Fe (video game)

Fe
Developer(s) Zoink
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s)
  • Andreas Beijer
  • Hugo Bille
  • Klaus Lyngeled
Producer(s) Hugo Bille
Designer(s)
  • Andreas Beijer
  • Hugo Bille
  • Martin Rasmusson
Programmer(s) Johan Fröhlander
Artist(s)
  • Andreas Beijer
  • Martin Rasmusson
Writer(s)
  • Andreas Beijer
  • Hugo Bille
  • Olov Redmalm
  • Martin Rasmusson
  • Klaus Lyngeled
Composer(s) Joel Bille
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
Release 16 February 2018
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Fe (pronounced [feː])[lower-alpha 1] is an action-adventure video game developed by Zoink and published by Electronic Arts under its EA Originals program. It was released on February 16, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In it, the player controls Fe, a fox-like creature in a forest setting, attempting to defend it from hostile entities called the Silent Ones, gaining help from other forest creatures by guiding them to complete tasks and learning new abilities from those it helps.

Fe is the first game in the "EA Originals" series, which is EA's program created to promote indie developers.[1]

Gameplay

Fe is an action-adventure game in which the player controls Fe, a fox-like creature within a forest that is highly responsive to the songs of the creatures and plants within it. The forest creatures are being attacked by entities called the Silent Ones for unknown reasons that threaten the forest's wildlife. Fe is able to sing to other creatures and objects to gain their help. These creatures can teach Fe a new song which gives the fox additional abilities through the forest, such as activating a flower that acts as a jump-pad to launch Fe to higher locations and explore more of the world.[2]

The game has been noted to have minimal instructions, requiring the player to experiment and to perceive the forest's ecosystem to determine how to progress, instead of a set of objectives. One example requires the player to observe that one species of bird likes a certain type of flower, suggesting that they may be able to use the bird's song to interact in a different manner than if they used the flower's song.[3] Fe has been favorably compared to Journey and Shadow of the Colossus for this "hands-off" approach to gameplay.[2]

Development

Fe was developed by the Swedish-based studio, Zoink. The studio's chief executive officer, Klaus Lyngeled, called the title "a personal narrative about our relationship with nature" and to emphasize that "everything in this world is connected".[4] Most of the team grew up near forests and frequently played within them, getting close to the wildlife there, while overcoming fears of the deeper forests being scary places.[3] Creative director Hugo Bille said they wanted to stay true to the recollection of their Nordic forests, populated by creatures with no spoken language.[5] Bille said games like Journey and Shadow of the Colossus were inspiration, and that they always wanted to capture the exploration mechanics of games in the Metroid and Zelda series.[5]

Fe was first announced during the EA Play event occurring alongside the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016 in June of that year. It was presented as the first of "EA Originals", a new segment of EA's publishing aimed to help indie developers with financing and publishing of their titles to reach a wider audience without EA being as involved in the game's development, thus allowing the studio to take more of a share of sales revenues.[6] The game was later featured in a playable demo form at the 2017 Gamescom exposition in August 2017, along with the target release of 16 February 2018 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[5][7]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(NS) 72/100[8]
(PC) 73/100[9]
(PS4) 70/100[10]
(XONE) 70/100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid5/10[12]
EGM7/10[13]
Game Informer5.5/10[14]
Game Revolution[15]
GameSpot7/10[16]
GamesRadar+[17]
IGN6.5/10[18]
Nintendo Life[19]
Nintendo World Report9/10[20]
Polygon8.5/10[21]
VideoGamer.com7/10[22]

Fe received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[8][9][10][11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Swedish for "fairy"

References

  1. ↑ "Glide, Jump, and Sing Your Way Through a Beautiful Forest with Fe, An EA Originals Title, Available Worldwide Today" (Press release). Redwood City, California: Business Wire. February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Goldfarb, Andrew (23 August 2017). "Gamescom 2017: Fe is an Adorable 3D Adventure with Zelda-Like Discovery". IGN. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 Summers, Nick (24 August 2017). "'Fe' is a stunning adventure about connecting with nature". Engadget. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  4. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (12 June 2016). "EA announces EA Originals program to support indie games". Polygon. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Frank, Allegra (23 August 2017). "The breathtaking Fe could be 2018's most moving game". Polygon. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (23 August 2017). "Forest adventure Fe coming to PC and consoles in early 2018". Polygon. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  7. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (11 January 2018). "EA'S FE RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED". IGN. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Fe for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Fe for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Fe for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Fe for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  12. ↑ Makedonski, Brett (15 February 2018). "Review: Fe". Destructoid. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Schafer, Emma (15 February 2018). "Fe review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (19 February 2018). "Prickly Platforming - Fe - PlayStation 4". Game Informer. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  15. ↑ Tamburro, Paul (15 February 2018). "Fe Review – Land of Pure Imagination". Game Revolution. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  16. ↑ Plagge, Kallie (19 February 2018). "Fe Review: Strike A Chord". GameSpot. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  17. ↑ Loveridge, Sam (16 February 2018). "Fe review: "Has some seriously powerful narrative wrapped up in all that colour and cute"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  18. ↑ Marks, Tom (15 February 2018). "Fe Review". IGN. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  19. ↑ Reseigh-Lincoln, Dom (16 February 2018). "Fe Review - Switch Review". NintendoLife. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  20. ↑ Lloyd, David (15 February 2018). "Fe Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  21. ↑ Campbell, Colin (16 February 2018). "Fe review". Polygon. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  22. ↑ Bell, Alice (19 February 2018). "Fe review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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