I'm going to start with a bit of a confession. Despite having at least 4 other games in progress on Steam mostly what I have been playing for the last 2 weeks is Destiny 2. Which is not a Steam game so a review will not appear here and besides it's already been reviewed by a bajillion other people. So instead I will talk about a game that I am about 3/4 of the way through called Figment.
Figment is a puzzle game that came out recently that I picked up based on two things, the first being the really good looking art and the second was me thinking it was actually a different game that hasn't come out yet with a similar painted art style.
In Figment you are controlling a small grumpy man who just wants to go back to his home but is instead tasked with clearing up the metaphorical mind that he lives in. Joined by a slightly annoying bird thing that doesn't help you at all the player must solve a series of point and click puzzles along with a few "combat" sequences. You will traverse 3 different "worlds", each with their own theme and style, each broken down into a series of smaller "island" puzzles that culminate in solving the world puzzle and a boss fight before moving on.
I am not much of a point and click puzzle guy. I usually find them frustrating and poorly implemented, but in the past I have enjoyed some and the visual appeal of Figment made me want to make the attempt. The puzzles in Figment range from very easy to modestly complicated, at the 3/4 mark I haven't been stumped yet so I guess that's something? My big issue with a number of the puzzles is that they are just repetitive. I figured out the solution early in the puzzle but then having to execute it involves a lot of carrying items back and forth in a small area over and over. Add a small cut scene that will play every single time you place certain objects (sometimes seeing the same scene 5 or 6 times in the solving of a puzzle) the tedium sets in. Did I really need to do this (particular action) 3 times? Once got the point across. I would actually trade frustration with finding the solution for this.
The story is acceptable but the metaphors are heavy handed and I feel like the developers were afraid of putting to much writing into the game so it feels blunt rather than allowing for more creative longer written story sections. Along with the dialogue that reminds me of early 90's PSA cartoons (with equally bland delivery) I am not sure if this was just a development issue or this game is geared for a younger audience? The music is alright but the main villain sings a cringingly bad song at one point that really made me wince.
I will finish Figment but I am not sure I can recommend it. For $20 it looks really nice and the real reason I keep playing is to see what the developers art department put into the game. Some of the puzzles are satisfying. Over all it's just run of the mill.
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