FE is a 2018 release from Zoink, the makers of Zombie Vikings and Flipping Death. I loved Zombie Vikings and played all the way through last summer. I wanted to like Flipping Death but did one live stream and couldn’t get into it. So I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play FE but it went on sale for $4.99 and I decided to try it.
In the style of Journey or Flower, it’s an experience of moody environmental storytelling without dialog. While the other two Zoink games were side-scrollers, FE is more of an open world adventure.
The main character, controlled in 3rd person POV, is a small creature similar to a fox or squirrel who can jump, swim, climb trees, pick up objects, ride larger creatures, hide in bushes, and sing. Singing, and learning new songs, seems to be the core game mechanic.
While there aren’t hidden object games or literal jigsaw puzzles to solve, FE is a puzzle game. It is very much about exploring, finding clues and figuring out how to use the environment to achieve goals.
The graphics are also very different from the other Zoink games. I loved the art style in Zombie Vikings and Flipping Death but I don’t really care for the visuals in FE. Not just because of personal taste but because I found the geometric angles and “black light” color scheme difficult to navigate.
A word of advice if you’re going to play FE, the title screen says “options” but doesn’t offer much more than volume controls. Press the “options” button on the PS4 controller while actually playing the game and you’ll get a bigger menu. If you’re like me and need to invert the Y-axis, this is where you’ll do that.
FE is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Origin for PC. It’s rated “E” for everyone. The only ESRB warning is “mild fantasy violence.”
~ J.L. Hilton
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