Fez Up?: ‘Subduction’ Trailer Looks Intriguing

A trio of DigiPen student have released a trailer for their upcoming puzzler, Subduction, and, well, let’s just say our brains hurt a little.

At first glance, the game appears to share a great deal of common ground with the recently released Fez. The player traverses through a 3D world, but is restricted to movement along a 2D plane, forcing them to rotate the game’s visual perspective in order to manipulate level layouts and solve puzzles. OK, so that’s more or less what Fez pulled off so well, but there’s an extra pitfall of which to be wary. In Subduction, the y-axis can also be rotated, essentially allowing players to rotate within three different perspectives. Put simply, the levels can be shifted both horizontally and vertically in a manner that looks likely to tax the spatial awareness of all but the most visually-minded of gaming anoraks.

If that weren’t bewildering enough, the game’s official synopsis reveals yet another curious twist on conventional platforming traditions. To quote the official Subduction website, “Eventually you recieve the ability to bind layers together such that you can move in depth to reach areas you could otherwise not.” I’d love to pick that apart and articulate it in my own words, but I’m afraid I’m far too dumbfounded to even attempt such a task. Let’s just say it might be best to reserve judgement until we see this particular mechanic in action.

If you’d like to find out more about this cerebrally-vexing project, its official site is your best port of call.