figment

Best Indie Games of 2017 – #6: Figment

Action adventure Figment dreams its way into sixth place in our list.

You would be forgiven for thinking that screenshots of Figment, instead of looking like an action adventure game, instead seem more likely to come straight from the pages of a children’s book.  It’s one of the most beautiful looking games I’ve played.  That’s because the world of Figment is hand drawn and painted.  Visible brush strokes fill the scenery, with some truly stunning scenes and animations.

Closely second to the visuals is the music.  It’s all original, and properly recorded rather than composed digitally.  As you interact with the objects you come across, the music will audibly change, as you pass certain objects in the game, different instruments in the music become more forte.  The voice acting is also fantastic, each character appearing to be voiced by a different actor.  Developer Bedtime Digital Games show their passion for quality here.

In Figment, you play Dusty (I’m not sure what exactly he is), a grumpy character who used to be the voice of confidence in the world.  He must restore himself to aid the mind by defeating the nightmarish imaginations, such as the creepy looking, plague doctor-esque creatures with mouths in their midsections that are attacking the mind.  Though Dusty is only armed with a wooden sword, and a rather simple understanding of battle, that is but one way to take out your enemies.  Completing puzzles and using the nightmares tricks against themselves will help you emerge victorious.

Figment

The puzzles you’ll encounter in Figment aren’t the most mentally taxing.  You may find every other puzzle takes you a couple of minutes to figure out, but they’re designed to not take you away from the adventure and story telling, and they don’t, instead, they become a part of it.

Figment has been nominated for many awards, including best indie game at Momocon and best sound at Casual Connect Indie Prize.  Figment also boasts two wins, best narrative at BIG Festival, 2017 and best art at Casual Connect Indie Prize, 2017.  I couldn’t agree more with these wins, and when you play it I’m sure you’ll agree too.

You can enter the dream world of Figment on Steam now while it’s on a 25% discount, for £11.24 / $15.  Console players can expect a release soon for PS4, Xbox One and Switch.  There’s no date announced so far, just the promise of a winter release.  We’ll keep you update when there’s more information.

If you’re more into action than story and adventure, check out Sky Rogue, our seventh best game of 2017.  Also, if you’re feeling particularly festive, we’ve got a list of the Top 5: The best indie games for Christmas.

Our countdown continues on boxing day.  Until then, have a very merry Christmas from all of us at Indie Game Website!