At E3 2016, Electronic Arts announced a new initiative which they dubbed EA Originals. The initiative was similar to programs such as Fox Searchlight. The basic idea was to help market games from smaller studios. In turn, it would raise good will for EA and the developers could reach a wider player base than their normal social media reach would typically allow. The game that was announced along with this initiative was Fe A radical departure from studio Zoink!’s previous titles; Fe was to be an open adventure game about finding one’s place in nature. Anticipation was high with the games song learning mechanic, beautiful art style and haunting yet fairy tale like music marking it out as something distinct and special. Many including myself were chomping at the bit to dive in.
The game opens by thrusting the player into the role of a cub waking up. Exposition is thin on the ground as it will remain for the entire experience, but the technique is reminiscent of many classic game openings such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. From here the player proceeds to explore the forest and commune through song with its other inhabitants. As one progresses they learn other songs which in turn allow them to visit new areas. The mechanic worked fine throughout the vast majority of the game, yet there was one instance near the beginning where, after being captured by the game’s antagonists(known as the Silent Ones), the creatures which I had recruited to help me stopped following. I attempted to communicate with them again, but they kept running away faster than I could catch them. This was frustrating at the time, but after starting a new game, the problem never recurred. While the song mechanic is interesting in theory, nothing unique has been done with it.
The implementation of the idea is similar to many so called Metriod-Vanias, a genre of games which gates player progression by slowly drip feeding them unlockable abilities. To this end, the songs only really allow the player to access new areas outside of a neat side activity and a nifty navigation tool. Unfortunately, this means the designers have failed to take advantage of the fact that the player is communicating with animals. There is little that differentiates this from the progression gating mechanics in any other Metriod-Vanias. In other words, the engine of the game is the same as many other games, Fe is merely set apart by its styling.
Admittedly the styling is something which I can see carrying the game for some players. Fe’s colourful polygonal forest is beautiful and the desire to see the next part of the game will carry some players through the story. More fabulous than the visuals is the game’s stellar sound design. Each part of the world sings with sound effects that range from the charming and cute calls of the forest creatures to the terrifying beeps of the mysterious silent ones. All of this is set against a magnificent score that is at once haunting and intriguing. These aesthetic elements bring to life Fe’s abstract narrative.
While I loved Fe’s aesthetic elements, after the first hour I felt unengaged while trying to trek from one story beat to the next and nothing about the story felt particularly unique or insightful. Since this was the game Zoink! chose to make for the EA Originals program I could easily conceive that this was a passion project and this certainly comes through in the games attention to aesthetics and the originality of the concept.
Unfortunately, in execution Fe just does not fully take advantage of its unique concepts. I said at the beginning of this review that Fe was a radical departure from Zoink!’s other titles and perhaps these are just the growing pains from attempting to make their first 3D puzzle game. While the ambition is appreciated, this is an example of how true innovation requires questioning more than just surface level elements.
●●●○○
