The Swapper, made by Facepalm Games, is hardly what I thought I would inaugurate this blog with. As it stands, I bought it only because I've been on an indie gaming binge lately, and it was going for real cheap on Steam. I seem to have completely missed out on its release; it's quite an old game. Nevertheless, I can safely say that I was not disappointed with this one.
It's a Metroidvania without the shooting and the power-ups; that in itself is quite a risky venture in a video game, leave alone the fact that it's by a little known independent developer. The art style is also something you have to be somewhat open minded to enjoy, since it's very moody, with sudden bright reds and blues accentuating the gloom of a deserted space station (which is where most of the game is set). The fact that there is no progression as far as gaining new abilities are concerned however is ends up not mattering, because of the extremely addictive and disturbing nature of the central game mechanic: swapping. Not only can you create clones of yourself with your 'gun', you also change between bodies using the swapper add-on. What this means is basically that you get to control different clones at any given point of time; the rest will follow you wherever you go.
What this also implies is that your clones die. A lot. The funny, and disturbing quality of the game is how it takes this constant dying in the stride. The game seems to be suggesting that in an impersonal universe, notions of individuality count for little in the face of survival. But the gameplay of Swapper does not dwell too much on this metaphysical aspect of this fact, since the deaths are constantly happening in the game. Instead of power-ups that grant you flight, or those which could slow time, the swapper fills in all these roles with a strange, clunky panache. The first few times, I was genuinely a little irritated at the mechanic; it seemed poorly implemented. But very soon, it fits in with the absurd nature of the predicament our hero finds himself in. It's tragicomic, in the truest sense of that word.
The most astonishing aspect of the Swapper, however, is how it has the same hook any typical platformer has: you collect things. Shiny, glowy orbs are yours for the taking, provided you prove your mettle in several puzzles. None of these puzzles are too hard; I mean, Limbo was hard. Braid was hard. Compared to those two, this is comfortable terrain, just difficult enough to not feel like it's delaying the narrative just for the heck of it. But the Swapper strikes a lovely balance with how its puzzles are spread out. It's a difficult task to accomplish, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the story in the game seemed to flow alongside the puzzles.
The story itself takes a cue from games such as Dead Space and Bioshock, where clues are strewn around for you to make sense of and piece together into a larger narrative. It's a tried and tested mechanic, and it works here, because the emphasis is on the puzzle solving, and the atmosphere.
Last but not least, this game has one of the most amazing soundtracks I've ever encountered in an independent game. It's a joy, really, and makes me think how crucial a good soundtrack is to the establishment of a narrative mood.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars!
