Talkin' Bout A Revolution: Babel

Remember Fez, that badass-looking indie platformer where you rotated the level to get around? Remember how it was scheduled for 2009, and then Microsoft bought it and it disappeared without so much as a scream into the oily depths of the Xbox Live Arcade release schedule? It's now arriving in "2011" as an XBLA exclusive. Sad times.

But the PC will not be crushed! Presenting Babel, a freeware game created for the Gamedev.net Retro Renaissance Challenge where devs add a modern mechanic into an old-school 2D platformer. Babel's creator, Endurion, happily describes it as "Fez ripped off". You can get Babel here, and watch a video after the jump. Thanks to Michael "Mike" Rose of the IndieGames Blog for the tipoff.

Who needs charming graphics, eh? 8 bits is the best possible number of bits.

First 7 minutes of the game can be found below. If you move your head really far to the left and right while watching it, it's kind of like you're playing the game and rotating the world. But not really. Probably just play the game yourself, but be warned! Your character has the biggest jerk of a jump I can remember experiencing in months.