The Swapper

released on May 30, 2013

The Swapper is a short puzzle platformer where you must complete every puzzle and collect 124 orbs, in groups of 3 and 9 later on, to complete the game. The game has a tool which lets you create up to 4 clones and switch between them as long as you have a clear line of sight. The main obstacles for the puzzles are 3 kinds of lights that interfere with the tool in different ways to make the puzzles harder. Achievements/Trophies are tied to hidden consoles instead of story progress so a guide will most likely be needed to find all 10.


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This review contains spoilers

An awesome puzzle game. Wasn't expecting the whole existential crisis at the end.

This review contains spoilers

For personal reference more than anything else. Still have done spoiler warning just in case though.

First time doing a full playthrough after playing through a lot of it but not being able to finish it (struggled with some of the puzzles and didn't want to look up the answers) at least 6 years ago.

I feel as though if I hadn't had originally got this game in a bundle and tried it out I probably wouldn't have looked twice at it due to my lack of interest in the Sci-Fi genre but because I remember being into it I wanted to give it a second go and I'm quite glad I did.

The concept is really interesting and I was a little worried early on when there was a tactic I needed to use a couple of times in a row for puzzles and navigation but outside of this instance the game somehow manages to not feel like its repeating itself too much or stretching its core concept too thin. I think the short length is a big factor in this but it just seems that a lot of thought was put into all of the different ways a player could use the swapping mechanic which were then each used for a puzzle idea. I think it does result in it being a game where each puzzle only has one solution but considering the variation of puzzles I don't really mind.

The difficulty is a little odd I think, there were instances where I'd struggle with a particular puzzle and then then the next couple I'd be able to solve really quickly and it felt like perhaps the majority of puzzles were actually on the easier side but there were certainly some I struggled with. There were a fair few that I spent a good while on but I actually had a good time as it was fun to experiment with what I could actually do and it also felt quite rewarding to be able to solve them (or it was kind of funny how much I'd struggle with one just to realise that the answer was obvious and I was just being kind of stupid). In the end there were two puzzles that I just couldn't do and had to look up the solution for and sweet fuck am I glad I did because I never would have got them but I still thought that they were good and that the solutions made a lot of sense but were just a bit too complicated for me. There weren't really any puzzles I would say I disliked I think.

The story was another thing I struggled with but that's just because I'm not overly familiar with some of the words or terms used and also the concepts at play here either except for the main one. What I was able to follow I enjoyed and there were some really neat revelations or moments in there. I also wasn't really expecting to have to make a choice at the end so it took me off guard but I think it was a great choice as it felt like a difficult decision to make even if morally the answer is obvious. I think I really like having to make a choice like that at the end of a game as it gives me something to think about while also holding some emotional weight.

Few scattered thoughts. I really liked the artstyle and I think it fit with the setting of the mostly deserted space station quite well. The music further complemented this and just sounded beautiful. The game played well but I don't think I was the biggest fan of having to mash RT to propel myself through the zero gravity sections as it just felt a little awkward. One good thing that came from the controls though was being able to do a light jog backwards which amused me a fair bit.

Overall I enjoyed this game, I don't think there's a lot else that I can really say for it though, other than I'm happy to have played it and I had a good time with it.

not creating enough of an impression on me to come back to often rn, but that might be a Current Me problem because the vibes are definitely strong

Both fun to play and intriguing philosophical narrative.

It’s basically Inside + Portal + Metroid = The Swapper. And that is a very good thing.