Figment is an inspiring adventure title taking players into the depths of the mind. The developers, Bedtime Digital Games, crafted a story inside of the surreal world of the mind, filled to the brim with witty and often adult humour, a rich, authentic story and gorgeous hand-drawn graphics set to an awe-inspiring musical score too charming not to dive headfirst into. After a couple of hours with the preview of the upcoming indie musical game, Figment is shaping up to be a mechanically sound adventure-platformer with its own bold musical setting and unique spin on the genre.
Playing as the dry and carefree protagonist – Dusty – you’ll traverse the mysterious realm of a troubled mind, all the while bickering with your winged side-kick, Piper. Exploring the environments and worlds that seem to be ripped straight out of a un-released Pixar film, Figment places musically delightful bosses throughout the game, taunting Dusty as you progress through the levels. Catchy and mischievously villainous songs ring about as you dodge and slash your way to defeat the devilish representations and embodiment of nightmares.
Figment’s graphics are presented in beautiful isometric style camera angle, with a unique hand-drawn art style and some of the most surreal locations I’ve seen to date. With charming puzzles and mechanisms to solve as you venture further into the depths, the gripping and intriguing narration lies atop the gameplay in Figment, comfortably polished and fluid.
The combat takes a page from a number of hack-n-slash titles. Smooth and slower-paced than most of the hit arcade games that are released today, Figment shows the player the importance of patience and strategy when dealing with nightmarish enemies. Boss enemies were each unique and performed song-and-dance numbers during the fight which always left a catchy tune with me while playing. Requiring specific strategy to persevere, each enemy found throughout my playtime – though there were few – proved different and casually challenging in their own distinct way.
But the combat is not the main focus of Figment, as there are many puzzles and riddles to solve that are scattered throughout the levels – many of which are centred around musical themes, such as pressing correct keys on an organ or finding and placing valve buttons on a trumpet to unlock further areas. Other various puzzles include tasks like unlocking pathways by swapping and placing items, finding synapse batteries to operate specific objects in each level, discovering hidden memories and of course, fending off nightmarish evils along the way.
Figment is gearing up to be a puzzling title brimming with dreadful enemies, surreal and imaginative levels, intricate puzzles shaping the world around you, an all-too captivating musical score while backed with clever and humorously dry dialogue. The themes in Figment showcase a troubled and disturbed mind but not without adding a much more bearable approach than what it suggests. Taking the player through nightmares we all face and replicating them in obscure and fiendish worlds, one way or another Figment is looking to shine a light on the dreadful topics and trauma of a distressed mind.
We can expect to see Figment this September coming to PC, Mac, Xbox One, PS4 and also recently announced, the Switch.
I’m in love with the artwork!
Megan // A Geeky Gal