The Swapper

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

The Swapper is a Puzzle-Platformer released in 2013 on PC, then in 2014 ported to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Wii U, and then in 2014 ported to Xbox One. This game has players controlling a space suit-wearing individual who finds themselves on a quiet space station after some disaster occurred onboard, and soon afterward coming across the titular swapper, a device that allows a person to create and control a clone of themselves that they can “swap” their consciousness into.

The presentation in this game is excellent, making use of detailed 3D characters and environments with excellent lighting and wonderful atmospheric effects.This is backed by a subdued atmospheric soundtrack and good voice acting for the game’s characters, with the game exploring a somber story about research on a strange world gone awry.

It’s not just the presentation and story that’s great here, though. The Swapper makes excellent use of its titular game mechanic to craft some fiendishly clever puzzles. Players can create four additional clones at a time, and control all five characters simultaneously, but only the current active character can use the swapper device, which not only allows the player to create these clones, but also send their consciousness into one of them. Using this core mechanic, The Swapper finds all sorts of clever ways to use this mechanic, such as chaining clones through an area that won’t let you create clones within it, or using clones to climb through the air by generating one in mid-air, immediately swapping to it, and then creating another clone while still in mid-air.

I’ve seen some places claim that this game is a Metroidvania, but after getting your first few upgrades, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Rather, this game has an open-ended contiguous level design that enables players to backtrack if they want. This sort of thing isn’t terrible, but I do wonder what sort of game this would have been if it was a full-fledged Metroidvania.

I should note that the Wii U version of The Swapper does have a few convenient features. By default, players use the second screen as an interactive map, which is pretty helpful given the massive nature of the space station you’ll be exploring. However, you can alternately use it to directly interact with the game, using the touchscreen to place swapper clones exactly where you want them.

In any case, The Swapper is nevertheless an outstanding Puzzle-Platformer with some truly excellent puzzle design, clever gameplay mechanics, and a great atmosphere and story. This game is thankfully on multiple platforms, so you have your pick of where to get it, though the Wii U version’s features are a nice addition to the core game. However, regardless of what platform you get it on, I highly recommend that you do get this game, as it is an outstanding game.

tl;dr – The Swapper is a Puzzle-Platformer on a foreboding space station where players make use of the titular device, which allows them to create clones and then swap their consciousness into that body. This game does just about everything right – great gameplay mechanics, excellent puzzle design, great atmosphere, and a gripping story. The Wii U version even makes good use of the touchscreen to interact with the game. However, whether you get this game on the Wii U or some other platform, you should absolutely get this game, as it is outstanding.

Grade: A

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