The Swapper - Review

A few years back I stumbled across a game called The Swapper, an indie side-scroller puzzler created by Facepalm Games.  When I originally played it I had no idea the studio was made up of only two people both students from the University of Helsinki.  I was recently thinking about the game and couldn't remember exactly how I felt about it, so I decided it was time to try it out again.


I like cheese, and I don't just mean in the comedy sense.  One of my favorite cheeses is Brie, there are a number of variations, personally, I like it to have a fairly solid consistency making it easy to spread and not liquidy.  Initially, when I tried Brie I was unsure if I liked it, the texture was very different to any cheese I had tried before and the taste was very rich.  When I tried it again I decided that I not only liked it, I loved it.  Playing The Swapper again I found myself asking would the second time around help me decide if it was my Brie?

Story

In the future humanity has used up all of Earth's natural resources, so we look to the stars to solve our problems, which in honesty we are not a million miles away from now.  There are numerous Space Stations whose sole purpose is to find new resources to help humanity survive.  The game has you play the role of a female scavenger who is stranded on one of these Space Stations that is seemingly abandoned.  Early on in the game, you find a device called the swapper, it not only allows you to create up to four clones of your self but also swap your consciousness between them.  This technology is created through the discovery of an alien race known as The Watchers.  The objective of the game is to escape the space station.

Initially, the story starts out relatively simple, but the more you discover what has happened to the crew of Space Station Theseus the more you are forced to question mortality, the concept of a soul and even life itself.  I enjoyed this element and was certainly unexpected from this type of game.  

Visuals

The visuals used in the game are rather unique, when I first played it I could not put my finger on exactly what it was that made it so different.  It turns out the game was modeled in clay and then digitized.  The look of the main character is so detailed, all body movements look realistic - with the exception of when you fall from a height.  One of the things I liked most was the dimly lit enclosed areas which reminded me of scenes from the first three Alien movies.   There are more colourful and open areas such as the Garden (see above) and the luminous plant life that can be found in the Solar Panel Maintenance Module.

Overall the game is a visual spectacle and is a true testament to what can be achieved on handheld consoles (yeah I know it's ported), but more importantly, it shows what can be achieved by just two people.

Music 

The soundtrack is haunting, atmospheric and provides a real feeling of isolation making it perfectly suited for The Swapper.  It is perhaps an unusual thing to say but sometimes the lack of music in the game is what makes it so memorable because when I did hear it I felt myself paying more attention than I might ordinarily in a game.  The soundtrack features heavy use of electronic music and throws in a sprinkling of a piano.  The soundtrack was created by:

Carlo Castellano, an Italian composer, sound designer, performer, and programmer. His works include the video game soundtrack for Invaders Corruption, an EP entitled Piano Work and a project called Electro Moving Picture which focuses on the link between music and photography.

The soundtrack is just shy of thirty minutes and contains thirteen tracks.  I felt it was the perfect length and features some great tracks including 'Theme', 'Greenhouse', and 'Alt Theme'.  Overall though my favorite track is 'Recreation' which features a haunting piano piece that features crackling to give it an aged feel.  

Outside of the soundtrack itself, there is one sound that really stood out for me - walking.  It's okay you read that right, due to the Space Station being abandoned there is little sound, apart from you characters feet traversing the different areas of the game which varies quite a bit.

Overall a great soundtrack that really helps make the game what it is.

Gameplay

The gameplay can be best described a 2D side-scrolling puzzle game.  The objective of the game is relatively straightforward, create up to four clones and switch your consciousness between them to help solve puzzles using a device called the swapper.

The puzzle solving element starts simple and becomes more complicated by throwing restrictions for using the swapper.  Certains coloured light effect your movement, for example, red light allows you to create a clone but you can't transfer your consciousness to it and blue light does the opposite. 

The reward for completing puzzles is orbs which you will need to collect in order to access various areas of the Space Station, and ultimately try and escape it.  The more you progress through the game you will find teleporters that allow you to jump to others areas of the ship without having to do all the legwork.

Overall the gameplay is interesting, and for the part enjoyed solving the puzzles.  That being said I found some of them to be a little frustrating and I am sad to say there were at least two puzzles I had to check a walkthrough to figure out.

Final Thoughts

So after five-plus hours how did I feel?  Really good, like Brie my second playthrough confirmed how much I really enjoyed it.  The story was interesting and in some ways was quite thought-provoking, the music and visuals helped create a haunting environment.  The gameplay itself offered a challenge that for the most part did not have me pulling my hair out.  Overall this one gets a solid 4 out of 5