The songs of the forest.

I remember seeing the E3 trailer for Fe and thinking “that looks nice, but I honestly don’t know what you’d be doing in that game.” Cut to its release and I feel almost the same way. I know what to do in the game, I just don’t know really to what ends or what exactly to do in some instances. It most certainly looks unique and has some interesting concepts, but I feel that the overly ambiguous story and in some sense, gameplay make it a short slog to get through at times.

Fe is a hard one to classify. It is a puzzle platformer, but not in the most traditional sense. Players control a little fox-like creature as they roam around a forest with other animals while trying to avoid the ominous and evil “Silent Ones” who are invading the forest. The story is mainly told through visual imagery with no dialog and or text. This also bleeds into the gameplay with very minimal tutorials or directions on where to go or what to do.

Platforms: XB1, PS4, Switch, PC
MSRP: $19.99
Price I’d pay: $10

The player utilizes songs as their main ability. This allows them to communicate with both the animals and the plant life of the forest. Gaining an animal’s help by singing with them usually helps out in a puzzle scenario. Another helpful song is the ability to call birds that direct the player to the next objective. When it comes to what to do when getting to the next objective, well, that is for the player to figure out. Fe takes a “hands-off” approach to player guidance. It tries to rely on its imagery to paint the picture, but it doesn’t always work out for the player. Early on, I ran into a section where I had to recover eggs for a bird. I could easily find the eggs in each situation, but I had to figure out how to recover them on my own which then resulted in trial and error until I finally figured it out. Over time, it started to get slightly annoying.

Along with puzzles, Fe also relies on platforming for a lot of its gameplay. This can get spotty at times due to some rather floaty jumping mechanics and a camera that does its own thing in some instances. There were multiple times I was making jumps that I had to land on a platform or ledge that was slightly off screen. I get it was trying to look impressive and dramatic, but not being able to fully see where I ‘m going isn’t helping matters.

One thing I did enjoy is both the art style and the sound design. It gives off this cel-shaded feel while still looking vibrant and colorful. The songs and overall soundtrack is minimal, but very ambient and fits well with the overall feel of the game. It is really nice to see and hear and I don’t think I experienced any slow down or frame rate drops at all during my time with the game.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.