When comparing FEZ vs Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine, the Slant community recommends FEZ for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Linux?” FEZ is ranked 29th while Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose FEZ is:
The core mechanic of FEZ is the ability to spin the world around in 3D, and then traverse and interact with the resulting terrain in 2D. This allows you to experience navigation puzzles that are rarely found in any other game.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Clever 2D rotation game mechanic
The core mechanic of FEZ is the ability to spin the world around in 3D, and then traverse and interact with the resulting terrain in 2D. This allows you to experience navigation puzzles that are rarely found in any other game.
Pro Brilliant puzzles
Fez has some deviously hard puzzles and mysteries that will require gathering clues from around the world to solve them.
Pro Mysterious world with lots of depth
FEZ goes beyond just being a great puzzle platformer. It also has a very clever storyline and game world with a mysterious bygone civilization that fits perfectly with the mysterious puzzles of the game.
Pro Charming graphics and world
The characters are interesting and expressive and the world they inhabit varies between vibrant forests and villages, foreboding caves, rainy cityscapes, and more.
Pro Great atmospheric soundtrack
Soft synth sounds mixed with chiptunes makes for an enjoyable soundtrack that evokes a feeling of nostalgia while creating a fitting atmosphere that complements the graphics.
Pro Concealing line-of-sight system that keeps the player guessing what's next
Monaco implements a line-of-sight system that many top-down games forgo. By taking advantage of this, the player does not know what awaits around the corner, which helps keep the tension and excitement levels of the game high.
Pro Fun chaotic mix of early level cooperation that requires late game competition to win
Co-op mode often descends into chaotic fun as people try to work together to complete the objectives while still competing against one another to steal the most money and get the highest score. This creates a scenario where you will need to cooperate with your team of players, but still maintain enough wherewithal in order to steal more than anyone else, while they are doing the same. It is definitely a mix of gameplay that is at odds with itself, which can create some pretty fun scenarios where you can stab your teammates in the back.
Pro Minimalistic art style that you would not think is able to capture the French Riviera setting, but does so perfectly
The minimalist art style is strikingly beautiful. The glowing French Rivera is represented in vibrant pixels that evoke a feeling of the lights and energy one would expect of such a location.
Pro Refreshing co-op that actually requires everyone to work together, no single person can carry the group
Unlike many games where the strongest players can carry the group along, Monaco requires the participation of every player in order to succeed – giving everyone a chance to feel like the hero.
Pro The dynamic soundtrack morphs to fit each scenario of the game perfectly
The soundtrack by Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory is a jazz-themed composition that adapts to the situation you’re in – remaining subtle while you’re unnoticed and kicking into high gear when you’re wreaking havoc.
Pro No need for third party VoIP clients, it is built in
A built-in VoIP system lets you speak to your teammates in real time. This is a great feature for a game that requires such excellent teamwork and that relies on the social aspect for so much of the fun.
Cons
Con Minimal direction
The lack of clear direction + the mysteries of the foreign writing alphabet and numeric systems may overwhelm players who got in expecting a simple & cute platformer game about a white dude with a red hat (a traditional Ottoman hat, which is called a "fez").
Con Pen and paper absolutely required for full completion
There is a lot of backtracking and so, you need to keep a pen and paper near you to take notes, because you might need something very important later on. For some people this might be a fun killer.
Con Not metroidvania
Nothing in the form of powerups,. this is a puzzle game - not a metroidvania.
Con Very limited depth
The core gameplay loop of "jump until stuck, then rotate" is boring and repetitive within the first hour. Aside from this perspective-shifting mechanic, the game does not have much to offer.
Con Limited button mapping support on keyboard
FEZ has a couple of preset control schemes to choose from, but the buttons can't have functions assigned individually.
Con Phil Fish made it
Phil Fish has had a long rap sheet of being incredibly arrogant and toxic in his behavior, purchasing this game is an implicit endorsement of this kind of behavior.
Con Guess-and-check instead of intuitive puzzles
Unlike other great puzzle games like Portal or Braid, many of the levels in Fez are unpredictable. You can't just look at the map and predict exactly what to do. You have to guess and check, and not all of the results are intuitive. While guess-and-check puzzles works well for games like The Witness, it's really tedious in a game like Fez.
Con Loads of backtracking
The world is an intertwined maze that rely on specific portals to travel between. Since the entire game revolves around locating cubes -- a minimum of 32 cubes are required to reach the game's ending (64 cubes and "anti-cubes" exist in total). A considerable amount of backtracking is needed to locate the needed cubes; which are intentionally difficult to find and acquire.
Con Slow gameplay
Navigation isn't quick, and each missed jump can make ascending an area feel like a laborious chore.
Con Frequent crashes on PC
PC version of the game has stability issues. Luckily, FEZ autosaves often so no much progress is lost when the game crashes.
Con Art style can lead to confusion
In a frantic game like Monaco, the distinction between a door and a light switch can be a life-or-death mistake. The minimalist design can be very pretty, but may also be very irritating in situations where time is short.
Con Requires all players to be good enough
Monaco is not a very good game for adults and children to play together. It can be frustrating when the players' skill levels are too mismatched.
Con Some balancing issues
Some sections feature overpowered enemies that feel more like a cheap trick than a challenge. These parts are few, but they are particularly frustrating.