EGX Rezzed Figment Preview

Figment is a game that wants to prey on your nightmares and infiltrate your dreams. This gorgeous hand-drawn puzzle game had me in a few moments; I was enraptured with the world Bedtime Digital had created. Reminding me a lot of Bastion, Figment brings puzzles and sword swinging combat to a new level. I had the opportunity to play a demo of the game at EGX Rezzed to get a feel for it with lead designer Jonas Byrresen.

First off, this game is both visually and conceptually spectacular: Figment is set inside someone’s brain, and it stylistically fits this perfectly. The levels are made up of broken bits of machinery and floating islands, with clouds of thoughts and little houses where ideas live. I fell in love with the style and charm this game is packed with almost instantly, and the audio grabbed me even more.

Just like an earworm, the world of Figment is filled with little audio cues. Going up to the little houses gives you an adorable little knock and a cheery tune, and one of the levels I saw featured actual musical instruments that you needed to interact with to progress. Music is a huge part of this game, and this is clearer in no place more than the bosses. I saw two bosses in the demo, and they both sang. The bosses sing original show tunes and I have never wanted to play a game more.

The gameplay is very satisfying and the combat is core to the game, rather than just tacked on. Some puzzles actually require combat, and some combat is a puzzle - and it is all tightly designed and visually clear. There was nothing in what I played that had me confused, which is not to say that the puzzles are easy; there are complex puzzles that require experimentation to get right alongside some simpler ones.

Figment is set to launch this summer, and I can’t wait to see what other tunes the bosses have for me to kill them to.