The Swapper - Review

The Swapper is a strange game, part puzzle and part metroidvania, it asks you to explore a derelict space station, without any real context, is that worthy of your time, or should you just swap out for something else?

When you first enter the world, there is no puzzle outside of the one to locate an exit. But as you progress you discover the cloning tool, a hand held gun that allows you to create copies of yourself that move in time with your character. So if you jump your clones jump, walk and they walk; this is where the fun and challenge comes from.

In order to progress through the station, you will need to collect orbs that unlock doors. It sounds simple enough, but the challenge comes from the fact that you are not a super space marine with 5 times the jumping height of a normal man. One of the puzzles that stumped me for a little bit early on was two stone pillars, one was up and the other down, standing on a button forced them to swap positions and on the other side of the room was an orb. The problem came from not being able to get to the other side without standing on the switch, plus the gap was too big to cross. The solution was fun, clone yourself and fall and just before your character dies, clone again above you and repeat the process.

It is that level of thinking that sets this apart from just another atmospheric space game, you won’t be able to progress anywhere until you learn to think in many different ways. Some puzzles have coloured lights that block your cloning tools abilities, which forces you to think of new ways around things.

As you progress through the station, you will pass giant rocks that are in the background, which will ask you questions about life and more, these questions are all connected and form a pattern that becomes clear after a while. There is also another person running about, but I won’t spoil anything on that. Perhaps the coolest bit about the game is just how the world feels, I mean the game looks really spooky, but feels natural. The game is not about throwing things are you for a quick scare, the game builds up an atmosphere and maintains it for almost the entire length of the title. That is no easy feat, other games have tried and failed, but it just shows you how much attention was paid to the game.

Perhaps the oddest part of the entire game is the movement and control, as the game was built for a mouse and keyboard first, moving to the PS4 controller required some new input methods be designed. Moving around is simple enough with the left stick, the problem comes with the right stick, a small dot is where you cloning gun will create the clones, but it moves around really fast, so attempting to make small corrections can be somewhat problematic. Also moving from one side of the screen to the other can take a bit of time and while these issues are not enough to deter players from enjoying the game, just add a little frustration now and then.

If you are looking for something to play and love the idea of a metroidvania game with puzzles, or you want to explore a great world, The Swapper is for you.

The Score

9.0

Review code provided by Curve Studios

The Pros

+A really unique and interesting gameplay mechanic

+The game is brimming with a wonderful atmosphere

The Cons

-Controls can be a little awkward at times

-As a puzzler, it may not be something everyone is into