Polytron’s critically acclaimed platformer Fez was revealed for the Nintendo Switch at the recent Indie World Showcase. It’s now available for the platform, allowing Switch players to experience the joy of 2D-meets-3D exploration. Check out the launch trailer below to see how it works.

The story follows Gomez who’s casually living his life. Upon receiving a red fez, the spacetime fabric changes and allows him to view the previously 2D world from a new perspective. The platformer involves rotating environments, which are fully 3D, on a 2D plane in order to uncover secrets, open up new paths and explore new possibilities.

Fez originally launched in 2012 for the Xbox 360 and made its way to the PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita and iOS over the years. A sequel was announced in 2013 but following creator Phil Fish’s departure from the industry the same year, it was cancelled. Nevertheless, the original still stands the test of time and is worth experiencing.

Fez 2 may never see the light of day, but at least the original managed to sell more than one million units across all platforms since its launch. Polytron stated on its blog that, “Fez has now sold over a million unit across all platforms. That’s right, a cool mil. And we couldn’t have done it without you.

“Thank you for buying the game. Thank you for stealing it. Thank you for telling your friends about it. Thank you for buying it again when it came out on PC. Thank you for boycotting it so well. Thank you for putting up with the bullshit. Thank you for all your love letters, fan art, cosplays and freakin’ tattoos you got, you crazy bastards.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. THANKS A MILLION.”

You can check out review for Fez here. As for the reason why Fez 2 won’t be arriving any time soon, you can read here for more information. What are your thoughts on the game’s success after all the controversies? Let us know below.

This was on Twitter, and it only got messier, with Fish demanding a public apology that clearly wasn’t forthcoming. After things went south, Fish protected his Twitter account and stated, “i’m done. FEZ II is canceled. goodbye.”

Polytron echoed this statement on its Twitter account, stating that, “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce that FEZ II has been cancelled and is no longer in development. We apologize for the disappointment.”

Surprisingly, it only gets worse.

Beer called for all media outlets to boycott covering games from Fish and Blow, before inviting Fish to PAX to discuss the issue. “The invite is there. If you want to talk & prove me wrong, happy to do so. I also said you were hugely respected. You don’t help with the way you communicate. You alienate people myself included.”

Fish has not responded yet. Stay tuned for more information.

As expected, many indie developers include Just Add Water (Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty) and Polytron (Fez) straight out condemned Microsoft for this action, choosing to bring their games to the PS4 instead. Now, with this about-turn, things would be cool between them and Microsoft, right?

Not quite. Fez creator Phil Fish, who has had his share of problems with the certification process on Xbox Live for the Xbox 360, tweeted his thoughts on the whole, calling it “disingenuous”.

it’s nice to see MS make some efforts but at the same time… what changed? why are indies suddenly so precious to them?

— PHIL FISH (@PHIL_FISH) July 25, 2013

it’s hard to believe their heart is in the right place. everything about it feels disingenuous to me.

— PHIL FISH (@PHIL_FISH) July 25, 2013

all we have to go by right now is their track record and their words. their sweet, sweet words.

— PHIL FISH (@PHIL_FISH) July 25, 2013

HYPOCRISY is the word im looking for.

— PHIL FISH (@PHIL_FISH) July 25, 2013

So we would guess that we wouldn’t be seeing his next game on the Xbox One, even though Microsoft plans to overhaul their certification process to be more like iTunes.

According to Eurogamer, several sources are reporting that Microsoft has stopped charging for updating and patching developers for updating and patching their games. Even more interestingly, this change happened with no official announcement from Microsoft.

It wouldn’t even have been confirmed as true or not if various developers hadn’t cited that there are no more charges happening for patching. Normally, a developer is afforded one free update for their games after certification is paid for. It doesn’t mean developers can patch the hell out of their games without having to pay any fees. But for those who do so only once in a while, it’s a major step forward.

This is especially so for indie developers who would rather leave their games as they are rather than paying thousands to update their games.

