after it's announcement.
 
stati

stati

Member
Oct 20, 2019
5,258
Had the privilege of playing this game three years ago, it opened my eyes to the world of puzzle games as I've never really bothered with the genre before it.

criteriondog said:
I can't even remember why Phil Fish cancelled Fez 2. I just remember it was abruptly and right after it's announcement.
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If I recall, Phil Fish cancelled Fez 2 at the same time of him leaving Twitter and basically putting a halt on game development. Methinks he wasn't ready for all the fame/notoriety he was getting, and he imploded as a result.
 
Lueken

Lueken

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Dec 15, 2017
628
Fez was fantastic! Fez II cancellation was one of the most disappointing video game things ever.
 
AOL Power User

AOL Power User

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Oct 4, 2021
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Seattle, WA
chaobreaker said:
450px-Fez_%28video_game%29_cover_art.png


Can't believe it's been ten years but I forgot it came out exclusively on the Xbox 360 for a year or so before hitting PC. The 360 port came out in April 13, 2012.

It's cutesy platforming hiding a layer of cryptic puzzling was pretty innovative back then and probably paved the way for games like The Witness or Tunic to exist the way they are. I didn't appreciate it back then but now I can't get enough of puzzlers like Fez.

Still a shame its sequel got cancelled.
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this 100% feels like a game from ten years ago.
 
Ashler

Ashler

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,156
This one is up there... could risk saying that it's my favourite game ever.

I would kill for a physical release of the game for the Switch/PS3,4,5/Vita.
 
napkins

napkins

Member
Nov 18, 2017
2,098
it was magical playing for the first time. i love the vibe of the game. the music is incredible
but i never did go back to it. it loses something when you already know how it goes
 
Izanagi89

Izanagi89

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
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Oct 27, 2017
16,739
AIan said:
Had the privilege of playing this game three years ago, it opened my eyes to the world of puzzle games as I've never really bothered with the genre before it.



If I recall, Phil Fish cancelled Fez 2 at the same time of him leaving Twitter and basically putting a halt of game development. Methinks he wasn't ready for all the fame/notoriety he was getting, and he imploded as a result.
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Click to shrink...

I remember there was some argument between him and some guy from GT Trailers too. I remember people were angry at Fish for the "Japanese games suck" quote as well. It's been so long but I feel like Fez's reputation def suffered in the end

oni-link said:
Was it The Annoyed Gamer (or something) who robbed us of Fez 2?
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There we go lol Struggling to remember the name. I remember Annoyed Gamer and Pachter had big shows on GT Trailers back in the day.
 
OP
OP
chaobreaker

chaobreaker

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,886
criteriondog said:
I can't even remember why Phil Fish cancelled Fez 2. I just remember it was abruptly and right after it's announcement.
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Long form harrassment by toxic gamers and a that eventually culminated with to hackers doxxing Fish and Polytron's info and financial records. This was around when Gamergate was becoming a thing too.

People will bring up the dispute with the Gametrailers guy but that was just one of the many incidents that eventually would justify the excessive piling on Fish would get by gaming chuds.

People forget but Twitter was absolutely a miserable place to be for developers and journos back then. It felt like it was you alond versus an endless horde of pricks whk. Now game developers can tell assholes to fuck off and folks would have your back.
 
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Rabbit Clock

Rabbit Clock

Member
Oct 25, 2017
626
AIan said:
If I recall, Phil Fish cancelled Fez 2 at the same time of him leaving Twitter and basically putting a halt on game development. Methinks he wasn't ready for all the fame/notoriety he was getting, and he imploded as a result.
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I thought it was because he got doxxed or something and just said fuck it. Could be thinking of someone else.
 
stati

stati

Member
Oct 20, 2019
5,258
Zojirushi said:
How "does it go"?
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Throughout the game you come across scribbles that seem to look like a language. But they're just scribbles, how on earth is someone supposed to know what it says. The solution is: you come across a stone tablet, with a fox jumping over a dog nearby. That translates to "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" aka phrase containing every letter of alphabet, and if you pair the phrase with the tablet, you effectively decipher the language of the game. There's also a number system and a symbol system (tetris blocks) that you need to figure out.
 
Kalor

Kalor

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Oct 25, 2017
20,286
Still probably one of my favourite games and nothing has quire replicated the same feelings of mystery and discovery for me. Tunic is the first in years that got close but I don't like the core gameplay quite as much there.
 
ghibli99

ghibli99

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,326
This reminds that Innuendo Studios' This is Phil Fish video from nearly 8 years ago was one of my favorites when it came out. In a more general sense, it actually made me rethink the things I used to say online and in person about others, and I try not to make any sort of judgments on individuals, unless something is so egregious/obvious that it's irrefutable, and even then I usually keep my thoughts to myself.
 
Remachinate

Remachinate

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Oct 27, 2017
253
Playing at release, with the community working out the final puzzles was something special. It's a shame the last puzzle was brute forced; did anyone ever figure out how it was "supposed" to be solved?
 

ErrorJustin

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,641
I harbor a secret hope that Phil Fish, having spent a few years out of the spotlight, managed to center himself and work contentedly in secret on Fez II after all, and that it will emerge and release fully-formed, fully-complete, some day at random.
 
Zarathustra

Zarathustra

Member
Oct 27, 2017
954
I'll play this game one day. Phil was a cool guy and I am hoping he is doing better. He may have said something dumb, but the hate he got from the worst of gaming was disproportional to an unfortunate comment.
 
CHC

CHC

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Oct 27, 2017
10,926
An all time great and one of the true pioneers of the "modern indie" vibe. The whole tone and soundscape and buzzwords of Fez were so massively influential for the years that followed.
 

denverchickennuggets

Member
Feb 27, 2019
1,528
chaobreaker said:
Phil Fish did nothing wrong.
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Absolutely right. Phil's comments were taken out of context and used against him. Anyone who plays Fez knows how inspired he was by Japanese games. The game is a tribute to NES classics.

I never finished Fez on 360 when it came out. After waiting in vain for it to be made BC on Xbox Series, I bought the Switch version last year and finally beat it. An absolute all-timer that still holds up today. And that soundtrack by Disasterpeace might be my all-time favorite.
 
Spring

Spring

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Oct 31, 2017
341
Weird never heard of this game before. Then again I was never big into the Indie scene.
 
Silvergun-Blue

Silvergun-Blue

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Oct 26, 2017
10,328
One of my favorite experiences from the 360 Xbox Live Arcade days. Seeing the little animated fox jumping over the dog and having that "click" sensation in my head was an incredible moment.
 
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