Fe

While this nonviolent adventure is visually engaging, its repetition, short gameplay, and lack of content limits the environmental tale's appeal. On one hand, Fe is a charming indie game, thanks in part to its beautiful visuals and music, and its nonviolent adventure gameplay encourages exploration. The open world is fun to navigate, especially climbing and hopping between trees, and matching your melodies with the unique creatures you meet feels gratifying. While the in-game movement can be challenging at times, forcing you to redo sections if you perish, the controls feel tight and responsive.

But on the other hand, Fe's game mechanics get a little tiring after a short while, with the game ending in a couple of hours (though there are optional side quests you can complete). You can pick up pink shards to unlock a couple of new moves, like gliding, but it's not nearly enough to expand on the gameplay. Also, while gorgeous, the environments don't vary much between the different areas. There are some memorable scenes -- like stealthily sneaking around patrolling machines in one area to find and release trapped deer -- but there aren't enough of those striking moments between the tasks you perform. Much of the gameplay is the same: Save some hapless animals, learn their call, and then use that call to turn flowers to help move you on to the next section. For under $20, Fe is a good -- but not great -- pick for adventure fans. If it offered more variety and longevity, perhaps it would score higher.