Of course some indie developers, such as Polytron which developed Fez, found patching to be especially hazardous since a bug occurred that corrupted save files and was a result of the very same patch. Fixing this would’ve required re-certification, which would require extra money to be paid – something Polytron wasn’t in the best mood to do.

The sequel to the indie hit darling, Fez, has been announced abruptly via a rather stylish teaser video. The original Fez was released in 2012 after a protracted and highly publicized development cycle to critical acclaim, with praise lavished on it for its highly stylized take on 2D platforming.

The new game has been announced as coming at an indeterminate date for an indeterminate platform; we do, however, know that Polytron will be making the sequel, and that the musician Disasterpiece will be involved with the sequel as well.

Apart from this, we have no information on the game apart from the logo of the game, as well as the logo of the developer.

We will have more news for you on Fez 2 as it develops. In the meantime, what do you think? Will this new game be as successful as the first one was? Given the creator’s outspoken support for Microsoft, will this be Xbox One exclusive, or will it be multiplatform? When will this game presumably release? Sound off in the comments below.

PC gamers can now experience the popular Xbox Live Arcade title: Fez on Steam, GOG or by purchasing it from Polytron. Buying the game from Polytron directly will give the company the most largest cut of the profits.

Fez’s creator Phil Fish has confirmed that Linux version “eventually follow”, and that he’s “working with Sony” to try to make the game available for PlayStation Vita, however he wasn’t able to “”working with Sony” that a PlayStation Vita version is on the way.

Fez was originally released for Xbox 360 on Xbox Live Arcade on April 13th, 2012. The game featured cutesy pizxelated art-style and innovative gameplay which used a combination of 3D and 2D perspectives.

Fez is now available on PC for $9.99, Go buy it! (Unless you’re waiting for the possible PlayStation Vita version).

Let us know in the comments section below and whether you guys will be picking up the game.

Stay tuned on GamingBolt for more news.

Polytron has announced that Fez PC pre-orders will be ready on April 22nd. The title will be 10% off for early adopters who preorder Fez before its May 1 release. Preorders will be going on both Steam and GOG.

Edge-Online has also asked Polytron regarding the save file corruption bug on the PC version of the game.

Phil Fish told Edge-Online that “of course” the corrupted save file bug will be fixed, and “whatever issues arise in the PC version we’ll be able to patch immediately.”

In Fez, you play as Gomez, a 2D creature living in what he believes is a 2D world. Until a strange and powerful artifact reveals to him the existence of a mysterious third dimension.

Stay tuned on GamingBolt for more gaming news. Are you guys looking forward to Fez? Leave any comments you have down below in the comment section.

Source-  Edge-Online

It’s pretty amazing when you consider that the game has released only on Xbox Live and was made using the XNA tools in an 8-bit style similar to that of old-school platformers.

“Now we’re gearing up for the PC release on May 1st, where we’re hoping the game will reach more people than ever before! We’re super excited to finally set the game free on all these other platforms. If you haven’t played it yet, i hope you will! (steal it if you must!)”

FEZ will be releasing on Steam for those interested in playing it on PC. Announced back in 2009, the game had a long-winding development that saw it release only in 2012.

Source: GameSpot

Fez was released on the Xbox 360 in 2012 via Xbox Live and met with great critical acclaim. For those of you who do not own an Xbox 360 but do still want to play this excellent platformer, we have good news. Fez is coming over to other platforms this year.

“2013 is going to be an interesting one,” said Polytron’s founder and sole employee, Phil Fish in the Polytron blog. “For one, FEZ will finally be ported to other platforms,” he confirmed.

“Yes, I’ve heard you, dozens of people emailing me everyday telling me how much of an idiot i am for not porting FEZ to everything. We also have some exciting plans for the soundtrack, and something about a US branch.”

He also said that he has plans for at least three other games, and also that he wants to work outside of the games industry too.

You can read our Fez review through the first URL at the top of the page.

[Joystiq]