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Review: The Swapper

Few games are able to capture my attention the way The Swapper does. Its concepts are simple yet easy to pick up and its narrative, coupled with stable difficulty scaling, make for an engaging and addictive experience.

Initially a PC exclusive, The Swapper has now been released for Mac, Linux and PlayStation. Taking advantage of PlayStation’s cross-buy feature means you’ll be able to tackle the game on PS3, PS4 and Vita. Furthermore, the in-built save synch feature allows you to easily transfer saves between those platforms.

Whilst its story is a big drawcard for The Swapper, it’s not something immediately apparent. The game begins as you arrive on a derelict space station and discover a device called a swapper. This lets you create up to four clones of yourself, and all will follow your exact movements. You are then able to transfer between the clones, providing an interesting means to navigate levels whilst introducing some intriguing philosophical concepts.

Swapper-Screen01

Puzzles are the “meat” of the game and similar, in concept, to the test chambers in Portal. The idea is simple: each puzzle is a standalone room you must navigate to find an orb. Collect this orb and your work is done. It wouldn’t be much of a puzzle game if it were as simple as that so, of course, The Swapper throws a collection of hazards and environmental modifiers your way. This is where the game truly begins to shine as these elements are implemented in an ingenious fashion. The solution to any given room is, more often than not, far more complex than it initially appears but you are never left feeling that the game was unfair or didn’t provide you with enough information. There were only two puzzles I got truly stuck on and, when I finally figured them out, made me exclaim, “of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

Puzzle rooms may account for most of the gameplay but have little to do with the story progression. Each area is joined by a maze of corridors and rooms; which are, in turn, spotted with various mechanics designed to unveil the story of what happened at Space Station Thessius. Like any decent science fiction story you are given all the information you need but left to draw your own conclusions. This could be a deterrent for some however I found it thoroughly engaging and well implemented. I don’t want to spoil the tale for you so I won’t go into detail however the story is told via three devices. Two of these are optional and one is mandatory (as it provides your path and objectives). All are succinct, informative and thoroughly enjoyable to discover so I’ve no doubt you’ll want to explore them all and learn the full tale.

What makes this even more enthralling is that the story you discover is really just a framework for some complex philosophical questions regarding the concept of a soul; a concept which perpetuates the entire experience. I remember, right near the start, I swapped from my original body into a clone and progressed thru the level. As I watched my original body die it gave me pause to wonder “am I still me?”. As I progressed in the game, killing countless clones in the name of self preservation, I become numbed to the experience but it was always in the back of my mind and a constant theme of the narrative.

Swapper-Screen02

The Swapper provides atmospheric tension not usually seen outside an action game. This is achieved not with enemies, threat of death or jump scares but by using colour and audio to add impact to the events on screen. As you’re exploring an abandoned space station most of the game is seen in a murky greyscale however puzzle rooms are often well lit with coloured lights used to good effect. Aside from providing a changed atmosphere they actually play a key role in determining the behaviour for sections of the room. Switches have a bright yellow glow, red lights prohibit you from swapping to close, blue ones prevent clone creation, and so on. Contrary to what you may think this doesn’t break the tension or separate you from events outside the room; if anything it re-enforces the mood of the game. It’s quite an experience to leave a colourful puzzle room, bunch of orbs in hand, only to have the world go grey and camera pan out reminding you of how small and alone you are on this massive space station.

That’s the beauty of The Swapper; its genius lies in its design rather than complexity. Everything from the way the story is told to the way you solve a puzzle is precise and perfect. Aside from the atmospheric and narrative benefits the execution carries a rare polish as well. Small things like slowing time when creating a clone or using portals to revisit old areas allows the player to concentrate on strategy and planning rather than tedious travel or reactive game play.

Replay-wise, The Swapper doesn’t offer much. There are two endings to witness, however these can be viewed in quick succession if you save your game just before. I finished the PC version about a year ago and, when playing the PlayStation version for this review, found my memory retention for solutions was still good. Despite the lack of challenge I still enjoyed replaying it almost as much and found myself picking up more information regarding the surrounding story.

Swapper-Screen03

An interesting part of this related to the trophies. Each of the 10 hidden trophies is earned by discovering a secret computer log containing messages from home. They’re key to learning why you are there in the first place but so obscure and hard to find that I’m not sure how people would discover them without a guide! (or a lot of patience).

Personally I preferred the keyboard and mouse controls of the PC version however the ability to tweak the PlayStation controls couple with cross-buy/cross-save made the PlayStation version a clear winner for me.

In conclusion The Swapper is a perfect puzzle game with an excellent supporting narrative. It’s short with little replay but doesn’t require those features to be great it so I didn’t consider that a negative. Tight gameplay coupled with a compelling narrative make for a truly exceptional experience; one that every science fiction or puzzle game fan simply must have.


9 out of 10

The good

  • Great atmosphere
  • Engaging gameplay
  • Compelling story & concepts
  • Ingenious puzzles

The bad

  • Low replay value
  • Obscure trophies

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About the author

Dave Haldane

There are two things I love in life... video games and my family. I work full time as an IT manager to provide for my wife, three kids and a heavy gaming habit. I own almost every console since the Atari 7800 and am proud of my extensive collection of games.

I'm more of a single or coop player but I do dabble in multiplayer on the odd occasion. If you want to have a game or just chat feel free to add me, PM me or email me.