Fe takes you into a gorgeous forest from early 2018
Ooooh!
1. Fe [official site] looks beautiful
2. Is it possible to listen to Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men without feeling like you've been shunted so hard into 2014 that you could probably claim whiplash compensation from EA after being involved in a collision that wasn't your fault?
3. It really reminds me of a game I can't place!
4. While I deal with (3) let's watch the trailer and contemplate (1) and (2)
The other game was Quur which Brittany wrote about last year! Thanks for the assistance, Graham!
Okay, so Fe: Fe is part of EA's relatively new EA Originals initiative for helping fund and publish games from smaller studios. They'd done that kind of thing before, as with that yarn game, Unravel, but had decided to codify their efforts on that front into something with a name.
In terms of this particular trailer, I am a big fan of the bird which appears at the 35 second mark and also offsetting whimsy with threat. A lot of people seem to think I'm super-into whimsy whereas it actually drives me up the wall in sufficient quantities. I need things to be more on the Zelda end of the spectrum where a pretty word and adorable creatures can really mess you up.
As per the description:
"Climb, glide and dig your way through a dark Nordic forest and explore its living, breathing ecosystem filled with secrets, side quests and mystical creatures.
"Master a diverse array of cries to befriend every animal or plant and have them help you on your journey. Each having uniquely distinct attributes, abilities and behaviors that will help you to unlock and traverse new areas of the forest.
"Embarking on your voyage, you’ll find everything is connected, and nothing is what it first seems. Secret places, hidden artifacts, old ruins, shortcuts, and powers makes exploring endlessly fun."
Here's a spot more info from the press release where the CEO of Zoink Games (the studio making the game), Klaus Lyngeled tries to explain more about what the team are aiming at in terms of the emotional resonance of the game:
"We would spend hours in the woods as kids, and while it felt scary at first, eventually the strange sounds became familiar - you become part of nature and the forest feels like home. Players will realize similar feelings as they play through Fe. Wherever and however the game is played, we ensure it will be a unique experience of discovery, unlike anything played before."
I'm not sure from this trailer where the actual game will land on the whimsy spectrum but so far I'd say it's promising and the Silent Ones - the enemy figures in the game - might also kill/hurt my character. Hooray!
It'll be coming to PC (and some other platforms) in early 2018.