Fe Reviews
EA Originals' first game, Fe, is a beautiful and whimsical platformer that takes you on a magical and musical adventure though a colorful Nordic-inspired world.
Befriending the animals and learning their languages while you avoid the marauding Silent Ones is too much like hard work
Fe features a charming aesthetic and a wonderful soundtrack that elevates with every beat. However, it suffers mechanically in key moments, requiring enough compensation to detract from the game's overarching intentions. Still, there's something here, but it'll be behind a struggle.
______________________ “If you are worried about the length of the game, don't be, the experience is well worth it.
Fe is a conceptual project with a soul that allegorically through images and references tells about the struggle of wildlife against man. Sadly, small amount of content and some other flaws spoil final impression.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Fe is by no means perfect, but it is a delightful experience that stays with you long after you've put down the controller. Plus the little pup is very cute.
Fe is a fascinating journey through an enchanted forest which turns into an empty guided tour with stunning visuals, compelling sounds, but very few emotions driven by gameplay. At its core there are brilliant and originals ideas, but they are suffocated by dull, derivative and cumbersome mechanics, as well as by a clumsy storytelling.
Review in Italian | Read full review
There are far more brilliant games in this genre to recommend, but Fe will certainly do you no harm over its short play time.
Fe is a decent puzzle platformer with some nice ideas, but it all rings a bit hollow in the end. The various songs are a fun way to interact with the world, but some are barely used at all, while you'll rely on others almost constantly. It can also be surprisingly difficult to control, with a camera that isn't always cooperative and platforming that isn't as tight as it needs to be, especially in an environment as vertical as this. The story, which strives to be poignant, fails to leave an impact, and while the world is a nice place to explore, there isn't a whole lot in it. Ultimately, it's a fine game, but it struggles to leave a lasting impression.
A truly beautiful platformer, that doesn't quite reach its fully potential – mainly due to a sometimes confusing level design.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
Overall, Fe is a decent little game. While there's not much to do except solve a puzzle, travel to the next puzzle, solve it, it still has some interesting things going for it. I just really wish the camera and platforming was a bit better, and while I understand what the developers were going for with the minimalist tutorial and explanation in both gameplay and story, I could have used a bit more just to help out in some instances. It's not a bad game, but it's not a very memorable one either.
Fe is a beautifully ethereal game that, despite its flaws with plot comprehension and spatial organization, is a pleasure to play. If you're fine with wandering, and don't mind the feeling of being swept along on a journey rather than pioneering the journey yourself, then the weak points of this game will seem a lot less weak.
Although there are certainly stumbling points, it's the aspect of exploration that really makes Fe a memorable experience. There's seemingly always something to do from stumbling upon ferocious animals that are hidden in a cave to figuring out how to get an upgrade shard. The game world that Zoink has crafted is truly wondrous, and learning to work together with its inhabitants is a truly rewarding experience. Sometimes we just need to learn how to understand each other.
While Fe is a pretty game with some touching encounters and spectacular views, it falls prey to its own over-complicated story and a world that, for all of its beauty, doesn't provide much incentive to explore. Adding in a system to guide the player by the hand helps players navigate the confusing paths from zone to zone, but removes any desire to wander around or see what else the forests of Fe have to offer.
Fe definitely owes a conceptual debt to the likes of Ori and the Blind Forest, and in places feels as twee as earlier EA indie effort Unravel, but this is more than original enough to stand on its own merits. The mind-warping use of colour and its near-spectral environments sometimes work against Fe's best interests, but persist and you'll uncover a truly special world.
Poignant and moving in both theme and execution, Fe is one of the most unique platformers on Nintendo Switch. Its platforming can be a little hit and miss, and its stealth feels a little too forgiving at times, but that doesn't stop its world and the unique vocal premise from bewitching you with a dark and Gothic Nordic fairytale. While it's not as groundbreaking as other dialogue-less games such as Journey, it's still one of the most intriguing worlds to explore on Switch, and proof Zoink Games is more than just a one joke pony.
Fe softly fulfills its promise of delivering a charming adventure with a strong visual design. The game manages too keep its good ideas fresh, thanks to a double-powered system served by an well executed open world. On the other hand, Fe suffers from a stiff jump chart and a perfectible collision mecanics. But by balancing exploration and renewed puzzles, Sweden-based Zoink's game still deserves a decent ride.
Review in French | Read full review
Despite its beautiful art style, Fe lacks of game mechanics and content that can make a difference between it and some other indie games on the market.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
When Fe presents you with a problem, your first, or even second idea to get past it probably won't work. Instead, the game encourages you to seek out help, and better yourself and the world around you before you can continue. The experience is meditative and relaxing, with no real combat, and Fe feels unlike anything else because of it.
Fe's best moments are built around its narrative themes of the connectedness of the natural world, but its platforming and open-world ambitions can't compete with recent titans in those genres.